By the time Charles is in twelfth grade, he, Drew, and Melinda are seniors, Charlotte and Howard are juniors, Stu and Betty are sophomores, and Didi is a freshman. Drew starts being taken by Charlotte, who often argues with him and vice versa. Stu also has started to date Didi. But for the moment, Charles and Melinda are still just friends. This is especially good if Charles needs help learning how to drive.

By New Years' Day 1974, Stu Pickles was back to his cheerful self. But once school was back on, he wasn't wearing his matador costume anymore, for he was no longer a child. Instead, he wore the normal clothes of the average, emotionally-mature high school student. Therefore, he had to go through the hallways of Eucaipah High School unnoticed by all except his brother Drew and his friends Howard, Betty, Charlotte, Melinda, and Chas.

All through his junior year, Chas was struggling to attain his driver's license, for although he passed the written exam with flying colors, it was the driving portion he needed to improve on.

The driving instructor led Chas to the car. Once they both had entered the car, she asked him, "Okay, Charles, what's the first thing you do?"

Chas was at a loss for words. "What?" he asked.

The driving instructor said, "First thing is to start the car."

But once she turned on the engine, Chas seemed to look uneasy. The driving instructor was concerned, and she said to him, "Charles? Charles? Relax, it's only the car."

Chas gasped, "The car?"

"Okay, now what do you do next?"

"Floor it?"

"No, no! Don't floor it."

"Floor it?!"

"No, no! Don't floor it!"

"Okay, floor it!"

"No! No!"

But without thinking, Chas pushed the accelerator down and started driving backwards really fast, and a few spectators watched as he drove into a wall.

No one was injured, but the car was nearly totaled, and the driving instructor was sobbing, "Oh, Charles! Why?"

Melinda, on the other hand, aced both the written exam and the driving exam. The driving instructor was overjoyed to see Melinda driving perfectly, going around every corner instead of cutting the corners, avoiding every obstacle with ease, she even nailed the parallel parking!

The driving instructor was so moved she said to Melinda, "Here is a driver!"

And so it was that, in the spring of 1974, Melinda Cavanaugh got her driver's license nearly one year ahead of Chas Finster.

One day, she drove up to the Finsters' residence and shouted to Chas, "Hey, Charles! I just got my driver's license! You wanna ride? Hop on in!"

Chas thought about this awhile: "Melinda's gotten her driver's license, and I haven't. My classmates must think I'm a dork for flunking my driver's test!"

Chas sighed, "Might as well…"

And as soon as Chas stepped into Melinda's car and closed the door, Melinda started the engine and began to drive him to Eucaipah High School. At first, she took it nice and slow, which pleased Chas.

But after she had gone a ways, she began to floor it! She picked up the speed and drove very fast to the school, terrifying poor Chas and making him carsick!

Melinda didn't notice this until after they had gotten to school. "Charles," she cried. "Are you all right?"

Chas replied, "I think I'm gonna need to be more careful at my driver's test next time."

And he fled to the men's restroom to throw up, much to Melinda's dismay…

A few months later, in September 1974, Chas, Drew, and Melinda were high school seniors. Howard and Charlotte were juniors. Stu and Betty were sophomores. And Didi was a freshman.

As they were about to take their classes, Chas, Drew, and Melinda felt very mature, for they were just one year away from living real adult lives.

On the first day of school, Chas came across Stu, who was muttering something to himself. He couldn't help but approach the purple-haired young man and ask him, "Stu, what's the matter?"

Stu replied, "The tenth grade is a drag. My pop enrolled me in all these courses: Latin, English literature, English composition, English history up to 1688, geometry, biology, and beginning French! Doesn't he know how hard these courses are?"

Chas sympathetically said to Stu, "Relax. Breeze through these courses. You don't have to be frustrated, because it's only the first day of school. And besides, now that you've finally wept, you're a real man now, in a real man's world. And when you get to be in twelfth grade like me, you'll get to graduate from high school and live a real adult life."

