Wildly Driven

Chapter 4

I sat on the driver's seat, my nerves tingling. I had dreams of me racing every time I watched the fast and the furious movie series. But never had I thought those dreams would actually come true.

"You ready?" Robert... err... Bert asked me.

I gave him a toothy smile, the one that always said that I was containing my enthusiasm pretending that it didn't affect me.

"I'll take that as yes." He said, giving back an amused smile. "So your name is Scarlet?"

My smile fell. "You didn't hear what Dan just said?"

"Wanted confirmation." He declined, taking the front seat next to me and strapping on the seat belt. "It was supposed to be a SUV, but I changed its features and I present you— Maria!"

I laughed. "Maria?" I asked, holding my hand over my mouth. "What is she? A dying ship?"

He gave me dirty glare. "Maria, I'm so sorry." He said, placing a hand on his dashboard. "She's just mean. Please don't kill her in the track for the mean things she says to you."

I rolled my eyes, not getting intimidated by his words. Yet, I pulled the seat belt across my chest.

"It's not because I care for her. It's because I could lose my job if she did." He continued. If he still went on with the crap for another ten minutes, he was the one who was dying. "I love you Maria."

"Congratulations!" I said, as he completed. "I'm a thousand years old now."

"Ignore her, Maria." He said, looking away for a second. "It's what I do."

"God!" I wailed. "Are we driving or what?" I asked, patience running out on me.

When he didn't turn back to guide me on what I was doing, I tried to experiment a little. I turned the key on, only a little bit. The radio started to rumble against the silence that hung in the air. I turned the key a little bit more and the engine roared to life.

"Whoa," He said, turning back at me. I rolled my eyes; it was now that he recognized that I was here too. "Easy there. It's your first time."

"Well?"

He sighed. "So the right leg is used for acceleration and for break, while left is for clutch."

"So, clutch is for changing gears? And I turn this wheel right, when right and left when left, right?" I asked.

Robert only laughed. "It's not that simple. But yes, that's the basic."

I stared moving ahead and instead of telling me what to do next, Bert sat next to me, eyeing me as I wondered how to get the car moving ahead. I had seen enough racing movies to know that I had to release the clutch but each time, the car danced in its position instead of moving ahead.

"Seriously?" He asked, his eyes holding laughter. "You have been the daughter of Edward-the-great for your entire life and you haven't touched a car?"

To say my ego was hurt was an understatement. It was humiliating. That was what I was afraid of. Judgement. And Robert was quick in giving me one. I looked away, cursing my Dad in my mind for making me go through this hell for his greedy bets.

"You need to slowly release the clutch and the break. They need to move in sync." Robert rolled his eyes as if I were the dumbest girl he had ever seen. "What else don't you know, Miss-I-know-everything?"

I remained silent, not bothering him with a smart remark.

"Since its dark, we switch on the head lights." He continued, turning a knob that was struck to the steering wheel. "You need to know why it's used too?"