Aiden' driving lesson

A short story about a boy learning how to drive

The old red Ford escort sat still in the empty parking lot as Aiden approached it nervously. Today was the day. He was finally learning how to drive, he knew it would come someday and the mere thought of it both excited and terrified him but here he was now. And he was not ready for what was going to happen next. He saw his mom walk over to the car with a gentle expression on her face "Ready?" she asked calmy. "Ready as I'll ever be" Aiden replied with a small smile as he put his hands into his pockets.
Aiden opened the car door and settled himself into the driver's seat with his mom following the suit at the passenger's side. He put on his seatbelt while gripping the steering wheel and took a deep breath: "I can't do this". His mom looked over to him and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder "Honey don't say that you're going to do fine, just remember keep your eyes on the road, and most importantly stay calm" Aiden blinked at her and slowly put his hands on the steering wheel again, he put the key in the ignition and car hummed to life causing his hands vibrate slightly.
He hesitantly put his foot on the brake pedal and reached for the gear shifter but suddenly he started to panic and shake violently "Wait, what do I now? What do I do?! I don't know!" he said frantically moving his hand away from the shifter. His mom reached over and grab his hand gently "Aiden don't worry your fine, it's not that complicated." She said reassuringly. "You see the one that says "P"? that's for park which is what the car is in now, the "R", that for reverse and the "D"? that for drive, now, if you want to get out of this spot, you'll move the shifter reverse ok? now let's try again." Aiden put his hand on the shifter once again and shifted it to reverse "Now what?" "Now slowly take your foot off the break and let the car move a bit" Aiden did as instruct and took his foot off the pedal making the car backwards.
Aiden began to sweat as the car drew closer to the other side of the parking lot "Uh, what do I now?!" He blurted out. "Now you look over your review mirror and make sure nobody's coming then you turn the steering wheel to the opposite side you want to go to and back out" His mom told him. Aiden looked into the review mirror and saw nothing and turned the steering wheel making the car rotate facing the park where the parking lot was located. His mom smiled "Good Aiden, you're doing great so far now put the car into drive-Wait? What are you doing?!" her response was cut short as Aiden aggressively put the car into drive and slammed his foot on the gas pedal causing the car to peel out of the parking space. "Hey, I think I get how you do this now you just press this and go" His mom widened her eyes and held onto the safety bar "Look, I'm glad you're starting to figure it out, but that's not exactly how you-Look out!" she exclaimed as Aiden almost hit a lamppost. Aiden however just shrugged and said "Don't worry I've got this under the control, we'll be fine"
By the next hour and half Aiden was zooming around the parking lot making sharp turns and sudden stops at each corner; nearly running into trees, hydrants, and other objects. Even sending a flock of birds flying away in fear. Meanwhile, his mom was holding onto the dashboard for dear life pleading for him to stop and giving him advice along the way (or well at least trying to). "Aiden stop the car now you're going to make us crash!" his mom scolded. "But mom, I'm making so much progress, I haven't even hit or crash into anything!" Aiden said with a grin. "Yes, and I'm actually surprised that you haven't but if you keep driving like this you're going to, now slow down!"
Aiden ignored her and continued his relentless assault on the parking lot, yelling "I can do this! I can do this! I can-I can't do it I'll never be figure this out!" His mom gave him a sympathetic look "Honey no, don't say that you will figure it out, I'm sure of it, you just need more practice and a whole lot of patient-Woah!". Suddenly Aiden came to an abrupt stop and slid right back into the parking spot from earlier. He took the key out of the ignition got out of the car, panting and held his head down in shame "I thought I could do it, but I was wrong" he said with a defeated sigh. His mom got out and went over to him, "Aiden you can do this, remember what I said before, just stay calm and next time take things slower ok?" "Ok" "Good now let's go home I think we've both had enough for one day"
And with that, Aiden and his mom got into the car once more. "You know I can drive us back if you want," His mom offered in a half-serious manner. "Thanks, but I think I'll be able to do it on my own besides I need the practice" Aiden said nonchalantly as he slides right back into the driver's seat. He turned the car on again and lightly put his foot on the gas pedal and took a deep breath once again as his mom braced herself for another wild ride.