DJG: "I've decided that the best course of action is NOT to rewrite or update my old story on here, Crash and Burn, but completely forsake it in favor of starting a new story that came to me out of nowhere. Thus, this monstrosity was created."
Muse: "Just get ON with it!"
DJG: "Ah yes, very well then. I've forced the plot bunny to handle all disclaimers and such."
Plot Bunny Speed: "Uh…okay."
DJG: "GREAT! I now own your soul!"
Muse: *grumbles* "I'm way cuter than him…I've always done the disclaimer…"
Plot Bunny Speed: *scoots away from DJG and Muse* "Drindalis owns nothing except the story idea. All the characters are property of…uh…who owns them again? Well, anyway, it's not Drindalis."
DJG: *sobs* "I appreciate you rubbing it in."
X muttered to himself, face down on his desk as he snored away Professor Anisgov's lecture. Normally he wouldn't dare trying to get away with such a thing, but he had been up almost all night studying for the essay portion of Professor Winn's end-of-the-year test. It counted for a third of his final grade, and he did NOT want to risk getting anything lower than a B.
"A's are for geeks and F's are for losers. Plus, if Spritle doesn't like my grades, he'll lock down the Shooting Star this summer!"
And if Spritle took away X's car, the teen wouldn't be able to go through with his plans. See, this would be the first official summer Speed spent with X and Spritle in the ranch house. Not that the stubborn teen would ever admit it, but he was really excited. Sure, he saw Speed daily, but they lived on the opposite side of campus from each other. It was a bit different than sharing a room, like they would need to in Spritle's house.
"We might not need to, if Spritle gets the construction crew in soon enough!"
Some might consider X's attitude about the summer a bit…unusual, given his usual, aloof personality. No, he just wanted to educate Speed in the ways of an only child before they spent the rest of the summer watching old VHS tapes until three in the morning, sleeping in until noon, and racing through the desert.
That was, realistically, all that would be accomplished. Spritle's house wasn't really equipped for entertaining teenagers, due to the fact that when X had started actually attending the Academy, he had dragged practically every one of his earthly possessions over to his dorm room for the year.
That brought X to another topic.
The school, as a rule, was generally empty during the summer, minus the janitor who had the entire place cleaned by 9:42 a.m. sharp.
Why would X know this, you may ask? Well, with no family besides his uncle, X lived with Spritle practically his entire life. And there were certain benefits to having the Headmaster of a huge school with tile floors be your uncle. Socks alone could keep X entertained for hours when he was younger...but if someone were to see him sliding down the halls now...no, no. Gotta keep up the image.
X's daydream was shattered as a yardstick suddenly smacked the desk next to his head, causing him to bolt awake violently. "GAH! Thirty-two!" X cried, momentarily confused as to his exact location.
Anisgov arched an eyebrow. "Unfortunately, Mister Racer, that answer is not correct. Perhaps you'd like to elaborate on how you decided the speed necessary to make a jump over a 100 foot gap with the ramp at an angle of 45 degrees would be…what was it, thirty-two, you said? I'm sure the class would be overjoyed to learn." the olive-skinned teacher stated icily.
X scratched the back of his head. "Uh…" The bell suddenly rang shrilly, the typical sounds of several students shoving textbooks, notebooks, and pencils into backpacks and dashing out the door resounding throughout the lecture hall.. "Rain check?" The teen asked hopefully. Anisgov frowned.
"Mister Racer, I highly suggest you get more sleep in the future…and cease to follow in the footsteps of your younger brother academically. Now, off to your next class!" the Professor snapped. X quickly left the lecture hall, grumbling under his breath. He still didn't get why Anisgov had such an obvious disliking for Speed, even after they saved him from the droids in the anti-grav track. And the quips about Speed being stupid were getting old, too. Truth be told, Speed was smarter than him in some ways. He shrugged it off though, convinced Anisgov was one of those people who were impossible to please.
He made his way down to the track lazily, enjoying the hot weather and bright sunlight. To his surprise, there were several official-looking men standing beside the track with tools. X walked over to them slowly, unsure of their intentions. "What's going on?" he asked.
