Sunday morning I get dressed and ready to head the mechanic. Last week my boyfriend hit a curb with my car so I spent two hundred dollars getting two new tires. Today I need an oil change and alignment. As I drive I hold the steering wheel crooked; if I held it straight I would go right off the road and into the ditch. Once I arrive to Mechanic Super, I park and walk in. There must be a million people in here! “Hi, how can I help you?” the lady over the counter asks me. “I need an oil change and alignment.” I reply. “Okay it may be two hours until we can get you in,” she responds. “Okay that’s fine I’ll wait” I say. As I wait, I switch from listening to music and watching TV shows on my phone.

  My stomach growls; I’ve been here for over three hours now. I call my older sister; “Hi Anita” I say, “Hey Emily, what are you doing?” I explain what I’m hoping to have fixed and how long I’ve been waiting. She asks if I need help paying for it all, and I tell her no, and she lets me know that she is going to send her fiance, Matty over to keep me company. Most of the other customers who were also waiting are now gone, but more steadily flow in. I continue to watch my favorite show, and then my name is called. I rise up from my seat and go to the same lady that asked me what I needed. “Hi, so we were able to do your oil change but we couldn’t do your alignment because your tire rods are old, loose, and cracked. We would need them to be replaced to be able to do the alignment. We can do them here but it will be two ninetynine, as in two hundred and ninety nine dollars.” “Oh no, I’ll just pay for the oil change” I respond trying to keep a smile on my face.

  Matty isn’t here, and I figure he isn’t coming. My anxiety starts to rise as I head back to my car. Once I am in and seated, I start to bawl. Calming myself some, I start up my car and hold the wheel crooked. As I am about to exit the parking lot, Matty shows up in the entrance. I am still crying and he is staring at me, and points at the restaurant nearby to meet. Once I am parked, I see him walking to my car. He hops in and asks, “What happened?” I start to cry even more, trying to calm my breaths. “ I saved up for two years or more to get this stinking car! Since I got it I’ve been putting money into it! By the time I fix it all, I could probably have had a brand new car!” I try to explain to him, if he can even understand my stressed voice. “Do you mind if I take a look at the paperwork and talk to the lady at Mechanic Super?” he says calmly. “Yeah I don’t mind.” I say. Matty grabs my paperwork and walks over to the Mechanic shop. As I wait I think about getting rid of my car, just taking the bus to school, and just quiting my job.

I flip the mirror down, and look at my face. My eyeliner is smudged and my eyes are red. I clean my face as best I can and I see Matty walking back to my car. He opens the door and hops in. “You don’t have to worry about the cost. I took care of it, so let’s take your car back to the shop.” he tells me. “Ohh, okay” not sure of what to say. I drive my car to the shop with him, as we arrive and enter I tell Matty “Thank you.” I see the lady and I give her my key. “Do you want to eat?” Matty asks. “Yeah” I respond.

We walk across the street to the restaurant we meet up at and get seated. “You know I used to be in High School too and we all need help sometimes.” he tells me. “Yeah I know and I’m going to pay you back.” I reply. “Don’t worry about it Anita and I have been working extra hours so we just have money saved up for no reason.” he explains. In my mind I know that he is lying; I know they have been working extra and saving up just incase they move to Virginia. I understand he doesn’t want me to feel bad but money isn’t free and it’s hard work. “How much was it all?” I ask. “About three hundred or so.” he replies.

Once we are finished and the check arrives I insist to pay for it all, it’s the least I can do. We walk to Matty’s car and drive to Mechanic Super. Matty parks the car and we wait listening to remixes off his phone. “Do you want to go in and check?” he asks. “Yeah” I reply. I walk into the building and the lady who has been helping me hands me the paperwork, “You're all set” she tells me with a smile. I look at the cost and it’s almost FOUR HUNDRED DOLLARS! As I walk out, I go and hug Matty, “Thank you so much, I’m going to repay you.” I say. “No no you don’t need to, just let me know how that alignment is.” with a smile on his face. “I will.” As we walk our separate ways to head home. I check the time and it's four o’clock, I’ve been here since ten in the morning! For seven hours I waited , but everything was done that I needed. What Matty did was the nicest thing anyone has done for me, and I will never forget it. I call my sister Anita and explain what he did and that I want to pay for at least half of it. “Nope, we just want your time Emily.” she tells me. “We’ll I’m going to pay for y'all every time we go out then.” I laugh. We say our goodbyes, and I drive home feeling like the most thankful girl in the world.