Chapter 18.8 - June 2024 - Escaping the clutch... and gravity - part I

 Margrethes notes:

Not gonna lie, I could've had a better nights sleep... I don't mind the snakes, or even the sleeping bag, though it in no way beats my own bed, but the rat.. the constant squeaking throughout the night from its running wheel, and the smell. It wasn't foul, but it was definately a strong smell of animal in her room. If this was my room, I would at the very least have perfumed it to smell better, especally if I was having visitors.

But I also know how to keep my mouth shut. I know how important those animals are to her, and I don't want to say anything to hurt her feelings.

I could never do that, and I really do appreciate the heart she must have to care for these animals, even the snakes, though they are a bit terrifying.. I don't think I would be comfortable touching them. Well, maybe if I could wear a space suit...

..but that rat, even if it is a rat, it's just so cute. I could almost pick it up to hug it.. Almost. But I wouldn't. It's not easy to distract, but I think I got eye contact with it for a while. I'm pretty sure I saw it wag its tail and look at me a few times. Must be a sign that it likes me, I think it does.

Everybody likes me, they just do. It's important to be popular to be successful, and it's easy too. You just have to be a good person doing good deeds and people will know your name and like you. You can throw a party and donate some money. Just like that. Dad does this all the time and everybody thinks it's the greatest and always donate lots of money.

Lise Veronicas mom is so smart, just like my mom. She immediately guessed the answer to my trivia challenge question (it was bed bugs), and I would have loved to stay longer at their house, but of course we had to go to school...

I don't know, sometimes I like going to school, and sometimes I don't. It just sucks how it's always there to interrupt a good time. This is why I like Lise Veronica, she's not afraid to skip school if she wants to. I can't really do that, I have to get good grades to go to university or get a good job. 
    It's not enough to be popular, I also have to work hard.. and I really want to become something important. I don't know what though. Maybe I could become a scientist like Lise Veronicas mom. Or a movie star. But I know if I'm not getting good grades, I won't get the car my mom promised me when I turn 18 and pass my drivers test. And I really want that car. Because I am going to pass my drivers test. I don't want to have to ride the bus or take a taxi to go to places. That just sucks.

 

Pias notes:

I could have taken this day off and have someone else take this shift at the office, but I don't want to. It's been to long since I have got a promotion, and just sitting at home, or wasting my time with other trivial pursuits around town would just make me restless. I can't do that. I'm just much better off at the office, where I can also be of service to people, to help them with their problems and their health – it really is the most meaningful thing I can do. I just wouldn't be complete without it.

 

I could have done well in a political career too, though it was never the right path for me. I prefer a more hands on approach to making the world a better place – standing on a podium giving speeches and making promises, not to mention working with and staying within a budget, was never my thing. I prefer it this way, and I am lucky to still have some influence on the politics, doing some lobbying for the healthcare budget within our own four walls... Maybe a little immoral, but it is for the greater good as I see it.

Margrethes notes:

After todays class in history, we went to the mausoleum for an excursion to learn more about the past of our town. Of course, everyone in town kinda knows about it already, the old tales of Little Black Mary, how she was accused of witchcraft and burned at the stake on the same hill where the mental hospital now sits...

As we learnt today, her name was Maria Gaetana Agnesi, and she wasn't the only one, but she is the most famous one, as legend has it she didn't actually burn or something, or somehow survived the fire. That is not the truth – she did survive, because she was never actually burned. What really happened was that during trials she was exonarated by governor William Fulda, because he was secretly having an affair with her – which was the reason for her being on trial in the first place. It is really a quite complex story, but I guess someone being found guilty and burned was what the people wanted and that became the story to be told and passed down.

Anyway, William later fled town after being accused of treason and sentenced to death by hanging. It did him no good, because he was eventually caught and hanged anyway. After all this Mary lived a secluded life in her house just above the mausoleum until she died of old age in 1718. Three days after her death her house burned down, so it's not the same house as the one Mortimer lives in, but it could have been. Just standing next to her shrine gave me the same creepy chills as his house does. They never figured out why her house burned down or who did it, and the lot was empty for many, many years until it was bought for next to nothing by Maximillian Goth in eighteentwenty-some-year. I don't remember excactly which one now.

This was very fascinating, and I thought I hated history, but this made me want to learn more. It's just to bad that the homework we got for today was some geometry thing on drawing circles and triangles and from there using a compass to connect the dots and draw a curve. What is the point of that!? I would instead want to dream away to a different time, a time of witches and uh.. fortresses and castles and things. But well, gotta do my homework anyway. Even if it's just drawing circles and curves for no reason...

 

'Prison Warden' Frediks notes:

After another long day at the office, with town council cabinet meetings, another meeting with the commercial development board and finally a conversation with the SVPD chief and substitute SFD chief about the employment situation at the fire station. It's been going on for more than two years and we still haven't got anyone willing to take on a long term contract.. It's seriously giving me a headache. We can't keep depending on fire fighters coming on from Bawyood any longer, it's just not a sustainable situation..