And the red-headed teen smiled as he went to his classroom and said, "See you later, Stu."

Later, during one of Chas' classes, he was sitting with Drew and Melinda. As the teacher was speaking, Drew turned to Chas and asked, "So Chas, still having car trouble?"

Chas sighed, "I've been trying to get my driver's license for about a year now, but I always get nervous at the wheel. I don't think I'm ever gonna get my driver's license."

It was then when Melinda placed a gentle hand on Chas' shoulder and said to him, "Don't despair, Charles. Since I already have my driver's license, I'd like to teach you to drive."

But Chas got bad memories of getting carsick from Melinda's joyride, and he said, "Oh, that really isn't necessary, Melinda."

"But I insist. You must learn to drive. After all, you want to be a father when you grow up, right?"

"Well, yeah. I am aware that a father must know how to drive, but for me, driving is a struggle."

"And I will help you get past the struggle…"

And so, after school, Chas found himself riding shotgun in Melinda's car. He was so nervous he could feel the sweat pouring down his face.

He gulped, "I'm not so sure about that…"

"Why not?" asked Melinda.

"Because I… I…"

Placing her hand on his shoulder, Melinda said to Chas, "Now, don't be scared, Charles. The road may look scary at first, but once you get used to it, you will be driving like a dad in no time."

And so, she began to drive along the road, allowing Chas to see what was just ahead as she spoke: "We all know this one from grade school: red means stop, green means go, and yellow means slow down. But there is much more to driving than that…"

"Okay, Melinda."

"Now, when driving, watch out for pedestrians…"

From September 1973 onward, Chas tried to pass his driver's test again… and again… and again. But try as he might, he kept failing. One time he crashed the driving instructor's car into a fire hydrant, another time he nearly ran over a pedestrian by mistake! He even got in trouble for driving on the British side of the road at one point. In fact, by February 1975, he had failed the driving test eleven times!

All through his senior year, Chas would walk down the hallways to find that Stu seemed to have fallen in love with young Didi. As he was walking alongside her on his way to his Latin class, Stu said, "So, Didi, notice anything different?"

Didi took a good look at Stu and gasped, "Why, Stu! You've grown up!"

"Yep!"

"I remember back when we were in junior high, and you were a gangly eighth grader with braces!"

"Indeed, I was. But I'm a man now! So, why don't you come over to my house and take a look at the Fast Flipper Tournament trophy I just won?"

Didi in turn fell in love with Stu as she replied, "That would be nice, Stu…"

Presently, Stu said to Didi, "Well, I'll be taking Latin now. E pluribus unum!"

As Stu and Didi walked to their respective classes, eyeing each other, Chas looked on with longing for a date with Melinda.

Later, Chas saw Drew and Charlotte arguing with each other.

Drew asked Charlotte, "What were you doing on that phone? Who were you talking to?"

Charlotte cried, "How dare you!"

"I saw you talking with this Jonathan fellow on the phone!"

"That's enough! Jonathan is just someone I know from off-campus!"

"Just someone I know from off-campus! You vain, empty-headed peacock!"

"It's not what you think it is, you grump!"

"I'll teach you a thing or two…"

"What are you saying, Drew? We're only teenagers, after all. We're not even married, and you're already jealous?"

"I'm not a toy to be played with!"

"Wait 'til I graduate next year! Then I'll get whatever job I please, and if you don't like it, good-bye!"

"You're going to class? Oh, what luck! I'm delighted!"

"House-painter!"

"Snake!"

"Toad!"

"You witch!"

But as they went to their separate classes, Drew and Charlotte gazed sadly at each other.

Presently, as Chas watched the whole scene, Melinda came along. Chas said to her, "You know, Melinda, if we were dating, and you were constantly arguing with me like that, I don't know what I'd do with myself."

"Charles," said Melinda. "You're my best friend. Come on, let's go to class."

