Just a Newsboy

Chapter 10

"At least go the speed limit." I called from the backseat, where I was sandwiched in between Josh and Ben. "We don't exactly have all day."

Aiden shot me a glare. "Don't pressure him."

Sky took a deep breath, pressing on the accelerator a little more. "There's just too much traffic."

I crossed my arms. "We've already missed the call time, do you want to miss the whole rehearsal—"
My sentence was cut short as Sky slammed on the brakes to avoid hitting a car that had decided to pull out in front of us.

"We just might." He sighed. "Sorry, guys, driving aggressively isn't my most polished skill."

In the rear-view mirror, I made eye-contact with Aiden. And by the look in her eyes, I could tell that our thoughts had arrived at the same destination.

"Sky, pull over." She instructed, unbuckling her seatbelt.

"What?" But he did as she said. "Why?"

I copied Aiden's actions. "We're gonna put an L.A. girl behind the wheel."

The color drained from his face, and he looked back at me. "Please tell me you're not driving."

"She's navigating." Aiden answered for me, motioning for Sky to get out of the car. "I'm driving."

Sky took my seat in the back, and I took Aiden's previous spot in the front.

Aiden's fingers curled around the wheel, and she glanced at me out of the corner of her eye. "We do not have time to get pulled over."

I shrugged. "I'll try to stay within the legal possibilities."

"Comforting." She mumbled, putting the car in drive and pressing on the accelerator.

The traffic was pretty bad, but she and I had both seen worse in Los Angeles.

Dodging absent-minded drifters and last-minute-lane-changers was something we were both used to, and the first ten minutes of the drive went fairly smoothly.

Smoothly according to our standards, anyway; the boys were holding onto their seats for dear life.

(It's balaga)

I directed Aiden through the streets and alleyways, trying to find the fastest route to the theater.

"Hard left." I instructed, studying the map on my phone. "Just one more block."

Aiden quickly cut across the lanes and pulled into the left-turn lane, not even bothering to slow down before she sent us screaming around the corner.

I bit my lip. "It should be just around this corner..."

"Alex?" Josh called from the back. "We have two minutes before rehearsal starts."

"And this looks pretty bad up here." Aiden hissed through her teeth.

The stop light that we were approaching had just turned yellow, and there was a caravan of traffic coming the opposite direction.

In order to get to the theater, we'd have to make another left turn. But if that light turned red, we'd be stuck for at least five more minutes.

"We're gonna be late." Ben mumbled.

I shook my head. "Not on my watch."

Aiden looked over at me. "What are you thinking?"

"Floor it."

Her eyes grew wide. "What?"

"I said, floor it." I repeated.