June 24th 2015
Mystic Falls
(Damon POV)
"Mom, today I'll teach you how to drive. We'll start you off with a manual car. Next we'll move on to an automatic. Eventually you'll get your own car." I said, handing her the keys. I'd drove her to the empty parking lot at Mystic Falls High School. No one was here, so it was perfectly safe for her to screw up.
"Thank you Damon. I appreciate this." I got in the passenger side. This was a borrowed car. I would never let her drive my car. She got in the driver seat and put the seat belt on, over her lap and across her chest, before putting the keys in the ignition and starting the car. Then she stopped.
"You have three pedals underneath you, one is the gas and one is the brake the last one is a clutch. The gas makes you go forward, the brake helps you stop and notice it does not put you in an immediate halt, the clutch changes the gear."
"I thought a clutch was for a motor powered bike."
"You mean a motorcycle? It's for shifting gears, when the clutch is up, the engine is connected to the wheels and when the clutch is down, the engine is disconnected from the wheels." She was confused. You could see it on her face. "For now let's just ignore the clutch. Okay?"
"Okay."
(Klaus POV)
I was looking out over the city as it began to wake up. I'd had breakfast an hour earlier. I couldn't sleep much last night. I needed to get Kara to like me, and faster than I'd expected. Starting next month, I'd be very busy with my initiation ceremony, Elijah's wedding, and I could only act when Elijah was gone.
That gives me three weeks and two days to make her fall in love. Then I had only a week to get done what I had planned. I looked to my right. I needed a plan. I also needed to do something to keep Elijah off my tail. I looked at my house before back down at the street. I knew exactly how to do both at the same time. My targets were Oliver and Van.
(Damon POV)
"Do you have it down now? There are fourteen lessons and I hope to get you through them before the end of this week." So that I can get you a car and driving on your own before Stefan comes home. Yesterday we'd completed lesson one. We'd started late yesterday. "Tell me what the pedals do and which does it." Mom looked at the pedals before pointing at the middle one.
"That is the brake, it helps you stop the car, an immediate stop or slow halt depends on how hard you push on the brake, and you should never push on it too hard." I nodded. She smiled. "This seems quite easy really. Also quite silly."
"What? Learning from your son? Next pedal." She pointed at the one on the right.
"That is the accelerator, or the gas. It makes the car go forward." I nodded. "You said it depends on the shift… gear… you are in if it is forward backward or forward… forward."
"Great job. The clutch?"
"Is this one, the smallest one. It shifts the gears, that is all you have told me."
"Because we're not at the part that the clutch comes in yet. I said to ignore it. Now how do you control speed, fast or slow?"
"The more or less pressure you put on the accelerator. If you are going up a hill you keep your foot on the accelerator."
"Right. Give me the keys and press on it. It should be smooth and easy. Like if you were stepping on the ground." She gave me the keys and pressed on the pedal. She nodded in acknowledgement. "Great. The accelerator should be pressed gently and progressively, not stomped on. Only use your right foot. Got that?"
"The accelerator should be pressed gently and progressively and not stomped on by my right foot."
"Great job. Press the brake with your right foot. It should feel firmer than the accelerator pedal and won't travel right to the floor. If it does, that means something is wrong with the brakes, in which case you call me. Understood?" She looked at me and nodded. "Now try the brake. Use it progressively and gently, just like the accelerator. Never stomp on the brake pedal. The brake pedal also operates the brake lights and everyone else will respond to your actions, so there are times you will deliberately rest your foot lightly on the pedal to inform them. There are also times you will avoid unnecessary use of the pedal in case the lights alarm other drivers."
"I understand." She gave a twitch of her lip.
"What is it?"
"It just seems quite more complicated than a horse."
"That is because it is more complicated. The clutch needs to be pressed to the floor when changing gear."
"Damon, what is a 'gear'?"
"When the clutch is up, the engine is connected to the wheels. When the clutch is down, the engine is disconnected from the wheels. Press the pedal down to the floor with your left foot. It should feel similar but a little stiffer than the gas pedal. The clutch is pressed down quickly, and released slowly. The brake doesn't just slow the car down or stop it, there are times you will actually need to keep the car moving at a desired speed by using the brake pedal, like on a slope or hill. Using brake control during slow manoeuvres on a hill means keeping the clutch pedal pressed down and releasing the brake pedal slightly to speed the car up, or pressing it slightly to slow the car down. Brake pedal movements are usually very small."
