Bugs (1).. The First Day..

Francis was a high school student who had just had his driver's license. He always wanted to have a car that he could drive anywhere he wants, but his dad's saving was only enough to buy him a secondhand car.

Francis was not disappointed. He said to his dad that as long as the car was in good condition he was happy. So, they went to a car dealer to look for a car. The best choice they found was a VW Beetle that looked like it was well taken care of. The manager said that the owner moved overseas.

Even though Francis did not expect to have a VW Beetle, he felt that he really liked the car. He told his dad that the car would be fine for him. His dad was glad that Francis was not being difficult and understands their situation.

Francis touched the car with his palm, admiring the shiny dark-red colour. He said to the car, "We're going to be good friends and we're going to have adventures!"

Then, Francis jumped, as he saw the headlights were blinking. He quickly looked at the manager, "Is something wrong with the headlight?"

The manager replied, "Nope. I checked everything. I even drove it to test it. Nothing was wrong."

Francis sat on the driver's seat and started the car, then he turned the head lights on. They worked fine. He thought he must have seen wrong. How could a car's headlights blink on their own?

After paying for the car, Francis' dad looked at Francis' happy face and said to him, "I think you would prefer driving it home yourself than waiting for it to be delivered."

Francis quickly agreed, "Yes, Dad. I would."

Francis' dad answered quickly while walking back to his car, "Drive behind me and be careful!"

Francis quickly nodded, "I will, Dad!"

Then, they both drove out of the car dealer.

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The night was quiet when Francis arrived home. He just came back from the cafe where he and his friends usually hang out on Friday night. He wanted to show his new car to his friends.

He slowed down when he reached his street. He said to his car, "My friends like you too, you know."

Then Francis spoke again, "I've been thinking about a name for you. The word 'Bugs' keeps coming to me. Well, you are a Beetle, but I don't want to call you 'Beetle'. What do you think about Bugs?"

Suddenly, the headlights were blinking again. This time Francis did not jump, "There could be something wrong with your cables, but I don't know what it is yet. Just, don't die on me, OK!"

Francis slowly parked Bugs in front of his house, and walked out, "I'll see you tomorrow, Bugs! I'll give you a wash in the morning."

Then it was all quiet.

Until nearly dawn, when things suddenly became noisy in the quiet little street. Lights were blinking and the sound of car horns were heard loudly every where.

Francis woke up and looked out of his window, at the same time with his parents. He heard his dad called out, "Francis! It's your car!"

Francis quickly run outside to his car. As he was nearing the car, he saw a glimpse of very fast movement behind the bushes, and he saw someone was running towards the next street.

Francis quickly opened Bugs' door and check the dashboard. As soon as he touched the steering wheel, all the blinking lights and car horn sounds stopped.

Francis looked really amazed and asked unconsciously, "Did you do that, Bugs? Did you make the thief run away?"

Bugs' headlights blinked.

Francis looked at his car with wide eyes, "Wow! You are really an amazing car! I hope you like adventures too."

Bugs' headlights blinked again.

Francis tapped Bugs' window frame gently, "Go back to sleep, Bugs! I've got school tomorrow."

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Francis walked into the kitchen where his parents were having breakfast, and quickly prepared his.

Francis' dad asked him while keep reading the newspaper, "Was something wrong with your car last night?"

Francis shook his head, "Didn't look like it. I saw someone running away, maybe a thief and maybe he touched something on the car and caused a short circuit or something."

Francis' mum looked at her son, "Maybe you should take it to a service centre."

Francis nodded, "Maybe, if it keeps doing that, but for the time being, I think it's fine."

Then, as he finishes his breakfast, Francis quickly kissed his mum on her cheek and tapped his dad on the shoulder, "Bye Mum, Dad. I'll see you later!"

On Francis' mind, he has started thinking about all the journeys he could take with Bugs. Bugs was a great car and Francis knew that it was going to be his best friend too.