Mandy Dupervil, “Tesla Done Gone Haywire”

TESLA DONE GONE HAYWIRE

Mandy Dupervil

It’s a hot and steamy Friday and the idea of a road trip sparks in my mind. I recently bought the new Tesla Bond X, and it´s been a while since my cousin Tishawna and I hung out, so why not take a four-hour trip to New Hampshire? I begin packing everything I need in order to survive the road and relax in my cousin’s abode. In case of my forgetfulness, I make a checklist. Toothbrush? Check. Nintendo controller? Check. Goldfish snacks? Check. I pray before exiting my flat. I look up and see my apartment standing prideful and tall like the Empire State Building. A soft breeze hits my face and has my entire body in a calm mode. “Today is going to be a good day,” I say with passion in my tone. Walking towards the garage, I alert my Tesla, and once I reach it, I begin to assemble my body, gather my thoughts, and hit the road. It’s been an hour since I’ve been driving on the road, and I’m feeling a bit drowsy. I put my car into auto-drive and scurry onto the passenger side to take a mini-break. The cheesy flavor of my cheddar Goldfish has my taste buds cheering. While I’m sitting in the back and scrolling through my Instagram feed, laughing at the humorous memes of cats and dogs fighting, I hear a huge pop sound, and my car starts shaking repeatedly. I start to panic but make steady movements. All of sudden, the car stops and begins to growl like a zombie in hunger. I get so scared, afraid of what’s going on, and begin to dial my cousin’s number. I start talking with an unstoppable ramble. ¨Tishawna, I´m so scared. I was driving, then I stopped driving

because I wanted to take a break from driving, so I sat in the back seat, and my car started shaking, and now I’m scared that my car has gone crazy—” My words are cut off as Tishawna screams into the phone, telling me that I need to pause, take a deep breath, and tell her what’s wrong. ¨Explain to me what happened but use your words and breathe,” Tishawna says. I exhale soothingly before explaining what’s wrong. ¨I got a bit tired from driving, so I put my Tesla in auto-drive and sat in the passenger seat.” I take another deep breath before speaking again. ¨While I’m chilling on my phone, the car starts to shake violently and make scary noises, so here I am calling you,” I finish off my sentence with a sigh. There’s a huge weight of silence on the phone before I hear shuffling noises on the other side and the sound of a door opening. “Catalina,” my cousin says my name with a royal bass in her tone, “I’m going to ask you three questions, and I want you to be completely honest with me.” I hum into the phone as an okay to continue. ¨Are you hurt in any way, physically or mentally?” Tishawna says. ¨I bumped my head on the seat a few times but I´m fine,” I reply with certainty. “Did you take any medication or a form of substance before driving?” she asks. “No I haven’t.” “Lastly, have you been in any conflict with a civilian in the last hour?” “Tishawna, why are you asking me all of these questions? NO, NO, and NO.” I get up out of my seat and start the car back up, then begin to drive again. Six minutes into driving and there has not been a single word uttered from Trishawna.

I look outside my window and see a huge sign that shows that I’m heading into North Pownal, Vermont. I pull into a Wendy’s parking lot and begin to unbuckle and let myself out. Suddenly the car starts to shake violently again with its monstrous sounds and startles me back in the driver’s seat and, as if Trishawna is aware of the situation, she yells for me to get out. I oblige. I sit in silence as if watching my car become a seizure victim. My brand new Tesla is suddenly not so new anymore. Trishawna lets me know that she will be on her way to pick me up at my distant location. I begin to overthink about the events that have passed. My brand new Tesla has been touched by demons. I’ve probably lost over a million dollars due to the expense of cars these days. It’s been a decade and two years since our last president was named Biden and nothing has been the same. Jobs have been lost and many people were replaced with the famous AI. The unfortunate were cursed with poverty and shelters. On the other hand the fortunate, including myself, were blessed with homes and money to keep us for days. I’m sitting in my cousin’s living room and rethinking all of my life choices right now. Trishawna is on the phone as we think of a way on how to sue the Tesla company. Reflecting on everything that happened, my Tesla was taken to the mechanic to get checked out. While the kind-hearted man was checking out the car, an explosion came from the hood of the car, and I was told that I wouldn’t be getting my Tesla back. It came to a conclusion that we would be interfering with the law and would have to take matters into our own hands.