Blog

I just turned eighteen, and I only just got my licence. I took the test pretty much as soon as I was able to, because I’m really excited to have more freedom. I’ve had a job for a while now, which means that I’ve been able to save up enough money to buy my own car. It’s only a second-hand car and it isn’t in the best condition, but it’s still mine and I’m still proud of it and how much effort I put into getting it.

Since getting my licence, I’ve been driving around my local area just to get used to driving by myself. Previously, I’ve always had an instructor, so it’s definitely a little bit different.

This morning I even stopped in front of a mechanic servicing the Underwood area, which was near a main road. This particular mechanic store was a huge building made of bricks and metal, and it looked a little bit like an oversized garage. It was filled with dozens of cars, and had a lot of different employees running around it, inspecting different car parts and repairing those that needed to be fixed. I figured I would take my car for its scheduled logbook service today, since I know how important it is to complete these types of services in a timely manner. In particular, the mechanic told me I would probably need a car suspension repair service for my vehicle, which was quite a fast and affordable service.

This mechanic store was so transparent with their pricing that I was instantly glad I had chosen them. True to their word, my car’s suspension was fixed very quickly. They also checked all the regular things included in a logbook service, such as tyres, transmission fluid, windscreen wipers, lights etc. I was very pleased with their level of service and definitely recommend this store to anybody who is looking for a qualified mechanic.

I’m on the train again because my car is still in for a service. My car has been at the mechanic for over a week now, because it’s in such a bad state. The mechanic said there was nothing I could have done to minimise the chance of this major mechanical fault happening to my car. He said some people just have bad luck and unfortunately I am one of those people.

It’s funny being a car blogger and not even having a car. I spent all of last week wishing I could’ve just put my car in for a brake repair rather than a full car revamp or whatever the mechanic is doing, BUT, things are looking up. In fact, if things go well in the meeting I’m on my way to, I might not even have to pick up my car from the mechanic. Why is that? Because a large car brand saw my blog post from last week calling for sponsor opportunities and I might have landed one! Apparently, they really like what I write about cars and really appreciate all the insight I give their customers. They’d be happy to pay me for my efforts… I just have to nail this interview.

I wish I could turn up to the interview in a really fancy car rather than walking from the train station, however, that’s not the case. Even if the mechanic doing my car maintenance in the Melbourne CBD was able to fix my car in time, it probably would’ve been too embarrassing to drive anyway. I can’t turn up to a massive sponsorship meeting in a car that can barely get from A to B. It would look pretty unprofessional.

I really hope I get this sponsorship deal! I would seriously be so happy. It would be so good to get paid to be a blogger and even get to try out the vehicles myself before I review them. 

‘You do know that your car is freezing, correct?’

         My fingers involuntarily started to strangle the steering wheel and I forced myself to take a breath before I accidentally drove us off the road.

         ‘Yes, Judith,’ I said through gritted teeth.

         ‘Mrs. Blake, if you would,’ she said, nose upturned. ‘You may be marrying my son, but I hardly see why our relationship should be so informal.’

         The leather of the steering wheel squeaked for mercy.

         ‘So?’ she said.

         ‘So what?’

         ‘Your car. Why am I so cold?’

         The icy grip of death, hopefully.

‘My air conditioning is broken,’ I said instead.

‘And you haven’t had it fixed? What’s the problem? Can’t find a cheap mechanic near Morayfield? Tell me,’ she frowned. ‘Have you always been this lazy, or is it just since you met my son?’

I calmly looked up at the rear-view mirror, checking there was nobody behind me, then slammed my foot down on the brakes.

         Judith – Mrs. Blake – let out a satisfying squeal as she rocketed forward in her seat.

         ‘Are you mad?’ she screamed at me, once she’d recovered. ‘I could have been killed!’

         ‘Listen, Judy,’ I smiled coolly. ‘My aircon has been broken for a few days now because I’ve been too busy ferrying you around town to your appointments to find a mechanic near me that can do a car air conditioning service. I’m not lazy – I’m an indentured servant!’

