They had to... there was a whole maze... oh, no...

Daehyun could only blink in surprise at the sight that awaited them outside. He couldn't even feel the cold, as blood rushed to his cheeks and warmed him, his heart beating erratically. He couldn't... he'd never even attempted to... could his feet even reach the pedals? He was still waiting for the long overdue growth spurt.

Instead of picking a car and standing in line for his turn, he hesitantly approached professor Stewart. "Err-professor? I-I've never-I don't know how-how to operate these things." Oh, Merlin, save him.

OH.

MY.

MERLIN.

"Can I faint and fall out due to excitement?!" she exclaimed, talking to nobody in particular. "THIS IS AWESOME!" That did it. Muggle Studies was now officially a cool class. Maddie hadn't been too enthusiastic about it before, but this was a game changer!

Maddie wanted the pink car! No...she wanted the yellow one! No, no, no---pink! She was just too excited to think clearly. She finally selected the pink car, got inside, and put on the seatbelt. She squirmed. A LOT. There were five people ahead of her, and there was no way she could just sit still.

Then finally, it was HER TURN. It was in that moment that Maddie remembered she didn't know how to drive. Uhhh...where was the pedal again? They'd just gone over this in class. Maddie placed her foot on the pedal she thought might make her go, only she barely pushed it, so her car began putting along. Okay, at least she wasn't upside down or crashed into the wall yet... She decided to experiment with going a little faster, only her foot went down a little too hard, and she TOOK OFF!

"AHHHHHHHH!!!!" she yelled.

"Steering wheel! I need the steering wheel!" she exclaimed. Her hands finally found the steering wheel, and she turned the car to the right just in time...

...to ride through a huge puddle of water. The water splashed in all directions, coming to a rest all on top of Maddie. So of course she was drenched now, but in a way, that was kind of fun!

Best. Class. Ever. She was beyond ecstatic. They were going to be driving cars through a sort of obstacle course. Not quite the same as the go karts she drove as a kid, or the little old fashioned cars at the amusement park with the little rail that ran down the middle of the road so you couldn’t drive off, but close. She dashed over to pick out a car before all of the good colors were gone. Yellow was her color of choice. It was the closest to Hufflepuff colors and she loved yellow the most.

After selecting her vehicle, she climbed inside, clicked on her seat belt, and started the engine. The sound was glorious. Much louder than she expected, but not nearly as loud as a tractor. She had to adjust the seat and fiddle a bit with her positioning to be able to both reach the pedals and see out the windshield.

After not so patiently waiting for her turn, Emmalyn entered the course. The very first thing she came across was a stoplight. A red stoplight. “Ugh” she huffed, not wanting to wait for the little girl to cross the street. “Let’s go!” She wanted to beep her horn, but decided against it at the last moment. She didn’t want to seem rude.

When the light finally turned green, she revved the engine and took off. Unfortunately, there was no map and she was already facing a directional choice. She stomped the brakes and made a quick right turn, forgetting to turn on her blinker until after the turn was made. “Sorry!” she waved her hand out her window, hoping to not have interfered with any of the other cars on the course.

"Woo-hoo!" was heard from the Head Boy again as they approached the maze and he saw the cars. Yes, they weren't like the cars he was used to, but they were still cars. He didn't even hesitate, hurrying towards a black one with flames painted on the side (not exactly his style, but how many times did one get to drive a car on Hogwarts grounds?), opening the door and getting inside.

Once inside, Ronan took care to buckle his seatbelt, adjust his mirrors so he could see behind him, adjust the seat so he could comfortably reach the pedals and check to see rather the car was an automatic or manual transmission. Manual. Not a problem. He started the car, shifted into reverse and checked to make sure the way was clear before pulling out of the parking spot, stopping to shift into first gear before pulling up to where they were supposed to start.

Ack, someone had gotten there first. Which meant he had to wait five mintues.

Once he was clear to go, he carefully pulled up into the maze, making sure to not go too fast (which, to him was like 60mph). Until he saw a red light coming up, of course, at which he slowed to a stop. And of course there would be a pedestrian. The seemingly slowest little girl ever. But she finally did cross, allowing him to pick up speed again.

