"I'm so sorry, Connie. I won't be able to finish the day as I may be an amputation victim by the end of it."

"That's a little much," I advised as we walked from the playground to the back door of the school.

Mabel stood there, coaching herself on what she was going to say to get out of spending the rest of the day at her job. Though I was pretty sure they would have asked her to take the rest of the day off, it was fun watching her overthink a situation yet again. Her loose overalls had one pant leg rolled up to her knee, the other down to her sneakers. Her hair was half out of its pigtails and sticking out from every which way. Her bandaid on the cheek was just the cherry on top.

"Yeah, you're probably right. How about: I would have loved to work the rest of the day, had not my accident made me question my mental stability at being around children?" She asked.

I leaned against the building as I waited for her, "That makes it sound like you should never be around children. Actually, from today's events I'm also starting to question that."

She shot me a glare, "Did you not hear Theo? Favourite teacher speaking here. Don't interrupt. That reminds me, I wonder if I could get that phrase written down so I could just kind of whip it out whenever someone questions me. Like 'hey, Mabel, what makes you qualified to give your opinion?' Bam! A written note with the words 'Mabel is my favourite teacher' will change their minds-"

"Mabel?" Connie interrupted, opening the door and sticking her head out of the building. "You doing okay? Because you should really take the rest of the day off to rest."

I let out a snort and Mabel clamped her mouth shut. "Er. Yes. Thanks."

"You okay to get home?" Connie asked, peering over at her friend.

"I'll take her," I interrupted, standing up from against the wall to send a reassuring look to the clearly worried friend.

Connie eyed me up and down slowly, as though she was looking for a warning sign about me or something.

"Okay," She conceded. "Text me when you're home, Mabel."

"Will do, captain!" Mabel chirped.

We walked towards my truck slowly and Mabel stopped mid-stroll to begin the slight hopping she did whenever she got excited about something. I braced myself for what she said next.

"Marcus," She stated seriously.

"Bambi," I responded in the same tone.

"Can I drive your truck?" She exclaimed loudly.

"No," I replied.

She pouted at me, her large eyes getting impossibly larger if that was even possible. "But I've had such a hard day and I'm such a good driver, I swear! I have references."

I raised an eyebrow suspiciously, "You have references?"

"Oh yeah," She nodded, still hopping about. "My driving instructor was great. He gave me his number and texted me multiple times about what a great driver I was."

She was so cute. "I'm pretty sure that wasn't what you thought it was, Mabel."

She frowned, "He meant it, Marcus. I think I'm just that great of a driver. You wouldn't know. You haven't experienced my talent yet." She patted my shoulder reassuringly, "It's okay, buddy."

I narrowed my eyes at her, calling her bluff. "Alright." I tossed the keys to her, "Go on."

She caught the keys against her body before looking up to me, shocked. "Oh. Okay. Prepare yourself, Marky. You're about to witness greatness."  

I rolled my eyes at the nickname, but got into the passenger seat. She pulled her small frame up into the driver's seat and buckled herself in, adjusting the rearview mirror as she did so. I leaned my head against my hand and placed my elbow on the window as I watched her turn on the ignition.

"Seriously, after this, you're going to beg me to chauffeur you around town. And I'll decline. Because you had no faith in me and won't deserve it," Mabel teased as she tucked the chair so close to the front of the car that her knees practically touched the steering wheel.

"Mhmm," I responded, smiling at her confidence. She never lacked it. Nor should she.

She paused, staring at the stick shift, "Um. Marcus?"

"Yeah?"

"What is this?" She asked, staring blankly at the contraption in front of her.

"A stick shift," I winked at her, enjoying the look of horror on her face.

"Aha. You didn't mention that," She laughed nervously.

"Is that a problem?" I teased, "Because I'd be happy to, ah, what was that? Chauffeur you around town."

She chuckled nervously, "Obviously not. I'm perfectly capable. Prepare yourself for greatness and all that." She put her hand on the clutch and did some random movements. "Just trying to get the hang of it. My driving instructor would definitely be proud of me."

I wanted nothing more than to meet this driving instructor and show him a little of my appreciation for his inappropriate behaviour with Maybie. In the form of a fist to his face. Or seven.

The truck cranked and I winced at the unnatural sounds that emerged from it as it sprang forward. I checked the parking lot and it was empty, so I figured I'd give Mabel a few minutes before she gave up.

Boy did I get that wrong. She didn't give up.

She cranked and swore and tugged and shoved until she had made her way to the edge of the parking lot. "Okay, I give up. You're a great driver. Please get out."

"Wait!" She exclaimed, "I have so much I still need to prove."

I shook my head, "Out." I took her hand off the shift and pulled the parking break up before jumping out of the passenger side. I walked around the car and opened the driver's door. "Let's go."

Mabel pouted, "Marcus, I swear, I can do this!"

"I have absolutely no doubt that you can. It's not happening on a road. With cars. And people." I reasoned, reaching across Mabel to unbuckle her seatbelt.

I placed my hands on either side of her waist and lifted her off the seat as she squealed, her hands coming to rest on my shoulders to stabilize herself. I placed her gently on the ground, my arm remaining on the sides of her waist gently.

Her leg was hurting, I reasoned.

She stared into my eyes with that Bambi look. I hated it. I couldn't think straight when she did that.

I cleared my throat and removed my hand before walking to the passenger side and tugging the door open for her. She paused for a moment before bounding over and climbing into the truck. I resisted the urge to place my hand on her perfectly plump behind as she did so.

I closed her door and took a deep breath to clear my head before getting into the truck and driving off the parking lot.

"I'm going to text my driving instructor," She muttered to herself.

"Maybie. Please don't text that perv."

"Wha- no. It wasn't like that."

I raised an eyebrow and stared at her, waiting for her to connect the dots. "Oh. My. God. No, Marcus." Her cheeks were flaming at this point and I resisted the urge to cup her cheek to feel the warmth in my hands. Instead I just laughed at this sweet girl. "Well, I'm going to need a lot of time to repress this."