CHAPTER 4

A special
license

LISTEN TO THE AUDIO BOOK TO HAVE AN IMMERSIVE EXPERIENCE.

“Hurry up, sleepy bones! We need to get a move on if we want to arrive in time for the qualifying rounds!”
The next morning Steve prods the kids, who move like snails still half asleep despite the alarm having gone off
several times.
“But yesterday, didn’t you tell us to slow down, because we young people run too much and that’s dangerous?!” Lola answers rather cheekily.
The truth is that the previous night it was very late she and Peter fell asleep for two reasons: to start with they were over the moon to find themselves in neighboring beds and to be able to chat and be able to calmly look at
all the photos taken at the circuit on Peter’s mobile phone and reflect on the excitement of their first day at a
kart track.
In front of the illuminated screen, the two cousins ​​couldn’t stop making comments, which woke up poor Midori Kuma, who, unlike them, had immediately fallen into a deep sleep.
The green bear then got up, came over to the kids and placed his front paws on their mouths, inviting them to be quiet and turn off the screen.
Then he fell asleep peacefully. But only for a few minutes: for as soon as Lola and Peter let go another round of shrieking laughter, he jumped up again.
But then the great thing about Midori Kuma is that he never gets angry.
After a hearty breakfast, during which Peter and Lola scoffed muffins, a jam tart, cereal with milk, croissants and even a ham sandwich, the group was ready to leave for the track again.
“Who do you think will do the fastest lap on the trak today?” asks Lola, who had decided to use the right letters but in the wrong order.
“Not Max, that’s for sure,” said Peter. An answer that puts everyone in a bad mood.
“So many strange things happened yesterday, who knows if today will be quieter?” Steve wondered.
“And who knows if that mechanic will mention my… super gear,” Peter comments thoughtfully.
“I think you should ask him what he meant,” Lola tells him, while Midori Kuma claps his hands, in approval of her proposal.
“I’m a little ashamed,” Peter admits timidly.
“Come on, in the end he seems a kind and caring man. You saw how nice he was with Olivia. I really hope she takes the pole position today and that tomorrow she and Daniel will win.”
“And who taught you the expression ‘pole position’?” joked Peter. “Your favorite driver, by any chance? Anyway, you do know that only one driver wins?” Cheerful again, Peter was also pleased that Lola had changed the subject. Because the idea of ​​asking Bob for an explanation frightened him a little.
Once they were back at the track, however, Midori Kuma forced him to ask the fateful question, as soon as
they met the mechanic.
Then again, kart tracks are small circuits and avoiding people is practically impossible. So, just as Bob was about to pass by him, the green bear gives a slight push to Peter, who, unable to keep his balance, almost bumps into
the man.
“Hey, do you think it’s time for dances?” Bob jokes. And immediately adds: “Be careful not to trip, you could drop your super gear”.
At that point Peter has no choice: “Excuse me, but what makes you think I have some sort of gear? I’m not a driver!”
“Oh no? And what do you call that?” Bob asks, pointing at Peter’s smartphone.
“But this is just a mobile phone,” the boy replies, amazed.
“Just a mobile phone! Is that what you think? With these smartphones you have an incredibly powerful machine in your hand.”
“But why?” Lola then asks, surprised.
The idea of ​​having something powerful makes her want to have a smartphone of her own even more.
“Would you like to try driving a kart, little girl?” Bob asks.
“You bet!” Lola enthuses.
“Well, the mobile phone is a bit like karting: it allows you to have fun and excitement. It’s nice to receive a pleasant message from a friend, it’s useful to always be able to let your parents know where you are, it’s great to spend time with games you have downloaded.
But there is more to it than that.
For example, if you crash a kart, at most you hit the protective tyres that line the track. While if you ‘crash’ into something with a smartphone you risk not having any protection at all. With these phones you can post messages, share photos and videos, all at the speed of light.
Very young people like you go online and can find anything, but there are many things you shouldn’t even be doing. Did you know that social media are prohibited until you are at least 13 years old? Instead, almost everyone chats and posts what they want, you make new chums without ever having really met these ‘digital friends’.
You don’t realize that there are so many people who can control what you do and write, without you even knowing it. Some say they are children and pretend to be your friends, but, in reality, they are not, and they could even harm you.”
