The Mayor's Daughter II: Stablemate

Chapter One-1

Chapter One

Driving Under the Influence

Allison's head swam as she looked around the crowded bar. The place was packed, her own table surrounded by her teammates as they celebrated the day's victory. And what a victory it had been! Her body ached, every muscle seeming to cry out in protest from the long exertion of the game.

"Panthers!" Maria cried out. Like Allison and the others, Maria was still dressed in her uniform, black shorts with black and gold jersey. The snarling face of their wildcat mascot was proudly emblazoned across her chest.

"Panthers!” the other girls at the table echoed the exultant cry.

They had all come directly from the game to the bar, a local favorite of the college students because its servers did not pay as much attention to the birth dates of prospective patrons as other establishments. For the seniors and most of the juniors, it didn't matter. For sophomores like Allison, it was an important distinction.

She looked down at her watch and was surprised to see that it was almost midnight. Had she really been here that long? Where had the night gone? Picking up her glass, she shook the ice around a little before finishing the last of the rum and coke that it contained. She placed it back down on the coaster and then pushed her chair back a little. Slipping down from the chair to the floor, Allison felt twinges of pain rush through her tired muscles.

"Where do you think you're going, Allie?” Maria asked as Allison moved to pluck her purse from where it hung on the back of the chair.

"It's late" Allison answered with a shrug. "I have to get going."

"Awwww, but we're just getting started,” Maria responded quickly. "One more round. Come on."

Allison shook her head at the offer, and could feel the room spin slightly with the motion. She definitely did not want one more round. She already wondered if she was going to be okay to drive as it was.

"No, really, I can't," Allison replied. "You know I've got a long drive tomorrow. We'll celebrate when I get back."

With a shrug, Maria turned back to the party as Allison made her way through the crowd toward the door to the outside. She heard another cry of "Panthers!" from the table behind her and she smiled as it was echoed across the room once more. On any other night, she would have stayed, but she had a long drive ahead of her tomorrow. Her family home was an eight hour drive from campus, and she was going to have to leave early if she wanted to be there in time for her cousin's bachelorette party.

Stepping through the door to the parking lot was like a shock to the system for Allison. Gone were the blaring sounds of the music and the voices struggling to be heard above them. Gone were the smells of spilled beer and fried food. The relative silence of the parking lot was almost deafening. The night air was chilly against the bare flesh of her arms and legs, so much cooler now than it had been after the game when they had arrived.

Allison jogged to her car, sneakers kicking up parking lot gravel as she hurried across it. Skidding to a stop by her car door, she fumbled in her purse for her keys, and then giggled as she dropped them. Bending at the waist to grab the keys from where they rested, she lost her balance and fell against the side of her door with a laugh. How many rum and cokes had she had? Was it three? Or was it four? She told herself it didn't matter. It was a short drive home. She would be fine.

Finally recovering the keys and standing upright again, she unlocked the door and then quickly slipped into the car. The leather of the driver's seat was cold against the backs of her thighs, eliciting a yelp from her. Turning the key in the ignition, she turned the heater up to full blast before putting the car in gear. She turned right out of the parking lot and onto the main road.

Allison was already turning onto the side street that would lead her to her apartment complex when the car's heater started to warm up. She could not wait to be home and to snuggle into her bed to get warm. She saw another pair of headlights behind her as she made the turn. She wondered if one of the other girls had decided to leave, too.

And then her world was filled with flashing lights. She squinted, turning her head away as the light from cruiser's flashers bounced off her rear view mirror and directly into her eyes. Cursing to herself, she quickly turned on her blinker and pulled to the side of the road, rolling to a stop. She had come to a full stop before turning at the light, hadn't she? She couldn't think of anything that she had done wrong.

Allison took a deep breath and then rolled down her window as the officer approached her door. She was going to be fine, she told herself. She hadn't had that much to drink, and it wasn't like her voice was slurred or anything. Despite these thoughts, her heart raced in her chest. One of the others girls on the team had gotten a "D.U.I." and it hadn't been pretty. She had been suspended for three games, and things had never been the same for her.

"License and registration, please," the officer spoke as he arrived at her door.

"Oh, sure," Allison replied, smiling as she dug them out of her purse and handed them to him.

"Out of state," the officer said as he looked at her license. "You're a college student."

"Yeah, I kept my home address while I'm in school," Allison answered. "That's okay, right?"

"Of course, it's okay," the officer replied, looking at her quizzically.

"Oh, okay. I just didn't know. I've never been pulled over before."

"Well, I’ll go easy on you, then, since it’s your first time,” the officer chuckled. “Do you know why I pulled you over?"

"No, actually, I don't," she answered, shaking her head.

"You made an awful wide turn onto this road back there,” he said, looking down at her. His eyes narrowed as he continued, "Have you been drinking?"

