I was only 17 years old
I loved manual transmissions so much, I had all the stickers and joined all the Facebook groups
I pray to manual transmission every night before bed, thanking it for the joy it gives me
“Manual is love” I say; “Manual is life”
My dad hears me and calls me an elitist
I know he was just jealous of my devotion to the manual transmission
I called him an automatic sympathizer
He slaps me and sends me to go to sleep
I’m crying now, and my face hurts
I lay in bed and it’s really cold
Suddenly, a warmth is moving towards me
It’s manual transmission
I am so happy
He whispers into my ear “shift me.”
He sits me upright, making sure that I am in the proper position to heel-toe
I’m ready
I shift for manual transmission
He responds as the RPMs go up
It feels so good
I can feel my body moving forward as my eyes start to water
I push against his force
I want to please manual transmission
He roars in a mighty roar as his syncros spin and the clutch disengages
My dad walks in
Manual transmission looks him straight in the eyes and says “It’s all shifty now.”
Manual transmission leaves through my window
Manual is love. Manual is life.