"Damon what is a 'gear'?"
"A gear is a set of speeds, a racing game teaches you that. Gear one could be speeds between 1 and 10 or 20. Clutch control means controlling the speed of the car using small movements of the clutch pedal. It is usually used during very slow manoeuvres when raising the clutch all the way would make the car go too fast."
"Are we paying attention to the clutch now?"
"Yes but you won't be using it yet. You asked about gears? It's just like I said. In racing games, it teaches you about the gears. We have gears one, two, three, four, and five. Gear one is slower than gear two and all the other gears as well, gear two is faster than gear one but slower than gears three and four and five, gear three is faster than gears one and two but slower than gear four and gear five, gear four is faster than gears one and two and three but slower than gear five, and finally gear five is faster than all of the above. It's just like counting. You can switch from the lower gears to the higher gears but if your going from high to low gears then you have to slow down or you could do damage to the car. It's not going to force you to slow down like it does in car games. Did you get all that?"
"I did." She repeated to me what I said and I smiled, no one ever said she was dumb.
"Low gears give the engine the most force but least speed. High gears are required for higher speeds but have less force so are unable to pull the car away from a standstill. Therefore, gears need to be changed depending on the speed and pulling needs at any particular time. Look at this car's gears. We have four forward gears and two reverse gears. In a car, backward is called reverse. When moving the car away from a standstill, the first gear is selected. As the car gains speed, higher gears are selected until the highest gear is selected for high speed cruising. As the car changes speed in general driving, the correct gear needs to be selected. Listening to the engine note is a great help when determining the correct gear. When selecting or changing gears, the clutch pedal should always be pushed down. Now practice using the gear shift, without looking first."
I turned my phone on and texted Elena what we were doing so that she wouldn't worry. She texted back and I kept it up until Mom spoke. "Damon, I'm ready to keep going." I looked up at her.
"So practice using it and you can look but you can't keep looking at it for too long." I texted Elena for a bit more until Mom was staring at me. "Okay. The handbrake. You see this thing?" I grabbed the handbrake. "You see this button?" I pushed the button in and lowered it down, made sure it was kept in place, and then looked at her. "I just turned the handbrake off. It's like a light switch, most of the time. Up is on, down is off. Remember that. Now you turn it on, off, and then back on just to make sure you have it down."
"Damon that all seems quite-"I looked at her again, I'd gotten a text from Elena, and narrowed my eyes.
"Who's teaching who? When turning it on, you want to push the button in and lift it and when it doesn't move anymore, you release the button first." I texted Elena that I was still on lesson two and planned on moving all the way until lesson four. Tomorrow we'd work on lesson four until lesson nine, for a total number of four. Then we'd take our time for the last, harder, five lessons. "The handbrake is also called the parking break. The handbrake keeps the car stopped when it is stationary without you having to apply pressure to the foot brake. Though, the handbrake only works on the two rear wheels, so it must never be used when the car is moving as it could cause a severe skid. It's not funny like it is in cartoons. Use the handbrake when a stop turns to a wait, such as at traffic lights, or when parked. Never pull the handbrake on without holding the button down. That will cause a clicking sound and will wear out the ratchet which holds the handbrake on. When the handbrake is on a red warning light shows on the instrument panel. The handbrake is off, the warning light goes off. This warns you of a faulty handbrake or if you left the handbrake on when driving. If it's faulty, you call me. Got it?"
"Yes Damon."
"Good. Put your hands on the wheel… the steering wheel that's in front of you, not one of the car wheels. Put them on the top, practice steering left and right without crossing your arms or your arm will be broken. Though I suppose getting a broken arm isn't that bad since you're a vampire." She gave me a look but didn't say anything.
"Now what do I do?"
"The steering wheel controls the two front tires, and you should always keep both hands on the steering wheel, unless one hand is needed to operate another control such as the gear lever. When driving in a straight line the wheel should be held in the 'ten to two' position. To do this, imagine the steering wheel as a clock face. Place the left hand on the steering wheel where the number 10 would be and the right hand on the wheel where the 2 would be. Or, the top of the steering wheel has two opened sides where your hands can go for going straight. If your seat is correctly adjusted, your elbows should be slightly bent when holding the steering wheel in the ten to two position. When turning the vehicle left, pull the wheel down with your left hand and push up with your right. When turning right, pull the wheel down with your right and push up with your left. Practice that for a bit because we're going to go into more difficult controls."
