Could mortification be shaped like an octagon?

I had a mortifying experience today. My driving instructor had to use The Brake on me. How terrible is that? In all of my driving experience so far he has never once had to touch The Brake (at least not that I'm aware of), which of course has pleased me to no end to think that maybe he doesn't actually need it for me. For there are, let me assure you, people in my class who have needed it when I've been in the car. One poor girl just didn't seem to be able to manage time and space enough so that twice she tried to turn at an intersection when there wasn't time for her to turn. Lucky for us, Mr. K. had The Brake. So of course it was only natural that I obtained a certain measure of pride with my unblemished record of not needing The Brake.

"Pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall."

Yes, I am convicted.

What sullied this stainless reputation of mine? Why one of the most elusive driving traps of all time: the stop sign.

We were in the Target parking lot. I was going at an appropriate slow speed, keeping an eye out for pedestrians. We came to the entrance of Target at the crosswalk and I looked all around. No pedestrians in sight. Okay, I'm good to go. But as I continued to slowly coast forward, an unexpected force stopped me. Surprised, I turned to my instructor, who pointed way way up and a little behind us.

"What color is that sign up there?"

Craning my neck, I answered ruefully, "Red."

"What shape is it?"

"Octagon."

"What do we do at it?"

"Stop," came my meek reply.

Um, yeah. I ran through my first stop sign. I admit it, confessing it for the whole world to know and ridicule! Now I'm prone to wonder: could mortification be shaped like an octagon?

The major problem is, I just simply didn't see it. "Duh," you're saying, (which you probably aren't since I know how mature all my readers are), "how could you miss a big red sign? It's not that hard to see." Yes, I must say I don't really have a good excuse. But let me remind you that we were in front of Target, and what color is everywhere outside a Target store? Red, red, red--red balls, red lines, red targets, so how am I supposed to notice a red sign, especially when it's at an unusually tall height and hung from a peculiar red arch? Who ever heard of decorating a stop sign post anyway? It's just not normal, so of course I wasn't going to respond as one normally would. Which, speaking of normal, as we sat there talking about the sign a car came sailing right by us on the left as if the stop sign didn't exist. Huh, so how many people notice these strange red octagonal signs in the real world? Probably not many. But as Mr. K. would say, we're not getting ready for just the real world. It's the DMV world a driving student is most concerned about. And that's what I can't afford to fail.

(sound of trembling)