"Jen, wait, this is stupid," I said.

"Come on, Becca, nothing's going to happen."

Next thing I knew we were in mom's car, leaving the Dixon Mall, now driving through the residential neighborhoods of Dixon. I had walked out of the main entrance of the mall just as Jen pulled up in our mom's minivan.

Jen was always like this, always taking risks, always taking chances, always pushing the boundaries, the limits. I remember dad saying the first born child was the risk taker, the one who tested the limits of the parents. The first born was the child who blazed the trail for the younger siblings. Well, if getting into trouble, getting grounded, and getting detention at school was what all that meant, then that was Jen. She knew she wasn't supposed to drive mom's car without permission, not until she brought her grades up anyway. The rules were different at dad's. All he asked was that Jen at least ask for permission. He tended to spoil us.

"Jen, stop, really, we are so going to get busted," I said.

"Who's going to know?" For all of the confidence Jen lacked at school, she more than made up for when she was breaking rules.

"Mom's going to know, Jen!" I was yelling now. "What's it matter if anyone else does? We're so dead. She's going to absolutely kill us!"

"Will you relax? It's Wednesday, mom has night class. She said she had to go to the library after so it'll be way after ten by the time she's home. And what are you worried about? You aren't the one driving. I'm the one who took the car. I'll handle it"

That, too, was Jen. She was always overconfident. Always assuming she could get away with anything. She did get away with some things, but not enough to keep being so reckless.

So there we were, cruising along Warner Street, the elms and oak trees towering above the road, their heavy branches hanging down, obscuring the street lights. This made Warner an even darker road to drive at night. Maybe that's why Jen didn't see the stop sign. She drove right through it, right through the intersection, not noticing the police car on our right. I didn't see the police car either, but I sure saw the stop sign.

"Are you trying to get busted?" I asked. "That was a stop sign you just ran."

"I didn't see it," Jen said. "It's so dark on this street."

Just then blue and red lights began flashing behind us;

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