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Kristoff walked inside his apartment and hung the key to his truck on the hook by the door. His roommate, Olaf, was in the kitchen taking something out of the oven..
“Hey, Olaf,” Kristoff said. “What are you making?”
“Just some pumpkin bread. Want some?
“Sure!” Kristoff replied.
Olaf sliced off a piece and set it on a small plate, still steaming.
“Smells great, Olaf,” Kristoff said, waiting for it to cool down.
“Kristoff, are you doing anything this afternoon?” Olaf asked.
“No, why?”
“It’s just, I was thinking, I’d like to learn how to drive a manual transmission.”
“Umm… why?” Kristoff asked.
“Just because. Do you think you could teach me?”
Kristoff stopped to think if he had actually seen Olaf drive at all, let alone a manual transmission.
“Maybe we could go over to the rear parking lot by the supermarket for a bit,” Kristoff suggested.
“Oh! Great!” Olaf exclaimed.
Once Kristoff was finished with his slice of pumpkin bread, Olaf followed him down to the truck.
“Can I drive there?” Olaf asked.
“No, I’ll drive,” Kristoff insisted.
He drove a few blocks, and put the truck into park once they were in the empty lot.
“Come around and you can sit in the driver’s seat,” Kristoff offered.
“Thanks!” Olaf said, hopping out and continuing to talk while running around to the other side.
Kristoff buckled himself into the passenger seat before Olaf had even climbed in to the driver’s seat.
“What do I do first?” Olaf asked.
“You start it up. That should work pretty much the same as you’re used to.”
Olaf looked around. “Where’s the button?”
“What button?” Kristoff asked.
“To start the truck,” Olaf explained.
“The… key… You start it with the key…” Kristoff sighed.
Olaf stared blankly.
“I left the key in the ignition,” Kristoff said.
“Where’s the ignition?” Olaf asked.
Kristoff directed Olaf’s hand to the key sitting in the ignition behind the steering wheel.
“Wow! This is one of those old-fashioned ones!” Olaf exclaimed.
“What-” Kristoff said, exasperated. “No.”
“So, then, which number should I move the stick to?” Olaf asked.
“First,” Kristoff said, “you need to step on the clutch.”
“What’s that?”
Kristoff sighed. “Look, Olaf, I think this is enough of a lesson for today. If you look up what a clutch is tonight, I’ll show you more tomorrow.”
“Ooh, homework?” Olaf asked excitedly.
“Yes, homework,” Kristoff replied, “Now let’s switch places.”
“Should I turn the key off?” Olaf asked.
“The truck is in park, so let’s just leave it there.”
Once they had switched places, Kristoff started driving back to the apartment. Just as he was about to turn onto their street, someone from the right lane turned in front of them.
Kristoff slammed on the horn and said a few choice words.
“Language!” Olaf chided him.
“Stay in your lane!” Kristoff shouted as he followed the car, ignoring Olaf.
He pulled back into the same parking spot he had been in earlier. At least that was going well.
“Would you like some more pumpkin bread when we get inside?” Olaf asked.
Kristoff drew in a breath. “Yes, please.”