Kung-Fu Catfight
The next cup, the Infernal Series, was on hold until the WRL could figure out what happened to Snake Oiler that disabled his Kwiksave.
"I can tell you what happened," I whispered at lunch. "Jack Rival killed him." I cut a knife through a chicken finger, jabbed my fork into it, and munched on it angrily.
"Trixie, we don't know that," said Pops. "No one's proved anything."
"They don't have to!" I shouted. "Speed, you said it yourself, 'he'll kill a driver that stands in his way!'"
"He would," Speed nodded to his father.
"Be that as it may," shouted Pops over us, "Don't go saying things like that outside the house. I've already had a lawsuit for IP infringement. Don't put slander on top of it, you two."
Speed and I sank into our seats. After he'd turned down Royalton and blown up at Fuji, there was some questioning over Pops' designs. Racer Motors was caught in litigations. That was when Speed, feeling guilty, decided to compete in the Casa Cristo rally.
"If I ever meet Rival, I'll shake him lifeless!" shouted Speed as he paced around the couch in the living room. I was lying on said couch, staring at the ceiling. Now that the Infernal Series was postponed, we really didn't know what to do with ourselves.
"Spee-d …" I began
"He could have killed you, Trixie!" he yelled. He stopped pacing. I, now feeling strange without the sound of his footsteps, sat upright and gazed at him.
"When I saw those flames," he muttered, "… and they said they couldn't find you … it all just felt like I was ten again and I'd lost someone who meant so much to me."
"Ohh, Spee-eed," I moaned. I pranced over to him and stroked his cheek with the back of my hand.
"It was the first time since the Crucible that I really thought you were in danger," he added. I cocked an eyebrow, a nervous reflex, "Are you trying to tell me you don't want me to race anymore?"
"I don't know," he admitted. "I'm just … concerned. What if you're not so lucky next time?"
"No one in their right mind would try something that drastic twice in the same racing season," I riposted.
The phone started to ring.
"Obviously, Rival's not in his right mind," Speed snorted. "One sec, I'm gonna go get the phone." He picked up the orange receiver and said, "Racer residence, Speed Racer speaking." Seconds later he pointed it in my direction, "It's for you, Trix."
"Thanks," I said. I took the receiver out of his hands and said, exasperated, "Hello, who is this?"
"Let Snake Oiler's fate be a lesson to you, Trixie Shimura!" said the menacing male voice on the other end. "And mirror Speed Racer's!"
He hung up. I stood with the phone in my hand, crushing it in my polished fingernails.
"Trixie?" asked Speed. "What's wrong?"
"Speed, I …" I said breathlessly, looking at everything but him, "I think I may have gotten in over my head … so far over that I don't think I can go back." I dropped the receiver and asked, "What do I do?"
"Go deeper," he replied. I took my eyes of the dial-tone-blaring receiver and locked them on Speed, "Will you go with me?"
"Every step of the way," he answered. I took his hand, "Why aren't all guys like you?"
"You've gotta catch us and train us while we're still young."
I took refuge in my room, head buried in my pillow, eyes closed so hard that I could see bursts of light. He hadn't even threatened me; he threatened Speed. My Speed. He must have known that if anything happened to him, I'd die of a broken heart.
"He'd hit two birds with one stone," I grumbled. The pillow muffled it so much all I heard were nonsensical moans.
The phone started to ring again. I picked it up and screamed, "Leave me and my boyfriend the hell alone!!"
"Should I call back later?" asked a female voice.
"Hello?" I asked uncertainly.
"This is Rosey Blaze," said the voice. Rosey was another famous female driver in the league, but I had never competed against her in a race.
"May I speak to Trixie Shimura?" she asked.
"This is she," I replied.
"Oh, hello, Trixie," said Rosey. "We girls have been watching you and really think you're something. Some of us are going out to brunch; would you like to come?"
"Is Kellie Kalinkov going to be there?" I asked.
"Are you kidding me?" she grunted. "I hate her."
"Who is going to be there?"
"Just a few of us," she responded vaguely. "So what do you say?"
I didn't have many female friends, and everyone at home seemed to want to treat me like a porcelain doll, so I decided, "Okay."
"Great!" she said. "We'll see you at five in the square."
"Oh—"
She hung up.
"—kay," I finished.
At four-thirty I started to get dressed. I put on a pair of red Capri pants, a pink shirt, and red ballet shoes. As I was pulling on my white gloves, Speed knocked on my door and asked, "Hey, Trix, do you want to go out?"
"Oh," I said regrettably, "Speed, I'm sorry, but I made some plans with a couple of other female racers."
"Oh," he replied, disappointed.
"I can cancel," I said. "I'd much rather go out with you anyway."
"No," he shook his head. "Have fun. We'll go out some other time." He awkwardly waved goodbye and shut my door. Watching it close, I moaned and kicked around in a circle, "WHY did that have to happen NOW!?"
I went down the steps and prepared to leave, but just as I went to turn the knob, there was a knock on the door. I answered it.
"Taejo?" I asked. "You must be here to see Speed."
"Actually," he declared, "I am here to talk to you."
"Oh?" No one came to visit me at the Racer house! I mean, who would? What was going on?
"I'm not apologizing for Sweet Spinning you," I said.