         I twisted back to face the road and took my foot off the brake, slowly bringing the car back up to speed. Judith still looked shocked – though from the braking or my speech I wasn’t sure.

         We drove in silence for a few minutes, and I briefly wondered if I’d given the old woman a heart attack.

         ‘I, uh…’ she finally said, coughing into her handkerchief to clear her throat. ‘I may know somebody. For your air conditioning. A reasonable man.’

         ‘Thank you,’ I said, stiffly. ‘I would appreciate that, Mrs. Blake.’

         A beat passed, until she let out a huge sigh, collapsing back into her seat.

         ‘Oh, just call me Judith.’

Charlie was going to hold her tongue, but as she thought about everybody the Ivory Skull had lost in the recent attacks, her blood boiled with wrath. They couldn’t stand around and do nothing. They just couldn’t.

She slammed her fist on the table. “How can you sit there at that desk, up in the corporate boxes of an old football stadium, deciding to do absolutely nothing? Have you even thought about all the people we lost to the Little Men? They need to pay. If you’d seen the Cambridge car service in ruins as I did, you wouldn’t feel this way, I guarantee you.”

Fred Bentleigh held up his hands. “I’m sorry, Charlie, I know this is hard for you, but we’ve already lost too many good people against the Little Men. If we fight back and antagonise them, we can say goodbye to everything we care about, because they’ll be sure to destroy the Ivory Skull in its entirety.”

Although she knew there was logic behind the decision, Charlie couldn’t help the rage within her. There had to be something they could do. “We can’t just let the people they took from us go unavenged. We can’t let them get away with this!”

Shaking his head, Fred turned to the window, looking out at the oval. “The greatest way we can honour them is to keep their loved ones safe. I understand where you’re coming from, but I’ve made my decision. Go take a walk. Grab a coffee, go to the professional suspension service workshop. Talk to the other members of the Ivory Skull, and ask yourself whether it is worth sacrificing them to avenge the few we miss. I’m sure you’ll come around to my way of thinking.”

Charlie sighed, knowing she couldn’t cause a scene here. She’d do as he suggested, but by the end of the day, she was certain she would be no closer to changing her mind.

One way or another, the Little Men were going to pay for what they’d done.

I gritted my teeth as James drove us over yet another completely avoidable boulder, whooping and hollering all the time. He’d insisted I come out and see why he enjoyed four-wheel driving so much.

         I remained in the dark.

         ‘Stop hanging on so tight, Jess,’ he cackled at me. ‘Loosen up – enjoy the bumps!’

I flashed him an appeasing smile, teeth gritted. I almost lost a molar as he rammed us just barely over the top of a log.

‘So,’ I attempted as we hit a reasonably “flat” stretch of trail. ‘I bet your 4×4 mechanic loves you.’

‘Hey?’ he asked, frowning.

‘All this… driving,’ I braced for another impact. ‘It’s got to be hard on your car. Your mechanic must love you.’

‘This is what she’s built for!’ James cackled. He saw a loose collection of rocks and a glint appeared in his eye. He shifted the gear down – or maybe up? – and revved the engine, aiming for them.

Instead, the engine cut out.

I breathed a sigh of relief as James frowned, frantically trying to start his car.

‘What the hell?’ he muttered to himself. ‘I just took her to a mechanic that does log book services, near Toowoomba.’

‘Seriously?’ I laughed.

‘What?’

‘You don’t know what possibly could be wrong with your car?’

He shook his head, seemingly confused. I rolled my eyes.

‘How about the fact that you just scraped the bottom of it along every bit of granite you could find between here and the road?’

‘But…’ he murmured, stroking the steering wheel, ‘that’s what she’s built for.’

He said it sadly, like the light inside of him had winked out.

Daring to hope, he turned the key again – and the car started! Engine thrumming strongly, he let out another howl of delight, glint returned to his eye.

         ‘Should we head back?’ I asked, relieved.

         ‘Why?’ he looked confused.

         ‘Because your car is broken!’ I growled, pointing at the flashing lights on his dashboard.

         ‘But this is what she’s–’

         ‘I think we should see other people,’ I cut him off.

  The engine died again.