Chapter 12: Man In Motion

"But how," Emma asked. "Hazel that license looks fake can you even drive."

"I have a real one." Hazel held up her brand new license "I got it last year I just never had the chance to drive so I might be a little rusty."

"Might be," Paige said while rolling her eyes. "She nearly killed us on her way here."

"Paige you exaggerating ," Hazel replied. "I swerved a little off the road because I didn't want to hit that cat that ran into the road."

"Haze you almost hit a tree."

"I did not."

"Yes you did."

"Manny can I speak to you privately for a moment." Emma pulled Manny off to the side while Paige and Hazel rambled on about their car ride to Emma's. "Look there's no way I'm going all the way to New York with Hazel driving," Emma whispered. "Maybe it's best if we just call the whole thing off ,you can stay here with me for the week."

"No way," Manny exclaimed. Paige and Hazel looked at the two of them before going back to their little disagreement. "I mean theirs no way were missing out on this opportunity," Manny whispered. "This is our only chance to go on a real vacation without out parents tagging along just think of all the fun we'll have."

"Fun is not what I'm concerned about. We won't be having fun if we never live to see it, from the way Paige explained Hazel's driving we'll be lucky if we make it out of Degrassi in one piece."

"We come to a decision," Paige exclaimed. "If you two would like to join us anytime soon," Paige waited for Emma and Manny to walk back into the living room.

"OK,." Hazel replied. "I'll drive really carefully until I get the hang of things and.."

"I'll drive the rest of the way," Paige interrupted.

"But how Paige you only have one leg," Manny asked.

"It only takes one leg to drive," Paige replied while banging on her cast. "Plus this baby is made of the finest plastic and held up with pure titanium steel bolts so even if I planned to drive with this leg it wouldn't bother me one bit, ow." Paige hit a soft spot. "But just to be on the safe side I'll drive with my other leg."

Emma looked doubtfully at Manny. "Paige we decided."

"That we'll see you bright and early in the morning," Manny interrupted. "Eight o'clock you said."

"Bright and early," Paige cheerily answered. "And I need you guys to do me a big favor." Paige and Hazel walked to the front door with Manny and Emma tagging along. Paige opened up the front door. "You see that car over there well that's my brother's he's letting us borrow it since he's not allowed to use it till the starting of the fall semester."

"But her mom thinks Dylan took it to school along with us." Hazel replied.

"Yeah little does she know that Dylan's friends took him to school," Paige answered. "But when we get back we have to take it back to him but until then it needs to stay here with you guys," Paige looked at Emma."Em's you have a garage don't you?"

"Umm yeah," Emma hesitatingly replied..

"Good," Paige said. "Huns can you open up the garage door we need to keep it there for the night."

"Sure," Emma pushed the automatic garage door opener.

"Thanks Em's" Paige exclaimed while walking with Hazel to the car. "I'm kinda glad you guys are going otherwise we wouldn't be."

"Or we would have to hide Dylan's car a mile away from you house," Hazel joked before getting into the car and starting the engine.

Emma looked at Hazel driving hesitantly to the garage jerking the car one minute with her foot on the gas while pausing when she put her foot on the break. "And you still want to go with them," Emma mumbled to Manny.

"Yeah," Manny looked at Hazel driving the car timidly. "It's a wonder she got her license, if she could get it I know I'm could get mine with no problem at all and I crashed my mom's car into a trash can the first time she tried to teach me to drive."

Hazel parked the car not even near the garage. Hazel pulled the window down while Paige screamed out of it. "On second thought Emma you can close the garage door, Hazel and I are going to drive around the block just a few times so she could use to driving behind the wheel."

"Jimmy, Jimmy" Craig whispered to Jimmy who looked like he was sleeping but it was too dark to tell. "Are you awake."

"I am now," Jimmy groggily answered. "What's up?"

"Could you check to see if my cell phone rung," Craig handed his cell to Jimmy. "I could've sworn I heard it ring when I dozed off."

"Why can't you just check it yourself?"

"I can't, I'm afraid it's going to be..Ash.. I don't want to do something I'll regret like calling her back right away or answering it too quickly if I hear it ring."

"So you want me to check your phone and tell you if she called or not instead of you doing it." Jimmy sarcastically replied.

"No if she called you can make up some lie like it was Joey or even Angie and then you can erase Ash's name if she did call."

Jimmy looked at the phone. "No one called man just Joey but that was a while back and you already spoke to him." Jimmy handed the phone back to Craig.

"Maybe you should keep it," Craig handed the phone to Jimmy but he didn't take it.

"Maybe you should turn it off, Joey will understand if you don't have it on."

"Maybe you're right." Just then the van made a weird sound and smoke started to come out of the hood. "What's that," Craig asked.

"Looks like the cars might behaving problems," Jimmy answered while looking at the smoke rise from the hood.

"It is having problems," Sean pulled the car over to the side before getting out of the car and opening up the hood.

Craig got out of the car and went to the see what the problem was. "What's wrong with the car," Craig asked Sean.

"Looks like I forgot to put some water in the.."

"What," Craig screamed as a car honking his horn and teens screaming obscenities passed by.

"Nothing," Sean put some water in the cooler. The smoke from the hood cleared and Sean put the trunk down "Problem solved." Craig and Sean walked back to the car." I must have forgot to fill the cooler before we left sorry about that guys." Sean turned the keys in the ignition but the car wouldn't start." Sean got out of the car and pulled the hood back up. "Great now what's the problem?" Sean fiddled under the hood. "Great." Sean got from under the hood and looked for any signs of a cars passing by he tried waving his hands but no car would stop.

"What's the problem,now" Craig asked Sean peeking outside the front window.

"We need a jump."

"Don't you think you're going a little too fast," Spinner asked Jay while checking the speedometer which was slowly reaching to 90.

"They don't call it the expressway for nothing." Jay replied.

"Yeah well you're going to get us killed or worse pulled over."

"I didn't think getting a ticket would be worse then being dead."

"You know what I mean, slow down."

"OK," Jay slowed down. "Pretty soon you can take over I'm sick and tired of you being a back seat driver."

"I just don't want, whoa" Spinner said before swerving to the side. Jay maneuvered the car pretty abruptly. "Whats the matter with you!"

"Some jerks just sped by." Jay replied. "Now they deserve a ticket." Jay looked at his right side mirror. He saw two teens screaming while poking their bodies outside of the car's sun roof top before it became a blur.

"Yeah," Spinner agreed. He looked outside his window to see if he could see the rowdy teens in a distance but they were gone. Spinner noticed a blue van with a guy under the hood who looked vaguely familiar. The guy started to wave his hands in the air. "Looks like that guy needs help."

"What do you want me to do pull over," Jay replied.

"Why not?"

"Because they could be drifters or something it could be a scam.We pull over and help out a total stranger we know nothing about in the pitch black dark before he mugs us and leaves us for dead in a ditch."

"You watch too many late night cop shows."

"No I just use my common sense." Jay looked in his rear-view mirror at the guy waving his hands in the distance."Besides if he's really in trouble he can call a tow truck, we don't have time to help anyone I want to get there sometime tonight."