Forge & Laurie - Driving Lessons

[x-forge.livejournal.com]

Some people go out and get shot at, Forge volunteers his time teaching students to drive. We're not sure which is more foolhardy.




Laurie took a deep breath and placed both hands on the wheel, looking over at Forge for instructions. It was her very first driving lesson and she admitted to herself silently that she was nervous as hell. It was one thing to be a passanger in a car and a whole other to be in charge of what was basically a whole lot of heavy metal that could quite easily mow a delicate human into the ground.

Not for the first time, Forge was glad that they weren't using his car to teach students how to drive. He smiled, placing a hand on the dashboard as he did so - engine rpms high clutch disengaged transmission in neutral cylinders firing in sequence -he removed his hand and nodded to Laurie.

"Okay," he said, "just step on the clutch pedal, put it in gear, and slowly let the clutch out as you give it some gas."

Laurie nodded, pressing the clutch down with one foot as she placed the car into first gear and then pushed the hand brake down, before slowly pulling her foot upwards on the foot brake to allow the car to roll forwards as she pressed the same foot down on the gas slightly and tried to get the clutch to come up level.

The car jumped slightly and Laurie squeaked, pushing the clutch back down and slamming on the brake.

"Hence the word 'slowly'..." Forge said easily, trying to calm Laurie. At least she hadn't stalled the car like Eliane. He'd sworn the French pyrokinetic was going to ignite the upholstery each time she'd jerked the sedan to a stop. Moving his hands back and forth to show her the rhythm, he nodded again. "Think of the clutch like you're lifting the wheels off the ground. You give it just enough gas to get them moving when you set it down, and you don't want to just drop it and bounce it. Try again."

Laurie nodded, taking things slowly as she repeated her actions and this time moved along the driveway with a steady speed. She looked over at her speedometer and noticed it was saying 5mph, a slow crawl.

"It's a lot more scary now that I'm here then I thought it would be," she admitted with a wry grin.

"Just relax," Forge said as the car drove slowly through the open gates and onto the empty road away from the school. "Okay, give it a bit more gas, but not too fast. When you get up to about fifteen, we're going to shift into second, all right?"

Laurie pushed down on the accelerator a bit, allowing her other foot to rest close to the clutch but trying not to ride it. She watched the speed creep slowly up to fifteen, muttering softly under her breath about checking rearview mirrors and keeping her eyes focused to a distance along the road and not at the surface just in front of the hood of the car.

"It's not so bad," she finally said, sneaking a look at Forge quickly as she spoke and then fixing her eyes back on the road.

"You just have to feel the car," Forge explained, "be aware of it at all times. Same way you are of your hands and feet. Okay, now we're going to shift into second." He could see that Laurie was a bit nervous, so he tried to keep his voice cheerful. "Just like before, when you put the clutch down, it's like lifting the wheels. Then you just move the gearshift into second, and ease the clutch up. Try and keep steady pressure on the gas, don't give it any more than you are right now until you start letting up on the clutch."

Laurie attempted it and winced as she heard the gears grind, grumbling softly to herself about stupid gears as she continued and finally got it to go home into second gear. She grinned brightly at Forge at the small victory, pushing the accelerator again as she slowly let up on the clutch. They were going a little faster now and she wasn't sure she liked it so much. But she'd need to get used to the feeling of speed if she was going to learn to drive.

Forge nearly winced at the way the engine revved, the rpms feeling like his own pulse skyrocketing. "Okay, let's just slow it down a bit here. Just easy. Remember, car's like your own body. Push it too hard, something's going to get strained. Think of it like..." He struggled for an analogy. "Like making out," he said before his brain kicked in.

"Which we both know is as easy as pie," Laurie said, giving Forge a sideways look and snickering quietly as she pulled her foot off the accelerator slightly, trying to listen to the engine as a type of heartbeat.

"No, I'm serious," Forge replied, trying not to blush and stammer. "You try and just move ahead with what's comfortable and don't rush it. Once you get past the initial nervousness, it becomes natural, and quite enjoyable. Careful on this turn, by the way. You want to carefully brake as you go into it, accelerate on the way out."

Laurie turned the corner, trying to follow Forge's direction and had to swerve slightly as she took the corner a little too tightly and almost ended up on the curb.

'Note to self, more spatial awareness would be a good thing' she thought silently before smiling brightly.

"So, still happy you volunteered to teach me?" she asked, small frown furrowing her brow as she noticed the intersection coming up.

"Well, I don't really know that I needed to teach you any-- oh, driving!" Forge corrected himself, this time blushing brightly for a second. "Yes, you're doing fine, just... okay, clutch and brake. Clutch clutch clutch..." He repeated quickly as the car's RPMs jumped.

Laurie slammed her foot down on the clutch in alarm, but not soon enough and the car coughed and rolled to a stop as the engine died. She looked over at Forge, biting her lip worriedly. "That wasn't good, was it?"

Forge winced slightly, waving to the other cars at the intersection to go ahead. "You just stalled it, that's all. See, that's why I suggested teaching you on a stick shift. Once you master the hard stuff, driving an automatic is easy mode."

Laurie nodded, going through the motions of getting the car started again before replying. "It's a little harder then learning to ride a bike, I think. I don't think I'm looking at the mirrors enough either."

She'd always been tough on herself when learning something new, the perfectionist in her, she supposed.

"Tell you what," Forge offered."Put her in gear and take us around to the mall, and we'll practice in the parking lot, then you can buy me ice cream. Sound like a deal?"

"Standard ice cream, or the fancy stuff from the new gelato place?" Laurie asked, listening to the engine start to rev as she changed to first gear and moved them off from the intersection.

"That depends on how well you do," Forge said with a grin. She was starting to get the hang of it.

"Deal!" Laurie said, before squeaking again as her foot pressed down a little too hard on the accelerator and the engine gunned. "I think I may need a double scoop."

"You and me both."