Chemistry Countdown (Part 3 of 10)
The car ride consisted of 90s pop music as Mary tapped her fingers on the steering wheel. Would her sisters already be there when she arrived? They'd most likely be taking planes to get there...
The car ride consisted of 90s pop music as Mary tapped her fingers on the steering wheel. Would her sisters already be there when she arrived? They’d most likely be taking planes to get there. Growing up, Mary was the only one, besides her father, who enjoyed taking long car rides. It was her preferred way to travel. She reached into the passenger seat and grabbed a handful of popcorn from the opened bag, which she’d strapped in for safety.
Mary pulled onto Maple Street, the street where she grew up. The neighborhood still decorated the light poles lining the street for the holidays. A pattern on every other pole of either a snowflake or a wreath let her know she’d finally arrived. She was home. Everything was as she expected.
Except…
Mary’s car spun around in a circle. What had happened? She tried to turn the wheel in the other direction. Her car finally coming to a halt in the middle of the street. Luckily, no one else was coming from either direction.
She breathed heavily and grabbed another handful of popcorn, and closed her eyes.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
She looked over and noticed a man staring back at her from outside her window. She pressed the button to lower it as she chewed.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
“I think so,” replied Mary. “I’m not sure what happened.”
“There’s a patch of ice on the road. I just showed up to cover it with salt. You look kind of familiar. Do you live around here?”
“I used to,” she replied. “I’m Mary Clemmons.”
“I knew you looked familiar. I’m Justin Gates. We had — ”
“Chemistry together,” said Mary. “I mean, the class.”
“It was biology, I think. It’s been a long time. How’ve you been?”
“Mind if I straighten my car out first?” She could feel her cheeks turning warm. Was it because of her car being in the middle of the road or something else?
“Oh, of course.”
Justin stepped away from the car and Mary pulled into her parent’s driveway.
Thank you for reading Part 3 of Chemistry Countdown. I wonder what Justin and Mary will talk about? Do you think either of them had a crush on the other while in school?
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