Tollbooth Exercise

Eythan Taneyhill
353A Fall 2015
TuTh 9AM - 11:45PM
September 7, 2015

Gotta Pay the Toll

Hosea’s beaten up rusty red Ford clinked and clattered as he pulled up next to his greatest obstacle on the road: an abandoned tollbooth. He observed for a moment how the ambient noises of night coincided with his running motor. It was peaceful, yet unnerving. He watched idly as there seemed to be no signs of life coming from the tollbooth whatsoever. It made Hosea shuffle back and forth in his seat as his grip tightened against the steering wheel.

“Hello!” Hosea called out from the driver’s seat as he rolled down the window. He gave a small nervous chuckle as he patted himself down. “Funniest thing, I don’t have any change on me. Is it possible that you would be so kind and lift the bar so that I may pass?”
Again no answer came from the tollbooth. Instead, Hosea was greeted by a cold breeze from the night.

“Gah,” Hosea grumbled, shifting back and forth in his seat, not letting his stare escape the tinted window of the tollbooth. “I’m sort of in a hurry. There’s no way I can turnaround now. Besides, it’s not like I’m an inconvenience, right? I’m the only one here!”

Again there was no answer.

“I’m the only one here…” Hosea muttered to himself in thought. After, his ear gave a flick. “I wonder…”

Hosea then exited his car. He approached the tollbooth cautiously, resting his weight on his toes as his tail flicked nervously. His throat became heavy and his tongue dry. The very thought that if he was indeed alone did not bother Hosea—the thought which bothered him the most was if Hosea was truly alone.

“It’s okay…” Hosea whispered to himself as he got closer to the tinted window. “It’s not as if someone has been waiting here hours—days even—on end to ambush the next stranger which pulls up next to this tollbooth. I mean, seriously! I don’t think even a psychopath would do that.” Hosea then paused for a moment as he rubbed his chin. “Then again, I did meet my fair share when working on the force.”

Shaking his head, Hosea tried to reason with himself again with logic. “Do you seriously hear yourself, moron?” Hosea said, beginning to step closer to the window. “The longer you contemplate about if there’s someone in the booth or not, the longer you’ll remain here. Running late, remember?”

Taking a deep breath, Hosea closed his eyes. After a minute of trying to soothe his nerves, Hosea pressed himself against the tinted window so he could see what was on the inside. His heart began to race as his breathing fogged up the glass, but as soon as it cleared, the drumming of his heart eased to a steady beat when he saw that it was completely vacant. The only thing that occupied the booth was just a spiderweb.

Pushing away from the tollbooth with a drawn out exhale, Hosea began to chuckle to himself. “See? You were scared for nothing.” Hosea then approached the bar and lifted it up with ease. Beginning to whistle as he did so, Hosea gave a flick of his tail when he had succeeded in raising the bar. After, Hosea headed back into his vehicle, reclined back in his seat, and ran the engine. Releasing the parking break, Hosea sped off back onto the road, still laughing to himself at the thought of how he managed to spook himself. Then again, Hosea wondered what would’ve happened if the tollbooth did actually have someone occupying it.

“I’d still probably would’ve raised the bar up myself,” Hosea assured himself as he continued driving down the empty road. “Yeah… I still probably would’ve raised that bar.”