Our hero steps from the shower. He pauses for a moment to consider checking himself out in the mirror, then thinks better of it.
Teeth:brushed, deodorant: applied, hair: ignored... it would probably take care of itself. Clothing: selected and applied, coffee: brewed and consumed, breakfast: prepared and eaten.
Wallet in left pocket. Keys in right pocket. Cell phone in breast pocket of jacket.
He steps to the rear of his home and climbs the small black-painted ladder that rises the wall into a narrow metal pipe leading to the surface, its interior just wide enough for him to climb. At the top, he unscrews the portal covering the top unconsciously with his right hand while his left arm braces him upright. He pushed the portal open and emerges into a bare concrete garage. There is nothing at all in the room but a car, our hero's car. There is no roof or door on the garage, just three bare concrete walls. The floor is wet.
He removes his keys from his right pocket and presses a button on a smooth brass key fob on his chain. There is a quiet kechunk as the door of the car unlocks. He opens the door and pauses for a moment, breathing deeply and evenly, then he grabs firmly onto the edge of the roof above the open door and swings his body into the car. He has to spread his knees to either side of the steering wheel in order to fit his body into the seat. His knees press hard into the dash as he wedges himself into the car. His head is bent forward so that his chin touches his chest in order to fit beneath the roof. He grips the wheel and pulls his knees harder into the dash, slightly lowering his body such that his head is upright enough to see out the windshield.
He wedges his right knee to the side just enough to insert the key, and turns. The car starts immediately. He wraps his right arm around his right leg and grasps the parking brake. Releasing the brake allows his right leg to relax slightly to the side. He finds the stick and wiggles it very slightly to verify that the car is not in gear. He shifts his left leg, finds the clutch with the toe of his shoe, and without moving his knee he presses the clutch by bending his ankle and pointing his toe. He begins to perform the same maneuver to press the gas, then pauses with his toe just barely off the pedal. The pedal begins to glow with heat. A hot machine smell permeates the inside of the car. He breathes. The car idles patiently. He gently applies his toe to the gas pedal. There is a hissing sound as the water on his shoe is steamed away by the pedal. The windshield fogs briefly. He presses more surely and the engine revs. He smoothly lowers his right toe and raises his left, engaging the clutch and dragging the car out of the garage to the street.
His shoe begins to smolder, and a nearly invisible smoke fills the car with the smell of burning leather . He wedges his hand left down between the door and his body in order to reach the controls that will roll down the window. The window opens obligingly, and he continues to drive.
