Chapter 5: Mocchi's Rough Ride
After Mocchi took his written driving test yesterday, he arrived at the driving school at 10:30 to take the road test. The little pink monster waited anxiously in the front office for a couple of minutes, and then a slender young man with short, neatly combed black hair walked in the office, carrying a notepad. The man was wearing a light blue dress shirt, khaki trousers, and a yellow tie with a palm tree and the word "MIAMI" printed across it in pink letters. "Hi," he said to Mocchi. "Are you Mocchi?" Mocchi jumped out of his chair and said, "Yep! That's me chi!" "Okay, good," the man said. "I'll be your driving instructor for your road test today. Are you ready to take it?" "You bet chi!" Mocchi replied excitedly. The man gave Mocchi a set of car keys and they both ran out to the parking lot. The young man walked over next to a blue and yellow 1995 Toyota Tercel coupe and told Mocchi, "We're going to use this car." "Okay chi," said Mocchi. He unlocked the car doors and they both got in the car. Mocchi put on his seatbelt but the shoulder strap was in his face, so he pulled the shoulder strap behind his back. Then he adjusted the rearview mirrors and put the key in the ignition. Mocchi pushed the clutch pedal all the way down with his left foot and put his right foot on the brake and started up the car. Then he released the parking brake and put the car in Reverse. While Mocchi backed the car out of the parking space, he released the clutch pedal and occasionally tapped the accelerator pedal. Mocchi then pressed down the brake pedal and the engine stalled while the car rolled slowly backwards. He pulled the parking brake up and pressed the clutch with his left foot, restarted the car, and put it in 1st gear. Mocchi released the parking brake and gently tapped the accelerator after releasing the clutch pedal. The car jerked forward a little bit, but he was able to keep driving towards the back parking lot. When he got to the back parking lot, Mocchi pressed down the clutch and the brake at the same time.
When Mocchi stopped the car at the back parking lot, the driving teacher pointed to the first set of cones and told him, "I want you to drive in and out through those cones, then turn around and do it again in the other direction." Mocchi said, "Okay." Mocchi took his right foot off the brake and gently pressed the accelerator and released the clutch at the same time. Then he took his foot off the accelerator and put his left foot on the clutch and slowly steered the car between the first two cones. When Mocchi turned the wheel to the right, the right corner of the front bumper knocked over one of the cones. Mocchi stomped on the brake pedal and the car jerked to a stop and the engine stalled. The driving teacher scribbled a little bit in his notepad and said, "Okay, just start the car up again and keep going through the cones." Mocchi restarted the car and released the clutch while he pressed down on the accelerator pedal. He was able to steer around the left side of the next cone, then he turned the wheel all the way to the right and got the car through the last two cones in the line. Mocchi turned the car around and stopped on the right side of the last cone in the line, and the driving instructor got out and repositioned the cone that Mocchi had knocked down earlier. After he got back in the passenger seat, Mocchi steered the car through the cones in the opposite direction. When Mocchi reached the fourth cone in the line, he stomped on the clutch and the brake pedals at the same time and the car stopped jerkily. As he put the car in Reverse, the gearbox made a loud grinding noise. Mocchi backed the car up a few feet and then shifted to 1st gear, and the gearbox made the same noise again. He released the clutch and turned the steering wheel hard to the left and gently pressed the accelerator down. After he passed through the cones, Mocchi turned the wheel all the way to the right and made it through the last two cones. Then the driving teacher pointed to another set of cones on the other side of the parking lot and told Mocchi, "Okay, now I want you to drive towards those cones and back up inside the cones." "Okay." Mocchi said nervously. Mocchi drove to the other side of the lot and stopped the car after it passed the set of cones arranged in a rectangular pattern. He put the