She practised for what might have been 20 minutes before she smiled. "I have it down Damon. Are we going to start driving yet? I think I am ready." I shook my head.
"Not yet Mom. Though we are going into indicators. You'll be driving soon. Especially if you do everything I tell you to. Never let go of the wheel unless you need to shift gears or something. The indicators on your left. Up is right, down is left. When you are turning left, that lever goes down. When you are turning right, that lever goes up. To keep from signalling when you're turning it off use two fingers and keep your thumb and pointer on the steering wheel. You must indicate when you are turning. Indicators turn on the flashing amber lights on the outside of the car. They show other road users our intentions. Practice that until you don't mess up. Then we'll move on."
"Like this?" I looked over and nodded. She was doing exactly as I told her.
"Right." I let her go on for a few minutes until she was doing it with ease. She even learned how to do it without using the two finger technique. "Do you know what this is?" I held out the keys to her and she nodded.
"That is what turns the car on and off."
"Correct. You're going to learn the ignition now. The gear lever will be in neutral and you will insert the key in the socket. The first click turns on electrical items in the car." I turned on the radio. "Electrics. Another turn will turn on the ignition and you will see warning lights turn on. That's normal. You can check if the warning lights are working correctly. Turn the key clockwise again and the engine will rev up and when the engine does you release the key back into second position. It will turn off the warning lights minus the handbrake. You pull it back to you twice to turn off the car. Do that twice." When she turned it on and off twice, I pressed a button that controlled the mirrors. "You see these things?"
"Yes."
"The interior mirror-" I grabbed the mirror on the top and bottom, not the mirror itself "-you will adjust so you don't have to move your head to look out the back windshield. You only have to flick your eyes to it, any moving of your head and you are doing it wrong. So adjust it. Then we will move on." I waited until she was doing exactly like I said. She didn't have to move her head, she just flicked her eyes to the mirror. "Now we are going to adjust the outside mirrors." I showed her how to adjust them and then let her do the rest. Then I pointed to the sides of the car. "These are your blind spots because the mirrors don't show you this side of the car. So you will have to move your head to the left and right. To drive safely, you must always be aware of what is going on. Any time you are changing direction, or moving the car to the left or right, i.e. changing lanes, you must check the appropriate blind spot first to avoid the risk of collision." She checked her blind spots and then I opened the door, taking the keys with me. "Now let's go take a break. This is part of the lesson. I need to get you out of the car. In five minutes we'll come back and start the actual driving lessons." She smiled.
"Thank you Damon."
"You're welcome Mom."
(Elena POV)
I read my texts from Damon. Damon and Lily were out learning how to drive, or Damon was teaching Lily to drive. I hope she does well. I finished eating my breakfast burrito and Bonnie finished her salad. I texted Caroline and she texted back only that she was in class.
"Hey Bonnie? How long are college courses in summer?" She looked up at me and smiled.
"Sorry Elena, I don't know but I'll look it up. Why don't you go look up a movie to watch while we wait for them to come back?" I nodded, smiling.
"Okay. I'll do that."
"Make it a comedy." She called as I left the room, done with my food. I sat down on the couch and began to look through the movies before finding one I thought Bonnie would like. When I pressed play, Bonnie came in smiling.
"Caroline will be out July 12th and that means she has only two weeks and four days left before she has to take a summer break but I think by then we'll already be soon to starting college again."
"I can't believe Jeremy's already going to start having college." She nodded.
"Me either. It's amazing how time flies sometimes." I nodded this time.
"Do you think this movie will be okay?" I asked as the movie started. She smiled.
"I think it'll be great."
(Bonnie POV)
I was right about one thing, we'd only have six weeks and three days before we went right back to college. Caroline was working hard to get a bachelors degree. I suppose we should be working hard too. Elena wants to be a nurse and I want to be… I actually have no clue.
I began to watch the movie as it started. Jeremy wanted to be an artist. That was cool. I was excited for Jer. He was already a good artist. The only thing I didn't like was that he was planning on going to college in New Orleans. That's where Klaus lives and if Jeremy is near Klaus, Jeremy could be in danger.
"Have you tried talking Jeremy out of going to college in New Orleans Elena?"
"I've tried and he just gets upset at me. He accuses me of not trusting Kol and Tyler. I do. I do trust them, it's Klaus I don't trust. He tried to kill me. I apologized for killing Kol that one time. Kol came back. Isn't that enough for Klaus?"
