MY LITTLE HITCHHIKER

MY LITTLE HITCHHIKER

Part 1

I was slowly driving in the center of town — the traffic was always dense at this time of the day.
All of a sudden my passenger door was opened, all the news reports of car jacking came into my mind as a bullet in the shape of a young girl entered the car and crouched down, closing the door behind her.
“Don’t stop!” She hissed at me.
“Look I’m the one driving, and I can’t go any faster.” I retorted wondering why I did not demand that she get out of my car? Looking in my mirror I could see a couple of men running through the line of slow moving cars, they were obviously looking for the girl.
I could have opened my window and called out to them . . . I could have. .
But I didn’t, instead I reached behind me and pulled my coat from the back seat and covered the crouching form with it, I also locked the doors – I didn’t want anyone else to come in.
Just before the two men caught up with us the light, or whatever the hold-up was cleared and I started to move with the flow, picking up speed — leaving the two behind.
I watched them in my mirror gesticulating with their hands and blaming each other for the loss of their target. I drove further away from them seeing their forms grow smaller and then they were lost in the distance.
“You can come out now.” I said.
“No! I can’t be seen by anyone.” She said panicking and pulling the coat in around her.
“So where can I drop you?” I asked her.
“Are you going near Rushmore Street?” She asked me.
Now I’ve lived here for some time and I’d never heard of the road, “Where?” I asked her
“You know! Just off 112th Street.” She said as if stating an obvious fact.
“No such place darling.” I said in my friendliest fashion. The coat moved and an eye looked at me.
“You don’t know where 112th Street is. But there’s a Mall they’re everyone knows it!” She said and this time there was a twang in her voice.
“Where are you from?” I asked her.
She mumbled something, so I took a chance and said, “Never heard of it, where about in England is it?”
This time the coat moved. “What do you mean England? It is not in England its in America. Why are you driving on the wrong side of the road?” She added as she looked around. Yes she was not from around here I decided.
“Because that’s the way we drive around here, left is right . . . or its right to drive on the left either way that’s the law.” I said.
“No this is wrong I couldn’t have been out that long could I?” She looked at me as if I had the answers.
“Look love all I know is that you suddenly get into my car and told me to drive, look I’m nearly home, do you want to come with me or should I take you to a police station?” However, at the word police she seemed to shrink into herself.
“No .