7/23/2018

The streetlights whizzed past as I chased the gibbous moon through the night, my tires rolling smoothly across the asphalt in quiet bliss. That is, until the other car appeared behind me. They pulled up right behind my tail; on occasion, I might be bothered to accelerate if I'm not going fast enough. But I was already at the speed limit on an empty highway, so I decided not to be manipulated and maintained my speed.

He didn't like that. He hopped sideways into the middle lane and hit the gas. Knowing well that cheaters never prosper, I decided to have a little fun and accelerate as well, matching the other car's speed. They didn't seem overly aggravated by the fact that I was not allowing them back into my lane...until they caught up to the back end of a semi-trailer. Irate but defeated, they slowed and returned to their position behind me.

Of course, I couldn't just let them win that easily. I reached the front end of the truck...then slowed. I matched the big rig’s speed, boxing the other driver between myself and the trailer. I grinned with mischievous pleasure as a furious blaze of light spilled over me: in a tantrum of desperation, the car had slapped its high-beam lights on as if this was meant to intimidate me. They were, however, so close to the rear end of my car that I couldn't even see their headlights, and their beacon spilled in vain around me, doing naught but better illuminating the street which I was already traversing.

After a moment of giggling under attempted interrogation, the truck beside me began to slow. The car behind me relinquished its patrol light as the lane beside me opened up. I remained in place, however, to the chagrin of the driver behind me, which I soon learned to be the case by his epilepsy-inducing fit of rage. I was unfazed and simply waited, slowly decelerating until he whipped into the middle lane.

I heard his engine rev as he punched the accelerator to the ground. I hovered my foot over the brake pedal, fully prepared for him to swerve back in front of me and screech to a halt. Alas, he simply zoomed off into the night, all the while I tried in vain to cease my laughter.

Pettiness is a cruel and wonderful thing.