His instincts told him to keep going straight, so he did, guiding the car smoothly around a corner and eventually through a water-filled pothole which splashed water up and all over the car. Ooops? No matter, he quickly flicked the wipers on until the windscreen was clear again.

As he flicked the wipers off again, he saw that he was reaching a turn. Now, should he go left or right?

Once outside, Nathan was quite surprised to see muggle cars lining up and parked in rows in front of a huge maze. Wow. Talk about being extra, professor.
What would his mother think about him driving a muggle transport for the very first time? Livid and disappointed in him, probably. Hopefully, the school wouldn't have to inform his parent about all his muggle school activities after this. Not that it bothered him, of course.

Nathan didn't hesitate to choose one of the black cars, a sporty looking one. He stepped closer to the car and inspect it thoroughly before getting into the driver's seat. He couldn't help but to touch everything that was inside the interior of the car. Everything that involved the muggle world still fascinated him. Nathan couldn't believe that he was going to drive an actual car! He quickly buckled himself in for safety purposes. He then reached for the pedals and the steering wheel. Now what?

Ooh. This looked pretty interesting. A maze that they had to go through using cars. It seemed pretty simple, but Hattie knew that it wouldn't be. That was going to make it fun though. She was excited to see how it went! Hopefully she wouldn't get too confused, because mazes were like that. She got herself into a car, and buckled herself in. To be honest, the blonde wasn't too sure how exactly the car worked, but she was sure she could work it out. She spent a few minutes, working out what each of the buttons and pedals did. At least she would have some clue.

And then it was her turn. She drove carefully into the maze, trying not to go too fast. She was going at a steady pace, if she went too slow then she wouldn't win, and that was no good. As she came a red light, she brought the car to a stop, allowing the little girl to pass. That was okay, and now she could go again. She decided to carry on straight, and then turned the corner carefully.

Then she was driving through a watery pot hole. She slowed down a little, so that the water didn't splash everywhere. Great. She felt good. After exiting the pot hole, she sped up a little, and carried on driving until she came to a junction. Now to decide which way to go.

Hmm. the choices.

When he followed the class outside, he had a feeling that an actual car was going to be involved. That's what the theory part of the lesson had been about after all. He supposed they'd have to point out the parts of the car but on the actual thing instead...

... he hadn't expected to see a giant maze that they were required to drive around.

He wasn't going to drive around a maze! He didn't know how!

What was it with Professors and mazes anyway?

He noticed one of the younger Gryffindors was facing the same dilemma he was and was telling Professor Stewart. Not Max though. Noooooope. He just stood around awkwardly instead.

Wait, this was really happening? Hadn’t Kye JUST been on about how unfamiliar she was with using a car?? And not only was there a car for them to study up close, but there were MULTIPLE cars. And they would be driving them?! It was exciting sure, but Kye was feeling VERY nervous about now with the younger kiddos around. The cement walls that she wouldn’t be able to swerve up and away from, like she would on her broom. Professor Stewart began explaining the kinds of things that they would find in the maze, and she couldn’t help but remember the famous maze from Harry Potter’s ‘Champion’ year. Kye wished she could see over the walls to figure out where she was supposed to go, but she couldn’t really tell. And what was that? No injuries allowed? Well good, because as nervous as she was about driving a car, Kye was more nervous about sharing that road with all of these younger kids. Kye looked at their choices of cars and was a bit amused by their design. Interesting...

She chose a black car and got inside. Okay well that part is easily done, but she was nervous about the pedals. She pulled out her notes from her bag, trying to visualize the diagrams they had been shown. She sat for a moment before deciding to test one out. She pushed her foot down on the left pedal, but... nothing happened. Hm... She tried the right and WHOA. Off she was! She gripped the steering wheel tightly, and she could feel her eyes widen... She was driving. She was probably going at a snail's pace, but it didn't feel like it! It was hard to tell with the windows up too. She liked to feel the wind in her face when she moved, but she didn't know how to use the window so... oh well. She approached the crosswalk and watched the little girl cautiously.

