Lisa arrived in the DMV parking lot. She was hot, both in temperature & looks, in a sexy sundress. Nervous, as she had already flunked the drivers test once, and her father had told her that she'd have to go through driving school all over again if she didn't pass this time. She was 18 and more than ready for the freedom that her drivers license would give her.
She smoothed her auburn hair in the car mirror, adjusted her sunglasses, and took a deep breath. Confidence, she told herself. Confidence is key. She glanced at the clipboard-wielding man approaching, Mr. Leavitt, according to the name tag, her driving test examiner.
"Good morning, Miss Carter. Ready to begin?"
Lisa plastered on a smile. "Absolutely!"
But was she?
As she shifted into drive, the car lurched. Mr. Leavitt scribbled something on his clipboard, his expression unreadable. Lisa pretended not to notice.
The first stop sign approached. Simple. Easy. She pressed the brake, maybe a little hard. The car jerked to a halt so suddenly Mr. Leavitt's clipboard flew from his lap, landing face-down on the dashboard.
"Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry!" Lisa scrambled to retrieve it, accidentally hitting the horn with her elbow, which let out an obnoxious, blaring HONK. Mr. Leavitt simply chuckled softly.
"Don't worry, Miss Carter. Just focus on the road."
Lisa nodded, embarrassed. She pulled forward, determined to recover.
But wait, she noticed something. Mr. Leavitt was checking her out! She had a sense about this and was seldom wrong.
Next, parallel parking. Her nemesis. She maneuvered the car into position, turned the wheel confidently--and promptly mounted the curb with both back tires. The car tilted.
"Well," Mr. Leavitt said, peering over his glasses, "that's certainly one way to assert dominance over the parking space."
Lisa could now shift the power dynamic. "Well I do like to assert dominance," she teased.
He didn't respond. Was he starting to sweat? She couldn't tell.
She had thought, maybe even planned, to use her looks to charm the instructor, but she knew her performance was too bad so far for that to even help.
Next came a simple right turn back into the DMV lot. Lisa signaled correctly (a small victory!), turned the wheel, yet somehow managed to clip an orange traffic cone, sending it spinning dramatically like a disgruntled ballerina.
She stopped, resting her forehead on the steering wheel. "I don't suppose I passed?" she mumbled into the leather.
Mr. Leavitt chuckled again, his laughter warm and genuine. "Well, Miss Carter, let's just say I've had more...conventional drives. But I've also never been this entertained."
Lisa lifted her head, "I guess that's something?"
