By skyforbes One crisp autumn morning, Evelyn was scheduled for a particularly unusual test. When she walked into the office, she found the headmaster, Mr. Carrington, standing by her desk, looking unusually anxious.
"Evelyn, there's a bit of an odd case today," he began, wringing his hands nervously.
Evelyn raised an eyebrow. "Odd? I’ve handled every kind of student imaginable, Mr. Carrington."
He cleared his throat, avoiding her gaze. "Yes, well… this one is a bit different. The city zoo has requested we assess a, um, special candidate for a publicity stunt."
Evelyn narrowed her eyes. "A publicity stunt? For whom?"
"A monkey."
The room fell silent. Evelyn stared at him, waiting for him to say he was joking, but the serious expression on his face didn’t change.
"A monkey?" she repeated slowly.
"Yes, his name is Max. He’s been trained to respond to basic commands, but they want an actual driving test as a demonstration of his skills."
Evelyn exhaled sharply. "This is absurd. You can't be serious."
"I assure you, I am. And they’ve insisted you be the one to conduct the test. Your reputation precedes you."
Evelyn couldn’t turn it down; it was, after all, a direct request. Reluctantly, she agreed, though her instinct told her it would be nothing but trouble.
That afternoon, Evelyn stood by the curb, arms crossed, as a zookeeper led Max—a small, clever-looking capuchin monkey—toward the car. Max wore a tiny, custom-fitted seatbelt and cap, looking every bit like an unconventional but enthusiastic driver. Despite her reservations, Evelyn couldn’t help but smile at the absurdity of it all.
Once Max was secured in the driver’s seat, Evelyn slid into the passenger seat, gripping her clipboard with professional detachment.
"Alright, Max," she said, with forced calmness. "Let’s start with something simple. Slowly press the gas and steer carefully."
Max looked at her, then down at the pedals. For a moment, it seemed like the monkey was actually going to comply. But then, with a gleeful screech, Max slammed his tiny foot on the gas pedal.
The car lurched forward with a jolt, tires screeching as it rocketed out of the parking lot. Evelyn grabbed the dashboard, eyes wide in shock.
"Max! Slow down!" she shouted, but Max had other plans. His little hands yanked the steering wheel, sending the car careening down the street.
To her horror, Max swerved into a neighborhood and screeched to a stop in front of a row of trees. From the branches, two more monkeys leaped down and scampered into the backseat, chattering excitedly. Apparently, Max had called for reinforcements.
"Absolutely not! This is completely unacceptable!" Evelyn protested, but Max ignored her, the car already speeding off again before she could even finish her sentence.
The city became a blur of chaos as Max and his monkey companions led the car on a wild, unpredictable journey. They barreled through intersections, narrowly avoided pedestrians, and swerved around obstacles with terrifying precision. The monkeys seemed to be having the time of their lives, cheering and chattering as they performed hair-raising stunts.
At one point, they found their way onto the freeway, where Max somehow managed to merge into traffic, much to the disbelief of every driver around them. Horns blared, and cars swerved to avoid the erratic vehicle. Evelyn tried to regain control, but the seatbelt, normally her ally in safety, kept her firmly in place as Max took her on the ride of her life.
"Max, you need to stop this right now!" she yelled, but Max only responded with a mischievous grin in the rearview mirror before accelerating even faster.
The news stations caught wind of the chaos soon enough. Helicopters hovered above, broadcasting live footage of the car—now covered in dirt, leaves, and monkey handprints—whizzing through the city. The story made international headlines: "Driving Instructor Held Hostage by Rogue Monkeys in High-Speed Car Chase!" The entire world watched as Evelyn Thorne, the legendary driving instructor, became an unwitting passenger in the most bizarre driving test of her career.
The chase lasted for nearly an hour, with Max showing off his driving "skills" as he sped through the city, picking up more monkey friends along the way, until the car was bursting with primates. The car finally came to a screeching halt in front of the city zoo, where the zookeepers were waiting anxiously. Max honked the horn triumphantly, as if to announce his victory.
As the zookeepers rushed forward to wrangle the monkeys, Evelyn sat in the passenger seat, dazed and disheveled. Her hair was a mess, her clothes wrinkled, and her professional demeanor shattered. She stared blankly ahead, clutching the clipboard, now filled with frantic scribbles rather than her usual neat notes.
Mr. Carrington arrived shortly after, out of breath and pale. "Evelyn, I… I don't know what to say."
Evelyn slowly turned her head toward him, her eyes wide. "Neither do I," she replied, her voice shaking slightly.
"Did… did he pass?" he asked hesitantly.
Evelyn glanced at Max, who was now sitting on the hood of the car, munching on a banana, surrounded by his monkey friends. The absurdity of the situation finally broke through her shock, and she started laughing—a deep, uncontrollable laughter that left her gasping for breath.
"I think…," she managed between laughs, "I think we’ll need to schedule a retest."
Max, oblivious to the chaos he’d caused, only grinned, as if he had just aced the most important test of his life.
Two weeks after the infamous high-speed monkey chase, Evelyn Thorne found herself once again staring at Max, the capuchin monkey who had turned her life upside down. She had almost refused to return, but after some persuading—and a promise of a very hefty bonus from Mr. Carrington—she reluctantly agreed to give Max one more chance.
