After prom, English teacher Rachel Lilly stood anxiously on the dark road, waiting to see what was wrong with her friend’s car.
Lilly said her friend’s dad had parked the luxury sedan they took to the dance. When they began driving, they noticed something was wrong and had to stop, she explained.
“Everybody panicked,” Lilly said. “We thought the car was broken.”
Since the teenagers were all new drivers, they did not know how to handle the situation and had to make a quick decision, Lilly said.
“We had to pull over in the middle of the road in the turn lane and stop,” she said. “We didn’t know what was wrong with the car, and it wouldn’t go.”
In a frenzy, Lilly explained they called their parents to try to figure out what was happening.
“Finally, I think it was Jeff’s dad who came out all the way from Big Walnut to meet us in the middle of the road at 10 p.m.,” she said.
The issue turned out to be the parking brake, which her friend’s dad turned on when they parked the car, she said.
“Afterwards, we felt pretty stupid,” Lilly added.
Lilly said she sees the story as an important reminder for students.
“Don’t get too worried about the details,” she said. “Just go have fun.”
Published and digitized April 2026.