 

Anyway, I needed to unwind and catch up with my old buddy therapist Terje for a game of chess and to congratulate him with his wedding, which unfortunately we missed, so I called him and asked if he was available to hang out over at the old chess club.

A lot of networking has been going on here, and many friendships have formed over the years, whilst sharing a drop of the hard stuff by the fireplace in this parlour... or by any of the chessboards..

 

Margrethes notes:

Todays geometry homework was actually really, really tricky. I wish I had mom or dad here to ask for help, but I guess I'll just have to try and figure it out on my own. They will probably be much happier with me if I do, and then maybe they will take me out to learn how to drive later.

I wasn't completely done by the mom came home, even though I wish I was. She didn't mind though and seemed happy and smiling when she told me how proud she was of me asked me if I needed any help. I think I have figured out most of it by now, and I didn't really want to ask her for help, so I told her that I was ok and that I was almost finished.

    "Are you sure?" she asked softly, and I could almost just feel her warm smile from behind my back.

    "Yes, mom, I'm sure. I only have a few more points left.. I'll be done soon."I replied, reaching for my compass to draw the last circle. It might take a few tries, because it had to be perfect, but I could get it done.
    "Alright, I'll be upstairs finishing up some work if you need me or if there's anything I can do for you." she said before walking up the stairs. I know she would love to help me, she always does, but knowing mom, she would be even happier if I could solve it all without any help. It would also make it easier for me to ask her about teaching me how to drive later.. she probably would've done that too anyway, but I don't want to make her tired by asking to much.

Pias notes:

 

Some would call this unprofessional, but you have to understand how important my patients well-being is to me. It's not just a job, so yeah, sometimes I do chat with them on my time off. It's just what I have to do to make sure that they aren't feeling lonely, and to know that I genuinely and deeply care for each and every one of them. I just want to spread love and warmth around, and I have the surplus to do it, so I can't see how it can be a bad thing. Donating money to the poor makes me feel better, sure, but being in touch with people on a more personal basis is so much more rewarding anyhow.

Margrethes notes:

Mom deserves to take it alot easier than she does. I know she says that her job gives her energy, and that she enjoys working overtime, but still.. I don't want to stress her out, but at the same time I really, really want to learn how to drive.. And I'm not just saying the things I told her out of pure selfishness, I really meant them. This is just how we do it, and everybody needs to have their day brightened – every day. And especially mom and dad, since they always work so hard. Dad is probably still at work now, working with budgets and meetings and documents and stuff.

It's amazing how they can do all that, and still make me feel cared for, so I had to tell her.. before I could, hesitantly, ask if she could teach me how to drive..

 

"Please mom, I promise I'll be a good student." I felt this was a very big thing to ask of her, it was a little scary.. so I had to promise I would do my best.

Pias notes:

I knew she was going to ask one of us to teach her to drive soon enough. She has really prepared for this moment by being exceptionally good at finishing her homework without asking for help lately, even though it would have been a pleasure to help her, and not to mention her going the extra mile to do more chores in the house than I ever would have expected or wanted her to do. It was almost annoying how much she cleaned up everything, not leaving anything left for me! And she didn't need to do any of it – and if she hadn't asked me, I would have asked her if she didn't want to go for a little practice ride, so of course I told her that I'd be more than happy to teach her.

    Yeah, I could tell she was nervous, not just for asking, but also for the ride itself, so I did my best to assure her that we would take it slowly and that there was no need to rush it with anything. Safety first, always, and she would need to learn the basics of how to handle the pedals, the brake, the gas and the clutch. Especially the clutch and how to change gears, I think that's very important...

Margrethes notes:

I was behind the wheel of a car! But as my mom told me, I couldn't just hit the gas and drive straight away. Mom and dad makes it look so easy, but I had to do a whole lot of things before driving that I never would've thought of! Adjusting the seat, the mirrors and how to use the handle on either side of the steering wheel for turn signals, headlights and even cleaning the wind screen! And then she gave me another complete lecture about how to read the dashboard. The speedometer, the fuel gauge and the rev counter. There's so much to think about...
    After that I had to put the key in its slot, push the clutch pedal down and press the button below the key. In older cars, she said, I would need to turn the key to the correct position, kind of like unlocking a door...
And after all that, finally I was ready to drive the car by slowly letting go of the clutch pedal.. I tried my best, I really did, but all I did was make the car jolt suddenly and stop the engine.. I had to do this a few times before I got the hang of it.. and then the car started rolling! Oh my god!

        It was pretty scary, because from our house the road is all downhill! I looked to see the road in front of me, it felt like everything was disappearing from underneath! I was so afraid to drive off the road, I must have gripped the steering wheel really tight!

