MOPE

Sofie scrimped and saved to buy her first set of wheels, a second-hand 1990s Vespa PX 125, so she could get herself to college without relying on anyone else. Once a rather pretty lavender scooter, years of questionable maintenance, reluctant starts and increasingly temperamental behaviour have left it looking—and sounding—well past its best.

Sofie eventually shortened moped to Mope, partly out of affection and partly because the tired old machine seems to do exactly that: mope around town, coughing and spluttering its way from one destination to the next. It isn't fast, glamorous or particularly reliable, but it's hers—and somehow, Mope usually gets her where she needs to go.