Blood Relatives

7. Who Cares About Passing?

Carmine woke up Saturday morning, still feeling tired as usual. But her alarm was buzzing from across the room. Why couldn't she just go back to sleep? She threw her pillow over her head and closed her eyes again. She'd been in the middle of one of the best dreams of her life, and that stupid alarm had ruined it for her.

After a few minutes of trying unsuccessfully to ignore the sound, Carmine got angrily out of bed. She was halfway across the room when she remembered why the alarm was going off in the first place. Today she had her driving test. If all went according to plan, she'd be able to drive to school without her mom after today. The thought was almost enough to make her smile, but not quite.

She staggered to the bathroom. As she brushed her teeth, she reviewed what she'd wear today. Probably that new blouse her mom got her for Christmas. It was her most responsible-looking shirt. And if she put her hair up, she might actually look like someone who deserved a license.

She walked into the living room with three minutes to spare.

"Are you ready?" her dad asked her from the couch.

"Yeah, I guess." Carmine mumbled. Slowly, she made her way to the edge of the couch, but she didn't sit down. If she did, she probably wouldn't get back up.

"Don't be nervous." her dad told her. "You're going to do great."

"Thanks." Carmine said. She didn't even bother to point out that she wasn't nervous – she was tired. She almost asked if they could reschedule her appointment but decided against it. If she wasn't throwing up, her parents would make her go.

Carmine grabbed the keys off the counter and followed her dad out to the car. She'd given up on asking if they wanted to drive instead of her almost a month ago. Now, she just accepted it as part of her job as a somewhat-responsible teenager.

The drive to the DMV was only about fifteen minutes, but her dad made it feel so much longer. He kept giving her tips on what to do.

"Remember to look over your shoulder every time you turn. Or change lanes – even in the parking lot."

"Ok."

"And make sure it's obvious that you're checking your mirrors."

"I will."

"So you remember the hand signals?"

"Yeah."

"Make sure you signal every turn."

"Dad – stop. I'll be fine." She hadn't been nervous when she woke up this morning, but he was starting to change that.

"I know you will." her dad told her. Then after a minute he added, "I'm proud of you."

"Shouldn't you wait until after the test to be proud of me?" There was still a decent chance she'd fail.

"No matter what happens, I know you've been trying hard. And that's all that matters."

"Really?" Carmine asked. "So I can skip the test part?"

"Nice try." her dad laughed.

They pulled into a spot at the back of the DMV's parking lot. Carmine turned off the engine and followed her dad inside.

They passed the long line of people waiting and went straight to the appointment counter. Carmine gave her name and was directed to another counter at the other end of the building. After what seemed like forever, someone finally called her name – or tried to.

"Carmine...Carmine Zwaan...Zwaans..." a frizzy-haired lady was standing behind the counter.

"Here." Carmine said, standing up. She didn't think her last name was that hard to pronounce, but no one ever seemed to get it right. She was used to it by now, so she just stood up when she heard her first name. It wasn't like she'd ever run into another Carmine before.

"Hi." the woman said in a businesslike tone. "Go get your car and pull around to the curb here – just outside this door."

Carmine followed the woman's finger. There was a small door leading outside at the end of a very short hallway.

"Ok." Carmine said.

"Turn off the engine after you pull up. We'll have someone get you when it's your turn."

Carmine and her dad walked back out to the car. She started it up and moved to where the lady told her to be.

"Don't be nervous." Carmine's dad told her again.

"Ok." Carmine said. It looked like her dad was more nervous than she was! The instructor came out, and her dad finally got out of the car.

"Good luck!" he said.

"Thanks."

The actual test wasn't so bad. She drove around for ten or fifteen minutes, pulled up next to a curb, backed up without hitting it to show she knew how. And even though she'd done nothing but complain about having to drive since the first day she got her permit, Carmine was secretly glad her parents had made her.

The instructor took notes the whole time. She tried to judge how good she was doing by his face, but he never showed any emotion. Carmine hoped that was a good sign – if he wasn't looking scared, she couldn't be doing too bad, could she? They made the final turn, and the DMV was on her right.

"Turn into the parking lot here." the instructor said. Carmine did. She pulled into one of the spaces near the door marked "DMV Test." The spaces were a lot wider than the rest of the lot, which was a good thing; Carmine wasn't completely sure she would have made it in between the lines otherwise. Her dad walked over to the car as Carmine and her instructor got out. He stood next to Carmine and waited for the instructor to tell them how she did.

She was good at signaling, she checked her mirrors a lot, and she did follow at a safe distance. Apparently, she did break a little hard though. Carmine found herself only barely listening as he went down the list. To her, none of this stuff really mattered – did she pass or not? Either way, his reasons weren't important to her. She just wanted to either get her license or a new appointment. She realized the guy was talking to her dad as much as he was to her. Good, because Carmine was having a hard time paying attention.

"So, basically she's doing fine – except she might want to ease up on the breaks just a bit." He turned to Carmine. "So don't change what you're doing – you know, much."

Carmine found herself nodding. Was that a good thing? Or did she need to change just enough to keep her from passing?

"What was my score?" Carmine asked finally.

"Seventy-three." he told her. Was that good? "Congratulations."

"Thanks." Carmine grinned. It must be good if he was congratulating her. Not great, obviously, but good enough. She went inside to fill out her paperwork and get a temporary license. Her real one would be mailed to her later.

As she drove home, Carmine couldn't help but grin. She'd actually done it! She could hardly wait to tell her friends at school on Monday – even though they all seemed to be acting kind of weird lately. And there was one person she really wanted to tell.

Of course, Carmine knew he wasn't exactly real. But that didn't stop her from wishing he was. She knew she should feel happy as she drove home, but suddenly, she couldn't help but feel lonely. What was the point in getting her license if the one person she wanted to tell couldn't go places with her?