Maddie hadn't exactly gotten off to the best start, but at least she was cruising along now. She was soaking wet, yes, but she at least had the car under control. The third year wheeled away from the puddle and made a few turns before she was cruising along again. Things were going well until...wait a minute. Was that a moo she heard? Maddie had just enough time to blink before she came upon a cow.

A COW?!

"Oh, come on!" she said, as if the cow could understand everything she said. "Moooooove!" The cow did, in fact, move, but it started moving toward her instead of out of her way. Maddie's eyes widened. "Is there a reverse on this thing?!" If there was, she didn't know where it was or how to use it.

Then the cow managed to do something that helped Maddie, whether the cow meant to or not. It kind of walked to the far left, so Maddie took the opportunity to press down on the gas pedal and GO. She steered the car to the right and sped past the cow. "See ya later!" she called over her shoulder.

She revved her engine again and continued forward in the maze. There was quickly another turn option, which she decided to keep going straight. No turn signal needed for straight. The car sped up nicely, then she noticed the turn coming. She leaned her body and turned the wheel, narrowly missing running off into the grass, before heading off in the new direction.

Her car zoomed past a few more turn options, but she again decided to continue straight. It was far easier not turning the car. Unfortunately, the road curved before her gagin and she had to turn the wheel to stay on the road. Then, another curve, and another curve. When she finally thought she would get a straight away, there was a GIANT CHICKEN???? What was a giant chicken doing in the maze?

Emmalyn was getting ready to toot her horn at the giant chicken, when she peered a head and saw it was a dead end. “Ugh” She grumbled as she fiddled with the shifty thing, trying to get the car to back up and turn around. “Look out, I’m backing up!” Her voice was just loud enough for any nearby vehicles to be able to hear. The car went forward, turn, back, forward, turn, and back. It took her three tries to turn the car around.

They had darling little cars to drive! Chloe bopped along to the one that just called her name, and she paced the exterior, running her hands over the sides and mirrors and patting the trunk. Her darling little car. She'd call her... Lady Daniella.

"Okay, Lady D. Let's go." Chloe climbed into the car, giving the steering wheel a pat too. Now, what did the professor say? Keys! Keys, keys... right there in the ignition (because this Ravenclaw took notes), and the engine turned over easily. It took some fussing around with the knobs and dials to figure out how to pull forward and into line, but then she was ready. Five minute intervals, each time moving closer to the front of the line, and theeeeeen it was finally her turn.

TIME TO GOOOO! Chloe puttered away from the start line, tapping lightly against the brakes to let the little girl cross, and then promptly turning into the hedge. Oooookay. Not good.

SPOILER!!: Dae, Max!

Quote:

Originally Posted by debpetrisor

They had to... there was a whole maze... oh, no...


Daehyun could only blink in surprise at the sight that awaited them outside. He couldn't even feel the cold, as blood rushed to his cheeks and warmed him, his heart beating erratically. He couldn't... he'd never even attempted to... could his feet even reach the pedals? He was still waiting for the long overdue growth spurt.


Instead of picking a car and standing in line for his turn, he hesitantly approached professor Stewart. "Err-professor? I-I've never-I don't know how-how to operate these things." Oh, Merlin, save him.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Waterloo

When he followed the class outside, he had a feeling that an actual car was going to be involved. That's what the theory part of the lesson had been about after all. He supposed they'd have to point out the parts of the car but on the actual thing instead...


... he hadn't expected to see a giant maze that they were required to drive around.


He wasn't going to drive around a maze! He didn't know how!


What was it with Professors and mazes anyway?


He noticed one of the younger Gryffindors was facing the same dilemma he was and was telling Professor Stewart. Not Max though. Noooooope. He just stood around awkwardly instead.

Kay patted Daehyun's shoulder sympathetically and reassuringly. "It's really simple. Simply turn the keys in the ignition to the right.'' She leaned to the closest car and pointed. "These cars mimic real ones except you don't have to worry about crashes like I said.'' They weren't real cars; no engines, no gasoline, no exhaust fumes. "Go ahead. You can do it, Mr. Yoon, Mr Carden.'' Yes, she saw you standing there apprehensively, Max.