car in Reverse and turned around to look out the back window, and he let go of the brake pedal and gently pressed down the accelerator pedal. As he approached the cones, Mocchi took his foot off the accelerator and turned the steering wheel to the left. When he backed up inside the cones, Mocchi turned the steering wheel to the right and pressed the brake pedal. Mocchi pulled up the parking brake and he saw that the car was parked unevenly in between the cones. He released the parking brake and shifted the car to 1st gear, then he let go of the clutch pedal and the car stalled. Mocchi restarted the car, and as it moved slowly forward, he turned the wheel to the left. Then he put the car in Reverse and backed up in between the cones again, and this time the car was positioned more evenly within the cones. Mocchi pulled up the parking brake and the driving teacher scribbled a few notes in his notepad. Then the driving instructor pointed out the driver's side window at another set of cones on the other side of the parking lot and said, "Now I want you to drive to those cones and parallel park between them." Mocchi released the parking brake and put the car in 1st gear and let go of the clutch. As he turned the steering wheel to the left, the little car started jerking forward, so Mocchi pressed down the accelerator pedal and drove towards a set of cones arranged in a rectangle. When the front wheels passed the last cone, Mocchi stopped the car and the engine stalled. Mocchi restarted the car, shifted to Reverse, and turned the steering wheel to the right. He let go of the brake and clutch pedals at the same time and pressed down the accelerator a little too hard. The car jerked backwards and knocked over the cone behind it. Mocchi slammed on the brake and shifted to 1st gear, and the driving instructor said, "Just try again and be a little more careful." Mocchi drove the car forward slowly and stopped. The driving instructor got out and stood the knocked-over cone back up. Then he got back in the car and Mocchi put the car in Reverse, this time gently pressing down the accelerator. He turned around to see out the back window and turned the steering wheel to the right. As the car came closer to the cones behind it, Mocchi pressed down the brake pedal. Then he put the car in 1st gear, turned the steering wheel to the left a little, and let go of the brake and clutch. The car jerked forward and knocked over both of the cones in front of it. Mocchi stomped on the brake pedal and started crying. "I can't parallel park!" he whined. "Don't worry," said the driving teacher calmly. "You can try again." Mocchi put the car in Reverse and backed up a little. The driving teacher got out and set up the cones that Mocchi knocked over. When he got back in the car, Mocchi put the car in 1st gear and slowly drove forward. As he got closer to the cones, Mocchi stopped the car and pulled up the parking brake. The driving teacher scribbled a few more notes in his notepad, then he said to Mocchi, "You did okay, but you just need some more practice with your parallel parking. Now I think you're ready to drive on the streets." "All right chi!" Mocchi said happily.
While Mocchi was waiting to turn right onto Toshiba Boulevard, it started to rain, so he turned on the windshield wipers. He finally saw a clear space in traffic, so he turned on the right turn signal and released the clutch pedal while gently pressing down the accelerator as he turned right and stayed in the right lane. Mocchi shifted to 2nd gear as he accelerated towards the Sanyo Road intersection. He noticed that the traffic lights had changed to yellow, so he pushed the brake and clutch pedals at the same time and shifted to 1st gear. While Mocchi was waiting for the traffic lights to turn green, he turned on the right turn indicators. The driving teacher turned on the radio and pushed the tuning button to set the radio on 98.7 The River which plays love songs from the 70's and 80's. When the traffic lights turned green, Mocchi released the clutch and pressed down the accelerator a little too hard, and the little car jerked forward violently and the engine cut off. Mocchi pushed down the clutch with his left foot and put his right foot on the brake as he restarted the car. He took his foot off the brake pedal and pushed down the accelerator just as he released the