Page 14 of Organized Chaos

“This is embarrassing for you since you are like obsessed with me now, but I’m a busy woman. It’s not going to work out.”

“And I was so looking forward to joining that sexless cult of yours.”

I expected another retort. Instead, Maya shouted, “Watch out!”

The car screeched to a halt on the side of the road. “What the hell!” I startled.

“You just ran a red light.”

We were at a T intersection. There hadn’t been any cars around for miles, so I took a left turn at the red light. It was a typical action for these parts of the country.

Unable to understand the hysteria over such a trivial matter, I said, “Everyone runs through the traffic lights here if there are no other cars around.”

She huffed, annoyed. “Are you crazy? Who does that?”

“It’s not that big of a deal. Chill.”

“I won’tchill,” she air quoted the word. “You could have killed us.”

I barely suppressed the urge to roll my eyes. “You are being really dramatic.”

“And you are being a reckless driver.”

“I’m not.” I shifted the gear back to drive. “We haven’t even seen another car in miles.”

“That doesn’t matter. Rules are there for a reason.”

The tension was thick in the air, but my curiosity was piqued. “Do you always follow the rules even if no one’s watching?”

Maya blinked. “What do you mean?”

I tapped my lips in the deliberation of rules that were socially acceptable to break. “Have you ever gone to a café and used the Wi-Fi without buying anything?”

“Of course not. That’s stealing.”

“Been in a car without a seatbelt?”

“That’s super unsafe.”

“Okay. How about jaywalking, given there were no cars around?”

She looked out the window, her silence enough of a reply.

Jesus. This girl hadn’t lived a day in her life.

“Rules and principles add structure to our lives, but that doesn’t mean you still can’t live it to the fullest,” she finally replied, reading my thoughts.

“So, you never question authority or why they put a rule in place?”

“Not really.”

“Following the rules is the reason for the worst crimes in the world. It’s the people with blind faith in authority who butcher masses and start wars. There is nothing wrong with questioning the rules because the people to put them in place don’t always know what’s best.”

She didn’t comment but weighed my words while I did the same with hers.

At the next red light, I came to a complete stop. I only pulled away after the light turned green. Maya finally turned her head in my direction and... smiled.

Minutes passed before I glanced at the rearview mirror to find a foreign expression. The pure happiness written on my face was so eerie that I pondered if it was a reflection of another man.