TRANCE

Never one for long periods of inactivity, Nigel Drummond led the way out of the house. An imposing figure, he brought out a little fear in all his students. His ramrod straight body attained a height of six feet. He had short, dark hair, which at fifty five years old still showed no sign of grey, and a matching moustache. The clear brown eyes were always alert, never missing one detail, and carried a sparkling twinkle. While most times humourous, he was absolutely serious when conducting lessons and this must have worked as his students had an exceptionally high pass rate. Altogether he gave the impression of a retired army colonel, which indeed he was. As he strode down the path one could just see him in uniform on his way to inspect the troops.

As Andrew was walking to the car he was going through the five things that needed to be checked before starting any car. Door, seat, handbrake, gears and mirror. He also reflected that at twenty one most people had already been driving for a few years. He was starting late and finding it harder to pick up than someone of sixteen or seventeen, Also, he was perhaps further hindered by the fact that he had never been interested in driving or cars before. He saw a car only as an instrument to get from A to B. Now he wanted to drive so he would not have to rely on others for transport.

Seated in the driver’s seat, Andrew went through the five points again. Door closed. Seat in a position where he could reach the pedals comfortably. Handbrake on. Gear lever in neutral. Mirror in position. Satisfied that he had complied with all the checks, he put on his seatbelt and started the ignition. The engine purred while he set the controls. Clutch down. Into first. Little acceleration. Life clutch to biting point and hold. Check mirror. Look behind. Clutch up. Off we go. The car moved off smoothly along the road. Andrew gave the car some more acceleration and changed into second gear and, seconds later, third gear. Nigel had said nothing during this time. He did not believe in interrupting when everything was going right, not even to give a word of encouragement.

A little way down the road Nigel told Andrew road pull in.

“I’d like you to do a turn in the road,” he said. “I want to go the other way but didn’t ask you to do it before because I don’t like pupils performing outside their own homes. It tends to make them much more nervous if the family is watching.

“Yes, I understand,” said Andrew, as he set the controls into the starting off position. He looked in the mirror and then over his shoulder. All clear. He lifted the clutch just enough to let the car move and turned the wheel sharply towards the right until it was full lock. Just before the car became straight with the kerb, Andrew pulled the wheel back and stopped the car. He set the handbrake and put the gear lever into reverse. The gear did not engage properly so he put the gear lever into neutral and lifted the clutch. Then he pressed the clutch again and this time the gear engaged immediately. Then he pressed the accelerator, a little more than usual to stop the car rolling into the kerb. He took the handbrake off and the car stood still. He then looked left, right and behind. Having confirmed that all was clear, he lifted the clutch a fraction, threw the wheel to the left. The back of the car edged towards the opposite kerb. Just before it touched, Andrew stopped the car and put on the handbrake. He slipped the gear into first, set the controls and, as the road was clear, set off, bringing the car onto the correct side of the road.