Driving in France - Part VIII

The day of my driving exam finally arrived. Boo Boo sat in the back of his car, the examiner, a middle-aged man with an earring, sat in the passenger seat. He seemed nice and laid back. According to Boo Boo’s fiancé, we were lucky to get this man as there was a woman examiner who was a major ball breaker.

As instructed, I pulled out of the parking lot and onto the main street. So far, so good. In fact, it was all going just fine until we turned onto a small street so I could maneuver a parallel parking position. I did fine. However, when asked to pull out of the spot, I absentmindedly forgot to push in the clutch and I switched from reverse into drive creating excruciating juddering and noises. I must have given the lot of us minor whiplash.

“Oops,“ I smiled nervously, “I forgot to push in the clutch.”

“She’s used to driving an automatic,“ said Boo Boo to the rescue.

I regained composure even though it felt like we had just been through an awful amusement park ride. I was sure I had blown my chances. As we left the small street, I tried to steady my breath and reclaim some self-confidence. Then, a strange scraping sound started.

“Pull over! Pull over!” the examiner said.

I pulled over. He asked me to get out. He examined the car and then said. “This car has a mechanical problem. We cannot continue the exam,” he looked at Boo Boo. “You’ll need to call someone and get another car out here if you want the other students to take their exam. I”ll let you drive it back to the parking lot.” Then he looked at me, “You’re going to have to take the exam again,“ he said, “but since it was a mechanical error, it won’t count against you.”

Quietly I let Boo Boo take the wheel. I got in the back. We returned to the parking lot. Boo Boo asked me to get out. I got out and the other three students gathered around.

“So? So? What happened?,” everyone anxiously asked me.

“The car broke down. We had to stop the exam,” I was disillusioned. I’d have to do this all over again? Just as I was mulling the idea over, Boo Boo walked towards me quickly and furiously. “You!,“ he pointed an accusing finger at me, “you!” His eyes were bulging out of his head, I think there was frothing at the mouth.

I stood frozen.

“You broke my car! You broke my car!”

“What are you talking about?,” I was flabbergasted.

“Yes! Don’t you remember when you forgot to push in the clutch? You broke my gear box! This is your fault! This is your fault!”

I was speechless. Had I really broken his gear box by just one faulty move? Maybe my bad move had been the straw that broke the camel’s back, but I certainly could not have broken his car…could I have? Boo Boo called his brother who also ran a driving school and his brother brought another car. But I was not allowed to re-take the exam that day. Oh, this was a dreadful day.