Free Calamity Jayne Goes to College by Kathleen Bacus Page B

yelled, wishing Dixie was still rolling about in the backseat. "I've got it! I've got it!
     Let go!"
    The Suburban's tires bit into the gravel, sending it spitting out in all directions. I winced when I heard a rock fly up and
     ding the doors, but I had my hands full trying to avoid the opposite dark ditch.
    "I got it. I got it!" I repeated, just as the multiton SUV lurched to a screaming stop.
    Dixie managed to extricate her body from where it was wedged between the door and the floor and pulled herself onto the seat.
    "I told you I had it," I said, all of a sudden feeling very shaky. I saw Dixie's hands reach out for me-- well, for my neck
     anyway--and I scrambled up and out of the car and out of her range. "We'd better assess the situation before we decide on
     a course of action." I said, leaning back in to turn the four-way flashers on.
    "Just let me know when we can squeeze in a few minutes for me to put a hurt on you, would you?" Dixie said, slowly getting
     out of the vehicle.
    I decided it would be safer for the both of us if I kept my distance, and I walked the length of the Suburban, checking out
     the sides and back. When I saw how close to going into the ditch--and possibly into a rollover--we'd been, I wiped a hand
     over my eyes. Talk about too close for comfort.
    I breathed a sigh of relief that nothing on the vehicle appeared to be damaged. Nothing except an even more strained relationship
     with Frankie's fiancee, that is. We'd be a ton of fun at family reunions.
    I walked along the sides of the dusty automobile several more times for good measure and finally smiled. "Not a scratch on
     it," I pronounced. "Some dust and dirt is all. Nothing that a run through a car wash won't remedy."
    "I thought you were banned from all the car washes in Knox County," Dixie said, looking a bit better now that it appeared
     she wouldn't have to explain a crumpled fender or sprung chassis to her future father-in-law.
    "Ah, but we're not in Knox County anymore," I pointed out.
    "No, but it felt like I was in a freakin' cyclone back there for a while," Dixie said. "Your driving is worse than an amusement
     park ride. No wonder your car looks like it's been used as a bumper car and has been around the block a time or two. And with
     you, a block is an eternity. I was rolling around back there and shooting off the sides of the car like a pinball!"
    The image brought a smile to my lips, but I quickly covered it with a cough. No sense provoking the little pinball any further.
    "Sorry," I said again. "But you know if you'd been wearing your shoulder harness none of that would have happened. Good safety
     tip to remember in the future," I added.
    "Why, you--"
    "Oh, would you look at the time! We'd better get back to Frankie. He'll just be worried sick about his little Dixie bear,"
     I said, and heard the far-from-cuddly coed snarl. I shrugged.
    Headlights appeared over the hill about a mile and a half down the road. We watched as the vehicle suddenly slowed and stopped.
    "Maybe it's a cop," Dixie said.
    I shook my head. "I don't think so. Not many doughnut shops on gravel roads," I said.
    "Farmer?"
    "Could be. Looks like a pickup."
    "Could be Keith Gardner's pickup."
    The vehicle slowly began to drive toward us. I was suddenly reminded of that movie Christine, with the out-of-control psycho car.
    I joined Dixie near the front of the Suburban and we squinted at the car in the distance as it approached, still maintaining
     a low speed.
    "I don't like this," Dixie said, and for the second time that night I found myself agreeing with her. It had to be a record.
    "It is kind of odd--in a Stephen King kind of way," I added.
    In the time it took me to finish that sentence, the vehicle, now less than a half mile away, suddenly accelerated. I could
     hear the rapid revving of the engine and the spinning tires attempting to gain traction on the loose gravel as the car bore
     down on us. The headlights suddenly went off, but I could still hear