You Don't Always Need Protection

Darren's mother is always on his case about the same damn thing. Wear your helmet. Wear you elbow pads. Don't forget the long sleeved shirt. Yadda, yadda, yadda. I mean, _Jesus Christ_ it's only a freakin' skateboard. He's thirteen. Young and spry, he can go 20 mph and stop in a second without falling off. And if you could see him jumping the school steps... Awesome.

Today, Darren's heading for his friend Joey's house. Joey just got a Playstation 3 for his birthday. They're having a marathon session of Halo, Call of Duty, and some porn Joey scored from his older brother. Darren has a change of clothes in his backpack, a three-pack of popcorn and a sleeping bag. And then his mother's voice from the kitchen reminds him to wear his helmet, elbow pads and the long sleeved shirt. _Whatever_. Joey's house is a block down. You don't _always_ need protection.

And, honestly, it's true. What he _could_ have used was a new pair of glasses. He never saw that gray Sedan coming.