C2 Samantha

From somewhere beyond the pain and blackness came a swishing sound. It was bright behind my eyelids, and I ached all over. Then everything came rushing back into my mind. Izon driving. The wreck.

I opened my eyes to a stark white room and beeping machines. My mouth tasted like dried jerky. The scent of super cleanser choked the air and groaned as a wave of dizziness and nausea flooded me.

A nurse checking the machines beeping beside my bed, gave me a small smile. “Glad to see you’re awake, Ms. Clemmons.”

“What happened?” I licked my dry, cracked lips. “Oh, my god, the kid…is he okay? The one who ran out in front of us.” I couldn’t bear it if something had happened to him. My chest tightened.

She placed her hand on my wrist, then stared at her watch. “The child is fine. A little shook up from the near-miss, but no injuries.”

I squeezed my eyes shut, letting out a sharp breath. Stupid Simmons! If I had an upgraded car, this wouldn’t have happened. Never mind that this job was the only one I’d been able to keep in the past six months. Waitressing hadn’t worked out. I could never balance the trays of drinks and food, constantly dropping them on customers or the floor. Retail made me want to kill people. And blood and guts made me want to barf, so being in the medical profession was out. Teaching aliens to drive ancient human vehicles had paid the bills until now.

“It’s that teenager you should be worried about.” The nurse typed in some numbers on the small laptop in the room, which I guessed she was making note of my elevated blood pressure.

“Izon?” I scrunched up my face because I was never getting in any motorized anything with that alien again. “But he was driving and the car hit on my side. Other than soreness, he should be fine.”

“I’m not talking about that.” She closed the laptop and went to the door. “Why don’t you rest? I’m going to go get you some medicine for your blood pressure. Are you allergic to anything?”

I shook my head and stopped when the room started spinning from the movement. “No.”

“Good.”

“What’s wrong with Izon?” I searched my mind for any injuries he might have sustained from the wreck. “Is he here in the hospital too?”

“No, he was fine, minus some aches and pains. Got discharged already.” She made a face like she’d licked bitter m’kons. “No, it’s him and his folks you gotta watch out for.” Before I could ask what she meant, she continued. “Seems like they’re suing you and your company for the wreck and his emotional trauma.”

“What? That’s crazy.”

* * *

Three months later, I had to go to trial about the accident and putting Izon, who was driving, in danger. I ended up in an even worse predicament than before.

My lawyer was sweating so bad I offered him my scarf.

Izon was dressed in a suit and wouldn’t even look at me. His parents, both lawyers and well-paid by their attire, rattled my two-cent pro bono attorney.

“Mr. Simmons, your employer, has given evidence that he had required all driving teachers to use the state-of-the-art vehicles complete with an automated robot that can sense an accident before it happens and act accordingly.” The prosecuting attorney wrinkled his brow, causing his swollen eyelids to open wider, revealing his double-iris eyes.

“What—that’s not true,” I said, standing.

“If the judge would permit my client to speak—” My lawyer wrung his four hands, dabbing at his sweaty forehead with the fifth.

“Overruled,” the judge waved me off like I was an irritating bug.

“If Ms. Clemmons had listened to him and taken one of the newer cars, this wouldn’t have happened,” Izon’s mom continued. “Our Izon wouldn’t have sustained a neck injury that gives him daily pain.”

I let out a bark of laughter. “Daily pain? I have a metal plate in my freaking hip because he wasn’t watching the road.” Not to mention physical therapy and weekly Beta zaps that I had to pay for out of pocket.

The judge smacked his gavel on his desk. “You do not speak unless asked a direct question.”

I wanted to leap over and slap Izon and his entire family’s smirks off. Even Mr. Simmons was sitting on their side and I wondered how much they had paid him to side with them against me. “What about the kid he almost mowed down? I hel—”

“That is enough,” the judge shouted, spit spraying out of his mouth. “I’m ready to make my decision.”

“No, you can’t,” I said, ignoring my lawyer tugging at my arm. “What kind of judge are you? I haven’t even taken the stand yet.”

“I’ve heard and seen plenty.” The judge scowled but gave Izon a nod. “These are upright citizens and you put a student in mortal danger.”

“That’s not my fault. He was the one driv—”

“I think you will learn your lesson on Xerlon.”

“No! Y—You can’t.” There were horror stories about that prison on a far-off planet. My knees wobbled. This time, my lawyer yanked me down hard into my chair.

“Stop, before they send you somewhere worse,” my lawyer snapped.

Again, the judge smacked his stupid gavel on the desk, the sound vibrating through my bones. “You will pay out your debt in full.”

And just like that—my world and all that I knew—ended.