One of the men wiped sweat from his brow, glancing up lazily. "The track's gotta be updated so's that people can go inside it without their cars. Somethin' ta do with the new project for next year…I dunno. Don't ask me fer details, I got nuttin'." the man stated in a Brooklyn accent, before resuming his job. X shrugged to himself, turning to go to his room. Obviously, with the construction going on, Professor Winn's driving lesson wouldn't be happening.
His relatively uneventful morning was ruined as he heard the annoying chatter of a certain robotic monkey, much louder than normal.
"Ugh, what now?" X grumbled to himself, following the source to their garage. The closer he got, he heard yelling coming from inside as well as the monkey's robotic bleeping. As soon as he entered cautiously, he saw why Chim-Chim was being so loud. A small fire had started in the corner of the garage, and Conor was freaking out while Chim-Chim ran around in pointless circles. Lucy was the source of the frantic yelling, as she demanded to know how Conor had started a grease fire with only a plastic fork and a banana peel.
Thinking fast, X threw a tarp over the flames, smothering it before it could spread to either of the cars. Conor abruptly collapsed into a dramatic pose, Chim-Chim imitating him while Lucy rolled her eyes.
"Thanks for the save, X. I'm gonna go get some stuff to clean this mess up. I'll be right back." she said, giving the genius and his monkey on the floor an odd look before she left. X made to follow her, but was stopped by Conor latching onto his leg from his position on the floor.
"Oh, thank you! I thought we were gonna die for a second there….how can I ever repay you?" Conor wailed dramatically, still hugging the older boy's leg.
X grimaced. "Conor…let go of me!" To his dismay, Chim-Chim decided to amplify his misery and grabbed onto the other leg, making it incapable for him to walk.
"Come on! Knock it off! It's not a big deal!" X tried to reason with them, but their grips didn't loosen.
"Not true! It's an extremely big deal! We're too young to die!" Conor cried, using his legs to strengthen his grip on X. Chim-Chim gave a few bleeps and bloops to show his agreement.
X then attempted to drag himself out of the garage, the additional baggage not making it easy. The moment was abruptly shattered as Speed's voice could be heard coming closer.
"Hey, Conor? We don't have Professor Winn's class today, so you don't need to prep the Mach 6 until fourth per-" he walked into the garage, and stared awkwardly at the sight that awaited him. "Uh…did I miss something?"
To make matters worse, Speed's sudden appearance made X lose his balance and fall face first into the floor. Of course Conor and Chim-Chim were still hanging on, even after all of this.
X grumbled, turning to shoot the redhead a glare. "See if I ever help you out again!" he snapped. Conor simply grinned sheepishly while Speed looked confused.
"Help him with what?" the brunette asked, making a face. Conor and Chim-Chim finally released X, allowing him to get to his feet with as much dignity as he could muster, brushing dirt and oil from his shirt front.
"Nothing major, just remember to keep your pet dork away from anything flammable." X said coolly. "Anyway, I'm gonna go take the Star for a warm-up drive…something tells me that Professor Winn won't be stopped by the lack of a track, so be ready. It won't be fun to beat you if you don't try!" he teased, dodging the playful swat Speed sent his way.
"Keep dreaming, X." Speed replied, turning to help Conor up as his brother peeled out of the garage…in the flashiest manner possible, of course. Rolling his eyes at X's antics, he sank into the small couch in the garage, pulling a notebook and some homework from his backpack. If they truly did have a free period now, he was going to use it to get something done.
Or so he thought.
Without warning, a tall, brown haired man wearing a dark blue jacket and a helmet that hid his face rushed into the garage, looking around frantically. "Am I too late? Did the fire happen yet?" he asked, causing Speed to give him a weird look.
"Fire? What fire?"
Conor chuckled nervously. "Uh…fire? There was no fire! I don't know what you're talking about! Nuh-uh, not at all! Right, Chim-Chim?"
Chim-Chim blooped in response.
Speed arched an eyebrow at them both, then turned back to the mysterious new arrival. "I don't thi- wait, where'd he go?"
The man was gone.
DJG: "Like it? Hate it? Drop me a review so I can decide whether or not to continue this!"
Plot Bunny Speed: "Review for the sake of my existence!"
Muse: "Hmph!"