“Immobile”

His hands

were getting sweaty from

holding them to the leather steering wheel for

so long.

He wiggled his toes and

filtered his eyes back and forth to remind

himself that he wasn’t immobile.

He stopped his breaths half way through

at the fear

that the officer might see too much movement

and act before he thinks.

This only made him breath faster and harder.

Faster and harder.

Still cutting

each breath

in half

ALAINA JOLEEN is a recent graduate of CSU Monterey Bay who studied humanities and communication with a focus in creative writing. She is working toward an MFA in creative writing at Goddard College. She’s been published in the Otter Realm, The Lutrinae and The Ords.