SPOILER!!: Maddie!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Anna Banana

OH.


MY.


MERLIN.


"Can I faint and fall out due to excitement?!" she exclaimed, talking to nobody in particular. "THIS IS AWESOME!" That did it. Muggle Studies was now officially a cool class. Maddie hadn't been too enthusiastic about it before, but this was a game changer!


Maddie wanted the pink car! No...she wanted the yellow one! No, no, no---pink! She was just too excited to think clearly. She finally selected the pink car, got inside, and put on the seatbelt. She squirmed. A LOT. There were five people ahead of her, and there was no way she could just sit still.


Then finally, it was HER TURN. It was in that moment that Maddie remembered she didn't know how to drive. Uhhh...where was the pedal again? They'd just gone over this in class. Maddie placed her foot on the pedal she thought might make her go, only she barely pushed it, so her car began putting along. Okay, at least she wasn't upside down or crashed into the wall yet... She decided to experiment with going a little faster, only her foot went down a little too hard, and she TOOK OFF!


"AHHHHHHHH!!!!" she yelled.


"Steering wheel! I need the steering wheel!" she exclaimed. Her hands finally found the steering wheel, and she turned the car to the right just in time...


...to ride through a huge puddle of water. The water splashed in all directions, coming to a rest all on top of Maddie. So of course she was drenched now, but in a way, that was kind of fun!

This lesson was putting her in a great mood; a mood she hadn't felt in a long time. Kay actually laughed at Maddie's rhetorical question. "You'll miss the fun, Ms. Kemp,'' was the reply nevertheless.

* * * * * * *

Standing at the end of the maze with a clipboard with a pen hooked on it in one hand and a stop watch in another, she couldn't help but grin to herself. She could hear horn blowing and voices yelling at the obstacles and at each other.


But who would be the first out? She couldn't wait to find out. Kay glanced excitedly down at the stopwatch where the time was being counted.

OOC: I'm loving yal posts, guys! ALL of them! I appreciate the various personalities of each of the kiddos so much

A few things to clear up: The cars are normal sized, tho there will be various sizes to suit your kiddos' height. They are all either left hand or right hand cars; the steering wheels are on either side and it is YOU the RPers who get to decide this. They are all automatic cars

Maze walls are 8 feet high.

The only time you need to put the time in your posts is when you make the last one. This will tell me how much time your kiddo spent in the maze

You have about 50 hours left!

.......Yeah.......she wasn't going in there.

Jessa had followed the group along with a warming charm in place to ease the edge of the cold air that threatened her asthma--reluctant as she was--because the Professor said so but this maze thing was another story entirely. The walls were too tall for her to see over, even if she got on top of her car. There was no pausing to stick her head up and get her bearings but it sounded like there was ample things to make things go wrong in there.

Add to that the fact that there were a ton of wrong turns in a maze that she COULD take and essentially have herself cornered and you could see where her mind was going with this.

The Ravenclaw watched her classmates get inside the cars and speed off but she had no such plans.

Instead, Jessa moved to one end of the maze and began to follow the wall to the back where she suspected the Professor would be waiting. On the inside she could hear the horns and yells too but they did nothing to make her want to be a part of it.

The wall seemed to stretch for a while but finally she found the woman and the point at which she suspected people would be exiting. Jessa walked up to the woman with her clipboard who looked so attentive. "May I have a map, Professor?"

So they WERE going to drive. Which came as no surprise to the Hufflepuff really, but what DID come as a surprise as he went scrambling around eagerly to find himself a car was the fact that some wheels were on the right and others were on the left which meant that they would be driving on BOTH sides of the road because those were the rules of driving and....was he overthinking? He probably was.

He was also low key freaking out and wanted to try and get into the maze with people who had wheels on the SAME side so they could all be on the same side in case, you know, there was a traffic jam and stuff and...uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuh...he really should just focus on picking a car.

