Samantha – The Prank, Part 1

Originally posted on February 6, 2017 by Gordon Savage

I’m skipping the next few weeks. Samantha found out that being grounded was harder than she expected, but she gritted her teeth and didn’t complain – mainly to keep from upsetting her mother any more. As expected Bill found someone else to go to the movie with, although it wasn’t Lynda. She had moved on.

Samantha waited a whole two additional weeks before getting into trouble again. She managed to talk her mother into letting her take the Mustang convertible to a birthday party that was supposed to be over by 9:00 pm. She and Renee left shortly after ten, making her late for a curfew she had earned with her overstayed mall visit.

“Was that a great party or what?”

Renee was so exuberant that I couldn’t help but smile. I glanced at her. She had removed the scrunchie from her ponytail and her hair was swirling in the warm wind flowing over and around the windshield. As I came to a stop at the four way, I glanced past her and noticed a police car parked by the curb of the cross street. Its lights were off and for some reason the street lamps were off on that side of the road. I would have never noticed it if I hadn’t been looking right at it. I knew I had come to a complete stop. No problem. Then I thought, Hey, those guys are being sneaky. I’m going to teach them a lesson.

I drove on and turned right at the next intersection, being very careful to signal.

“What are you doing? Is something wrong with the car?” Renee went from giddy to serious in a flash.

“Did you notice those cops back there? They were hiding in the dark so anyone who didn’t stop wouldn’t see them.”

“So what’s another traffic trap?”

“I’m going to have some fun with them. Are you in?”

“What kind of fun?” She looked puzzled as I pulled up at the next corner. There wasn’t a stop sign, but I wasn’t taking chances.

“You’ll see.” I shut off the car’s lights—the mustang didn’t have running lights when I cut the switch off—and turned onto the cross street. When we turned onto the next street, I hugged the curb and eased forward until I was almost on their bumper. I stopped and simultaneously hit the horn and the passing lights.

I turned the lights back on and pulled out into the driving lane. We smiled and waved enthusiastically as we passed the cruiser. Being careful to stop completely at the intersection and signal, I made the turn onto the street we had been on. I had just started the turn when the police car’s bar lit up and the siren chirped.

Renee glanced over her shoulder. “Oh, boy. You’ve done it now.”

I pulled over to the curb. I fished my brand new license out of my wallet and had Renee pull the registration and insurance card from the glove box. In the side mirror I could see the driver of the police car get out. Tall and thin, he was kind of cute in his police uniform. Then I saw he had drawn his weapon. I turned my head so I could see the other officer. He was short and a little overweight. He stopped at the rear of the car with his pistol drawn. Both he and the cute guy had the angriest expressions I had ever seen. If it wasn’t for the guns, I would have laughed.

I smiled brightly at the tall guy as he walked up. “Hi, officer. Beautiful evening isn’t it.” I nodded at his gun. “Surely firearms aren’t necessary, are they?”

He didn’t smile, and his voice was stern. “Out of the car, now. Both of you.” He stepped back, still holding the gun at the ready.

My heart had started beating rapidly, and I could feel beads of sweat forming on my forehead. This wasn’t going like I had expected. Actually, I had expected to drive away and have a good laugh on the way home.

As soon as I closed the door, I asked, “Can you put that thing away? You’re making me nervous.”

“Turn around.”

I did.

“Now put your hands behind your back.”

I did, and he started putting handcuffs on me. I saw that the other officer was doing the identical thing with Renee. Her expression was pure terror, and I was beginning to feel the same way. “What’s going on? It was a harmless prank.”

“Harassing a police officer is a felony in this state.”

My stomach did a flip-flop, and I began to feel nauseated.

“It carries a mandatory six month sentence.”

Now I really felt sick.

He continued, “Where’s your license and registration?”

My voice trembled. “They’re on the driver’s seat. What are you going to do with us?”

He picked up the papers. “We’re going to take you into the station and book you.”

“For blowing the horn and flashing the lights?”

He picked up my purse and pulled the keys out of the ignition, and the other officer picked up Renee’s purse. “Let’s go.” He pushed me toward the police car, none too gently.

“Hey, you can’t leave the car with the top down.” I faced skyward. “It looks like it’s going to rain.”

“The tow truck driver will take care of it.”

The drive to the station was no picnic. They put us in seat belts but left our hands chained together behind our backs. I tried to make peace on the way in. “We’re sorry. It was just a joke.” Neither of them paid attention.

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