The Driving Licence Dilemma

During my time in Scotland I put a lot of money and time into learning how to drive. It would be perfect if, when travelling, I could drive. Maybe some overly tired driver would like to have a rest but keep going or anything in that direction. So the time had come for me to actually do the final practical test to finally attain the drivers licence. In addition to this I had also booked a bus going to London on the same day as the driving test. The plan was to take the test in the morning and then head to London via Megabus in the evening. Early in the morning my driving instructor picks me up in Findhorn and I start driving to Elgin, he goes over the usual manoeuvres with me and I have to admit I felt super confident when walking into the driving test centre. We are a little bit early so I enjoy a cup of water as a last refreshment before the test. At this moment another driving instructor comes in with his pupil and they sit down in front Fraser and myself. After a couple of moments of strange silence the woman that would do the test comes out of the door and her pupils open wide as she see's two people wanting to take a test. "I'm afraid one of you must've gotten the date wrong. I have definitely only one test for 9:37." She says with a sorry smile. After a quick check it turns out that my test was not the 4th but the 5th of December. A shit, this would cause all sorts of trouble, I think as I get into the car with Fraser who tries to cheer me up a little by speaking about the driving situation in the area, as usual. With his broad scottish accent and the body of an old man that has climbed all the Munro's (mountains over 3000ft) in Scotland, he says to me: "It's unbelievable how they have been talking about building a road around Elgin for 30 years now. Can you believe that? It's been 30 years and nothing had happened. In the meantime we have to put up with this terrible traffic. I would not wonder if I will never see that road be built." I sit in silence, still trying to comprehend that I seriously had thought the test was on the 4th, what a dilemma. After getting home the first thing I do is throw my body onto my bed and bury my face into my soft pillow. After grieving about the mistake I had made I look up and call my parents to see what they thought of the situation. In the end we came to the summary that I would simply have to let the bus go, it was a non-refundable ticket, and buy another one for tomorrow night. Now the bigger challenge was the car itself. Unfortunately another one of Fraser's pupils had booked their test on the 5th, she had forgotten to give Fraser's driver ID which caused a double booking. However because I had told Fraser the wrong date for the test she now had priority over me. For me this meant I had to take the test with the car of my parents, which happens to be a big VW Passat Estate that I hadn't had much practise with. In comparison to the little car of the instructor it felt like driving a truck. In addition to my nervous mind when arriving at the driving test centre things definitely didn't look good for me. My body felt hot and cold sweat was sticking on my body in a thin layer. In the course of the driving test I am slow, as it turns out too slow. I get failed for waiting too long at the roundabouts or as they call it 'undue hesitation' and hitting the curb with one of the wheels when pulling over to the side of the road. I guess I have a reasonable good excuse for failing, but that doesn't change the fact that I had failed. There were no free test slots available until January, by then I would be long gone from Scotland and I'll have to complete the test some other year.

p.s. the feature image is not very related to the story, besides the fact that it was taken during the same period of time