A Scooty Learning Experience

Well, such an experience goes pretty awesome and memorable with almost majority people, but in my case, it was a serious DISASTER.

One of my neighbours in my apartment owns a lovely maroon scooty. She is a very efficient rider. So for quite some time, I was thinking of asking her if she could teach me also how to ride it. I was just waiting for my exams to end and return from a vacation. For some reason or the other, my parents have totally refused me with a firm NO when I asked them to buy me a scooty, telling me that it's too dangerous to ride one ( 🤔). Since we have ample play space in our apartment, I decided to approach her ( without telling my parents, but then eventually I told them. They were OK as long as I was INSIDE my apartment!) and ask her to teach me there.

Little did I realise that it wasn't a very good idea. The moment Mrs. Banerjee gave me the scooty to walk upto one end of the play area, I felt as if someone had given me five bags of iron to carry. Yes, it was that heavy. I have held other scooties before as well, but none was so weighty as this. Even though I managed to handle it with slight help from her, the next obstacle came when I had to sit and balance it. Not having a very great height ( don't have to expect so much, i ain't revealing my height. So you might as well consider me SHORT), I had to keep stretching my feet to touch the ground. A couple of minutes later, my ankle muscles were throbbing with pain for doing so. Unlike the other days, it wasn't windy either. So, perspiration didn't opt out either.

Then the main calamity occurred. You need to roll the right handle backwards to increase the acceleration. So as I was about to take the turn, instead of rolling the handle forward to decrease the acceleration, I rolled it back further, as a result of which the scooty sped ahead and collided with the plants that surround the periphery and then against the boundary wall! With the engine roaring, I probably ( read definitely) lost my mind because even then I hadn't released the accelerator until Mrs. Banerjee ran up and took control!

Wait, it didn't end there. As she pulled the vehicle back, we realised that a good portion of a branch of a plant along with its leaves had got jammed in the wheels! No matter how much force with which we pulled back, it just wouldn't come off. She then went back to her house and came back not just with a big sharp chopper, but also her son to help us out during the distress! Then combining our pull and her chopping, we set the scooty free.

Ok, now don't you keep wondering what happened next, whether I kept practicing or not. Although I caused no serious injury to myself or the scooty, I was feeling so ashamed that I felt like abandoning everything right then and running away! I have never messed up anything so much before in my life as I did that evening. Mrs. Banerjee is a very gentle lady, so although she didn't tell me anything, I was completely sure that she regretted agreeing to my proposal. I didn't bother her anymore, but that doesn't mean I gave up. I decided that I should first start learning with a comparatively lighter and easier-to-handle scooty. Until then, I am focusing on my four-wheeler driving lessons and yes, I haven't messed up yet! 😉