TIFU by eating applesauce in my car

Ok I haven’t posted a lot on Reddit so apologies if my storytelling skills sucks.

So I, 18, am a pretty new and nervous driver. I’m very paranoid about going over the speed limit, red lights, unprotected left turns, etc. This also includes when I drive by police. I live by a very busy street that people often speed on, so there’s often police sitting on the side of the road waiting to catch people.

Anyways, I was driving to work today on this street and I see a police car. I double check my speed but am still nervous driving by so I’m probably giving the police car a weird, scared, look. I was also running late to a family event and was having a quick snack while driving. I was eating/drinking one of those small squeeze applesauce pouches. So, I drive by the police car, applesauce in hand, thinking I’m good, when I see it’s lights turn on and it start to pull off the side of the road. I’m very panicked and worried that something is wrong, and I’ve never been pulled over before, so I quickly pull to the side and wait for the police officer to come to my window.

I should mention that I also look very young for my age, like people have asked if I’m a freshman in high-school, not college.

Anyways, he signals for me to roll down my window and I oblige, my heart racing. He tells me that he saw a vape in my hand while I was driving by, and knows that I’m both underage and not allowed to drive under the influence. I was shocked by this, as I don’t smoke, nor would I be doing it while driving. But even though I know it’s not true, I’m very intimidated by him and freeze, stumbling out a “W-what of course not” probably making me seem even more guilty.

He’s pretty nice and asks to see the vape, to which I tell him there is none. He doesn’t believe me says he clearly saw me take a puff while I was driving by. I’m literally racking my brain trying to think of what he’s talking about when I remember my applesauce. I quickly grab it from the center console where I put it down and show it to him, saying, “This is what I had in my hand when I drove by, I promise it’s just applesauce, not a vape” . He looks quizzically at it, takes it from my hand to examine it, and then starts laughing. He’s laughing so hard that I also start chuckling with him, thinking how incredulous this is. He says that my applesauce pouch was exactly what he’d seen through my window and had assumed it was a vape. I assure him that there’s nothing in the car and my applesauce is nicotine-free. He goes back to his car after apologizing for the scare (he must have noticed my panic) and I go back on my way.

When I get to the event, I tell my parents and some other family members the story, and while most of them laugh, my mom looks concerned. She talks to me afterwards and says that she’s not convinced. I’m confused, because why would I tell this story if I was lying about the vape/applesauce. She also knows how much I love this little applesauce pouches and that I often bring them in the car. So, she asks to search my car “just in case” and I let her. She finds nothing of course but still says she’s to going to keep an eye on me.

So basically my mom was more suspicious than a literal police officer about my vaping/applesauce habits. I’m still going to eat my applesauce in the car but try to not around the police I guess? I also have my mom watching me like a hawk whenever I go out now.

TL;DR I ate an applesauce pouch while driving, police thought it was a vape, it was most definitely not. My mom was still suspicious of me.