Vroom! Vroom!
Eddie swallowed the anxiousness gnawing at him down his throat as he pulled Christine before the dashed yellow striping that marked the start of the race course. Starting at the parking lot of a vehicle body repair shop and coursing through a series between barbed wire fences on either side of the road and ending by the entrance of the vehicle demolition yard, the race course resembled a snake coiled up in an asymmetrical pattern. As he parked alongside a red Jaguar XRS and a purple Challenger with black stripes running down the middle, the ghostly amber lights of the street lamps as well as the lights of the few nearby buildings were the only sources of lighting for Guilder Street at this time of the night. As the racer stepped out of his vehicle, Rollie rushed over to him, bumping into a white Maserati and stumbling over to his childhood pal.
"Dude, I beg you to reconsider this. There is still time to bail out and not suffer the consequences of such a stupid puffery show. "
Eddie crossed his arms and frowned at his best friend. "And why would I do that? I promised Johnny that he'd eat Christine's dust and if I chicken out now, I'm nothing but a little bee'otch who can talk tough."
Rollie confronted his dark-eyed friend, their faces mere inches from each other. "Well, for one thing, what could would it do for you if the end result is devastating for you? At best, you'd be taken to prison for participating in an illicit street race. At worst, you'd be in a stretcher, possibly on your way to a hospital morgue. Are you going to throw your future into the dumpster in order to prove your worth to a bummed out loser like Johnny? Think of your parents as well. Or even me. Who will be my best friend from then on? Life without you would suck."
Eddie's expression softened as he put a hand on Roland's shoulder. "Listen buddy, I understand your concern and I'm touched by it, but you don't need to worry. I'll be fine. Just watch. I'll put Karrington and his dogs in their place."
Rollie noticed a dark look pass his dear friend's face as a black BMW G6, driven by Karl Scarpati, took its place between Johnny's blue and white-striped Mustang and Carlos's crimson Corvette Stinger before trying in vain to talk him out of this foolish decision.
"Dude, you are set to go to college after this. You've sent applications to UC Santa Cruz and even Bakersfield for that matter. You are choosing to major in electronics, right? Heck, you are even in the JROTC program with me. If we win that scholarship, perhaps we can go to school together without paying out of pocket. How cool would that be?"
"Pretty dayum cool!" Eddie smiled. "Now let me shut that punk up for good and then we can enjoy the rest of what's left of the boring school year in peace. How about that?"
Rollie was speechless.His words seemed to fly right through Ed's head. Seeing that talking sense into his friend was pointless, Rollie started to melt back into the crowd of partygoers gathering behind a checkered line on the sidewalk before the repair shop.
"Um, if you say so. I really didn't want you to ruin your life in this bullcrud race, but I guess that's in your hands now. I only wish you the best of luck."
Once his friend returned to the sidelines, Edward glanced over at his main opponent in this scrimmage , who stared back at him with a sneer as his misty blue eyes narrowed deviously.
"You will regret this, Knight."
"I think you mean you will regret it, Karrington," Eddie replied as he embarked his vehicle. The ghastly green glow of the Fury's dashboard greeted the racer once more as he gripped his steering wheel and prepared to prove to not only his longtime rival, but also to Rollie, Dali, and the other guests that he and Christine are forces to be reckoned with.
---
"Start your engines!"
As one of the guests who had no attachment to Johnny's gang, a quiet guy with a haircut that reminded Eddie of Shark Boy, stood between the cars and shouted at the drivers, Eddie complied, revving Christine's engine, feeling it reverberate and roar like an angry lion. His eyes scanned the competition to see a total of eight other cars. There was the red Jaguar and purple-striped Challenger he was parked between in addition to the cars belonging to his tormentor's posse. Those were the ones he was set to beat.
Johnny's Mustang as well as Karl's G6 are the main competition for me to beat. Carlos's Corvette Stinger and Cosmo's little bumble bee plus the rest are just small fry that don't warrant my concern.
"Go!"
As Kevin waved down a small checkered flag that was supposed to resemble those of NASCAR races, the cars gunned their engines and shot down the abandoned road, or so they were told, Eddie fought to stay ahead yet make sure not to miss the turn as the street curved. After the first drift was cleared, the second followed suit, giving Eddie the thrill rush once more.
I thought the checkered flag was only used to mark the end of races. Kevin should have used a green flag. Ah, screw it! All that matters is that I beat Karrington!
---
"Can you believe the idiocracy of all this? How can Nevin sanction something like this? He is asking for trouble. We'd be lucky to only get cited by the cops. I mean, someone can get killed by this high speed exhibition. Seriously, how can you be so stubborn, Nevin? "
No one heard Rollie's diatribe, much less Nevin, as the crowd of people, including some of Karrington's homies, cheered the speeding cars away. As the red taillights of the speeding vehicles veered into the darkness, Rollie felt that he was the only voice of reason in this intoxicated horde. While Nevin smoked a E-Cig amid the howling and ecstatic teens, Rollie turned to the only other two people who had no connection to the event's host or Johnny Karrington and his clique.
