[LazyScot]

19!

I have a rule, I try to live by: Never Judge Anyone. Sadly, I fail in this. And one case of this is with regards the number 19. As a result, when reading this, realise that I'm biased, having made a judgement on this number, and that this judgement influences the telling of the tale and the facts. To be fair to 19, realise that the facts will have another viewpoint, and may have another perspective...

19 was created prime. It started out as a natural leader -- the sort of number others turned to for advice, for decisions, for inspiration. And 19 was good at it. In it's way it was a magnetic number; others flocked to it banner. And naturally enough, 19 rose in success and stature, in standing and promotions.

But then some started to notice some worrying little points. Firstly, it started to think that making a decision made something happen. An example was whilst playing a game of soccer when, as captain, it told 37 to go wide, down the line, cut in and score. 37, near as it could, followed the instructions, but didn't score. 19 blew, tearing into 37 for not doing what it was told and scoring.

Over time, this slowly developed into a noticeable attitude, one of "if what I suggested didn't work, then you're at fault". And 19 started to loose a few of its followers. Not many, and it certainly didn't worry 19.

Then, its attitude on the failure of others changed again. Subtly, to be true, but changed nonetheless. It slowly changed from the "others are wrong" to "I'm always right". Nothing it did was wrong, and if it didn't work out as intended then even if the other people had done nothing and knew nothing, they were at fault.

This came to a deadly conclusion when 19 was out driving its Mercedes-Benz M-Class. Hurtling down the road, as was 19's wont, it rapidly approach a line of five cars travelling just slightly under the speed limit. Now, speed limits, 19 had long concluded, were designed for lesser folks without skills reactions or decent cars, and so didn't apply to it. Rather than loose a few seconds of its life, 19 decided to overtake. After all, it had a powerful car and should be able to get round the cars in a few seconds.

But the cars had just started going round a blind bend in the road, not that 19 thought that mattered.

Just about round the corner, 19 met, head-on, at a combined speed of almost 130 miles a hour, a small, rather aged, Citroen carrying Mr and Mrs Festwick and their daughter Esme. The Mercedes crashed into, mounted and ran right over the top of the Citroen. Slightly dazed, 19 got out of his ruined car and walked over towards the wreckage of the Citroen, yelling at it for dangerous driving, having no idea of road safety and various other points.

The cars 19 had been overtaking, miraculously, had not been touched by the accident. One of the occupants called the emergency services, as two more (including an off-duty policeman) restrained 19, and two others (including a nurse) went to the wreckage that had been a Citroen.

Mr Festwick had been killed outright as the Mercedes drove over the car. Mrs Festwick had been fatally wounded. Barely conscious she would die holding the nurse's hand minutes before the ambulance arrived. Esme survived, but lost a leg.

However, Esme was never able to forgive herself. In the moments before the crash she had been having a bitter argument with her parents about her wanting to go to a party. And in those last seconds, the heated exchanges gave birth to words that no-one really meant. This transformed itself into a belief that she was to blame for the accident, that she'd somehow caused it. And she felt compelled to tell everyone that she was to blame.

Meanwhile 19, after chatting with its good friend 39 (another nasty piece of work), had found a really good lawyer. And needless to say, the lawyer found out about Esme. All of a sudden, the accident had been caused by the Festwick's and that 19 was the innocent party. The legal battle was one-sided. Lawyers of the ilk 19 had access to, and the details they dredged up (the tyres on the citroen were virtually at the legal limit; it hadn't had a proper service for over 13 months; the father had tiny traces of alcohol in his blood stream from a glass of wine the night before; that there was a mobile phone turned on in the car were just some of the points), combined with Esme's apparent determination to be found guilty of causing the accident meant the judge had, really, no choice.

With the legal result, the Festwick's insurance found a loophole, and were no longer responsible for the fees or the payouts from the case. The small inheritance that Esme would have had, the result of her parents life work, was swallowed up with the compensation package for 19 and its lawyers fees.

19 went straight out and bought itself and Porche Cayenne with the compensation.

So, if you'll forgive me, and in memory of the Festwicks, I stay not liking 19.