The Last to Know

She was singing along to the song on the radio and drumming her fingers on the steering wheel as she waited for the light to turn green. The minute the signal changed, she hit the gas and continued her carefree nighttime drive. She looked to her left and saw the bright headlights of a speeding car heading straight towards her. She opened her mouth to scream, but nothing came out. She closed her eyes and braced herself for impact.

Allison woke with a jolt. It was just a dream,she thought. Beads of sweat travelled down her neck and back as her heartbeat slowed to a steady pulse. It had been the very dream that she had been having for days. The smell of 'out of the oven fresh' muffins interrupted her thoughts as it passed through the crack of her closed door. With a yawn and stretch, Allison pulled herself out of bed and threw on a pair of sweats. She bounded down the stairs, hungry for some homemade muffins.

At the bottom of the stairs was Cheddar wagging his brown fuzzy tail. "Here Cheddar, here boy." Allison called. But Cheddar just turned and ran in the other direction. Weird, she thought.

Armed with a muffin and a glass of milk, Allison headed towards the living room. She noticed that her mom's fancy black shoes, which she only wore on very special occasions, were missing from the main entrance. Very weird, Allison thought.

Allison flung herself onto the couch, what a nice way to relax after an odd and stressful week, she thought. It had been an odd week indeed. At school, teachers never called on her. Her friends were always whispering together, probably the latest gossip Allison assumed. Well that wasn't new; Allison was always the last to know everything, even things involving her own life! Her so-called boyfriend had a new arm-candy clinging onto him. Everyone just passed her as if she wasn't there. At home, her dad seemed to drown himself more into his work. Her mom was always quiet unlike her usual peppy self. Her brother, who absolutely adored tormenting her, stayed away from her room like it was the plague. Every time her mother walked towards Allison's room, she would hesitate and turn away. It seemed as if Allison wasn't there at all.

She turned on the TV and the 12 o'clock news came on. "The election date was confirmed to January 5th. And in other news, the man responsible for the tragic car crash that claimed the life of a teenager has turned himself in to police." the newscaster began. A picture of the smiling young blue-eyed brunette flashed across the screen. "Allison Winters, 17, was pronounced dead at the scene of the dreadful crash." Oh my god. "The crash occurred at 10 pm on Tuesday night when the drunk driver hit the car on the driver's side after running a red light." The newscaster's voice droned on in the background about how friends and family described Allison and funeral details, which in fact was being held that very day. Allison stared at the screen with disbelief. The remote control slid out of her hand and hit the coffee table with a loud thud. Just as usual, Allison thought bitterly, I'm the last to know.