clutch. The car moved forward much more smoothly and made it through the intersection onto Sanyo Road. The driving instructor scribbled some notes in his notepad and then he turned up the radio a little. The song "Tiny Dancer" by Sir Elton John was playing, and the driving teacher said, "This is one of my most favorite songs." Mocchi said, "Mine too chi." Then they started singing: "Hold me closer tiny dancer; Count the headlights on the highway; Lay me down in sheets of linen; you had a busy day today…" While Mocchi was driving down Sanyo Road through the residential area, he saw a yellow station wagon stopped at the entrance to the parking lot of an apartment building. Suddenly the station wagon turned right and pulled out in front of Mocchi's car, and the little pink and green monster slammed on the brake and jerked the steering wheel to the left, causing the car to spin out across the wet street. He started the car back up and shifted from 3rd gear to 1st gear which caused the gearbox to make a loud grunting noise. Then he made a U-turn, and continued driving down the street while the driving teacher scribbled some notes in his notepad. As Mocchi approached the stop sign at the Samsung Avenue intersection, he pushed down the clutch pedal while gently applying the brakes and shifted to 1st gear. As he was stopping at the stop sign, the radio announcer said, "Your station for laughter and sorrow, heartbreak and tears, and those post-therapy session blues, 98.7 The River." Mocchi turned left onto Samsung Avenue and accelerated to 45 MPH. The radio station began a 10-minute commercial break which included commercials for Barnes Restaurant, Memorial Health Medical Center, and Audio Warehouse. A couple of minutes after Mocchi turned left onto Samsung Avenue, he whined, "Mocchi hungry." The driving instructor said, "We can take a lunch break in a little while, okay?" "Okay," Mocchi replied. He noticed that the traffic lights up ahead had just turned yellow, so he slammed on the brakes and the car slid on the wet street past the crosswalk and came to a stop in the middle of the intersection at Panasonic Drive. Mocchi shifted to Reverse and backed the car up until it was behind the crosswalk. At that time, a police car had stopped behind Mocchi's car. When the traffic lights turned green, Mocchi tapped the accelerator as he released the clutch, but he didn't realize, until after the little car bumped into the police car, that he left the car in Reverse. Mocchi was in a panic as he tried to shift back into 1st gear, causing the gearbox to grunt loudly and the engine to shut off. After a minute, the little pink and green monster got the car started, put it in 1st gear, and continued straight through the intersection. Then the song "I Just Died in Your Arms" by Cutting Crew began playing on the car radio. As Mocchi continued driving on Samsung Avenue, the police car followed about two feet behind his car. Just as Mocchi shifted from 3rd to 4th gear at 40 MPH, the police car passed the little Toyota at 65 MPH and just barely missed the front bumper when it got in front. A couple of minutes later, Mocchi had reached the Sony Expressway on-ramp, where he saw that the police car had lost control and crashed into the guardrail at the top of the on-ramp. The driving teacher pointed and laughed at the wrecked patrol car and Mocchi turned on the left turn indicators, pressed down the clutch, took his foot off the accelerator, and shifted to 2nd gear. He stopped the car under the bridge while the radio was playing the last part of the song. When the song finished, the radio announcer was singing, "I just died in your arms tonight; It must have been something you said; I just died in your arms tonight." Mocchi was waiting to turn left onto the Sony Expressway on-ramp. When the oncoming traffic cleared, he took his foot off the clutch and the car jerked forward and stalled. Mocchi restarted the little car and turned left onto Sony Expressway, and the radio began playing "Silver, Blue and Gold" by Bad Company. Mocchi accelerated to 55 MPH and had successfully shifted to 5th gear on the highway, and he turned on the right turn indicators when he saw the off-ramp a couple of minutes later. He took his foot off the accelerator while pressing down the clutch and he shifted to 2nd gear just before stopping at the bottom of the exit ramp.
