My mom’s eyes scanned the road before glancing over her right shoulder at me and asked, “Are you sure you’re ready?” For the third time, she adjusted her hands on the steering wheel.
“Yes, I’ll be fine” I assured her.
We were on our way to pick up my sister at work after I had just gotten my permit at the Braintree RMV. And I thought it would be hilarious if I drove the last 5 minutes of the ride to surprise her.
The higher speed limit on the long winding roads in Pembroke and the unfamiliarity of them were far in the back of my mind, along with the mountain of laundry piled high in my bedroom at home. In the passenger seat I rested my head back, closed my eyes, and imagined the smooth leather of the steering wheel soon to be under my hands. I remembered being a small girl and pretending to drive my mom’s car when it was parked in the driveway, using the hazard lights as blinkers because they were the only things that worked when the car was off. I could almost taste the freedom of being able to drive, a taste I had waited for my whole life. And now that it was mid-August, I finally got my permit, and it felt like I could conquer the world. In my mind, no one could stop me. At age 16, I felt invincible.
My mom pulled into a Shaw’s parking lot. Before she unbuckled her seatbelt and gave up the driver’s seat, she asked me for a fourth time if I was ready. After all, all I had ever driven was down my long driveway. But I did it multiple times -- flawlessly. I thought, what’s the big deal? How hard can it be? Needless to say, I was being very overconfident.
I got myself settled in the driver’s seat by adjusting my mirrors and moving my seat up as far as it could go. I peeked over the massive steering wheel and suddenly all my confidence went out the driver’s side window and wafted away into the humid summer air. But, I took a deep breath and reassured myself. I mean, wasn’t I just convincing my mom of my immaculate driving abilities a minute ago? Like I said to her, what’s the big deal? How hard can it be?
I put the car into drive and slowly made my way to the exit of the parking lot. I had just put my right blinker on as my palms began to sweat. A black car sped by. And a red one. Then there was an opening. Here goes nothing I thought, as I not so smoothly turned onto the main road and I was doing it! I was driving! I went straight at the intersection where two routes converge, and I then kept driving at about 20 miles an hour in a 30 mile per hour zone. This is easy, I thought.
“Put your right blinker on at the yellow sign coming up and take a right onto the next street.” My mom told me.
But I heard, “Put your left blinker on at the yellow sign coming up and take a left onto the next street.” So, I cockily flicked my left blinker on.
“WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! I SAID RIGHT! .... RIGHT!!” My mom yelled as she clutched the handle above the passenger window. I stomped on the break. We both
How Hard Can It Be?
Meghan Doherty, 2017
Charlotte Ciampa, 2019