You shouldn't miss your first day of school.
Tom is a new college student and is having some car trouble, making it hard to get to class.
Tom wants to get the car fixed.
Tom goes to the shop and gets a ride from a friend to class, then returns to the shop afterwards.
Tom puts off going to class and takes his car to the shop to get it fixed, waiting for it to get done.
The teacher sees that Tom is diligent and Tom is able to get a good start on the class.
The class teacher thinks that Tom is lazy and makes his life difficult throughout the semester.