The Pull Over In Highway Traffic, by Calvin Seen

By Calvin Seen

Officer Bobby jumped in to his cruiser with his buddy. There was a tip off about a guy driving on a deflated tire on the highway. Bobby didn’t get much action. He usually arrested people for petty theft and possession. Just another traffic violation he thought.

Right when he exited on the highway he saw a car with a bashed in door. In front of that car was the car with the deflated tire. Bobby turned on his sirens. He didn’t understand why this nutjob would be driving on the rim. Sparks flew out. It looked like a hit and run, the side view mirror was cracked off.

The car tried to ram a red car off the road. Bobby was supposed to go home to his wife. But it looked like this was going to be overtime.

Baggies and a pipe flew out the guy’s window. He yelled out the window: “Pull over now!” The guy continued driving on the rim. Bobby had never saw someone throw drugs out the window on the highway.

There was something fishy about this situation. Bobby couldn’t understand why the car with the bashed in door was following the three tired car that tried to ram a red car off the road.

The red car drove off and everybody else pulled over. He stated to his buddy: “Alright I’ll take care of this. You interview the guy with the bashed in door.”

Bobby got out his car and approached the car with his thumb on the clip to his pistol.

“Roll down your window!”

The guy looked calm. Bobby yelled at him like a drill sergeant.

“You were throwing drugs out the window! Don’t lie to me. There’s nothing I hate more than a liar.”

“I was throwing confetti out the window.”

Bobby couldn’t understand why this guy was so calm as he yelled spit hit the guy’s face.

“You wise ass. Gimme you’re license and registration. And put your hands on the wheel. You make me nervous. I’m going to give you another chance. You were throwing drugs out the window weren’t you?”

The guy was named Trent. He was from out of town. Trent said: I respectfully decline to speak.”

“So now you’re going to go lawyer on me. Get the hell outta the car.”

He cuffed him and pushed him against the concrete block as cars passed and onlookers stared. Trent stated: “I was throwing confetti out the window that melts on to roads and disappear.”

Bobby couldn’t believe the scrawny jerk was talking to him like that. “You know I’m on overtime? I don’t got time for this. You ever been to central booking? You’re going to catch a beating. You’re not going to last there.”

“Everyone in central booking just waiting to make bail. You think they want any more charges?”

The sun began to set. There was bumper to bumper traffic from drivers taking a peek at the situation.

Damn Trent. Bobby thought. Trent was so calm and smiled at the angriest face Bobby could make. This pissed Bobby off he couldn’t scare him or get him to admit to his crime. Bobby’s buddy had finished interviewing the guy with a bashed in door.

“You’re being a wiseass. You’re going to jail tonight.”

“You’re doing your job as a cop and I’m doing my job as a citizen.”

Bobby was defeated. Despite his angriest look, he couldn’t search Trent’s car or Trent himself. There was no way he was going to stop highway traffic just to pick up the evidence. After all confetti that melts on roads sounded eco-friendly.

“Ok Trent. Let’s have a casual conversation. You threw drugs out the window didn’t you?”

“Why do we keep repeating the same thing over and over? Let’s be casual.”

“You go to school? Work? What do you do in your free time besides getting into trouble out here?”

“I go to community college and work at McDonalds. In my free time I write.”

“So what you doing out here? Getting in trouble? You’re smart but you’re not wise. What happened to the tire and side window?”

Trent smiled and replied: “You saved my life. There was this red car chasing me.”

“Yeah right like I’m going to believe that.”

But the story matched. The guy with the bashed in door witnessed Trent drive over a median, ran red lights, and bashed into his car while being chased by a red car. So he followed Trent because he was concerned. The guy wasn’t going to press charges. He saw that Trent was trying to save his own life. Trent wondered how there were still good people in this world. Bobby could guess what happened. Trent probably ripped off a drug dealer and was chased.

Bobby called in an emergency truck to change the deflated tire. Bobby wasn’t going to take him to jail. What Trent went through was traumatizing enough. For some reason Trent was still calm after that.

“You’re one crazy guy. Don’t get into any more trouble now. Don’t come out here again.”

The guy with the bashed in door and the emergency truck drove off. Bobby uncuffed Trent. He shook Bobby’s hand. They smiled. They understood that on that crazy day everyone just wanted to go home.