“It’s cloudy!“ She exclaimed after opening the curtain.
“It’s good. I don’t need to worry about the sun’s glare”. She told her husband.
After having breakfast, she sat down and sipped her coffee as usual, but she behaved a little bit differently today.
The clock struck 8:30 am, and she started to get nervous and struggle with what to do. She just wanted to revise the notes to reinforce her memory. This was her second attempt. She did not want to retake the test. She took out the notes and read. Oh, she was panicking! She had no choice but to put down the note and listen to some hymns instead to calm down herself. She realized that the most important now was keeping a peaceful mind.
She arrived at the driving test centre at 10:40, which was about 10 minutes before the test. She was early enough to pick a parking bay that she thought was easier to drive off from. Not long after she had sat down and waited at the office, examiners started to call candidates’ names. She found that the same “murderer” of last time was also there calling names. Have you heard about a rumour that every test centre has a “murderer”? The “murderer” failed her last time so she did not want the same examiner again.
“Don’t call me!” She muttered.
When she heard the “murderer” was calling another learner’s name, she heaved a sigh of relief.
She was finally called by a male examiner, and she felt thankful as he looked kinder.
Normally the test would last about 40 minutes including a 20-minute Independent Driving Section, a manoeuvre (parking), plus one Show Me and one Tell Me question. Soon after she was briefed about the test, her journey began. This time she was asked to do “follow traffic signs” on the Independent Driving section (unlike last time “follow directions from Sat Nav (satellite navigation)”.
“I may pass this time”. She thought. She felt more confident in handling “follow traffic signs”.
The serious fault she made last time was she focused too much on the Sat Nav. It led her to lose her car’s position and get too close to a parked car on a bend. The examiner instructed her to steer away. That was the very moment she failed.
After leaving the test centre, She soon drove through a road with double bends and various speed limits from 20mph to 40mph. This road used to be her challenge but she could manage it now. After another five-minute drive, she was told to pull over on the left. Then, the Independent Driving Section started. The instructor gave her directions every time before they reached a traffic sign. She finished this section with no fault. She was satisfied with her performance and was feeling good about herself.
Then, she was asked to go into Asda’s (a supermarket) car park to do forward bay parking. It was where she practised parking many times before. Although it was busier than usual, she managed to find a quiet area and parked in one go without any adjustment.
A female driver gave her way when she was leaving the car park. She thought she was lucky. It reminded her of a similar situation that another female driver gave her way at a busy junction earlier. She thought that they were both God-sent.
“10 minutes to go, hang it there! You can make it.” She cheered herself up.
The last time pulling over on the left was done nicely as well. She was now close enough to see the test centre.
“Pull over near the traffic cones”, the examiner gave the last instruction while she was driving in the test centre.
“Would you like your driving instructor to listen to your result together?”
“Yes, please.”
“I’m pleased to tell you that you passed”.
“Any minor fault she’s made?” My instructor asked.
“No, she made zero faults”. The examiner replied.
She could not help the tears of joy streaming down her face. The cloudy day put her on cloud nine.