"Guys, don't tell me you approve of this insanity. Tell me you are the only two people with sense around here."
Alex and Cassie glance over at him, the wild and thrill crazed looks apparent in their eyes.
"Dude, don't you want to see Eddie put Karrington in his place?" Alex asked.
"Yeah!" Cassidy concurred, clapping her hands excitedly. "I am dying to see the look on that big dumbo's face once he eats Eddie's dust."
"Ah, good grief," Rollie muttered. "I can't believe you two support this. "
"Come on!" Alex grinned broadly, tipping his Giants cap. "You know you want to see Johnny get humbled and Eddie is going to do it for us. Think about the popularity you'll get for being the best friend of the stud who beat Johnny Karrington."
More likely, I'll be the best friend of the dude who got himself killed or arrested and threw his future away.
---
Here we go, I will overtake the bastard at this rate.
As they made it to the third drift, Eddie could see the glaring taillights of Johnny's Mustang, looking like some alien monster feasting its eyes onto him. Glancing backward, he noted that the other seven participants had fallen behind and no one was in front of him save for the big bully. If the time to pull through would be ripe, now was the moment.
Alright, let's give her some juice.
After completing yet another sharp turn, the Plymouth rider saw flashes of movement from the rearview mirror. Before he knew it, he felt something make contact with the front left bumper of his car, making Christine shudder. It happened once more, this time from the right side.
What the heck is going on?
His question was granted an answer as a G6 and Corvette Stinger appeared before him. Desperate to get ahead, Eddie gunned the Fury's engines and tried to shoot ahead of the dickheads when both bumped him in succession, nearly knocking him off the road. Only his quick-thinking and agility with the Fury's wheel kept the dark-eyed racer in the competition.
"You going to let those jerks play dirty with you?"
Eddie turned his attention to the passenger seat to spot the nerd from before seated there, but this time there was a visible change in his appearance. He seemed more confident and imposing in his appearance. The racer had to admit that the black high-collared jacket suited the boy, who seemed to be about his age.
"No, I suppose not," Eddie growled, clenching his hands on the bright red and white steering wheel as he grinded his teeth. The car shuddered and slid back and forth as if it was a ping pong ball in a tournament.
The nerd sneered. "Good, now show those losers that you are not one to be toyed with."
With pleasure.
As Carlos attempted to bump Christine once more, Eddie was prepared this time. He pulled back behind the offending car and pressed his foot on the gas, ramming into the punk's vehicle. He felt an intense satisfaction tug at his stomach as the Corvette was sent off the course.
One down, one to go.
He came up alongside Karl's Beamer and glanced at his rival in love's window. A look of surprise appeared in Karl's blue eyes which was then replaced by horror as the realization of what Eddie's appearance entailed.
That's right, fear the might of Christine, sucker. Now be gone!
With that, he swerved his vehicle to the side, bumping the black fancy BMW off-road. Intense gratification swept over him as he viewed Karl swerve into bushes before making contact with a streetlamp that provided the road with an eerie orange glow.
"It seems that you have the aptitude to use this baby to her fullest after all. Now don't hold back and show the doubters what you are made of."
Taking the dude's advice, Eddie pressed the pedal to the metal as he sped on. Soon, the red rear end headlights of Johnny's Mustang, resembling angry alien creature eyes from one of those movies he and Rollie watched in their younger years during sleepovers, were visible and getting closer by the second. As soon as the crowd at the finish point was materializing in the distance, he was able to pass his tormentor on the straight road. From here on out, there were no more curves or drifts in the course to the finish line. As he passed Johnny, his rival's face was etched in utter shock and disbelief.
"Eat my dust, airhead!"
Giving the delinquent the bird, he streaked toward the end of the course, with one thing in mind.
Almost there, just a few more miles, Rollie, Dali, and the others will see that I have the aptitude to beat Johnny' s punkass.
Suddenly, flashing lights could be seen from the corner of his eyes. Before he knew it, a cop car pulled up right in front of him. Slamming his foot on the brake, he tried to avoid coming in contact with the police vehicle, but his car's velocity was too much for him to handle. Tires and brake screeching on the pavement, Eddie crashed into the right side of the front bumper of the police car, resulting in him suffering a whiplash.
Ugh! That hurt, but what's going on? Why are the popo here?
As if on cue, the cops exited their damaged vehicle and drew their weapons, aiming them at him.
"Step out of the vehicle with your hands behind your head!"
Gosh dangit, I'm so screwed. Perhaps I should have accepted Rollie's advice. This isn't going to turn out well.
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