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"Oh, come on!" Simone cried in frustration as her car slowly rolled to a stop into some grungy-looking gas station parking lot. She hit her head on the steering wheel as the car halted, just barely in one of the faded parking spaces. It was almost two in the morning in the middle of nowhere in California and Simone's car had broken down.
She pulled the keys out of the ignition, debating what to do. She was sure she couldn't get her car towed at this time of night, but she knew absolutely nothing about cars and surely couldn't fix the problem herself.
She exited the car, a bit on edge at being at such a sketchy location at that time of night. It was then that she noticed another car parked in the lot, just a little ways away from her. Her heart rate increased as the driver's side door opened and a man stepped out, turning to meet her gaze.
Her looked to be fairly tall, and was wearing a pair of jeans, a sweatshirt, and a Los Angeles Dodgers baseball cap. She watched as he approached her. He appeared to have good intentions, just Simone still gripped her keys tightly just in case.
"Are you okay?" the man questioned as Simone stepped back against her car.
"Uh, yeah, it broke down I think," she informed hesitantly.
"Don't worry, I'm not some serial killer or something," he clarified with a chuckle. "I'm in the same boat, come look."
Simone slowly followed the man over to his car. He gestured to the open lid, where smoke was rising out of the engine.
"That... don't look good," she stated the obvious.
"Yeah, tell me about it," the man grumbled. "I'm definitely stuck here until morning."
"Same here," Simone told him. "I don't know much about cars."
He nodded. "Me too. I'm Joc, by the way."
"Simone," she replied simply.
Joc smiled. "Well, it's nice to meet you. I wish it were under different circumstances, though."
"Yeah, me too." She chuckled. "It's nice to have some company, since we're both going to be stuck here for the rest of the night."
He hummed in response. "Too bad the store isn't open, it's usually cold tonight."
"Yeah, for real." Simone had been shivering since she had left the car. "I think I might have a blanket in my car, I'll be right back."
For the rest of the long night, Joc and Simone sat in Joc's trunk. They wrapped up in blankets, talked, and watched the stars. As awful as the situation they were in was, the mood was surprisingly peaceful. The two got along well, and they learned more and more about each other as the night went along.
Simone learned that Joc was a major league baseball player, and that he was probably going to get in trouble for the incident, which was making him late. Simone told him about her awful job which required her to travel a lot.
Eventually, they sun rose and the two were able to call their respective mechanics. Once everything was situated the two exchanged numbers, promising to keep in contact.
Maybe Simone and Joc's cars breaking down wasn't such a bad thing.
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