Since Luc had accomplished the task of gaining his driver's license, he was responsible for taking Sam to school each day. St. John's wasn't very far from home but Luc's high school was quite a trek from their home. Abby and Tim had taken turns for the first few years driving Luc in the morning and he would take public transit home after school or school activities. So it was a lessening of a work load when Luc could drive himself.
Luc knowing how nice it was to get driven to school, especially on days with nasty weather, had offered Sam a ride if he was ready on time. Sam, being far more organized and up earlier, had no trouble waiting by the door each morning to get a ride to school.
Luc was responsible for the gas money when he was out with friends or going around town for his yard care business; however his parents gave him school transport money for fuel. Luc collected all the money they gave him and by purchasing carefully and driving directly Luc had been able to not put any of his own money into gas for most of the school year, saving for a new computer system. He was going to be able to purchase it much sooner than if he only had the money from his job.
He had spent the last few weeks doing research about the most up to date equipment and its stats. He figured with the better spring weather arriving soon he would have more work to do as people wanted their yards tidied up from the long winter months. And more work meant more money.
Abby and Tim had been very happy with Luc's driving. He'd been responsible, kept the gas topped up and followed all of their safety rules. He had been threatened before he was ever handed the keys for the first time that if they ever caught him being unsafe or fooling around they would remove his car privileges for the rest of his young life. Luc, knowing his parents followed through on all threats, made sure that he kept to the speed limit, made good decisions when driving and never showed off to Sam or his friends.
On a cold and rainy day in early April Luc dragged himself out of bed. The dreary grey of the morning sky blanketed his mood and he had little interest in going to school or participating in the world at large. By the time he got to the kitchen, showered and dressed for the day, Sam was standing by the front door playing a game on his iPod. Luc threw some bread in the toaster, packing his backpack while he waited for his breakfast. By the time his toast was buttered Sam was sitting in the car having taken Luc's keys from him. Luc ate as he walked to the car and had the bread hanging from his mouth as he started the car and backed it out of the driveway.
The boys hadn't exchanged any words until Sam stepped out of the vehicle at the drop off circle in front of St. John's. Waving with a "bye" Sam turned to run into the school quickly, so that he didn't get too wet, but stopped immediately when he heard the crunch of two cars meeting unexpectedly. Sam turned to find a van kissing the back bumper of the car Luc was driving. Sam turned and ran straight back to the car to find Luc sitting in the driver's seat, stunned by what had happened as he hadn't even been moving. The driver of the van, after a few seconds, exited his own vehicle and jogged to Luc's window. The young face looking in at him displayed the sheer panic he was feeling. By the time Luc was standing staring wide eyed at damage, Sam was loudly letting the unknown teenager that he was in big trouble and he shouldn't have hit his brother. Luc had to take a few moments to calm Sam down before returning to dealing with the accident. Every word that Luc spoke, Sam echoed. Again Luc had to stop dealing with the problem and address his younger brother. Due to his own frustration, aggravation and shock, Luc didn't really understand that Sam's explosive verbal berating was in his defense. And so when he finally demanded Sam go to class he did so in an angry unsympathetic tone.
With Sam finally out of the picture Luc was able to speak with the other boy. The other driver was another 'older brother' dropping his sibling off at school. Both teens assessed the damage to the van and then the car. Bumpers scrunched and a few broken lights; nothing too terrible. Luc exchanged contact information with the other driver and got the name of the student he was dropping off, realizing that their brothers were in the same class. Since they themselves needed to get to school they decided to meet after class that day to hash out a plan of attack to solve their mutual dilemma.