Gas Pedal

The Auto Shop

(Olivia in the photo)

I update once a week or sooner

"Camilla, you up?"  Hugo's voice called from the other side of my door.  He knocked on it twice, lightly.  I was hovering in between sleep and consciousness but at his disturbance I yawned and stretched, swinging my feet over the side of my bed.

"Yup."  I grunted.

"Great.  We'll be leaving for the shop soon."  He announced.  I rubbed the side of my face on my shoulder. 

"Yeah, ok.  Gimme fifteen minutes."  I told him.

"Awesome."  He responded.  I heard his footsteps fade out as he walked away and once I couldn't hear them anymore, I stood up.  I ambled to my bathroom and flicked on the light.

I squinted at myself in the mirror.  I looked how I felt.  Long white hair knotted in odd, uncanny angles.  Green eyes bloodshot and puffy beneath unkempt thick brows.  Freckles sprinkled over pale cheeks.  My lips were red, cracked and swollen.  I huffed and reached for my brush and began yanking it through my hair until it laid straight and reached my lower back.  After brushing my teeth, slapping on some makeup and putting my hair back into a sloppy low bun, I got changed.  I didn't know what one was supposed to wear as an auto shop observer since I figured Hugo wouldn't have me doing anything too involved.  I decided a pair of jean shorts and a loose red t-shirt was safe.

When I reached the kitchen, my mom was at the island counter slicing up a banana while Luca peered at her from his stool.  My mom barely glanced at me.

"I thought you were spending the night at Ada's."  She says casually.  Luca's eyes dart to me, waiting to absorb my response. 

"I changed my mind."  I told her, picking my words carefully.  My mom nods as if she was expecting a different answer but she doesn't say anything.

Hugo is sitting at the kitchen table and pulling on a pair of withered boots.  His eyes light up with a smile when he sees me.

"There you are, kiddo."  He says.  "Put on some old shoes.  There's a lot of oil and grease you might step in."  He suggests.  I nod and start heading towards the garage door to look through my shoes but my mom stops me as I pass her.

"Hugo and I are going out for dinner tonight."  She says.  "I'm getting a babysitter for Luca." 

Immediately my face twists into something ugly.  "What?  Why?  I'm seventeen."  I tell her.  Her lips tighten.

"I know.  But I also know that last time you watched him you snuck off to Ada's house and left him alone."  I was about to ask her how she knew when I realized the answer.  I turned to Luca who was watching the entire scene with keen interest.

"Snitch."  I muttered to him.  Luca, not understanding, just laughed.

"Anyway."  My mom continued.  "Be lucky you aren't grounded."  She declared.  Her final tone put a clear period on the debate.  I walked past her, pushing my dread for tonight to the back of my mind, and went to find some shoes.

Wearing a ratty pair of sneakers from a few years ago, Hugo and I head out the front door to his old truck parked in the driveway.

The sun is baking the concrete already and it hasn't even fully risen over the horizon yet.  Pieces of my hair are already sticking to my forehead as they fall from where I tied them.  A warm breeze licks down my neck and ruffles my t-shirt. 

I climb into the passenger side of Hugo's truck and let the door bang shut.  He follows a second later and we both buckle in.

"So."  He begins, splitting the silence as he backs the car into the street.  "I should probably tell you the ropes before we get there."  He decides.  I shrug and he takes it as an invitation to continue.  "I'm the boss.  When a customer pulls in, I'm the first face they see.  They tell me the problem and I direct them to a mechanic that can fix it for them.  The bigger problems go to the veterans who've worked for me the longest and that I trust the most to get things sorted out.  The little things, like gas leaks or rusted brakes, get sent to the newbies."  He explains.  I nod.