Though as he was pulling open the door he spotted Jessa...and felt his stomach do a bit of a lurch because, yeah, mazes were not her thing. He sorta wished that he could make her his navigator somehow...but neither had their two way mirrors with them so that was sorta out. So, rather than really saying anything to her about the activity - he knew how the offer to sit in the car with him would go - he smiled at the Ravenclaw. "Wish me luck?"

Because hew as gonna need it. Not the best sense of direction and all, though he knew if you just kept turning the same way the whole time EVENTUALLY you would get to the exit.

Sooooooooooo into a car that was Derf size he went, a BRITISH model car, keys into the ignition soon enough and then he was looking to...er...figure out the rest of how to get things going. He KNEW about turning the key and stuff...and one of the peddle things was go and the other stop...so he should step on the GO one, right?

So he did. And the engine roared. But......nothing happened at ALL.

RRRRRRRR rrrr RRRRRRR rrrrrrrrrrr

"Take that, COW!" Maddie yelled, as if calling the cow a cow was some sort of major insult. She honked her horn in delight as she drove away, not exactly realizing that she was going the wrong way or simply driving around in circles.

"I'm on the hiiiiiiighway to Hogwarts!"

Yes, she was singing. Wasn't that what Muggles did behind the wheel of a car? She felt the chilly wind in her hair as she drove along, mistakingly thinking she now had not a care in the world. She'd passed a huge puddle and a cow, so she was on the right track to the finish line now, right? ... WRONG. She happened to look to her left and see a big, yellow machine...whatever it was called. "Not going there!" she said, honking a greeting to the machine. She was not falling for that trick again.

Maddie steered the car to the left, and despite the fact the wind was beating against her ears, she could still hear a distinct oink. "Brakes! Where are the brakes?!" she exclaimed. "HEY, PIG! I don't know where the brakes are!" In other words, move it or lose it! Maddie spared a quick glance downward and spotted a pedal next to the gas pedal. She slammed her foot on top of it, and the car screeched to a halt. "AHHHHHH!" she yelled again. Her car was at a complete stop next to the pig.

"The mud puddle's at the starting point," she scolded. "Well, it's not exactly mud. It's just water. But--..." Wait a minute. Was she talking to a pig? Siiiiigh. She steered around the animal and went on her way.

After carefully going through the water Hattie kept a good speed as she kept driving. This was fun. Then the junction. Hmm. Which way to go. She spent a few seconds deciding, not want to waste too much time. The girl decided to turn left, figuring that seemed like a good way. She carefully pulled off, and turned left, hoping she would be going the right way. She really did not want to spend time having to go back and try and find the right way. This seemed okay though, so she continued to drive at a good speed. She wasn't going too fast or too slow, just a good enough speed to keep her going along.

Hmm. There was a turning coming up. Hattie decided to take it. She liked doing little turns and that seemed pretty cool. She put her indicator on, and then when she got to the turning, she turned left, pulling into the new road. Maybe she should drive. This was pretty simple, though she figured it could be different if there were other drivers around. Picking up speed again the blonde carried on driving, up until she came to a stop.

There was a horse in the road. A horse was in the road.

Oh. Now she was kinda stuck. The blonde sighed, deciding not to beep her horn. She didn't want to startle the horse. So she decided to wait for a few minutes, and just hope that the horse would eventually move out of the way. Hopefully it wouldn't take too long!

Ummmmmmm. No thank you. Unleashing a bunch of kids who had never driven before into a maze didn't seem safe in the slightest. Nope, it wasn't gonna happen. This was screaming disaster.

"I'm okay waiting here, Professor Stewart," the Slytherin said uncharacteristically brave. "Do you need help keep track of times or something?" Because that was something Max was more comfortable doing, yep.

After successfully? turning her car around, Emmalyn zoomed back the way she had come from. The dead end and chicken had slowed her down, but she was determined to make up the time. Her foot pressed down on the gas pedal as hard as possible, making the engine roar to life. She curved to the right, left, then left again, coming upon a turn that she needed to make.

