Back in neutral, I step down on the clutch and the brake pedal feels jammed
It’s a dance you say, as you release the emergency brake and guide my hand to the gear stick
It feels like an overused and abused arcade console in my hand, a sticky round of Pac-Man or Mortal Kobat but the sequence is new to me
You can hear the hesitation in my laugh, as I have yet to release the clutch even though we are idling at 1
My right foot is now hovering the gas pedal but we are both anticipating a stall
I released the clutch, stepped on the gas, and we jerked forward before settling into a coast
And just like some dance, I’d rather master with you, I repeated the choreography and brought us to 2
We rolled into a parking spot with faded lines and I pumped the brake before igniting the clutch once more
You flicked the gear out of place and locked in the emergency brake
Relax you say, eyeing my flexed calf and shaky grip we are okay, we aren’t going anywhere
As soon as I pulled away from the clutch, I slowly felt at ease
I envisioned in my mind another dance I’d want to master with you
I wanted to reach out to your hand but I knew the driving lesson wasn’t through