“Alright, let’s swap over.”

Maddie unbuckled her seatbelt and popped the door open. The cold air poured out of the Honda around her, drawing in the humid, suffocating atmosphere of her childhood home. Des, the younger of the two, banally commented on the differing directions either circled the car, but Maddie didn’t really listen. She was far more taken by how much he’d grown in the past four years. It was like everyone had moved up a whole level while she was gone… had she?

As she settled back into the passenger’s seat and closed herself off from the toxic air outside, her own insecurities turned over in their slumber.

“Wow, you sit really close to the wheel.”

Right, the seat.

“…I like it. I can see more of the road. Less surprises are always good.”

“Yeah, but then you’re always so cramped up in your seat. You gotta be comfortable too.”

“Meh, everyone’s got their own way, what’s comfortable to you might not be to others.”

Des was not the first to judge her driving habits and he wouldn’t be the last. To her, the car was an extension of the self, and anything that weakened the signal between brain and road was expendable.

“Alright. Show me what you got. When you’re ready, just pull out onto the main road.”

“Alrighty,”

The car lurched forward before slamming to an awkward halt.

“...try not to crash Mom’s car.”

“Woah. There’s no, uh… half-clutch. That’s a bit weird.”

“Welcome to the wonderful world of the auto car...”

The car began to creep forward as Des released the brakes. Glancing over, she entertained the sentiment that she wasn’t the only one struggling to look confident. Her brother’s shoulders were high and taut, and his neck seemed to crane forward a little as he oriented himself to the controls.

Despite the lightness of their usual deadpan, half-sarcastic banter, Maddie couldn’t quite shake a feeling of apprehension. The car crawled across and perpendicular to the suggested direction of an access road, which didn’t settle her gut at all.  She reached to check that the handbrake was properly accessible, careful not to make the motion obvious. Driving was about confidence, and it was not yet worth undermining that. Des just needed to find his. His desire to impress her after so long was palpable in the air, and she was sure it was dampening his usual ability on the road. Besides, she had faith that love and respect for the road ran in their blood… she just had to draw it out.

“Alright, when you get out on to the main road, take a left instead. We’ll go around the block a few times until you’re feeling confident, then we’ll see how it goes from there.”

 “Okay,”

They pulled up at the last stop line before the main road.

This was it.

The car lurched out into the wild. Their unsanctioned driving lesson had just become real - the Honda turned out of the access road and halfway into the outside lane. It lunged forward awkwardly once again as Des tried the throttle, before settling into a comfortable pace.

Maddie took a slow breath.

“Take a right ahead.”

The light turned red.

“…after it turns green.”

“Oh? Why don’t I just go now?”

“Oh, yeah, just go for it. Red lights are just a suggestion anyway.”

The car slowed as it approached the stop line. Des switched the gearing to neutral and released the brake gradually, avoiding the usual post-brake kickback most drivers accepted as fact.

It is in our blood.

Maddie settled into her seat a little more comfortably. A smug glint crossed her brother’s cheek as the light turned green and they continued on their way.