REM // Van McCann

39. You Owe Me a Kiss

Clara was tired of taking the bus to work so she's been really practicing the past few weeks. We found a list of maneuvers she'd most likely be tested on and went through each of them. Parallel parking was one she still struggled with. I parked the car along the kerb and turned the engine off. We both got out to exchange seats but I went to the boot of the car to pull out two traffic cones.

"Where did you get those?" Clara asked.

"I drove up to a construction site in the middle of the night and stole them," I answered and she laughed, obviously knowing I was joking. "You can buy these online and they're not as expensive as you think. But these are the cheaper ones, mind you."

I walked further down and placed the two cones a car length and a half apart. Starting with one cone crossed my mind but from my past observations, what she struggled with most was determining how much space she had and not turning the steering wheel too much that she hits the kerb. Clara got into the driver's seat and began adjusting her mirrors. She's gotten used to my car to the point I told her she can use my car for her driving test. She fought me about it but I told her my car was a piece of shit and that I wouldn't mind it being dinged up. I reckon her dad would be upset if she so much as scratched the family car.

Clara started the engine and pulled forward until she was alongside the traffic cone. Its bright orange color made it easy to spot and she smiled, realizing that it was a good buy. She can practice without worrying that she'll damage the car. She put the car in reverse and turned the steering wheel to the right.

"There's no need to turn the wheel so much," I advised her. "Just until you've cleared the front and then you'll turn the wheel back to straighten up."

Clara did as she was told and once the front of the car was clear, she turned the steering wheel the other direction. She stared at the rear view mirror and then her side mirror.

"I don't see the cone," she stated, looking behind her. I looked as well and realized the cone was too short to see. For the test, she'll only have the car in front and in reality, she'd be able to see the car behind her. I looked in front of us and could see the cone.

"Erm...yeah, we can't see the cone. Sorry 'bout that. We can see the cone in front so I reckon you're—" We heard the sound of her backing into the cone and she stopped immediately.

"I hit the cone. I'm sorry!" she apologized, fretting. She genuinely felt terrible for hitting the cone and I just burst into laughter at how silly she was being.

"How dare you damage the car!" I teased her. "Why don't we make this more interesting? You have to kiss me every time you make an unsuccessful attempt." Clara turned red and shook her head.

"Wait—this one doesn't count! I think you're cheating because the cones are too close together."

"Clara, how dare you accuse me of cheating," I said dramatically. "I was generous and gave you a car length and a half."

"I don't believe you," she said, putting the car in park and taking off her seatbelt. She opened the door and stepped out and I did the same. Clara walked a few meters away from the car with her hands on her hip assessing the amount of space she was given. She can clearly see I gave her a car length and a half but said nothing.

"That's clearly a car length and a half. You even gave yourself a few more centimeters backing into the cone so it's really a car length and three quarters now," I joked and she pushed me away.

"Shut up. You're not getting any kisses."

She was clearly worked up, upset that she managed to back into the cone with the space she was given. I was honestly teasing about her giving me a kiss for every failed attempt and it amused me how determined she was to not lose. She got back in the car and I went around the back hoping to move the cone back to where I originally had it but she needs to move the car forward. She rolled down the window and stuck her head out, looking at me.