A Bad Day
“Excuse me? Could you remove your hat, please?” he heard her say. A sharp pain shot through his neck as he tried to look up at her.
“Take it off,” she repeated, seeming irritated. She weaved through the students to get to him. He tried to scramble away. He couldn’t let anyone see what he was hiding.
A Good Life
Terry’s life had always been a good one. He had everything a high school senior could ever want, excellent grades, a small circle of trustworthy friends, and just the perfect amount of popularity to make the school’s elite acknowledge him.
For a seventeen-year-old like Terry, this was peak teenage and high school life. He didn’t know that everything was about to turn sour.
The Perfect Picture
Terry’s life changed when his family got him a car for his seventh birthday. He’d always wanted to have his own set of wheels, and now that the dream was a reality, he couldn’t be happier.
But what was supposed to bring him the joy he’d dreamt of since joining high school would seemingly put his life in danger.
The Drive That Started It All
That fateful day started as many of the others did for Terry. He got up, showered, had breakfast with his family, and hurried to school.
The drive to school was usually a short fifteen minutes behind the wheel, but today, traffic was thick around the town. Terry tried his best to maneuver through the hundreds of cars. He was almost halfway down his route when it happened.
The Red Light
Terry had stopped at a red light, waiting for it to go green. He’d been on the road for almost an hour now. He didn’t want to be for school again.
The light blinked green, and Terry pressed his foot on the gas. His car glided forward, but another vehicle flew in with speed, digging into his side.
A Crippling Pain
Terry couldn’t explain what had happened. One minute he was gripping his steering wheel with impatience, and the next, his car was screeching to the side.
A crippling pain flared throughout his body where he sat, his seatbelt firm across his chest. Although red liquid and black splotches covered his sight, he could see his car was reduced into mangled pieces of metal. But that wasn’t the worst of it.
Helping Others
The other vehicle had toppled to the side of the road. Had its driver met a worse fate than Terry?
Terry struggled with his seatbelt until it came off. He fought through layers of reddened, deflated airbags to his door handle and pushed it open. The metal grated, and he helplessly fell out of the car. He crawled to the vehicle to help whoever was inside, but something happened.
Dark And Bright
The dark spots over Terry’s sight were growing, blackening his view. His energy was also waning. He tried the best he could to pull himself across the cold tarmac but fell limp on the road.
The chaotic sounds around Terry died off, and he woke up under a bright light. “You’re fine,” a soft voice said over him as a cold hand pried open his eyes and flashed a bright torch at them. What was happening?
Waking Up
“You were in an accident,” Terry’s parents explained as soon as the doctor left. “But you are doing well,” his mom added. Her eyes were puffy, and she squeezed a damp handkerchief in her palm. “We were so worried.”
The days after that blurred quicker than Terry could count them. Apart from losing a patch of hair due to stitches at the back of his head, he felt strong enough to go back to school. But this would spiral into another massive problem.
Going Back To School
Two weeks after Terry’s accident, he insisted on returning to school, and his parents allowed it. He walked into the class with a hat over his head and a walking cane in his hand.
Everybody stared at him. He was the boy who, despite his injuries, fought through the pain to see if other people were injured in the accident. Then the teacher walked into the class.
The Teacher
The teacher’s eyes burned with malice as she commanded Terry to take off his hat. “I was in a car accident,” he said. “Take the hat off. You cannot wear that in my class,” she insisted.
Terry couldn’t say whether the teacher felt he was being rude or if she was uncaring about his condition. What he did next made the teacher rush to him.
He Complies
Terry slipped the hat from his head. The entire class gasped. He looked around, his eyes landing on the teacher.
She took a step back, then moved to speak before stopping herself. Terry could see her eyes glint all over his scar. He felt uncomfortable standing before the class like this. Did he make a mistake coming to school while still healing?
The Tables Turn
“You can put your hat back on,” said the teacher. “But I can’t wear hats in class,” Terry replied. “I mean, I can do it, but not if I’m breaking the rules.”
He’d thought about storming out of class but then saw it fit to lighten the mood. The class giggled as he continued to speak, which made his confidence spring back up.
Malicious Compliance
Terry had read about a concept known as malicious compliance, obeying the rules even if they harmed people around you. The scar on his head was still healing, and Terry suspected it was still gory in the other students’ eyes.
Would he obey his teacher’s rule of not having a hat in class and make his fellow students uncomfortable, or would he break the rule for their benefit?
Being Proud
“Please put your hat on,” the teacher said. “Okay. If you insist,” Terry answered with a grin, sliding the hat back. The teacher apologized for making him take off his hat.
Terry remembered his family describing his wound as a battle scar to mark what he’d endured on the road alone. He’d proudly carry that scar throughout his life.