Notes from the Midnight Driver opens with Alex Peter Gregory watching an old man in a hospital bed. Alex knows this old man is going to pass away soon, which will leave Alex “free” (1). 

Chapter 2 moves back in time to the September before, as Alex narrates his decision to steal his mother’s car in order to act out against his father. Alex has determined that he will drink the vodka that his dad left behind and then drive “triumphantly” (4) to his father’s home, where he’ll angrily surprise his dad and his dad’s lover, who happens to be Alex’s third-grade teacher.

Unfortunately, Alex gets drunk faster than he expects, given that he has never engaged in this behavior before. After starting out on his drive, he quickly crashes in someone’s yard; he drunkenly thinks he hit a human being, but the first police officer on the scene sets him straight, explaining that it is a lawn gnome. At 16, Alex’s drunken description of the events involves a lot of sarcastic observations, as he cracks jokes at the police officers who take him in for the night.

In a comedic series of events at the police station, Alex knocks over the police officer’s coffee, getting it all over himself and the officer.