Author's Note: Just a series of oneshots. This one takes place about a couple of weeks after "The Note", on June 29(I made June 29th the anniversary of the day Speed Racer Sr. disappeared). X's POV. Say Hello reference

Disclaimer: I do not own Speed Racer: The Next Generation.

I was awake, but I didn't want to open my eyes just yet. It was June 29, 2008. I didn't want to look at the calender. It was too painful. Today was the anniversary of the day that my dad disappeared. This year it fell on a Saturday. That meant twice as many long news reports than usual. Every year, June 29 was like a giant trainwreck. The news reporters showed endless pictures and videos of my dad, and had their usual debate over whether or not he was dead, if he'd been in an affair, that sort of thing. For a long time, I'd thought that dad was dead, but the note that Speed and I got from him changed that. The very fact that Speed existed destroyed any thought that dad had been in an affair. If there was another woman, then why would he stick around long enough to have another kid? Sighing, I opened my eyes, and they immeadiately looked at the calender. A tear rolled down my face. I walked over to my bookshelf, that mostly contained trophies, and pulled out an old shoe box. I opened the box to find a knock-off version of the bandana my dad had worn. At the Academy, it was a tradition for everybody to wear one on June 29. Even Proffesor Aniskov did this. Connor, due to the fact that he wore one every day, would wear a Speed Racer wig. It was black, and in the shape of his classic pompador. Today was going to be long, but at least I had somebody to share it with.

I was almost at the door when I remembered that Speed and I had agreed for one of us to keep the note for a week and then switch every Saturday. I'd had the note this week, so it was Speed's turn next. I quickly grabbed the note from under my pillow and walked halfway across campus to Speed's room. I saw Connor just leaving the room he and Speed shared.

"Hey, X." Connor said. I knew it was mean, but I couldn't help thinking rude thoughts about how riddiculous Connor looked when he wore that wig, almost like a mannequin.

"Hey, Connor. Just wanted to stop by and say hi to Speed. Did he go to breakfast yet?" I said; I did NOT want Connor finding out about the note.

"Speed said he wasn't going. He seems really depressed. Probably because it's the 29th." I winced; Connor had a way of weasling his way into the touchy subjects.

"Hey, if Annalise asks, tell her I'll be late for breakfast." I said. Whether what Connor said was touchy or not, I had a feeling he was right.

"Oh, okay." Connor said. It looked as if he could read my thoughts, like he knew what I was really telling him. He walked down the hallway towards the cafeteria. I knocked softly before entering Speed's room. Whenever somebody came in my room without knocking, it really annoyed me. It all started when this crazy stalker chick would come in my room and watched me sleep. One night I woke up to find her just staring at me. Definitely weirder than Connor and his freaky wig.

"Hey, Speed?" I said. I looked around the room. Speed was completely under the covers, which was weird, because his room was always a little hot. My eyes drifted over to his calender. Today's date had been completly marked out with a black marker. No answer came from the lump under the covers.

"I came to give you the note. It's your week." That got a response. Speed sat up slowly. He, too was wearing a red bandana. The real one, most likely, I thought. He looked terrible. His face was red, and his eyes were a little bloodshot. It took me a while, but I realized that he had been crying. He reached out and grabbed the note.

"Thanks." His voice sounded empty and hollow.

"29th got you down?" I said without realizing that I, too, was weaseling my way into a touchy subject.

"Uh-huh." Speed sniffled. "For me... it's always been more than the day Speed Racer disappeared. It's also the day that..." Speed was reluctant to tell me the last part, but I figured it out.

"Oh." I said before Speed could say anything he didn't fell comfortable saying.

"Sitting in my room all day is just how I deal with it." Speed admitted.

"What about when it was a school day?" I asked with growing concern. Had Speed skipped?

"I'd boycott talking." That came as a relief. "Look, I just want to be alone." Speed said as he covered himself back up with the sheets. A part of me wanted to just not disturb him. To just do what Speed wanted. Then, out of nowhere, I decided to stay with Speed in his room. I don't know if it was human kindness, or brotherly instinct, but something told me that staying there was what Speed needed. All I'd been thinking about that morning was how this 29th was going to be so much easier because I had somebody to share it with. What I hadn't realized was that Speed had been going through the exact same thing, only without all the newscasts of his dad (well, there were newscasts of his dad, he just hadn't know it yet). Never before had I felt so selfish. In his room, we didn't exchange words, but I could tell that June 29 had torn Speed apart as much as it had me, if not more. I guess that I never thought of that. We skipped lunch and dinner. Neither of us were hungry. We both had a twisting knot in our stomachs. Annalise called me a few times, and after a while I just turned off my phone.

MACHHAGOMACHHAGOMACHHAGOMACHHAGO

On Sunday, June 30, 2008, Speed looked and felt a little better. His eyes were still a little bloodshot, but I could tell he hadn't cried. He talked about all the usual things. After lunch, he caught me in the hall.

"Hey, X!" I wasn't going to make the same mistake twice.

"Hey, Speed."

"X, I just wanted to say... thanks."

"Anytime, Speed. Anytime."