The Right Handed Writer

[Hiuknowme]

Pale, bare feet propped on the tan dash in a spot of warm sunlight that sends satisfying tingle all the way up my legs. All the windows down, letting a breeze wander through the car and temper some of the blistering California summer heat. The radio flicks on with a dull crackle, and the beat of a familiar song attacks my ears.

Show me how to lie, you're getting better all the time
Turning all against one is an art that's hard to teach

My head and my feet twitch and bob to the beat as my mouth works to gently caress the shape of the words on my tongue. In my mind, the background guitar and bass join together in unsung harmony. All together, I slowly lose awareness of my surroundings, just focusing on the well-traveled road map of syllables, notes, and beats. I'm halfway through the song before I realize we've stopped. My eyes open for a moment to scan my surroundings. As it's only a red light, I close my eyes again and allow myself to drift away on the current of music.

Slowly outta line and drifting closer in your sights
So play it out I'm wide awake, it's a scene---
Tell security we're 'bout to tear this club up
Bottoms up, bottoms up

My eyes shoot open and my ears twitch to locate the intruding cacophony of sound. Beside us, also stopped at the red light, is a large black van, playing a totally different genre of music. I hesitate for a moment, testing if I could manage to ignore one and not the other. My attention slingshots between the two songs. Both appear to be at roughly the same volume. I sigh and reach to roll up the window in defeat. My eyes drift to the other car as I grumble about odd music ruining my song, only to meet eyes with the woman in the other car, who appeared to be doing the exact same thing. We stare, eyes joined for a moment, before I break out into a smile, and we burst into gales of laughter. Beside me, my friend accelerates the car at the signal of the green light and shoots me a questioning glance. Smiling, I only shake my head at the odd variety that is life.