This time, they were meeting in a secluded area on the outskirts of town, far from the chaos of the city. The zookeepers had assured her that Max had undergone more training and was ready to demonstrate his improved driving skills. But as Evelyn stared into Max’s beady eyes, she couldn’t shake the feeling that the mischievous monkey had something else in mind.
"Alright, Max," Evelyn said, steeling herself as she buckled into the passenger seat once again. "Let’s keep this simple. No funny business, understood?"
Max blinked at her, his expression unreadable. With a resigned sigh, Evelyn handed him the keys. To her surprise, Max took them and started the car with an almost professional air. For a moment, she allowed herself a glimmer of hope.
The car rolled out of the parking lot smoothly, Max’s tiny hands gripping the wheel with uncharacteristic seriousness. But then, as they approached an intersection, Max’s eyes lit up with mischief once more. He yanked the wheel sharply, steering the car off the designated route and onto a narrow, winding road.
"Max! What are you doing?" Evelyn shouted, but it was too late.
The road led straight to the outskirts of a banana processing factory, a sprawling industrial complex where bananas were turned into treats of all kinds—chips, bread, smoothies, even banana-flavored ice cream. As the car approached the factory gates, Max honked the horn loudly, causing the gatekeeper to raise the barrier in confusion. Evelyn barely had time to react before they were inside.
Max floored the gas, and the car shot forward, barreling through the factory grounds. Workers and machinery whizzed by in a blur as Evelyn’s heart raced.
"Max, stop this instant!" she demanded, her voice filled with both panic and exasperation. But Max, with a gleeful screech, only accelerated further, heading straight toward the heart of the factory.
They crashed through the entrance doors and into the production line, causing a cascade of bananas to tumble from conveyor belts. The car skidded across the factory floor, narrowly avoiding massive industrial mixers and slicing machines. Banana peels and pulp splattered across the windshield, blinding Evelyn’s view as she tried desperately to take control of the situation.
Just as she thought things couldn’t get worse, the car careened onto a conveyor belt that led into one of the factory’s automated processing lines. Before she could react, the car was pulled onto the belt, and the heavy machinery clamped down on it.
"Max, no!" Evelyn screamed, but the car was already being enveloped by mechanical arms and rollers.
In a bizarre twist of fate, the car was fed through a series of industrial processes designed to shape bananas into various forms. Evelyn felt the car being squeezed, stretched, and coated in a thick layer of banana puree. She could hear the crunching and grinding of metal as the machinery worked on the vehicle, transforming it into something unrecognizable. The whole experience was dizzying, and the car lurched and shook as it was pushed along the belt.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the car emerged from the end of the assembly line. Evelyn blinked in disbelief as she saw what the factory had turned their vehicle into—a giant, motorized banana. The car’s chassis had been shaped into a smooth, curved yellow form, complete with a peeling effect at the front. The wheels were disguised as banana stems, and the engine now emitted a strange, fruity aroma.
Max, seemingly proud of his new ride, honked the horn, which now sounded like a giant squeeze toy. The absurdity of it all was too much for Evelyn, who could only watch in horrified amazement as Max revved the engine and sent the banana-mobile smashing through the factory’s exterior wall.
The car-turned-banana roared onto the nearby highway, leaving a trail of banana goo in its wake. Within minutes, the spectacle attracted the attention of every monkey in the area. The scent of bananas was irresistible, and soon, a massive horde of monkeys poured out from the nearby forest, racing after the giant fruit. The highway turned into a scene of pure pandemonium as monkeys of all sizes, screeching with excitement, chased the banana-mobile down the road.
Evelyn gripped the dashboard, her knuckles white as Max navigated the highway with surprising speed, the giant banana-car careening from lane to lane. Cars swerved to avoid the bizarre vehicle, and the cacophony of honking horns and chattering monkeys filled the air.
The chase didn’t slow as they veered off the highway and into the dense forest. Trees whipped by as the banana-mobile bounced over rough terrain, the horde of monkeys still in hot pursuit. Branches scraped against the car, and the banana shell began to peel away, leaving trails of yellow debris in their wake.
Finally, as the banana-mobile crashed through a particularly thick patch of undergrowth and came to a shuddering halt, the monkeys surrounded the vehicle, swarming over it in a frenzy. Max leaped out, joining his friends in their victorious celebration.
Evelyn sat in the remnants of the car, now covered in banana mush, utterly shell-shocked. Her hair was matted with pulp, her clothes stained yellow, and her dignity shattered. She could only watch in silent horror as the monkeys danced around the wreckage, oblivious to the chaos they had caused.
As she crawled out of the ruined vehicle, Evelyn made a vow to herself—never again would she conduct a driving exam for Max. She would gladly take on the most terrified of teenagers, the most stubborn of adults, anyone but that cursed monkey. The memory of the giant banana-mobile and the swarming monkeys would haunt her for the rest of her days, a testament to the fact that some students are simply unteachable.
Back at the driving academy, Mr. Carrington would receive a resignation letter from Evelyn the next morning, along with a very explicit suggestion: "Never let a monkey drive again."