Panic-stricken screams echoed loudly throughout the interior of the car. They were spinning round and round...

Sending their red Oldsmobile careening wildly away from the graveled road. What took only a matter of seconds in reality felt like an eternity that stopped all too suddenly. Karen propped her head up to look around. Scott, Mike, Sue, they were all OK. Perhaps a little shaken up, but OK. Everything looked clearer. For some reason the stars shone just a bit brighter and the air wrapped a bit more tightly, crisp and inescapable. They were just a bunch of kids. They left the party naively and in high spirits. Now, somehow, the spinning car and screams had awakened within them a new sense of reality, a new appreciation, a bit more maturity. Sometimes growing up can take a matter of moments. They were thankful to have had the moments to reflect on, some are not so lucky.