Chapter 2

Sienna's father, Albert Vaughn, arrived early the next morning. He slapped the enrollment receipt onto the desk hard enough for the entire office to hear.

"My daughter spent two months learning here, and your instructor scared her into this state. Doesn't your driving school owe us an explanation?"

Mr. Cross forced a smile as he poured him a cup of water. "Mr. Vaughn, Sienna's fundamentals are solid. It's just that when it comes to safety—"

"Don't give me that." Mr. Vaughn cut him off. "She came home crying all night. She said Coach Sutton keeps telling her she's going to kill someone and deliberately dragged her feet so she couldn't book her road test."

Sienna stood behind him, her eyes red and watery. "Dad... please, stop."

The more she tried to stop him, the angrier he became.

"Why shouldn't I say it? We paid to learn how to drive, not to be bullied!"

Mason and several other students crowded into the doorway.

Mason immediately chimed in, "Coach Sutton really did go too far. Every time she hit the instructor brake, we were practically thrown into the dashboard."

Another student added, "She said people like me shouldn't be behind the wheel."

I turned on my computer and pulled up the original in-car recordings.

The first clip showed Sienna driving through a school zone. The speed limit was 20 mph, but she was doing 26.

I warned her, "Slow down. Watch the right side."

She answered impatiently, "I know."

The next second, a little boy ran out from behind a parked van.

I hit the instructor brake. The car stopped just as the child's backpack brushed past the headlight.

The office fell silent.

The second clip showed Mason changing lanes without checking his mirrors while a box truck blasted its horn beside us. I grabbed the wheel and steered the car back into its lane.

The third clip showed a student looking down to reply to a text while the car drifted straight toward the guardrail.

I immediately ended the lesson and ordered him to pull over.

When the videos finished playing, Mr. Vaughn's expression shifted. However, he still refused to back down. "It's a training car. It has an instructor brake. What's the worst that could happen?"

I met his gaze. "Exactly. So now I don't use it anymore."

Sienna's head snapped up.

I slid the signed transfer confirmation across the desk.

"Your daughter has already requested a new instructor. From this point on, you'll need to discuss her training schedule and test arrangements directly with Coach Lawson."

Mr. Vaughn's eyes landed on Sienna's signature, and his face darkened. "You're just washing your hands of this."

"It's standard procedure."

Sienna bit her lip. "Coach Sutton, isn't this a little extreme? We just wanted you to stop being so harsh."

I nodded. "You wanted me to stop being so harsh. So I did. I'm done interfering."

Embarrassment flashed across her face.

By lunchtime, the students' group chat was buzzing like it was a holiday.

Sienna posted a selfie with Coach Lawson.

[Our new instructor says driving is all about confidence. You can't learn if someone's constantly scaring you.]

Mason quickly followed.

[Finally feels like a normal driving instructor.]

A few minutes later, Sienna uploaded another video. She'd edited together clips of me stomping on the instructor's brake with footage of Coach Lawson smiling as he coached them.

Caption: [One teaches you fear. The other helps you grow.]

After watching it, I quietly saved the video as evidence.

That evening, Melody called me. Her voice was barely above a whisper, as though she were hiding in a restroom.

"Coach Sutton, can I ask you something?"

"Go ahead."

"Coach Lawson says we're having our first on-road lesson tomorrow. But... I still mix up the gas and the brake. I'm scared."

Suddenly, Sienna's voice rang out from the other side of the door.

"Melody! Who are you secretly calling?"

Panic erupted on the other end of the line.

"I'm not tattling, I just..."

She stopped, as if there was something else she wanted to say.

The call disconnected.

Five minutes later, someone posted a video in the group chat.

Melody stood beside the training car, her face burning red as she clutched her phone with both hands.

Sienna laughed as she turned to everyone. "Listen to this. She still wants Coach Sutton to come save her."

The crowd burst into laughter.

Coach Lawson leaned against the training car without saying a word to stop them. He simply said, "It's okay to be nervous. We'll just spend more time on the road tomorrow."

I stared at that sentence.

My knee began throbbing again.

Right before the last serious accident, that student had said almost the exact same thing.

"Coach, I'm only driving a short distance. What could possibly happen?"