Playing Truant

I skipped school for the first time yesterday. It was the first time I had 'properly' wagged. My friends and I left the school grounds in Joanne's white two door car. I needed to get my wallet, so we drove to my house first before going to the local mall for a feed of Mc Donald's. My mum doesn't work, so my greatest fear was that she would be home and ground me for the rest of my life, but I needed my wallet. Joanne pulled up outside my house and I crept up the driveway, my heart pounding in my ears. I reached the door and slipped my key in the door. If it turned, I was in the clear.

It turned. I breathed a sigh of relief and raced into the house where I found my wallet and threw a t-shirt on, abandoning my school shirt on the floor. I raced out of the house once more - making sure to lock the door behind me. My friends cheered as I arrived back and Joanne pulled out into the quiet street and we headed for the mall.

"I heard that if Mc Donald's see you in uniform they call the school and describe you," Samantha said as we pulled into the car park. We all sat silently for a moment. We were all too good to risk getting caught. For me it would mean the end. I was a prefect, and therefore one of the school's leaders. 

"Maybe we could go to BK..." Beccy suggested from the back. We all nodded and Joanne backed out and joined the steady flow of traffic.

After BK we drove into the park. 

"You're awesome at gear changes," Samantha said from the back seat, "I always stall."

"Do you want to practice?" Joanne asked, smoothly changing gear.

"What? No!"

"Why not? I'll help you, it'll be easy."

"I'm only on my learners!"

"Chicken," Joanne teased. Sam's face went hard and she turned to me,

"Six, get out of the passenger seat." We laughed, and I hopped out of the car and joined Beccy in the back. Joanne gave Samantha the instructions, and we were off. 

"Change gears now." The car jumped a little at Samantha's nervous hands.

"You're doing fine," Joanne said as we drove down the quiet road. Samantha sped up to normal speed, and her gear changes got smoother. 

Then, all of a sudden, we saw traffic lights ahead. We were about to turn onto one of the busiest roads in the city.

"OH MY GOD" Cried Samantha. The light turned amber...then red. We all panicked.

"The main road!" Joanne said, waving her arms about frantically.

"Get out and swap while it's red," I said.

"My car!" Joanne cried out again.

"We're going to die!"

"GET OUT AND SWAP!" I yelled again, half laughing. Finally they followed my instructions and leapt out of the car. Samantha forgot to apply the hand break, and the car slowly began to roll forward.

"Holy fuck!" I cried, and yanked it up just as the light turned green. Joanne hopped in the car and we sped round the corner, all of us screaming with laughter.

"Back home?" Joanne said. We all looked at each other and smiled.

"I don't think Sam's finished her driving lesson yet," Joanne laughed and continued on into the park.

"Here we go again," she said.