My first ride was sure something. I was nervous as hell. Where should I do it? I'm north of Boston, but the thought of navigating the city scared the hell out of me. I'd be eaten alive. So I went to the north shore. It's a beautiful part of the state. Things happen there too.

     I emptied my car. I bought an air freshener. I vacuumed. I dressed up. Yes I dressed up to drive. I made sure my car was as presentable as possible. I turned the app on. 

      I waited in a parking lot in Salem, MA. It was an old stomping ground of mine for a few years and I knew the area. It wasn't long before I got a ride offer. I accepted it, my map came up and i took off. "Shit, what do I put on the radio?" I fumbled my music off at a red light and stuck on a top 40 hits station. That should do it. Everybody loves that stuff right? Please the masses. 

          It looked like it was telling me to go to the train station. Although naturally, my phone told me I was there, when in fact I was not. I pulled around to where I thought I should go. I was flying blind now. I'm freaking out as I'm not sure where to go exactly. The app is now telling me where I am in the world and has no direction for me. I'm a lost balloon trying to find it's child. "This fucking place!" I curse. I'm late now. They put up a new parking garage and the whole setup had changed since I had been there last.

          Finally I pulled into the pickup area. Thankfully, there was room for me to live park. I fumbled with my phone and hit "Arrive for Nadia." You had to first hit that you have arrived, they get notified, then they get in. I nervously waited. My hands sweating. Someone approached, she immediately reached for the back passenger door and got in. 

         "Hello! I said with a false friendly tone. "Hi" she said smiling back. I had a script in mind. "421 Palmer?" I asked. "Yes that's right." She answered. "Alright, how's your day going?" "It's good. Long train ride though, oi." Thank god, material to work with. "Ah nice, where are you from?" I asked. She had a heavy foreign accent. Baltic perhaps. I really meant where are you from. Clearly she wasn't American. That always intrigued me. "New York." she said. Damn. "What brings you to Salem?" I pried, trying to create more conversation. "Oh, I have a friend in here I'm visiting for a few days. It's been a while since we've seen each other. I don't know what her plans are but I'm sure we'll, you know, go out and have some fun!" She responded. She was an older woman, in her early 40's perhaps. "Nice! Well I hope you enjoy your time." I said as we took off out of the train depot.

           She pulled out her phone and began making a call. I guess that was the end of the interaction. I was feeling a bit less nervous now. I had broken the ice, my phone was navigating us, and I roughly knew the area. Things were good. It was about a 10 minute ride with lights and traffic. Not bad. I nudged the volume down a bit so she could talk. I drove. She began a conversation with someone and I didn't pay it any mind.

      Then, she began questioning whoever was on the receiving end. "What are you doing?...Yes but you didn't answer my question. What are you doing?" I tuned in. "You know what? Forget it. No, forget it. You told me you were going to spend time with your son and you're not doing that, so what are you doing? Are you with anyone? Who are you with?!" Things were escalating. 

      "Holy shit." I thought. Her accent came out more the louder she got. "Forget it! NO, just forget it! I'm done! I'm done playing these, these little games. I'm done playing with a little boy." She was irate now, yelling on the phone. "I'm done, forget it! NO, no no, I'm DONE WITH THIS! I've been putting up with your little games for too long!" 

         "What the fuck, what the fuck, what the fuck." I'm saying to myself. I'm wide eyed, trying now to get to our destination as soon as possible. "I'm done with you Phillip! I'm DONE! I'M DONE I'M DONE!!!" She screamed and slammed her phone down. Silence. 

           I arrived two minutes later to her destination. "Here's fine." She said. "Thank you!" She said in a polite tone as if nothing had happened. "Have a nice rest of your day!" I responded. She got out, closed the door, and walked away. I ended the ride on the app. $7.

     I was on my way.