Sweaty palms, racing heart, queasy stomach and prickly hair on the back of your neck are all physical symptoms that occur when pulled over by a police officer. However these feelings pale in comparison to the embarrassment felt when you find it is all a hilarious prank.
My story begins one warm evening this last summer while I was waiting for a friend in the Saint Edmond parking lot. While passing the time my mind began to wonder if my lights would turn on if my car was not running. I had seen this exact scenario in the movie “The Hangover”. In the movie the two men flashed their headlights to send a signal to drug buyers that the deal was on. In the midst of testing this theory a car appeared from the back of the parking lot. I could only see a dark outline of a car now heading directly toward my car. I started to worry that it was a police car and that they may have thought that I was a drug dealer completing a transaction.

The car stopped directly in front of my vehicle with its bright lights shining directly into my car. The light was so bright that I was incapable of seeing anything. I thought I was in trouble and was very nervous. Just then a voice boomed from a speaker, “Ma’am please step out of the car with your hands above your head!” I proceeded as instructed so as to avoid any trouble with the law. As soon as I was clear of the vehicle the voice boomed again, “Ma’am place your hands on the hood of your car!” Again I did as instructed to avoid any consequences for not obeying a law enforcement official. I tried to step back to shield my eyes from the bright light to see who was giving these orders. As soon as a removed my hands from the hood the voice shouted back “Keep your hands on the hood!” The voice then began asking a series of questions. “Ma’am have you been drinking tonight?” My response of course was an adamant “No!” The next question was “Have you been smoking?” Again I responded with a “No!” The voice then asked “Why are you in this parking lot at this hour by yourself?” I replied, “I’m waiting for a friend to meet me here.” The first voice started talking to a second voice in the vehicle. The voice said “We have a female, blonde, roughly six feet tall and alone.” My mind began to think that the questions were strange, so I pulled out my cell phone to call my dad. At this point I was scared and I was unsure that this was a real police officer or not. Immediately after I took my phone out of my pocket the voice boomed again, “Put your hands back on the hood! Ma’am don’t make us step out of this vehicle!” I placed my hands back on the hood because I have always been taught to obey law enforcement officials so that I would not be punished. However my fear was overridden by my feet and I stepped away from the car because I was feeling unsure and on edge with the situation. My instincts made me step away from my car to enable myself to see if this situation was real. As I bravely ignored the voice booming from the loud speaker I stepped away from my car only to discover that it was not a police car but instead it was in fact Mitchell Rogers, Alex Steck and Brittany Nixon.

Mitchell was the voice on the loud speaker impersonating a law enforcement official. After I realized what had just occurred and what a fool I was for believing them, I was extremely relieved but hideously embarrassed.

My evening this summer was one that I will never forget. The heat of the evening, the shock of possibly being arrested and then the overwhelming embarrassment of being a victim of a nasty prank created an intense range of emotions. The incident was one where I followed my instincts and listened to my inner voice instead of the external forces shouting over a loud speaker and going against all that I have been taught about right and wrong. When looking back over the events of this evening I am now able to laugh however in the heat of the moment it was anything but funny.