That Day

• Jenna Mackay, Grade 8
• Short Story
• 2018

That Day

They say everything happens in slow motion moments before a car crash. I never believed it. Not really. Well, not until the 18th of July 2017. A date that will be forever imprinted, forever burned in my brain.
It was a wet day. It had been raining for three days straight, which is unusual for Australian weather. The road was slippery. Everyone was driving slower than usual. I was in the back seat of the Allen’s Volvo. Lila and I were laughing over something I had just told her. I could even see her Mum, Liz chuckling in the front seat. It’s hard to imagine that what followed this happy scene could be so awful. Then it happened. I remember the shock I felt as the airbag burst out to cushion me and Liz choked out a scream in front of me. I don’t know who pulled me out of the burning car, but the next thing I know I’m lying on the bitumen in the middle of the highway, two faces peering down at me, and I notice a cast on my left arm. My vision blurs then clears. I see a lady staring down at me with soft blue eyes. After checking I was ok and giving me some Nurofen for my headache, she rushes off. The rain was coming down faster than ever, soaking all the emergency workers. I turn around. Suddenly, I felt dizzy, and as though I might fall over. The Allen’s car was wrecked. Another car had crashed right into it. Suddenly, I was shoved aside and Liz rushed past me, her hair wild. Everything was in slow motion as I watched her run, her necklace bouncing against her collarbone, to the seat (or what was left of it) behind the passenger side and gently lift a limp body into her arms, bending her head over it. Lila. The world was spinning again. Faster and faster. I sank to the ground, tears running down my dirty face. I saw Louis, Lila’s dad walk up behind Liz and gently lift her to her feet. She turned to him and he put his arms protectively around her, stroking her sopping hair as she sobbed into his chest. Two paramedics walked over to where Lila lay and lifted her onto a stretcher. As they carried her towards the ambulance Liz tried to pull away from her husband, but he gently pulled her back and led her towards where my parents were pulling up.
After we all climbed into the car, we drove straight to the hospital.

The next day I walked into room number 17. Lila was lying on the hospital bed, bandages around her arm and chest. Bruises covered her body and her left eye was swollen. But she was okay. It was at that moment that I realised how precious life is and how special friends are to us. I rushed over and hugged her, tears of joy spilling down my cheeks.