A Newbie Driver's Regrets

When the hospital director called me for the tenth time, I was still stuck in traffic on the winding mountain road leading into the city.

A pink Polo driving inexcusably slow was wedged in the middle of two lanes and obstructing my path.

The "New Driver" sticker on the rear of the car seemed to insult me.

I took a deep breath before slamming on the horn.

That was when the car jerked to a stop. A man in a floral shirt stepped out of the car, marched to my car, and pounded on my window.

"What's with the rush?! Can't you tell by the sticker that I'm a new driver? If you cause an accident, you're going to have to pay up!"

I gripped the steering wheel so tightly that veins bulged on the back of my hand.

The director's desperate cries were still echoing in my ears, "Dr. Leigh, the boy is dying! The only information we have is that his father's name is Ronald Baker!"

Upon noting my silence, the man smiled smugly before smacking the hood of my car. "Go ahead, drive over the barrier to bypass me if you want! Even the police have to slow down for me!"

With that, he slammed his brand-new driver's license against my window. "Look closely, I just got my license yesterday! I'm a legal driver!"

I quickly glossed over the driver's license. What stood out to me was his name printed on the license.

Ronald Baker.

I felt a strange tingling feeling in my scalp. How could such a coincidence be possible?

"Hi, Ronald Baker. I’m Candice Leigh, the head surgeon of the hospital."

Time was of the essence. I rolled down my window and suppressed my anger before speaking. I did not beat around the bush, "Your son, Robin Baker, is in the ICU right now, and I need to operate on him. If you won’t let me pass, he’s going to die."

Ronald paused for a moment before laughing. "What mental hospital did you come from?"

He suddenly reached into my car and seized me by the collar of my shirt. "I’m in a good mood today, so I’ll let you off easy, but if you ever put such a curse on my son again, I’ll make sure you get what you deserve."

I was gasping for breath and struggling to break away from him. Only then did I realize he was in the middle of a video call with a woman.

Then, he sneered and turned to the woman on the phone with a smarmy smile. "Did you see that, sweetie? That’s how you strongarm someone."

He barely even glanced at me and proceeded to start preaching to the woman, "Remember, if you ever meet someone like this when you’re driving, you must never yield. The more you try to play nice, the more she’s going to try to take advantage of you.

"She’s the type to take advantage of new drivers who are inexperienced and are afraid of getting in trouble. That’s how she gets the best of them!

"If you start caving in, it’s only a matter of time before she starts asking for money."

The woman nodded soberly as if she had been enlightened. Then, she glared through the screen.

Ronald proceeded to sit on the hood of my car, lit a cigarette, and regarded me with a smug expression.

Then, I heard the voice of an online influencer blaring out of the cheap speakers on his phone. The jarring sound seemed to echo across the quiet mountain range.

"Hello, everyone! Today I’m going to teach you how to navigate a sharp corner in the mountains…"

He was learning on the spot while watching a tutorial! It was as if the whole road was his personal driving course!

That was when I finally snapped.

"Candice! Where are you?! Do you know how long I’ve been waiting?!" It was the director of the hospital, Dr. Jonathan Gibson, calling. "The boy’s spleen has ruptured, blood is gushing out of him like no tomorrow!

"If you still can’t be here in twenty minutes, then don’t bother! You might as well go straight to the morgue to collect his body!"

Dr. Gibson's sharp rebuke mingled with the rambling of the influencer on the phone. It was so overwhelming that it felt like I had two pairs of hands wrapped around my throat.

I decided I could not take it anymore. With that, I threw the door open and shoved my phone in front of Ronald.

My name and picture were displayed clearly on the hospital's official website.

"Candice Leigh. Head Surgeon of the City Hospital."

Ronald snatched the phone from me and squinted as he scrutinized each word.

"Wow, she came ready!" He showed my phone to the woman on the video call while remarking derisively, "That is some amazing Photoshop she’s got going on over here."

Then, he taunted me, "If you’re going to fake it, you might as well call yourself the director of the hospital instead of just the head surgeon! Just because you drive an Audi and are all dressed up, that doesn’t mean you can pretend to be a doctor!"

I was baffled by how arrogant he was, "Give my phone back before I call the police!"

"Ha! Look at you, you’re losing your cool! I can tell you’re new to this. You’re going to need to work on your temper."

As he said this, he reached into the trunk of his car, where he produced a triangle safety warning, which he set up on top of my car. "Let me show you how you obey traffic rules! Even the police would be amazed by how much of a model citizen I am!"

He then blew a puff of smoke in my face, which made me cough violently.

I was shaking with anger by this point and confronted him head-on, "Quit your false accusations! If you don’t believe me, then go ahead and call the director!"

"Yeah, right!" He laughed hysterically as if I had told him a joke to the point that he was in tears, "As if I’d call your partner-in-crime!"

Then, the woman on the phone finally chimed in, "Honey, if she’s so confident…"

"You don’t understand!" Ronald cut her off impatiently, "This is how they scam you! I’ve seen it online!

"They stop a car on the street and make up stories about how their family member is dying. Then, they trick you into going to the hospital with them and have you buy the medicine so they can rake in an easy eight, ten thousand dollars."

He turned and blew another mouthful of cigarette smoke at me, "Listen up, I’m all caught up to date on the latest scams! An amateur like you has nothing on me!

"Watch this, honey." He turned back to the woman on the phone and proceeded to dial the number of his son’s teacher, "In these kind of situations, all I need to do is make a phone call to expose the scam.

"Listen. Once I prove that my son is alright, it’s going to be the end of her!"