Hexagon

I get a phone call.  It’s my friend.
He tells me he’s got a hexagon he needs to get rid of.
Meet him at Walmart in 15 minutes.
He’s selling it to me for a discounted price.
 
I could never make it there in 15 minutes,
I tell him.
You have to, he says.  Or the deal is off.
Ride your bike, he suggests.
My bike?  Do you know how cold it is outside?
I don’t care.  15 minutes.
No later///
 
I hurriedly throw on my jacket
my hat
my gloves
go outside and lunge onto the bike seat
slam the pedals
standing and pumping as fast as I can/
 
I turn go straight turn go straight
faster faster faster.
It’s a race against time.
It’s the middle of the night.
Cars shoot past in blurred lines.
I gotta go faster
and faster.
Cars whizz past me.
I cross the street
 
and I get hit by a car\\\
I go flying over the handlebars.
Hit the ground.
Because of my jacket I stay mostly unscathed.
Hop back on the bike
and go >>>
 
A man says: Are you okay?
I ignore him.
You got hit pretty hard.
I slam the bike into gear and start forward
when the man says:
He stopped|||
Pointing at the guy who had hit me.
He stopped to see if you’re okay.
This is a nightmare.
I don’t care about this.
Are you okay?
 
I tell them both that I’m good.
I gotta go.  I’m in a rush.
They watch me as I hurry past them.
I don’t look both ways when I cross the street.
 
My friend says that was a close one.
He was just about to leave.
He was going to give someone else the deal.
Sorry, dude.  I got hit by a car.
Took me by surprise.
He sells me the hexagon and I smile.