And Chas and Melinda went to class together …

In February 1975, Chas was preparing for his twelfth attempt at getting his driver's license. As usual, he was seated shotgun, while Melinda was driving and giving out instructions for him: "And remember: always check your mirrors, never comment on your driving instructor's weight, and while we Americans always drive on the right-hand side of the road, it is the Brits who think that the right side is the wrong side."

Chas, still looking nervous, said, "Yeah, th-that's nice, Melinda… It's just that…" He sighed, "I don't wanna talk about it."

Melinda was confused. "What are you talking about? You'll get your driver's license eventually."

"But you wouldn't understand. I'm the only one who suffers from… I just can't say it."

Chas was obviously ashamed of himself. How could he tell Melinda, the girl he had trusted ever since the fourth grade?

But one look from Melinda, one genuinely curious look, made Chas swallow his pride and say to her, "I'm nearsighted, I get carsick, and looking down the road makes me nervous."

This made Melinda reply, understandingly, "Now I know why you flunked so much."

"Yeah," sighed Chas sadly. "Why does it always have to be me?"

"Charles, how do you feel right now?"

"How do you think I feel? Awful!"

"Really awful, or just a little awful?"

"Really awful! I don't want anyone to rub it in. I guess I'm a loser after all…"

"Oh, Charles," Melinda replied lovingly. "No one's a loser who has at least one friend. Now, why don't you let me teach you to drive so you can pass your driver's test. Driving can't be any worse than living in fear of failure."

And she kissed him on the cheek, causing him to blush bashfully. Chas then said, "Drive away, Miss Melinda!"

And Melinda drove, taking it nice and slowly so Chas wouldn't get carsick so easily. As Melinda spoke to him, Chas was only too eager to listen to her…

Once Melinda had finished driving Chas, he said to her, "You know something, Melinda? Even though I don't want to take my driver's test again, part of me kinda does want to do it."

"It does?" asked Melinda.

"Yeah. One part of me says, 'Chas, ya just gotta do it,' then the other part says, 'Chas, don't listen to him! He doesn't know what he's talking about!' But then the first part keeps saying, 'Do it, Chas! Do it!'"

"Sounds confusing."

"It is, Melinda. But no matter how scary it is, no matter how much it may hurt, I'm gonna get my driver's license!"

"Wow! Charles, you really are brave!"

Chas smiled at Melinda's comment…

Not long thereafter, Chas was ready to take his driver's test. His driving instructor, weary of Chas' screw-ups, sighed, "Well, this had better be good, or I don't want you showing your sorry face to me ever again!"

This made Chas nervous for a little while, but then he told himself, "Courage, Chas. Twelfth time's the charm…"

And so, Chas got into the car, ready to take his driver's test. This time, instead of flooring it, Chas gently started his engine.

The driving instructor was pleasantly surprised. "Good job, Charles," she said.

Pretty soon, Chas was starting to drive like a veteran driver, and as he drove, his confidence was rising. He rounded each corner, avoided each obstacle, and made each stop without any mistakes. After all, if he wanted to be a father after graduating high school, he needed to drive without too many mistakes.

For once, the driving instructor smiled at Chas, knowing that he had learned…

The next day, Stu and Drew were waiting by the school with Melinda, who asked them, "You think Charles got his driver's license?"

"I don't know," answered Stu. "But I'll bet he did!"

"Did not!" argued Drew.

Stu said ruefully, "Yeah, I guess you're right…"

"I am?" asked Drew, with more than a hint of surprise.

Suddenly, someone drove up to the school and spoke to Melinda, Stu, and Drew in a familiar nasally voice: "Hey, guys!"

It was Chas, who was driving his very own car for the first time in his life. Chas had finally gotten his driver's license.

"Charles! You did it!" cried Melinda with joy. "You got your driver's license!"

"Yep!" Chas replied. "And my very own car to boot!"

Stu and Drew were also amazed.

Yes, earning a driver's license was a major joy for young Charles Finster, as this meant that, not only could he drive to school, he could also, in his adult years, drive himself to college, drive his bride to their honeymoon cottage, and, eventually, drive his kid to school, which would let his life reach full-circle.