Thursday, May 23, 2013

12 year old test drive

I remember when I was about 12 years old I was hanging out with my cousin. We were home alone and trying to find something to occupy our time with. Everything seemed very boring and just not worth our time since we had done it all more than once. We tried to think of something new that would really make us scream with excitement and adrenaline. The four wheelers and motorcycles were old news....been there done that, but we still wanted to do something with an engine. I opened the garage door and there she was, my aunts old jeep. I sat in the driver seat and told my cousin to hop in. I felt the torn leather on the steering wheel while I grabbed the gearshift and pretended to launch through the gears. Luckily I had my co-driver to make the engine noises for me. Yet this soon got old, which would eventually be our downfall. The jeep was a manual or stick shift but I was lucky enough to learn how to drive stick when I was 8 and it was my favorite thing ever. My cousin then told me we had to go pick up his brother that lived only a 2 houses down. Then he got a great idea... lets take the jeep! It will be so much faster then walking and we will finally have something that can entertain us. I hesitated and said what happens if we get caught? He quickly responded and assured me that his mom wouldn't be home for an hour and she would never know. I still didn't feel like it was a good idea. Then he said this, which instantly changed my mind, "Dude I asked her and she said it was fine if you drive it. She trusts you!" ........ GAME ON!! I had him run inside and grab the keys. I fired it up and drove down to the neighbors perfectly without one hick up. My cousin ran to the door and got his brother. He helped him into the jeep and then got in as well. I pulled in the clutch and grabbed the keys. As I slid them in the ignition something felt wrong but I ignored it. I turned the key and heard it click...once.....twice.... and on the third click it would start. As I put pressure on the key to fire it up I heard another car. As I looked behind me I saw my aunt come around the corner. The way her face changed was unforgettable. Her jaw dropped, dumbfounded by the stunt we had just pulled. Seeing her 3 year old son strapped in the back of her jeep while her 12 year old other son was in the passenger seat with her nephew driving. She got more mad than I have ever seen her, screaming and swearing wondering what the hell we were doing. We tried our best to calm her down and use big words so we could sound like we knew what we were doing and there was nothing to worry about. Needless to say it didn't work and my dad was on the phone immediately. I was screwed and the second I heard his voice I burst into tears pleading with him to not be mad and to not ground me. Surprisingly he wasn't as mad as I thought he was going to be but I still received a very lengthy grounding and stern talking to. This may look like a complete disaster but that is something you don't forget and now we all look back on it and laugh. This is one of my favorite memories during my childhood.

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