"I don't know Elena. I've not spoke or seen Klaus in years. The good thing is that Klaus doesn't live here anymore. Otherwise I'd be worried what he's doing. He's been quiet except for those times he's either picked up or dropped off Tyler or Jeremy."
"I need to call Jeremy." Elena stood up and walked out of the room, so I paused the movie and waited for her to come back and tell me what Jeremy said. I just hoped Klaus wasn't near Jeremy to hear their conversation.
(Caroline POV)
I flopped on my bed in my dorm, I'd just been through hours of classes and now I had hours of studying to do. I sighed. Getting a Bachelors degree, let alone a doctorate. What my friends didn't know was that I was using my summers to get into more than one college. Where did the money come from to do that? All that money I got from graduating from High School. Klaus gave me $100,000. At the time I thought he was crazy. Now I'm grateful.
I sighed and rolled over, snuggling into my pillow. I had 30 minutes to sleep before I had to head over to my other campus. I could either text Klaus or sleep… I wouldn't get the chance to sleep for another seven or eight hours… I choose sleep. I closed my eyes after plugging in my phone to charge and played music that was relaxing. Though then I stood up and went and took a quick shower before going to sleep with an alarm set on to wake me.
(Klaus POV)
Right now I was sitting at my desk, having finished talking to Kai, marking things on my phone's calendar. Like my initiation, Elijah's wedding, and all those things to remind me if I possibly forget one of my important dates.
I'd called my father before talking to Kai to tell him when I was coming over, finally having decided. He was happy to hear from me since my mother was not in the country. She'd taken Mikael, Dahlia, and Freya to Norway… or something. I'd already made the actions it would take to have everything perfect. Mother would be coming back… actually that's an unfinished project.
I pulled up my computer and began typing away to get things set up the way I wanted them to. If I didn't figure this out they wouldn't be here for Elijah's wedding. Then I could send them back when they came. The problem: I have no idea what city or province or whatever they were in! Damn!
I picked up my phone before remembering that Mother doesn't have a phone. I growled before trying to think. I need Genevieve. She's a witch. Mother's a witch. Easy as that. I stood up and opened my door.
"Genevieve!" I heard a call before a few minutes later she came into sight. How beautiful she is. I hummed in delight and smiled at her. She smiled back and batted her eyes. I rolled mine as she came into my office. "I need you to contact my mother. I have this for you." I pulled out what I used the last time I had someone contact my mother with.
I sat down and wrote down my message. "Send this. I told her to send a reply. I need to make the arrangements for her arrival back to this city."
With that over, I had to move on to the next item of business. "Gen? What do you know about Kara and Davina? You saw them fight that night we had the party. You helped me split them up."
"I know she does not approve of Davina being in any form of authority because of her young age and she does not approve of you choosing for the witches who is and who is not in charge. I told you that." I nodded.
"Do you think you could talk to Kara about Davina? Since she accepts you being in charge perhaps?" I put my hand on hers. "I would really appreciate it Gen." She was thinking and then she spoke after smiling at me.
"May I have your word you will let me and Hayley handle our children?" I smiled.
"Of course. You have my word." I beamed at her, teeth showing. She looked at me suspiciously. I removed my hand. "Now that I have that matter settled, you may leave. I also will be leaving."
"Where are you going?"
"Davina." She nodded and I stood, she stood with me, and she walked out of my office. Now I had to attack Oliver and save Van from Stefan's plan. That would finish off today's tasks. Besides for checking in on the kids.
(Esther POV)
I was counting the money that Niklaus had sent me for Mikael, Dahlia, Freya, and me to go from here to the airport here to New Orleans airport and to a taxi and then back again. He wanted to make sure I was there for my first born son's wedding. That, I believe, is the nicest thing Niklaus has ever done for me. It was so nice that I had begun to cry tears of joy.
My son was getting married. I could not wait to see who Elijah was getting married to. Niklaus has given us a three week limit before we should come over. Then we could come back to Norway for the rest of the month until our designated time of August. Two weeks and a day.
"Your children love you very much." Freya said, smiling at me. I smiled back at her.
"My children do love me. Thank you Freya." I bowed my head slightly to her.
(Caroline POV)
I jumped when the alarm went off and got ready to go to my next class. I texted Bonnie and Elena to have a good time and then ran to my car to go to my other campus. I drove and cleared my mind to think of all the homework I need to do before tomorrow.
