along for the ride

"Do you have any pointers you might could give Ollie here?" Eric surprised Kayla. Her shift was almost over at the library. Oliver had come along for the ride. Evidently, Eric was dropping him off. It was as if he'd had enough of him for the cold afternoon. "You might have better luck than me, with the driving lessons." He winced with a smile.

Kayla smiled calmly and looked at Oliver. It couldn't be that bad, could it? So she went to get her things, and Oliver walked to the car with her.

"Are you keeping track of your hours?" She asked.

"I don't suspect its been an hour yet." His smile was small.

"Well, give it a try." She tossed the keys to him. They got inside her little economy car. Oliver gave her a bit of a restless laugh then hesitated. He sat there buckled up for a while before he even put the key in. Finally he started it up. A bit harsh. He kept looking at the rear-view mirror and where he should put it in drive.

"You have to back up, first." She nodded, giving him a pleasant smile.

"Oh, reverse." He took a deep sigh. "I don't know which way to turn the stirring wheel." He looked at her baffled.

"What do you mean?" Now she was confused as she looked at his hands on the stirring wheel.

"I don't know how to turn it, right. Or is it left?" He was nervous. She'd never thought about it in those terms. She was just used to backing out, like clock work.

"You just need to get the feel of it." She looked around. No one would be harmed if he backed out. "See what happens the way you turn it."

Oliver smiled then. Evidently, Eric had had some problems. Oliver begin to laugh as he made a turn and the car swung out the wrong way.

"Now lets see what happens when you turn it the other way." Kayla remained calm. She could tell they needed a lot of practice. He'd never really been behind the wheel of a car. So he pulled back in. "Just take it a little slower this time." It might be best if she drove to an empty parking lot so he could make big circles driving the car. But the snow was starting to fall. It was definitely going to be an adventure.