Her hand remembered to signal to the right, as her other hand controlled the wheel. Extra thankful for the no crashing charm and high walls, she made the turn without slowing her car, also making a mental note to not do that if she were to ever drive a muggle car that wasn’t protected by magic. “Look out! I’m not slowing down!” She hollered out the driver side window.

She was giggling so hard, it made it difficult to see. Her car made another tight right turn. That was when she saw a horse in the middle of the road. “Move horse!” She shouted and tooted the car's horn, knowing there was no way she was stopping in time. She swerved to the left as the horse raced towards the right. The car passed only inches away from the animal. Her heart was pounding with adrenaline shooting throughout her body. It was amazing.

Her car continued to race forward, foot still mashing the pedal to the floorboard of the car. “Woo hoo!” She only wished it would go faster. There was an intersection just a head. “Right, left, straight? Right, left, straight?” She asked herself. At the last moment, she yanked the steering wheel to the left and zoomed around the corner, hoping she made the right decision.

This horse was taking so long! Why was it taking so long to move. Come on horse! Just movee! She was tempted to get out of the car to get it to move, but it could just move back before she had time to get past. So she just stayed for a little longer. Hattie tried to be as patient as she could. She didn't want to scare the horse. Aahh. Eventually the horse moved, and she could set off again. She carefully picked up speed again, and began to drive, carefully going past the horse, so that she didn't startle it. After she was carefully clear of the horse she picked up some more speedy, moving down the road. She was actually having a lot of fun with this, and was hoping that she wasn't taking too long. She wanted to win!

Then she came to a junction. Hmm. Left or right, or just carry on. She hadn't gone right yet, so she figured she would go right. That sounded like a great idea. She indicated to turn right, and then once she was sure it was clear, she turned right, and carried on driving. This was going pretty well. She carried on driving, not going down another turning she found. But then she came across a pedestrian, who was also stood by a dead end. Oh. Well. that hadn't gone too well.

She needed to turn around, and not hit this person. Remembering the junction she had decided to not go down, Hattie decided to now use it to reverse into. So she could turn around with ease. Carefully she put the car into reverse, and then carefully backed up. The hufflepuff was super careful as she steered the car, so she wouldn't hit anything. A few minutes later, and she had successful backed the car up enough into the other road so that she could turn back and go where she had come from.

Indicating to the left, she turned back into the main road, and began driving. This time she decided to go straight across the junction where she had initially gone wrong, and she hoped to Merlin that she was now going the correct way.

Her course continued straight until the road curved to the right. Her engine began to protest having the gas pedal slammed against the floorboard for so long, but she didn’t care. Her only goal was to go as fast as possible. Spying another right turn coming up shortly, her right foot every so slightly lifted off the gas pedal, just enough to make the turn without upsetting the car. As soon as the turn was made, she rammed the pedal back to the floor. “Go faster car!” she urged as she raced forward.

Suddenly, her car was floating left and sliding right. Water was spraying up all around her, covering the windshield and hydroplaning the car. “Ahhhhhhhhh!” she screamed and closed her eyes. Before her panic could take full effect, the tires gripped dry pavement once again and she was zooming forward, still on the path. She glanced in her rear view mirror, only to see a large mass of water over the roadway. Part of her briefly considered slowing down, so she would have time to react to the obstacles before she met them, but a greater part of her just wanted to go!

Content that she was going the right way again Hattie allowed the car to pick up some speed. Not too much, but just enough. She didn't want to go to fast so that she didn't have time to react to any potential obstacles. She was sure it was better to go a little slower, and react faster, than to rush through things and potentially make mistakes. She'd made one mistake so far, and she didn't want to make any more. So she was careful as she drove so that she would hopefully get a good time.

The road went around to the right, so she was careful to break a little, turning the steering wheel so that the car followed the road around, and didn't crash. That was always good. She noticed a puddle coming up in the road, so she pressed the break a little more, so that the water didn't splash around too much. She didn't want the water to go everywhere and she couldn't see. Soon she had driven over the puddle, and carried on following the road round. It was a bit bendy, but that was okay. she was glad she was driving slower, because it gave her time to negotiate all of these turns, without having to break too harshly. She was sure that was making it easier for her to a good time.

