In which it is explained how Eponine got the car in a tree with Combeferre narrating.
Enjolras, having finished paying off his car, had gifted the keys to Eponine. His main focus was now on his new mode of transportation and he had wanted to see his car go to a good home.
I can understand this. It's quite like my friend to do something charitable, philanthropic, and kind. Eponine needed an automobile of her own, considering she would be taking classes at the university soon. Having my own car currently in the shop made me far more appreciative of the freedom it can bring. She offered me a ride across town so I could still attend my lecture. I accepted, pleased that she was gracing me with a lift and because my acceptance seemed to brighten her as well.
"Who taught you how to drive?" I asked as I slid into the passenger seat, shut my door, and buckled up.
"Enjolras," she replied.
The doors were suddenly locked and I had a mild panic attack as she peeled out of the parking lot.
I love my friend dearly, but he drives like a demon. He seems to take a strange glee when it comes to speed, making 'good time' as he calls it, and finding new inventive ways of terrifying his passengers. I hoped Eponine hadn't picked up his bad habits.
"Not to worry," she said. "We'll make good time!"
I clung to my seat belt.
Her driving was a shade better than Enjolras', and by better I mean less wheelies. This is not because of her lack of commitment to the method of driving, but rather due to lack of experience. Given another few months and she would likely be taking turns on one wheel instead of two.
I prayed, dear reader.
But nothing Enjolras has ever done has compared at all to the junction over the highways. This junction had several bridges going every which way around the highway. Heights made me a little nervous, and apparently Eponine was so entranced with the speedometer - "One day, I'm going to break his record!" - that we ended up missing the exit.
Fortunately, Eponine knew how to think on her feet.
Unfortunately, the thought of turning around didn't occur to her.
Eponine's answer was something entirely different. She aimed for the parking lot at the lecture hall, and then sailed the car right off of one of the higher junctions.
We caught air.
I have never been so terrified in all my life. I think I screamed. I think I said a prayer. I think I believed in all the deities that ever existed within those precious few seconds, and I wondered if I'd be able to find Enjolras and the others in the next life as I had in this one.
We landed not on the ground. Not even in a parking space. We landed in a tree. The branches scratched along the side of the car, and I stared at a few pinecones, hardly believing my luck or my life.
"I was off by a few feet. Maths just aren't my strong suit," Eponine huffed.
I needed to get my phone. I needed to call my parents. I needed to call Enjolras and Courfeyrac and all the others just to let them know that I still lived, that I loved them, that I would like very much to come home right now.
A bird landed on the hood of the car and tweeted at us. I identified it on instinct, and only then did I get my brain back into gear.
A few phone calls later saw us being rescued from the tree. Eponine wanted to get out on her own, but I convinced her not to since the loss of her weight may send the car falling down with me in it.
"You should jump out then!"
Nothing doing, I said with emphasis.
Once we were safe, the car was removed from the tree. Enjolras paid for the bill on that with an understanding smile at Eponine. I hadn't driven with Enjolras in awhile. Had he ever done this?
Understanding smile or not, from now on, I'll be the one driving.