"No, no," Allison answered, wide-eyed, and then quickly shook her head.

"No?" the officer asked, c*****g his head slightly to the side as he looked down at her, his gaze intent on her. "Then what's that I'm smelling?"

"Sm-smell?” she asked softly, looking up at the officer as she wrinkled her nose. "Oh, yeah. I was at the bar with some friends, celebrating. Someone must have spilled something on me."

"Yeah, of course," he spoke slowly, his voice deepening. "Because the drinking age is twenty one, of course. And, being twenty, I am sure you wouldn't be drinking."

Allison opened her mouth to speak, but froze, her lips quivering, and then just slowly shook her head. Her heart pounded in her chest.

"Why don't you step out of the car for me?" he asked, his voice low and firm as he reached down to open the door.

Nodding slowly, Allison turned in her seat and then stepped out of the car. She moved away from the door at his direction so that he could close it, and then turned to look up at him. He was taller than her, but that wasn't much of a surprise. Standing barely over five feet tall, most people were taller than her.

He gestured for her to walk to the back of the car, toward the open space between the front of the patrol car and the back of her own. The air was cool, chilling her as she came to stand by the trunk, looking up at him once more.

"You look nervous," he said as he looked down at her, "but there's nothing to be nervous about. I'm just going to do a couple field sobriety tests to make sure you're okay to drive. Then you'll be on your way home. It's right around the corner, isn't it?"

"Yes," Allison answered, trying to calm the butterflies that raged in her stomach.

"First, I'm going to need you to count backwards from 87 to 63," he instructed.

"87, 86, 85, 84," Allison counted slowly, careful to enunciate each letter. Was her voice slurring? She didn't think so, but she couldn't be certain.

"You must play for the local college," he spoke as she continued her backwards count. "I hear you guys are doing great this year."

"65, 64, 63, 62," Allison continued, nodding at his comment, hopeful that it meant that he was a fan, and that he would take it easy on her. "Sixty-"

"Do you remember where I told you to stop?" he interrupted her counting, and she stopped abruptly.

"Oh, yeah, I'm sorry," Allison blushed, shaking her head. "You said 63. Sorry, I just got into a rhythm."

"It's no problem. Happens all the time," he smiled slyly as he spoke. "Now, I'm going to have you do the walk-and-turn test. I'm going to give you the instructions and show you how to do it. Don't start until I tell you to, though, okay?"

"Okay," Allison answered, trying to fight back the chill.

"First, stand with your right foot in front of your left, heel touching toes," he instructed. As he spoke he placed the heel of his boot directly in front of the toes of his right foot. Allison did the same. The position made her feel slightly off balance. "When I tell you to start, you will take nine steps forward like this.” The officer took a few steps forward as he spoke, heel to toe. "When you get to nine, you turn with three small steps and then take nine steps back to where you started. Count your steps out loud as you go. Keep your hands down by your sides. Understand?"

"Yes," Allison responded with a nod, then took a deep breath before beginning. "One, two, three," she counted as she took careful steps. The first step, in particular, had her feeling off balance before she settled into the odd way of walking.

"I didn't tell you to start."

Allison stopped abruptly, then turned to look back at him.

"I'm sorry, I just assumed," she stammered quickly, "that when you asked me if I understood." Her voice trailed off.

"Of course you did," he shook his head as he spoke. "Back to starting position, please."

Allison took a few steps backward, and placed her right foot in front of the left. She clenched her hands by her sides as she felt a shiver run down her spine. She cursed herself for falling into what felt like another little trap of the test. She would pay careful attention from now on.

"And, begin," he spoke, smiling again.

Counting aloud, Allison walked slowly forward, carefully placing each foot in front of the other. When she reached nine, she turned slowly. The turn cost her a little balance, and her right hand came up for a moment as she caught herself and then began the walk back.

"It's a lot harder than it looks," Allison said as she finished the task and then looked up at the officer again. "Between the cold air and those lights from your car, it's a little tricky.” She rubbed her arms as she spoke, trying to warm herself.

"Well, we'll get you back in and warmed up in no time," he smiled as he spoke. "You're doing great. Just one more field sobriety test and you'll be on your way."

"Okay," Allison returned his smile as she nodded, beginning to let some hope creep in.

"This last one is the one-leg-stand," he told her. "You just have to lift one leg, either your left or your right, and hold it up until I tell you to put it down. Just like the last one, keep your hands by your sides. Like this.” The officer lifted his right leg, bending the knee slightly and holding it in the air. "Understand?"

"Yes," Allison responded, though she didn't begin, waiting for his instruction.

"And start."

Allison lifted her left leg. Her right protested slightly, still tired and sore from the game earlier. She could feel her thigh quiver slightly, though she kept her balance easily.