One (Sarah Crossan)

Driver's Ed

The instructor stutters as she explains

how cars work

—what the pedals do and where the indicators are—

but when I aim the key at the ignition,

she grabs my wrist.

‘I h-h-honestly don’t know how this will work.

How can you coordinate your feet

quickly enough to avoid cr-cr-crashing?

I can’t understand it.’

And that’s the thing.

People don’t understand

our synchronicity,

the quiet connection

that flows between us.

‘Everyone knows that

ninety percent of communication

is nonverbal,’ Tippi says,

and

while the instructor thinks about this,

I start the engine.