On the Devils Side: Part 1

Do you ever look in the mirror and think that your life is perfect? Well, Jennifer Nymoway doesn’t. That’s me. Jennifer Arianna Nymoway. Mom always said I was named after my great, great, great, great grandmother. I honestly don’t know what was so special about her, but mom and dad are always saying that I’m what makes my great-great-great-grandmother unique because my name is also hers, and I am special. Or something like that.

Last year we went to visit Karl and Missy, dad’s parents. This year they decided we were going to see Dean and Laura Lewis, my mom’s parents. They lived a few hours away, which is nice because we didn’t need to buy a plane ticket to get there. To get to dad’s parents, it’s a twenty-hour drive. Mom said she wanted to save money this year, so they chose to see her parents this time. I have a strange relationship with my grandparents. We go by first name basis instead of me calling them grandma or grandpa. I wish Dean and Laura wouldn’t treat me like I’m still two years old and talk as if I’m a child. I’m seventeen years old, and you’d think they’ve got Alzheimer’s or something. I’m not too fond of my grandparents on either side of my family, but they are family, so I’ve got to love them.

I never wanted to go on this trip, and I told mom precisely why. This was the last summer I could spend with Kate and her sister Emma, leaving for college. Kate and Emma are my best friends, and I’d hate to miss Emma’s going away party tomorrow. Kate and I will be seniors next year, and Emma was going to tell us how she made it to graduation because high school is chaotic right now, especially with all the Lacrosse games and the rivalry between schools. I don’t get rivalries, and I’ll get Jeremy or Paul to explain it when I get home. Those two boys have been my friends for just as long as Kate and Emma have. They are like brothers, but I honestly think they are gay for each other based on how they act like a married couple all the time—what a cute bromance.

Ever since we were little, Jeremy has had a crush specifically on me. But the funny thing is, Kate has been head over heels in love with him for half the school year. One minute we will be talking about a school paper we are writing or what we want to do for the weekend, and somehow, the topic of Jeremy comes into the conversation. It makes sense, though. Jeremy is a pretty cute guy. He has the sweetest smile but the stupidest personality. That’s not a bad thing, but he is always making jokes and trying to make everyone laugh. On the other hand, Paul is hardcore crushing on Emma, which sucks because she is leaving, but I think they are making the best of it, considering we see them sneaking around all the time. Paul has a more serious personality, but he’s got some great humor to hide it.

“Sweetheart, put your things in the car,” mom called from the kitchen.

I rolled my eyes and grabbed my bags that were sitting at the front door.

“Don’t roll your eyes at me, young lady,” how did she know I rolled my eyes?

I groaned, pulling my suitcase out the door and to the car where dad was loading things into the trunk. “Let me get that, honey,” he said, taking my suitcase and placing it in the car. “Go tell mom we’ve almost got everything in the car.”

I went back inside and found mom, who was now in her room. “Dad says we’re ready to leave.”

“Great, will you take my bag to him? I’m just grabbing a couple of other things.” I grabbed her bag and returned to the car with it in tow. Dad puts it in the trunk and then shuts it.

“Does it always take your mother this long to get ready to leave?”

I laughed at dad’s comment. “I don’t know, dad, you married her,” he shot me a smile and headed inside to retrieve his wife. I got in the back seat and put my seatbelt on. I watched as dad pulled mom out of the house like they were some young newlyweds. He had slapped her butt, and I almost vomited in my mouth. Mom got in the car while dad locked the front door. “How long are we going to be there?” I asked.

“All summer. We will be home a few days before school starts,” so that’s why we packed so much. We’re going to be gone for almost a whole month. “Don’t complain to me, okay?”

Dad got in the car and looked at mom and me, seeing the tension between us. He started the car then stopped for a moment. “Hold on, I have something in my shoe,” he pulls off his shoe. “I’m pretty sure it’s afoot,” mom looked confused, but I just started laughing. He had to go and make a stupid dad joke. “Everyone ready?”

“Yes, we are, honey,” mom was holding back a smile as she said it. The car started moving, and I ignored my parents. I pulled out my phone and started going through all the photos of Kate and the boys, and I began to miss them. “Honey put the phone away.”

“Seriously?”

“Seriously. You need to stop focusing on technology and do something that will not fry your brain.”

“Mom, the whole world revolves around technology. And I’m just talking to Katherine,” opening Snapchat, I see a snap from Kate. I open it and see her with a sad face and the caption read: Miss you already. I miss her too. I took a photo of myself with the dog filter and typed the caption: Wish I could stay. I added a few sad face emoticons and sent them. About a minute later, I got a video reply. I opened it and saw Jeremy filling Paul’s mouth with whipped cream. I chuckled as I watched Paul look at the camera with whipped cream falling out of his mouth. Paul had mumbled something, and I am guessing the caption: I HAVE RABIES!!!! That was what he was trying to say. I sent a reply with a picture of me laughing and saying they were too crazy. Eventually, I put my phone down and pulled out a book I was reading.

