Driven Crazy

 

One autumn day, Tabia was to meet her friends, Indy and NT, at the food market. It was on the way from picking up Kayin and Eiji from the airport.

 

Indy stood outside, waiting for her friends to show. NT came out soon afterward and stood next to Indy.

 

"Indy looked at NT. "they're late, but still coming. Tabia just called me on her cell phone a few minutes ago, and said they were on their way."

 

(Background Music)

 

No sooner had she said that, when a minivan turned off from the highway. It came barreling down the parking lot at full speed, causing a few pedestrians to take to their heals and get out of the way as quickly as they could.

 

NT's mouth fell open, and her eyes went wide in alarm.

 

With horror, Indy saw an old man with a cane suddenly leap out of the way of the approaching vehicle. Like no kidding, that was probably the most action he'd had in a while.

 

Indy was next to shudder. "Learn how to drive, you idiot!" she muttered, narrowing her eyes at the offending vehicle. She sighed and looked skyward. "I don't know them, I was never here..."

 

NT looked at her in puzzlement. "Is that them?" she asked.

 

"Unfortunately, yes." Indy responded with an exasperated groan. She folded her arms across her chest and thought to herself, "Argh. This is gonna be a long day."

 

"Hey, get outta the way!" Cries of protest arose as people got off the sidewalk, seeing that the vehicle was most likely to hit someone. Everyone scattered, all except Indy and NT, who lurched backward and pressed themselves against a light post. Well, Indy did, NT backed up so that she was peeking worriedly out from behind the post and Indy.

 

The minivan came to a screeching halt, one of the front tires hitting the curb, parking itself just a few feet away from where the two women stood in front of it.

 

Indy gasped, Nt shrieked.

 

"Stop, you maniac!" Indy shouted, recovering just enough from being scared to be angry.

 

Out of the passenger's side of the van came Tabia, in a furious rush of emotion and words, coming around the vehicle to the driver's side, apparently very ticked off. Kayin came out soon afterwards, having just driven the vehicle. The two engaged in a heated arguement.

 

"This is the last time I let you drive!" hollered Tabia at Kayin. "I told you people drive on the right side of the road! Driving like a maniac over the interstate. What are you trying to do, kill us?!"

 

"Oh, brother!" Indy threw her hands up in disbelief and irritation.

 

"Does it really matter which side of the bloody road people drive on?!" Kayin retorted. "I got us here in one piece, didn't I?"

 

"oh, good gads!" exclaimed Indy.

 

"What about the rest of us?" NT was feeling angry at Kayin for being so reckless.

 

Tabia wacked Kayin on the arm.

 

"HEY!! What was that for?!" Kayin cried in protest.

 

Tabia wacked him again and again. "Stupid, stupid, STUPID!!"

 

"Hey, stop that!" Kayin cried out, trying to get away from the fury of her fists.

 

Indy and NT stood, watching the bickering parties go at each other. Indy gritted her teeth in frustration, looking fit to explode at the immaturity her friends were displaying. If she wasn't so riled from being scared out of her wits, she might have at least got a kick out of Tabia, and her assessment of Kayin's actions. Instead, she quickly turned and walked into the store, apparently forgetting NT was still there.

 

NT stood there, looking at Indy retreating, and back at the minivan. She was shaken, almost in tears. Seeing so many close calls, then being one along with her friend Indy, shot her nerves all to heck.

 

The rear door opened and Eiji stepped out. He was listening to a portable CD player. As he took off the earphones, glancing at the scene Tabia and Kayin were causing, he saw NT standing nearby. "NT!"

 

Eiji Shinjo, The young asian man, had taken quite a shine to NT's pet sugar glider possum, Mia. He had also been especially nice and polite to NT.

 

"Hai." he said, nodding as he came up to NT. "Hey, what happen to Indy? I thought I saw her with you."

 

"She was." said NT. "But she went into the store to cool off. She says she doesn't know you guys."

 

"Yeah, I don't blame her. Sheesh, will you can it, you guys!" Eiji said to them in annoyance. Tabia and Kayin were still at it, not appearing to stop shouting at each other, any time soon.

 

NT blinked. "I guess they didn't hear you."

 

"No kidding! As loud as they are, who can!" Eiji frowned.

 

A small crowd of on lookers had begun gathering around them, observing.

 

Just then, Indy came back outside.

 

"Hey, Indy's back!" NT remarked. But then she saw the steely expression on her friend's face.