There were lots of bends, and it was making it hard to keep a good speed. But she decided to keep at a slower speed, just so she could get around these bends without having to crash into the wall. It went well. And soon she was done with the bends, and coming across the another puddle. Beyond the puddle she could see the end and was excited! She'd done it! She was doing well.

Now to just get through this puddle first!

Maddie cruised away from the pig, all the while keeping her eyes wide open for any other strange happenings on the race course. She kind of knew where most of the obstacles were in the beginning, so she was able to steer around both the cow and the first puddle. She could hear the sound of a moo in the distance, but she tried to ignore it as she focused on the road.

Her ears soon tuned in to the sound of something beating against the track. It almost sounded like an animal with really hard feet galloping toward her. She felt a lump in her throat and tried to swallow a bit to ease her nervousness. She kind of had a feeling about what was ahead, so she tried to focus on both the animal and the road. She slowed down a little, knowing something was ahead.

Soon enough, and just as she expected, a galloping horse came into view. Luck was on Maddie's side this time, though, since she had slowed down and kind of expected there to be a horse. "Whoa, boy," she said. "Or girl..." She really couldn't predict which way it was galloping, and if she accidentally hit it, she wasn't sure if the horse or the car would win. Why, oh why, did her first experience driving have to be on an obstacle course? The horse was getting closer, so Maddie decided to dash off toward the opposite side of the road. She actually managed to drive around the horse quite nicely.

That was the scariest experience on the track yet!

Hattie was so nearly done that she was feeling so excited. She had had fun during this activity, but would be glad to be done. These obstacles were pretty stressful, but she'd had fun. It had given her some sort of insight into how driving was. She would have liked to drive, but she knew it would be more stressful when other people were driving. So she'd probably stick to the magical forms of transportation. First though, because she even considered that she needed to get out of this maze. That involved getting through this puddle. The girl slowed her car down a little, so that she went through the puddle without it going everywhere. She didn't want to crash right at this last second. She used the same tactic that she had with the other puddles, knowing that it had worked out pretty well for her. It worked this time too, and she carried on along the road.

She came to a junction, but didn't turn up it for she could see the end of the maze in front of her. She smiled to herself, speeding up a little as she made it towards the end of the maze, and left it. She pulled the car back up where it was, and turned it off. She sighed, relaxing in the seat for a moment. That was fun, but she was glad that it was done. She got out of the car and smiled at the Professor. "That was fun!" But she probably wouldn't want to do it again. Now to wait for all her fellow peers to be done

“Faster! Faster!” She urged her car along, wanting more speed than it was willing to give. “Come on!” Her foot pushed harder on the already flattened gas pedal and her hand pounded on the steering wheel. She could see other cars coming up behind her and needed to go!

There was a right curve coming up and she instinctively leaned her body to the right, hopeful to make the turn easier and not lose too much speed. The tires squealed in protest, but her foot refused to back off of the gas. Another right turn, then a left was coming, then another quick left. She was sure she was leaving tire marks on the road, but she didn’t want to risk taking her eyes off of what was in front of her to glance in the rear view to see.

Finally, she approached another right turn, followed shortly with another right. “Where does this end!” she beeped the horn several times in frustration. Her car simply wasn’t going fast enough. “Water!” she screamed when she saw another large puddle of water before her. This time she braced herself for the impact and hydroplaning that was sure to come. “Ahhhhhhhhh!” her scream was in excitement this time around. She knew what to expect after her last water encounter and the floating feeling and water flying all around were a welcome thrill.

She felt her tires make purchase on dry pavement again, and sped forward. Just a head she had a choice to make, straight or turn right. Not wanting to sacrifice speed, she chose straight. The car flew forward and she could just make out the finish line. BEEP BEEP BEEP her horn blared as she cruised across the finish line and slammed the brakes, bringing her vehicle to a sudden stop. “That was awesome!”

She smiled brightly at Professor Stewart and tried to eye her time. She hoped it was fast enough and wondered if she should have picked a different car. Her’s had felt so slow and she hoped it hadn’t been a dud.