Peter and Lola are amazed, this wasn’t what they were expecting to hear. It had never occurred to them that a mobile phone could be something dangerous.
“Look at Olivia, over there,” Bob resumes, pointing to the young girl he is tuning the kart for.
“She is making a video next to her car and then posting it on her profile. But she’s only ten, she’s not supposed to have a social media profile. This, dear children, is above all the responsibility of parents who should pay the same attention as they would when giving a child a car for the first time.
In that case they would make sure that he has a driver’s license and that he knows the rules of the road, so as to avoid getting into trouble.
Do you know what I always tell kids?”
Peter and Lola shake their heads.
“I say that a driving license should also be required for a mobile phone. Every boy or girl should pass a ‘driving’ test before they can use a smartphone.
That way they would be obliged to learn all the most important rules long before facing this new road full of tricky intersections.”
“What a great idea!” exclaims Steve, who heard everything. “Indeed, perhaps it is the best thing I’ve heard since I arrived at this kart track. It could be the title of my article: ‘A special driving license’. How about that?”
“It looks as if Midori Kuma is convinced: your green bear is very smart,” comments Bob, pointing to the green friend who is clapping his paws to applaud both the mechanic and the journalist.
“And maybe then, parents would understand that they need to follow their kids even more when they are online,” adds Bob.
“So, let’s organize this ‘mobile driving exam’ then,” enthuses Lola.
Who immediately thought that if she passes the test, maybe they’ll buy her a smartphone right away.
Her parents, in fact, have several times said that she will not have one of her own until she is at least ten years old. But she’ll never be able to wait for other two years, that’s for sure!
“In fact, it could be a way to involve Max too, and make him want to have fun with real friends again, forgetting his virtual ones for a while,” reflects Bob.
“Of course, we should give it a try!” Steve insists.
Lola, Peter and Midori Kuma run to propose their test idea to Olivia, who gladly accepts.
Whenever it comes to a challenge, that young girl is completely unable to contain her competitive spirit.
She always wants to win, even when there is no need. She, after all, already has a smartphone and can use it as she wants.
But anyway, she immediately goes to talk about it with Daniel who, in turn, talks to the other drivers.
Only Max is missing.
“Don’t even think about it,” he replies, as soon as Olivia presents him with the idea.
But this time he didn’t get angry. The boy seems rather tired, listless, almost asleep.
Olivia, who does not accept defeat of any kind, leaves him alone for the moment but promises to try again later, because now it’s time to get back on the track: the qualifying trials are about to begin.
Each driver will try to do a lap in the shortest time possible.
This is how the starting order of the race is decided: in front of everyone, in pole position, the fastest driver will start, followed by all the others, up to the slowest, who obviously starts last.
It’s called the starting grid and until a few weeks ago they all had to start from at least second place, because Max, as always, was first: much too fast for all the other competitors.
Today, however, no one is surprised to find his name at the bottom of the timesheet and with a huge gap from the second to last.
After watching the kids drive for half an hour at most, Lola and Midori Kuma run to ask about the result and are delighted to discover that Olivia will start in pole position, while Daniel is in fourth place.
As they go back to tell Peter, who remained to take more photos, the bear stops Lola and starts scratching his head, worried.
Max and his mum are approaching, chatting animatedly.
They both listen carefully, hoping that she will convince him to take the test.
“Why can’t we go now? I’m fed up being here,” the boy asks.
“Because you too have to take the test for your mobile phone license, it’s a great idea and you’ll see that it will be useful for you,” explains his mother sweetly.
“But I can’t, and I don’t care: I have an online appointment to play with my new friends and if I don’t top up my phone, I won’t be able to!”
“Darling, your dad and I think it would be better if you stay without your mobile phone and video games for a while. You seem to have had an indigestion.”
“What?!” Max asks, astonished. Then, after looking seriously at his mum’s face and realizing she’s not joking, he throws his helmet on the ground in anger and runs away.
Midori Kuma continues to scratch his head as his eyes turn sad.
“Come on, let’s go and tell the others that Max won’t take the test,” Lola murmurs in a low voice.
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