I would have been so terrified if mom wasn't there next to me, telling me that I was doing really good. And I'm supposed to do this alone!?? And then she wanted me to turn right after passing the library. I was so stressed I forgot to use the turn signal like she had just told me! Oh my god this is scary! There was another car there too! I felt like I was headed straight for it, but somehow I managed to stay in my lane and not crash! Then the road went uphill again, and I noticed I had to push harder on the accelerator to make the car go upwards! What looks so smooth and simple when mom and dad is driving, is not so smooth at all!

 

Oh, why can't just all roads be straight... I thought to myself, when I saw that there was another uphill and then a curve too! I didn't want to drive up there, so I panicked and did a u-turn! It was probably not the best idea, as my mom told me I shouldn't be turning so suddenly without checking for oncoming traffic..
"I'm sorry mom! I was just scared of going up that hill! I will try to not do it so suddenly next time!"

Well, maybe I was starting to get the hang of it as I drove as slowly as I could after this, keeping my eyes firmly on the road looking for cars.. now hoping that we could go back home again!

What goes up has to go down, and I REALLY wanted to stop the car on top of this hill and ask mom to take over.. but, I told her I would be a good student, and I certainly didn't want to disappoint her so I only had one choice here.. to hold my breath and hope for the best!

Well, down she goes... and at the bottom of this hill mom said I should take another right and OH MY GOD!

I had NEVER thought that the hill towards town was this steep and scary.. I could literally not see the road in front of me! And it had three bends on it too!

If I came out of this alive, I would never drive a car again! "How can you do this everyday mom!? It's so steep! Why did they have to make the road like this!? Can't you ask dad to put it in some budget to fix this or something!? This does not feel safe!!"

Phew.. well, if it hadn't been for my moms calming words, I probably wouldn't have made it! Hands at ten and two, eyes on the road ahead, not on the hood, breathe slowly, I got it. Oh! Probably the scariest thing I have ever done, but the feeling of success when I finally made it!

 

Then she asked me to make another u-turn.. I checked and the coast looked clear, I didn't see any cars so I thought I could safely make the turn. Slowly then, I turned the wheel to the left trying to not drive up onto the sidewalk before finding my place in the lane going back up again..
        "Well done!" my mom said from the passenger seat "Now maybe you can try to push that accelerator a little harder.. then use the clutch and we can try switching gears..."

 

        "I... are you sure mom? Should I do it now?" feeling nervous, because I knew if I started messing with the clutch I would probably just stall the car again.

        "Yes.. just slowly push the clutch down, then place your right hand on the gearstick and pull it gently backwards without releasing the clutch..." mom said calmly, but it wasn't really helping me much.
"I don't know mom.. I don't feel safe taking my hand away from the steering wheel!" I said, still keeping a firm grip at ten and two, just like I thought I should.
        "I know sweetheart, but you can do it! If you look in the mirror, there's a car catching up from behind us, so maybe we should speed up a little..." mom said, still as calm as if nothing was going on.

        "Oh my god mom! I can't do that – if I fail and stall the car now, we'll get rear ended!" I said, feeling the panic as I saw in the rear view mirror that the car was right on our tail!
        "Alright" she said "just breathe and take it easy. We'll be fine, looks like the other car is stopping. I recognize who it is now. It's just Jimmy starting his evening shift at the mental hospital. We'll be fine, just keep going at whatever pace feels best for you."

        "Oh.. thanks mom! I'm not ready to shift gears just yet! Maybe we should practice doing this somewhere flat and without traffic.. like a parking lot next time!" I said, not wanting to do any of this on an actual public road until I had tried it atleast a thousand times!
        "Don't worry sweetie, we'll do that next time – that's a really good idea. Now just keep straight ahead and drive past our house before turning left at the second junction. We'll just do one last trip up towards Stoney Falls." she said, reminding me that I could take it slowly and at my own pace. Driving past the pub, the library and our house... well, it wasn't so bad this time, I didn't have to make any turns and there wasn't really any traffic to speak of pressuring me into having to change gears and such.

To get to Stoney Falls I had to do a left turn this time which is why, I guess, she wanted me to drive there. Can't do only right turns, because then I would only be driving in circles.... but why not? A circle always ends up where it started... so I would always get back to where I came from.. maybe..

The road up to Stoney Falls goes through this narrow passage, and in this weather it felt a little creepy to drive through there, perhaps especially after I had been reminded of the story surrounding the witch trials. It wasn't just Little Black Marys Hill where things happened back in the day, there are stories about both Stoney Falls, Pinochle Pond and even Crystal Springs... if the water didn't get them, it was into the fire... so there were a couple of reasons I felt a little relieved finally when mom said it was probably enough for today and told me to stop the car. The lesson was over and she would take over from here, and we would turn around to go back home.

Now that I had noticed how steep the hills actually were after having to drive them myself.. it was impossible to not think about it, even though I was no longer driving.. So driving up and down these hills, well, I would just have to get used to it...

Continue to part II