After he waited for an open space in the traffic on Toshiba Boulevard, Mocchi turned right and the car jerked a little as he shifted from 1st to 2nd gear. By the time the car reached 37 MPH, the driving instructor told Mocchi, "Turn right at the next parking lot, and then we can have lunch." Mocchi slowed down and turned on the right turn indicators, and then he turned right into the parking lot of Carey Hilliard's. Mocchi found an empty space at the end of the parking lot and he stopped the car in it. Then he put the car in Neutral and pulled up the parking brake, and he got out and went into the restaurant with the driving teacher. Mocchi and the driving instructor sat in a booth at the front of the restaurant and were looking at the menu. A waitress came to their table and asked, "Hello. What would you like to drink?" Mocchi said, "Coke chi," and the driving instructor said, "Sweet tea, please." The waitress brought them their drinks thirty seconds later, and then she asked, "Are you ready to order?" "Barbecue sandwich and fries!" said Mocchi excitedly. The driving teacher said, "I'd like the fried shrimp and baked potato with a side salad." The waitress scribbled on her notepad and walked back to the kitchen. The waitress returned seven minutes later carrying a tray with Mocchi and the driving teacher's food on it. She placed the plate of fried shrimp and baked potato and the bowl of salad in front of the driving teacher, and she placed the plate with the barbecue sandwich and fries in front of Mocchi. After they started eating, the driving instructor asked Mocchi, "How is it?" Mocchi answered, "Good chi. How's yours?" The teacher answered, "It's really good." After a while, the waitress brought their check which totaled $14.26. When they were finished eating, the driving teacher took the check to the cashier and paid it while Mocchi left two Gold coins on the table.
Mocchi and the driving instructor got back in the car after leaving Carey Hilliard's. Mocchi started the car and shifted it to Reverse. He pressed the accelerator while he released the clutch and slowly backed out of the parking space, while the radio was playing a commercial for Shady Acres Condominium Complex. Then he shifted to 1st gear and drove out of the parking lot, turning right onto Toshiba Boulevard. When he got onto the busy street, the car radio was playing a commercial for O. C. Welch Ford. After the commercial ended, the radio announcer said, "More mood swings than your pregnant wife, 98.7 The River," and then the song "Missing You" by John Waite started playing. After he shifted to 4th gear, Mocchi accelerated until the car reached 45 MPH. Other cars were passing Mocchi's car in the left lane going 50 or 60 MPH, but Mocchi stayed at 45 MPH and continued through the Panasonic Drive intersection. The driving instructor scribbled a few notes in his notepad. Mocchi turned on the left turn indicators and moved into the left lane. As he came closer to the Sanyo Road intersection, the traffic lights changed from green to yellow, so Mocchi took his foot off the accelerator and pressed the clutch and brake pedals at the same time as he shifted to 1st gear. He stopped the car in the left lane as the traffic lights changed to red. Two minutes later, the traffic lights turned green, and Mocchi accelerated through the intersection and slowed down as he approached the left turn lane in front of the driving school. He stopped the car and turned on the left turn signals and waited for several seconds for a clear space in the traffic. As soon as the traffic cleared, Mocchi turned left and drove into the front parking lot of the driving school. He stopped the car in a parking space, pulled up the parking brake, and shut off the engine.
The driving instructor looked over the notes he wrote and he said to Mocchi, "You definitely need to work on your driving." Mocchi looked at the driving instructor with a confused expression on his face and said, "Why chi?" The driving teacher ripped the page out of his notepad and showed it to Mocchi, saying, "Well, for starters, you took a long time to parallel park, not to mention you knocked over most of the cones doing that; you also slam on the brakes like you think the car will stop on a dime; and you have lots of trouble operating a manual transmission. Your driving skills are definitely not good." The little pink monster looked at the driving instructor and asked sadly, "Mocchi failed?" "No," replied the driving instructor. "You passed the driving test, but just barely. You got a 72 on your test, so you'll still be able to get your license." He handed Mocchi the paper with the grade written on it, and Mocchi said excitedly, "I passed! I passed! I passed! I passed!" They both got out of the car and walked in the building. After Mocchi filled out some paperwork in the front office, he walked into another room which had several large machines in it. Mocchi stood in front of one machine which took his picture, and a little while later, another machine printed out his driver's license. Mocchi held the license in his hands and looked at it for several seconds. He was very pleased to see his picture printed in color and his name printed in bold letters under the picture. He turned it over and noticed that on the back, the word "RESTRICTIONS" was printed in bold capital letters, and under it the phrase, "May not operate vehicles with manual transmission" was printed in small letters. Mocchi jumped up and down and said loudly, "I got my license! I got my license!" When Mocchi was walking towards the front door, he walked into the front office, and then he walked up to his driving instructor and gave him a hug.