The Secret Kink

“Turn the water back on!” Tim yelled.

“It’s already on!” David yelled back.

In auto shop class my junior year of high school, we were all matched up with partners so that we could flush the radiators of the engines we would be working on. A dozen engines sat on stands in the center of the large auto shop. Being partnered up with Gary, our engine was close to the larger door that led outside to the water spicket.

“Well turn it up!” Tim yelled.

“It’s up already!” David yelled back.

Tim had been one of my best friends ever since we were kids, but that didn’t exempt him from practical jokes. When I saw an opportunity, I jumped on it. Well, I guess stepped on it would be a more accurate term because that’s what I was doing. Once Gary and I saw that their radiator was almost, but not quite, full with water, I saw my opportunity.

“Dare me?” I whispered to Gary.

“If you don’t, I will,” Gary said quietly.

And the two of us stood on the hose with our heels, kinking it, and preventing any water from filling their radiator the rest of the way. Gary and I stood there, trying not to giggle too loudly so as to avoid drawing too much attention. They didn’t seem to notice us.

“Obviously you turned it off!” Tim yelled. “It doesn’t just shut off by itself!”

“It’s up all the way!” David contested. “I don’t know what you want me to do!”

If we had let it go any further, Tim was likely to walk over and thump David on the head. Poor David wouldn’t have stood a chance if the two of them went head to head. So, for David’s sake, all for the goodness of our heart’s for David’s sake, Gary and I realized we needed to make a decision. It was time to step off the hose.

“Look!” Tim yelled, holding up the hose. “It’s off. Turn it back on!”

“It’s on!” David repeated. “I promise it’s on!”

Tim would have been better off leaving the hose in the radiator, but he pulled it out to show David that it was off. Bad timing. All of the built up pressure came to a head at one moment as the hose went flopping out of Tim’s hand, soaking everything within a 10 foot radius, then fell to the floor, swinging around like a snake- spraying, pouring, drenching, dousing everything around the auto shop.

“Turn it off! Turn it off!” Tim panicked.

The bell rang as David hurried to turn the knob. Gary and I kept our heads down, still hoping to avoid any suspicion. We hurried out the classroom door while Tim worked his magic with a mop, giving David a piece of his mind the entire time. Our secret stayed a secret… until now, of course. Sorry, Tim. True story.