What was left behind

6.Love triangle

That same day, Shane gave me a few lessons on how to operate our new machine. I couldn't hide my satisfaction because not only did I feel like I was walking on clouds because another dream of mine had come true, but I also liked this car. It was small and moved very well, especially around a lot of curves and narrows. Its engine purred pleasantly as I changed gears, and the rhythmic clatter of the wheels added to the effect. I couldn't understand why the rest couldn't accept it, while I was excited for each lesson as if I had just received the book I was most looking forward to as a gift from someone.

We always practiced in the same place. On the outskirts of town, on the old road to Oldtown, which had an unusually large number of curves, but not enough to be dangerous. We took turns driving, me and Justin. Shane taught us most of the time after hours or on our days off, so when things were quiet we could take two trucks and get them back in place quickly in the event of an emergency, since there was a side road leading out the back to our fire station and it would take us less than five minutes to get there if we kept steady pace.

Fortunately, there hasn't been such a need until now, so I could spend some time with Justin and learn a lot of useful things from Shane. We laughed many times when Shane tried to teach Justin how to turn Mars without stopping in the middle of the road. I didn't have so many problems because driving Mars was no longer interesting to me. I wanted to learn how to get along best with our new car. Although I didn't know what to call it for weeks because we couldn't decide what to call our new car at the fire station. This caused communication problems, but the worst thing was Gregor, who still stubbornly believed that there was no room in the fire station for such a small and universal car.
However, I strongly disagreed with him and that's why I did everything to get to know our new car as best as possible.

During one of these lessons, however, I had the distinct impression that Shane was watching me more carefully and seemed to be more nervous when he spoke to me.

"Accelerate gently and then slow down before entering the corner," he instructed me, just as the wheels of the car were indeed approaching the corner dangerously fast. "Now return steadily to your previous speed, gently applying weight to the higher gear," he instructed me as I breathed a sigh of relief after exiting the corner.

"Are you okay, Shane?" I asked when he quieted down again after giving me advice. Usually, during breaks, he would start a casual conversation, which quickly turned into a tangle of jokes and stories. That day, however, he seemed unusually thoughtful, even a little withdrawn.

"Yes," he replied stupidly, before mumbling something under his breath that I unfortunately couldn't understand anymore. So I focused on the road instead because I thought it would be rude to push.

To my surprise, however, Shane told me to pull into the parking lot next to the forest. I didn't see any purpose in it, but I couldn't tell from his face whether it was an order or a request, so for safety's sake, I pulled over and made a U-turn in the parking lot to keep our car facing the road. I watched in confusion as Shane got out of the car and then leaned against it, rubbing his face with his hands.

"Is something wrong, Shane?" I asked gently as I approached him.

"No," he denied, looking up at me. "Where did this idea come from?"

"You look like something happened and you've been out of sorts since the morning," I explained gently.

"Nothing happened, I swear," he assured me, then turned back to the car. "Can we continue?"

"Sure," I replied, getting back behind the wheel, although I still had the feeling that there was more to Shane' strange behavior that he was willing to admit. Something about the way he avoided talking made me feel strangely uncomfortable.