“What activities did you plan?” dad asked. I looked up at him, seeing that he was asking mom.

“Well, there are a few nice spots we could camp at, and they just finished the pool in the backyard. Maybe we can even go shopping with grandma and grandpa?” Mom looked back at me. “They offered to buy you new clothes.”

“I don’t need new clothes,” I said.

“Can we go fishing?” dad asked.

“I don’t like fishing, Chris.”

“Well, then I’ll take Jennifer, and you can catch up with your parents. I want to spend some quality father-daughter time with her.”

Mom looked back at me, waiting for an answer. “Does that sound like something you’d want to do?” she asked. “If not, we could always go get our nails done?” she said hopefully.

“I’d rather go fishing with dad,” I replied. I’m not much of a manicure-pedicure kind of girl. I’d get my nails done with Kate and Emma any day, but not with mom.

“Okay, then it’s settled. You two will go fishing for a few days, and I’ll stay with my parents,” I honestly think mom wanted to go on this trip so that she could be with her parents. I don’t know why she didn’t just go alone and spend some time with them. She didn’t have to drag us along. Whatever her reasoning, I know dad wouldn’t have complained since he loves mom so much.

I had fallen asleep and started to dream some crazy dream, and when I woke up, I couldn’t remember any of it. Oh well. The good ones are always forgotten. The car came to a sudden stop, almost throwing me out of my seat, but the seatbelt caught me.

“Sorry Jennifer, this traffic came out of nowhere,” dad said, apologizing.

“How close are we?” I asked, looking out the window to see if I could find any road signs.

“We’re about an hour and a half away.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, it’s been stop-and-go. This jerk cut me off, so I had to slam the breaks.”

I sat back in my seat and read and occasionally looked at my phone to respond to any messages I got from my friends. Kate was having the time of her life with the boys, and I was stuck in this slow-moving car with my parents. I sighed, looking out the window, and saw a boy in an SUV. He was looking back at me, and he waved. I sent him a half-smile and looked back at my book.

A few minutes later, I looked back out the window to see some construction. They were widening the road, and it makes sense why this traffic is here. I watched as we passed all the roadwork, and dad accelerated. I zoned out thinking about Emma and how I was missing out on her going away party, and I’m hoping that college will be better than high school.

A zooming car brought me out of my thoughts, and I looked around. Cars were speeding past us, and I felt like we were the ones going too slow.

“Dad, how fast are you going?” I asked.

“Just over the speed limit, honey.”

“Why’s everyone speeding?” I asked. Mom was reading a magazine and ignoring the conversation. I watched the cars zoom by then started to feel the car almost vibrate. Cars don’t shake. For a moment, I thought my phone was vibrating, but it began to get loud. There was some jet-like noise that grew louder and louder. “Dad?” he didn’t hear me. “Dad!”

“Yeah, honey?” he yelled back.

“What’s going on?” Dad looked at his rearview mirrors and pushed on the gas. The car started driving faster, and dad headed for the freeway exit. “Dad!” I began to get scared. I didn’t know what was happening, but the car was moving fast, and it sounded like a plane was flying overhead.

Mom looked back at me with worry in her eyes. “It’s going to be okay, honey,” she almost had to yell. What is going on, and why are mom and dad so scared?

“What’s happening?” I asked her hoping she would give me an explanation. Looking behind us, I see nothing but cars flying past us.

Mom handed me the pillow that she had upfront and looked scared. “Hold onto this. Everything is going to be okay!”

What is she talking about? What is happening? I then saw a jet fly over us, both engines on fire. The cars in front of us tried to move out of the way, but the two back wheels touched the surface. The left wheel nicked a truck causing that truck to swerve towards us. Dad slammed on the brakes enough, so the car barely missed us. My eyes widened with fear, and I was terrified. Other cars around us slammed on their brakes, and I could hear the tires squeal and leave tire marks trying to slow down as smoke trailed behind them. The jet had crashed with an explosion, and debris was falling from the sky.

“Chris!” Mom yelled as dad dodged a chunk of metal. The car began to spin out of control, and dad struggled to get control again.

“Daddy!” I screamed as the car stopped.

“It’s alright, Jennifer,” he said, reaching back and grabbing my hand. I held onto the pillow mom gave me as my life depended on it. “Are you alright?” Dad asked mom. She nodded, a little shaken up. I looked behind us to see the car pile-up and pieces of the jet still falling. All of a sudden, I hear the sound of tires skidding and thudding. I turn to see a semi-truck. Its tires had white smoke trailing behind them, and the trailer began to slide to the left. “Dad!” I screamed, and then the truck hit us. I gasped, feeling gravity push me back against the seat. My seatbelt prevented me from falling forward into mom’s chair, but I heard something snap and pain shoot down my arm and up the left side of my neck. I closed my eyes and felt glass pierce my skin and the crunching of metal. Everything came to a sudden stop, and my head was slammed into something hard, and I blacked out.