 

"What is she going to do with that bullhorn?" Eiji wondered.

 

NT only shrugged, she had no idea.

 

Indy held the bullhorn upward, pressing a button on the device. This caused it to emulate a loud police siren noise that could be heard from a mile away. It got the desired results.

 

NT startled and put her hands over her ears.

 

"AAARRRGGHHH!!" exclaimed Tabia.

 

"OOUUU!! My ears!!!" Kayin chimed in next.

 

"Serves you right!" remarked Indy, disappointment in her eyes. "I had to do something to get your attention!" She handed the bull horn to a female employee who wore an apron with the store's name on the front. "Thanks for letting me use this." she said to her.

 

"Not a problem." the woman smiled back.

 

Indy walked up to her friends, staring at them eye to eye. "I can't believe you two, acting like a couple of two-year-olds out in public like this! If I would have known this would have happened, I would have gone shopping with just NT. You're adults and you need to act like it! Look at the scene you're causing!"

 

Tabia looked sheepish at the people who were watching them as they nodded their heads in agreement with Indy. The reality of what had happened hit her like a ton of bricks. "Oh, crap! Gee, I'm sorry Indy. Its just that, Kayin is so used to driving on the left side of the road where he's from and the way he was driving, well...I lost my cool and all." She felt bad about acting out in front of everybody.

 

NT was next to storm, and did she ever.. "Well, this is not Europe, we drive on the right side of the road here, and we have road rules for a reason! If you disregard them you'll hurt or kill somebody, maybe even yourself! And you don't go driving so close to the sidewalks! There are pedestrians around, you know! Blast it your crazy driving gave me a heart attack! Don't you ever do that again!!" she shouted, shaking a small white nuckled fist at Kayin. A couple of tears spilled down her cheeks.

 

Indy nodded in agreement, and gave NT a hug to help her calm down.

 

It took a while for everyone to simmer down, but Tabia looked so down in the mouth that NT couldn't help but come up to her, giving her a hug.

 

Tabia smiled and hugged her back. "Thanks, hon, I needed that."

 

"It wasn't your fault," said NT.

 

Indy managed to smile, but she turned to face Kayin with a frown.

 

Kayin was standing there with a look of defiance on his face, his arms folded across his chest.

 

"Alright, Kayin." Indy said. "Apologize to us for your dangerous driving, and for acting out."

 

"Uh, eh?!" he stared indignantly at her.

 

"You heard me!" She said, coming closer to him, eyes flashing in warning.

 

"Apology for what? I didn't do anything wrong."

 

"Yes you did!" NT flared again.

 

"Alrightie then, have it your way." Indy rolled her eyes but calmly took out her cel phone and started dialing.

 

Kayin thought nothing of it at first, but what Indy was doing made him curious. "Who are you calling?"

 

"I'm reporting you for nearly running us down." came Indy's smooth reply. She watched as Kayin's face blanched in fear. But Kayin thought of something Indy had overlooked. "You can't do that, it isn't my vehicle, it's Tabia's." "Well that's too bad." said indy flatly. "She'll know better than to let you drive if she wants to keep it and her licence." Tabia's face paled next, then she flared, "Thanks for losing my licence, Kayin, thanks a lot"

 

Indy spoke into her cel phone, getting a secret thrill from Kayin's reaction. "Hello, this is Indianna Mae Who and I'd like to report an out of control driver that nearly hit me and several other pedestrians." She recited the licence number and was just about to give the location and name of the mall next.

 

"Oh, gack! Pleeeeease, I don't want Tabia losing her licence or getting in trouble because of me! I don't want to get in trouble either!" Kayin got on his knees, pleading with Indy, his head downward."I'm sorry for acting like an ass in public and it will never happen again!"

 

Indy narrowed her eyes at him. "Promise?"

 

"Promise!"

 

"Good...and by the way, I pretended to report you. If you'd noticed, I didn't even turn the cell phone on." Indy grinned at Kayin and walked into the store.

 

The others followed her, Eiji walked with NT, while Tabia walked with Kayin.

 

Kayin frowned. "I can't believe she tricked me like that." His frown soon became a devilish smirk. "She's starting to think like a bounty hunter, and that scares me."

 

Tabia laughed as they walked into the store.

 

"Either that or she's been around Pippi too long." NT put in.

 

"Hehe," Indy chuckled, "I'll let you guys theorize on that for a while, if it'll keep you out of trouble."