Black ponytail swinging, Lani walked swiftly down the hall. Tork had run out of nitrox, so she went to the storage room to get some more. Normally, they already had a few containers in the garage, but Lani had gotten distracted when she realized she needed to get more.

Though it was slightly annoying, having to run back and forth with her various chores, she was in an extremely good mood. The music seemed to cheer the Acceledrome. To her great delight, nobody had complained about the music yet.

As she opened the door, her thoughts turned to home. Lani came from Hawaii, and it surprised her when her parents had actually let her move to the States. Here, she not only worked for Dr.Tezla, but also studied to be a nurse. The latter seemed to be the main reason her parents let her move. Probably to get her away from street racing. Good luck doing that with Teku and Metal Maniacs around.

Lani unlocked a container, smiling absentmindedly. She loaded it onto her car, and turned for another. Her parents didn't mind racing, just street racing. Back home on Maui, Lani had met a street racing team and became good friends with them. They were actually the ones that taught her how to race, and about cars. If it wasn't for them, she wouldn't be any help to the drivers, setting them up for the nitrox system. Well, she wouldn't be there at all if it wasn't for them.

The car filled, she pushed it back towards the hall. Last year, Eric, the team leader, came up to visit her. It was around this time of year, and he arrived bearing gifts from both her parents and the team. They spent the next few days together, Lani showing him around town. At one point, someone asked if they were a 'couple.' They had smiled politely and said no. Once in the car, they proceeded to nearly die of laughter.

Lani exited the room, and walked to the garage. Eric was about ten years older than her, and was much more like a brother. The whole team was like family. And she really missed them. Especially since eight months before, her parents had died. She went down for the funeral, and was pleasantly surprised to see the whole team there.

Pushing the car into the garage, she first gave Tork his container, and then deposited the rest in the Maniacs area. Next she had to replenish the Teku's stockpile.

This was her first Christmas without her parents being involved somehow. She wasn't exactly sure how she was going to cope. Though last year she wasn't home, they had called to wish her Merry Christmas. Years before that, she was always home, just waiting for the time she would be able to open the presents while her parents looked on.

In the storage room, her cell rang.

"Hello?"

Her answer was met with singing on the other line. She started laughing and crying at the same time, as she recognized the voices of her 'brothers' singing, We Wish You a Merry Christmas.