Chapter Text
“Mr. Jake? Are you sure this is a good idea?” Peter asked hesitantly. Jake slammed the passenger door shut behind him, settling into the seat and throwing the teenager a lopsided grin.
“Of course it is, m'hijo . What better way is there to learn than to do?” the man said, giving Peter a firm clap on the shoulder.
The pair was currently parked in Jake’s taxi cab on the side of the road. The streets were packed with the usual honking cars and bustling city-goers. Peter had insisted that he was fine just biking or web-swinging everywhere that he needed to go, but the cabbie was determined that he get at least one driving lesson before he finished high school. Plus, Jake boasted that his lessons would be more authentic than any ‘goody two shoes’ driving school instructor. Peter still hadn’t decided if that was a good or bad thing.
“Lesson one: before you start driving, you need to check the inside and outside of your car. Make sure your seat and rear view mirrors are adjusted,” Jake instructed. Peter nodded, scooting his seat forward until he could sit up straight and comfortably reach the pedals. He rolled down the window to adjust the driver’s side mirror and tilted the rearview mirror into position. When he rolled up the window and sat back, Jake spoke again.
“Now, start the car by turning that key in the ignition. Make sure the fuel level is good and put her into ‘reverse.’ You’re gonna need to pull out of the parking spot and onto the street to get to where we can practice,” he said. Peter looked at him with wide eyes, gaze darting between the street and Jake.
“Pull out? Of a parallel park? Into that street?” he asked, incredulously.
“Yep,” Jake responded calmly, popping the ‘p.’ “You’re gonna be drivin’ on these streets, Peter, you’ll need to get used to ‘em.” When he noticed that the teenager was still apprehensive, his gaze softened sympathetically. “Here, I’ll help ya’ out a little,” he said. He craned his neck so that he could see past Peter out the driver’s window, putting a steadying gloved hand on the back of the driver’s seat. “You can start turning… Now.”
Peter shifted the gear into reverse and slowly pressed the gas pedal. The car turned abruptly, causing the hood of the car to jut into the street and the back tires to hit the curb with a loud thunk . Peter flinched and swore under his breath. Cars in the lane behind him immediately began honking and a few passing pedestrians on the sidewalk shouted in alarm. He looked nervously at Jake, who made a rapid motion with one hand.
“ Sigues bien, now shift into ‘drive’ and pull into the lane,” he said. Peter took a deep breath and thrust the gear stick forward. After a near-collision caused by his over-correcting with the steering wheel, Peter centered the car in the right lane. Jake whooped in celebration and ruffled a fist against Peter’s head.
“Congrats, ¡chico! Driving school lesson one: complete!” he cheered. Peter laughed and released his grip on the wheel to smooth his hair. The traffic was moving forward at a snail’s pace. Peter drummed the wheel with his fingertips.
“So… Do we ever go any faster than this?” he asked, casting a scrutinizing gaze at the single-digit speedometer. Jake shrugged, adjusting his flat cap with his thumb and pointer finger.
“Mid-day traffic es un dolor en el culo, m'hijo . Here, the engine’s sounding a little off, shift into first gear,” he instructed, looking at the dials on the dashboard. One of Peter’s hands hovered over the manual transmission diffidently.
“Uh, which one’s that?” he asked. Jake took his wrist, planting his hand on the manual transmission. Peter closed his fist around the lever, and Jake removed his hand to point to the printed labels beside it.
“First gear is here at the top. Press the third pedal down by your feet- yeah that one- that’s the clutch,” he said. Peter pressed the pedal and clicked to lever into place. The car ceased the concerning rumbling sounds. Peter grinned proudly.
“You shift the gears depending on how fast you’re going. So whenever you’re driving a manual, make sure to keep a hand on the gear stick,” Jake said.
“Hey, once we get past this intersection, I’ll show you where we’re going. There’s an old parking garage where we can practice parallel parking, maybe doing some three-point-” Jake began. Suddenly, a car swerved into the lane in front of them. Peter quickly slammed on the brakes, luckily not going anywhere near fast enough to really jolt them forward. Jake leaned across the seats and laid a hand on the horn, blaring the noise at the offending car, who had moved over another lane to the left. Peter pulled forward into the spot that the car had left behind, ending up stopped next to the rude driver at the red light. Jake was glaring daggers at the man in the other car.
“ Ese pendejo casi nos mata . Roll down the window, Peter,” Jake growled. Peter fumbled to do as he said. The other driver looked over through his already open passenger window and gave the pair a confused but agitated look.
“Hey! Maybe watch where you’re going next time, ¡pendejo! You could have T-boned me and my kid!” He shouted. Peter looked mortified, hiding his face partly in one hand and offering the man an apologetic wave.
“Fuck off!” the other driver shouted back. “Maybe your kid should get off the road until he actually knows how to drive!”
“Alright Peter, lesson two,” Jake said, leaning forward. “Extend your arm.” Peter hesitantly did what he was told, holding his closed fist out the window. “Extend your middle finger,” Jake said, mouth curling into a mischievous grin. Peter snorted out a laugh, making eye contact with the confused driver before flipping him the bird. The driver’s face reddened, staring at him with wide eyes.
“Green light! Go go go !” Jake shouted, and Peter stepped on the gas, lurching them forward into the intersection. Several more horns blared at them as Peter scrambled to shift into the correct gear. Peter shouted apologies out the window as several people still crossing the street ran to get out of the swerving car’s way. Finally, he centered the car between the white lines and brought them back down to a legal speed. Jake slumped back in the passenger seat, still cackling.
“Holy shit, arañito . You’re a natural at this!” Jake wheezed, clapping Peter on the shoulder once again. The action caused Peter to jerk the car a bit to the right. “Man, if that cabrón had given us any more trouble, I may have had to bring out my pistol from my glove compartment. That’s something you gotta learn about the roads of New York: don’t take no shit from anyone.”
“Duly noted,” Peter said with a chuckle. They drove in silence for a few moments before Peter’s eyes widened with realization.
“Wait, Mr. Jake, that was a joke, right? You don’t actually have a pistol in the glove compartment?”
“Mr. Jake, stop laughing, I’m serious! Is there a gun in this car? Mr. Jake! ”