I waved goodbye to my final passenger, breathing a sigh of relief as their door swung shut with a soft thump.
Alone at last!
My hand went to the radio and I turned up the music, closing my eyes and sinking back into my chair. I lived for this moment at the end of my shift, the quiet few minutes before I had to head home, where I could finally relax.
I cracked my eye open as a sharp rattling sound pierced through the music. I frowned and turned down the radio. What was that?
With a start, I realised it was the engine. My hand shot out to grasp the keys, quickly turning it off. As soon as the rumble of the taxi shut off, I realised that it might have been a mistake and quickly turned the key again.
The car shuddered, spat – but didn’t turn over.
‘Dammit!’ I yelled, punching the steering wheel. Where was I going to find a mechanic near Queanbeyan at this time of night?
I twisted the key once. The electronics worked, at least, as my dash and radio lit up. The music I’d been relaxing to only a few moments ago now seemed aggressively inappropriate, and I quickly flicked the radio off. My mind raced through the options ahead of me, coming up alarmingly short.
You should have found a reliable mechanic to do a car service, an annoying voice popped into the back of my head. I waved it away, still cycling through my options.
Now you’re stuck on the other side of the city, with no way of getting home.
Still ignoring it, I pulled out my phone and scrolled past all of my contacts, mentally checking them off.
No.
No.
Can’t help me.
Won’t help me.
Deported.
With a sigh, I closed my address book. I knew what I had to do. And it was going to suck.
The annoying voice cackling away behind me, I sighed – and called a taxi.