Even if something went wrong, which it did.

Two weeks ago my tutoring boss called me in the evening.  He wanted me to pick up some kids from school the next day before I tutored because his regular driver was on vacation.  I agreed to this, and we decided that I would drive the fifteen-passenger van, picking up kids and dropping them off at the tutoring center.  I had never driven such a long vehicle before, but I figured it would be an adventure even if something went wrong, which it did. ;)

I got to the center and one of my coworkers graciously helped me figure out where I needed to go and what I needed to do.  She handed me a tiny key for the large van, and we each headed out on a different route.

When I got in the van, I noticed that the van was very low on gas, but I figured that it would be an adventure if it ran out, which it did. ;)  I really should have called my boss and told him, but I didn't.  I guess the regular driver is responsible for filling up the vans and it had been neglected.

Anyway, I picked up a few sets of kids.  I listened to two kindergarteners and one first grader discuss "cajuzzis" (jacuzzis) and my driving habits.

"Why are you driving with only one hand?"

"Oh, I don't know.  That's how I always do it.  I've been driving for seven years, and I think that's longer than all of you have been alive!"

The little kids encouraged me to speed down a long hill, but I figured it would be good NOT to run over other cars.  I dropped off the first set of kids and headed up the freeway to the next school.  I picked up three girls there (second, third, and fifth grade, I think), and we headed back to the center.

I soon noticed however, that the van did not have as much power as it had earlier in the day.  I heard a few pops and decided to pull over on the shoulder of the freeway.  The girls were a little worried, but I tried to assure them with "It's okay, I think we're out of gas, don't worry!"  Next I decided to get back on the freeway and try to make it as far as I could.  I merged back on, but since we had only fumes, we had no power!  I looked behind me to see a big rig swiftly approaching.  I quickly switched lanes, and we putted and popped up the freeway to our off ramp.

There was a lot of popping now, but we managed to pull into an industrial park only a few miles from the tutoring center.  I decided to just wait here and to call my boss to decide what to do next.  I not only had to get these girls back to the center, I still needed to pick up a few more kids from their schools!  The sun was streaming in the huge side windows of the van, so the three girls and I got out and sat in the grass.

Ironically, I had a voicemail from my boss asking if it was going okay, which it wasn't. ;)  I called him back, got the phone number of my coworker to come pick us up, and waited.

The three little girls were troopers.  They sat in the grass and weren't fazed at all.

I sat in the grass and tried really hard not to split my face with the silly grin that wanted to keep popping up.  I took out my phone and texted Amos:
"Car broke down! We.re out of gas! Haha! :P someone.s getting us tho."  [I didn't want him to be worried.]

I love adventure!  This wasn't my car, none of us were hurt, and I had a story!  This was awesome!

We were rescued in the end and everyone had a crazy story to tell, which we did. ;)