"Trixie, you must know that my father still is in alliance with companies such as those of Jack Rival," he explained, completely ignoring my comment.
I didn't say anything, but in my mind I gibed, I would have never known.
"But I am truly sorry for my actions," he continued, "and to show you this I will warn you, do not go out today."
I probably should have taken notice to the fact that he knew I was going out and I hadn't told him, but excuse me for not rushing to trust the winner of last year's "Backstabber of the Year Award."
"I'll keep that in mind," I said. "Thank you, Taejo."
"Please do consider it," he stressed his point. "I am not the ally who is truly an enemy. … Not anymore."
He turned around and left the house. I kept the door open just a crack to watch him drive away in the Hangul. Once he was out of sight, I shook my head, re-opened the door, and left, thinking, what harm could it do?
I really wish I hadn't asked that question.
By five o'clock I was jogging into the square. Rosey, Mariana Zanja, and Delila were sitting around a round table. Rosey spotted me, waved and shouted, "Trixie! Hey, Trixie, over here. Have a cup of tea!" I moseyed awkwardly to them and took a seat.
"Hello," said Delila.
"Hey there … Delila …" I muttered. I wasn't a big fan of Delila, what with her diamond tongue ring. She had tried to seduce Speed into distraction during the Casa Cristo and then, when it didn't work, blew out one of his tires! And she wore too much pink.
I know, I sound totally hypocritical, but she did!
"You've been making quite the name for yourself," said Mariana.
"Yeah, you took Speed Racer down in the Survivor Series," added Rosey.
"Someone needed to," snorted Delila.
"Speed's my boyfriend," I said, hoping it might remind them and make them shut up before I started throwing punches…
"Oh, yes, that's right …" said Mariana. "How long have you two been together?"
"Ummm…" I hesitated.
--
When we were about nine, I took Speed aside during recess and said in my sweetest voice, "Hi, Speed."
"Hi, Trixie," he replied. I batted my eyelashes a little and confessed, "I really like you." He, being a boy and not a bright one at that, didn't see where the conversation was going and merely said, "I like you, too, Trixie."
"Speed, will you be my boyfriend?!" asked I. He stayed silent for a moment or two, shifted his mouth from side to side, and then said, "Okay!"
"Oh, Speed!" I said happily. I threw my arms around him and gave him a big kiss on the cheek.
Obviously, Speed really didn't have a comprehension of what the word 'boyfriend' meant, because as soon as my lips parted from his face he shouted "ICK!" and wiped it clear.
--
"A WHILE," I said. I took a sip from the teacup, put it down on the table, and looked into it. I smiled dreamily at my brown reflection, reminiscing. I muttered, "He—he means a lot to me. He's the best thing that's ever happened to me." I chuckled, "And vice versa, if I'm not being immodest."
Chairs clattered. Suddenly, I remembered Togokahn's warning: "I'm not the ally who is truly an enemy … not anymore." Trying to seem like I was still calm I looked forward. The three women were standing up.
"Ahh-ha," I said, taking another sip of the tea.
"It's nothing personal, honey," said Rosey. "It's just that Mr. Rival has found you to be … someone else say it; it'll be cliché coming from me…"
"You're a thorn in his side," Delila obliged.
I pushed the teacup away from me and pushed my chair away from the table. The three started over to me. I parted my legs and held them in front of me.
"Wai-wai-wai-wait!" I said. "It's story time! I'm going to tell you exactly how this is going to turn out." I put my legs back down and placed my hands in my lap, "In one minute and …" I glanced at a clock in the square, "twenty-seven seconds, this will be over. You all are going to crowd around me…"
They formed a triangle, surrounding my chair.
"See, it's already starting," I pointed to them all. My finger stopped at Rosey, "I'm going to jump in the air and drop kick you," I turned to Mariana, "I'm going to trip you," I lifted my other hand and pointed at Delila, "before I kick you in the face. Then I'll jump out of your demented little triangle, all three of you will bang heads, my boyfriend will drive up … in the Mach 5—two seats—and before you can get out of your dazed and confused little state, I will have made my great escape."
I stationed my elbows in my knees and out my chin on my hands, "Now, do you really want to go through all that in the next …" I squinted to look at the clock, "33 seconds?"
They charged.
"Okay!" yelled I. I threw myself up from the chair, kicked Rosey in the nose, landed on the ground, kneeled down, spun, kicked Mariana in the legs, got up, jumped, and kicked Delila across the face.
"Hey!" called a voice. "Trixie!"
"Speed!"
He drove up, my knight in shining armor, in the Mach 5, just like I'd said. I looked to the three other women. They were fighting … even thought I was completely off to the side.
"Didn't see that part coming," I mumbled. Speed's hands came around my shoulders and led me away, "Why don't we stop observing before they realize you aren't there and let's go!"
I glanced at the clock again, "33 seconds!"
"What?"
"Nothing," I put on my seatbelt and we were off.
"Togokahn told me where you'd be," said Speed, answering the question I hadn't even asked yet. "Now I've gotta send him a fruit basket!"
"Put both our names on it and I'll pay for half," I offered. And with that, Taejo Togokahn regained our trust.
Or at least enough of it.
--Author's Note: Did anyone catch my useless Plain White T's reference?--
