I started learning how to drive when I was 14 and my mom would let me drive the Bronco in the back field. I would just drive it in circles and I loved going really fast and hitting all the hills and uneven parts of the field so I could make the Bronco fly! Yes, I do think this is where my bad habit of driving fast came from...my mom should have rethought this "safe" plan. Occasionally, she would let me take it on the back roads of Beavercreek (that's my hometown!). When I was 15 and I had my permit I bought my first car. My parents went in half on it and I got a '76 Toyota Pickup truck. I thought it was the coolest truck ever! It was baby blue with red side mirrors and license plate covers. My mom would let me take every chance I had to drive it with her as my passenger and I took full advantage! There were a few times she even let me take it out alone...and not just down the street!
Needless to say, I got a lot of practice driving, so when it was time to take my drivers test I did just fine! My mom thought she lucked out with me and that I was going to be a really good driver. See, my sister failed 3 times and was pity passed on the 4th, so my mom was a little apprehensive about the driving situation! That's another story in itself.
One week after I got my license I was excited to go out on the town with my friends...when I say out on the town, I mean the mall. I picked up Tony and Sherleen and hit the open road! I was probably a little cocky with my driving abilities and feeling really cool being out on my own, and wasn't paying as much attention as I should have. I was preparing to make a left turn and was waiting as an oncoming car was going by to make my turn. I got a little eager and misjudged the other cars progress and turned a little too soon. The car was a Porsche. I ended up hitting the back of the car and the back panel or fender (I'm not entirely sure because of what I did next) fell off.
It all happened very fast and I panicked. I paused and I was freaking out and so was Tony and Sherleen. Did I stop and give my insurance? Or did I run like hell? The adrenaline was a little too much and I hit the gas! I took off like crazy. The other car flipped around and came after me! OMG! I was really freaking out. I started to drive like mad to get away from him and turned into a subdivision. It was getting to be dusk and about to turn dark. I turned my lights out and zoomed like crazy up and down and in and out of various streets, it was scary! I found a side street to try to hide out on. I succeeded. The other car did not find me. We waited for a bit and then slinked out of the subdivision and decided it was best just to get home and get off the road! Our nerves were shot! I think Tony and Sherleen were a little scared...sorry guys!
Now, I couldn't very well tell my mom, she thought I was a good driver! I know for sure if I had told her she would have immediately assumed I was just like my sister and my driving privileges were going to be very limited. My car was damaged by the headlight on the driver's side, so I couldn't hide it from her. I came up with my story and made sure Sherleen and Tony were on board. I decided to tell my mom that we did in fact go to the mall and when we came out to the parking lot someone had hit my car and didn't leave a note. I was pretty good at acting and the fake tears were pretty easy for me, so I was going to pull out all the cards, but make sure I didn't go over the top. My mom was pretty wise to me after so many of these episodes when I was younger. She knew I had an ability to manipulate her with my fake tears.
When I got home my dad was in the driveway smoking and immediately saw the damage to my truck. He asked me what happened and I told him my story. My dad would believe anything I told him, so he wasn't a very good test to see if my story would pass, but he also had a big mouth so I knew better than to tell him the truth (although he probably would have been slightly proud of my rebel activity). He just looked it over and said "that's a shame, but I think I can do something with that." That's all I really expected from him. I took a deep breath and prepared myself for my mom, who I already saw looking out at me from the picture window...so I'm sure she saw it or heard my dad ask me about it.
I went inside and the minute I opened the door, she said "what happened and are you okay?" I sighed a little and then said "I'm really upset. We went to the mall and I even parked far away so no one would ding my door, and when we came out I saw that the front of my truck had been damaged like someone hit it. I looked for a note and there was nothing. We told security to see if they had any cameras on the parking lot, but they said there weren't any cameras on it." I wanted to cover any of her potential questions. I made my eyes well up a little, but didn't bring on the full tears, because I figured that was too much and she'd see through it.
She gave me that look at first to see if she could break me and then said "I should call the police to file a report in case we want to file a claim." She knew the idea of calling the police would panic me if I had done something wrong or illegal. I knew her too well. I just said "maybe, if you think we will file a claim, but I only have liability insurance, so what good is it going to do us?" That seemed to satisfy her since I responded calmly.
To put the finishing touch on it, I had told Tony to call me and mention the "parking lot incident" in our phone conversation, because I knew my mom listened in on all my calls. I was so good at that stuff! She was totally convinced.
To this day she still doesn't know what really happened. In fact, it always comes up as a "poor Debbie" story at most holidays. I still milk it for all it's worth!
If the guy with the Porsche ever happens to read this post, I'm really sorry! I'm much more responsible now :-)
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