Though I don't really have trouble with the homework that I get. That's a good side of all these classes. It's just the going and coming, hardly being able to speak to my friends or Klaus, and having hardly any sleep. To fix that I drink lots of coffee from my mug that I got for graduating High School.
When I got to the campus, I ran inside to my class and sat down in my desk, ready to take notes again. What a stressful life I live, but at least I'm not slacking or failing. I'm working hard to get my dream job.
(Klaus POV)
I was walking a shocked into adrenaline Van home to Kara's house. I'd bit those vampires, they weren't Marcel's, and they'd left immediately. I'd have to go finish the job later. I met Kara at her house, she was searching for Van and when she saw him scratched she walked over to us.
"What happened?"
"He got attacked by some young vampires who aren't from here. I chased them off." She looked at me suspiciously. "I gave them a bite they wouldn't soon forget." She was still a bit suspicious. "I can heal your son if you want me to. I just couldn't stand there and watch him get hurt, I know you care about him and as King it is my duty to protect all of those who live in my city. I'll put a law into effect for a while against foreigners." She smiled and shook her head, SAFE! I gave her a gentle smile.
"That is not necessary." She kissed me, and I being the 'gentleman' I am froze in shock. I blinked twice before smiling wider, forcing out a blush. I laughed nervously.
"You should really take care of Van's injuries if you don't want me to care for him."
"Van, come inside. Nik? Thank you for saving my son." I bowed to her, smiling up at her.
"You're welcome Kara. It was truly my pleasure." She gave me on last long glance before heading back inside her house. That… went… just as I planned it. I turned around and on the next block I let out my smile that was bursting to come out.
Off to turn some Guerreras into hybrids and then attack Oliver. I needed cover up this vampire blood on me somehow didn't I? I chuckled before vamping off into my destination.
(Caroline POV)
Finally! Some well needed sleep. I'd just finished all my homework. I wish I could watch TV. I don't have a TV. I showered and washed my hair before drying it to get dressed for bed to start the whole cycle over again.
I laid in bed and texted Elena and Bonnie a few times before smiling, and sending Klaus a text. 'Hey. How are you?' I got a reply in a few seconds and I began to read. 'I'm doing well, you?'
'I miss you.'
'Want a ticket to New Orleans? Elijah's getting married.'
'Married? To who!'
'Looks like Elena and has lived 500 years of a miserable low life kind of life.'
'Klaus. Don't be mean. I know Katherine's a jerk but she doesn't deserve to be talked about that way behind her back. She almost died!'
'Cured her.' I shook my head as my eye lids began to droop.
'I love you Klaus. Good night.' I sent him that before turning my phone off and plugging it in to go to sleep this time.
(Kol POV)
Nik said this was our last night in the bunk bed. So not cool. That's why I've kind of resolved to not leave this bed until I'm dragged from it. Believe I will put up a fight over it. I was under the covers of the second bed from the floor.
Jeremy was below me and Kai was on top. Tyler was above me. Tyler was restless but I could understand since Nik kind of lost his patience with Ty. Tyler put up a fight about feeding. So Nik had proceeded to- do what Nik does. … Maybe putting a fight about the bed wasn't such a great idea.
I yawned and rolled over, closing my eyes as I began to fall asleep. This day had been awesome. TV, books, and a movie all in one day. We had snow cones! I must say, I've really out done myself.
(Damon POV)
I was in bed. Elena, Bonnie, and Mom had gone out for a movie. One I'd already seen. Teaching her how to actually move the car was harder than I thought. She wouldn't go above 5 miles per hour. No matter how many times I assured her she and I were vampires and thus were hard to kill in a crash. Unless the car's on fire. Then we probably are dead.
We still had a long way to go and I had a week or less until Stefan came home to see my progress. Hopefully by the time Stefan's home, Operation: Mom will be complete. I'm not getting my hopes up though. I heard a knock on the door and I looked up.
"Hey Damon. Lily tire you out yet?"
"Enzo, what's it like going five miles per hour?"
"Pretty slow. Might as well get out and walk."
"Exactly. Lily refuses, absolutely refuses to go above five. Any advice? Or how about you get her to do that? We've been taking turns driving that car. I'd rather teach Elena how to drive." He chuckled.
"You'd rather be with Elena either way. Just think of it this way, when Stefan gets back it will be his problem. I'd love to help encourage Lily to drive like a normally sane person rather than a crazy person."
"If she were crazy, she'd refuse to go lower than the speed of a 100."
"Then you'd really be in trouble."