"Mom, we're home!" called Speed into the house as we slunk into the house. Mom Racer appeared in the hall with an apron around her waist. She said in a hurried voice, "We'll be having dinner at six, as usual."

"I better take a shower and change," said I. "I'll be back."

"Wait until after dinner!" insisted Mrs. Racer and Speed. They said it in unison … in a very rehearsed and similar tone.

"What?"

"We'll have plenty of time after dinner to get ready!" said Mrs. Racer, brandishing her large wooden spoon like a scepter. "And I'm making your favorite: Shrimp Alfredo. Don't you want it hot?"

"But it's only five now," I mumbled.

"And you take about an hour and a half in the shower," snorted Speed. I smacked his shoulder and yelled, "That isn't true!" I did take a long time in the shower typically, but nowhere near an hour and a half!

"Just wait," said Speed.

I did love Shrimp Alfredo … a lot, and I decided that food might make me feel better about the entire situation. So I nodded, and said. "Okay. But I'll be right back. Let me put my bag in my room."

"Just leave it here," said Mom Racer. I chuckled. Mrs. Racer hated when she found our stuff in the middle of the floor.

"Does this have something to do with Speed's little surprise?" I asked. Mrs. Racer gave me an innocent look, "Speed's surprise? What do you mean?" I knew she was lying, but I quickly chose to pretend I didn't. I shrugged, "Oh, nothing." I put my backpack on the floor and started back to the front door, "I'm going to get the mail, okay?"

No one said anything. I shrugged and went outside. As I opened the little mailbox and flipped the flag down, I noticed the garage door was open.

"Put her back, Spark," said Pops Racer. He looked rather devastated. I didn't understand it. Speed's T-180, the Mach 6, looked absolutely awesome. Then I wondered why exactly they were putting it back in the garage. Speed was racing tonight. They needed to be loading it up.

"Maybe the surprise is he's driving a different car that says 'Trixie Rocks!' on the sides," I muttered to myself.

Nah, my mind retaliated. If that was it you wouldn't be banned from your room.

I thought Pops shook his head as he closed the garage door. Then he saw me looking at him. He waved and darted back into the house. Shocked, I took the mail out of the box and looked through it. I don't know why. I never get anything.

"Mr. Racer, Speed, Speed, Speed, Mr. Racer, Mr. and Mrs. Racer, and Sparky!" I read. Sparky got mail and I didn't!?

"You say my name?" asked Sparky, removing himself from the garage.

"Here!" I growled, thrusting the mail at him.

"Gee, I don't get what you're so upset about, Space Cadet," he said. "If I were you, I'd be bouncing off the walls."

"Why should I be?" asked I.

"Well, I mean, Speed…"

"SPARKY!" yelled Speed from the window. His face was absolutely panicked, and he was beating on the glass. That ended when Mrs. Racer said, "Young man, if you break that window, you'll pay for it out of your race money." Speed pointed at Sparky, shook his head, and walked away

"… and I don't know what he's so worked up about!" moaned Sparky. "I was just going to say that you should be happy for his success."

"I am," I growled. "Now get out of my way." I shoved him aside and went back inside.

We all sat around the dinner table, everyone happy and talking. Things seemed so normal … or as normal as it gets when you're with a family that owns a monkey.

"He'll win it, I'm sure," said Mom. "You don't have to be so tense, honey." She patted Pops on the back a little. A nervous chuckle emitted from her lips.

"Yes, I know," he grumbled. Mom leaned over and whispered something in his ear.

"I'm trying," he sighed. Mom shook her head, threw up her arms, and looked to me. I already knew I was wearing a look that suggested I knew they were up to something. My eyebrow slowly cocked upward. What was going on?

"How do you like the Alfredo?" asked Mrs. Racer. "I put extra parmesan cheese on it."

"It's delicious," I smiled. It was just like my mother used to make when I lived at home. Gee, I get my mind off of one thing that makes me miserable only to fall victim to another.

Mom Racer had successfully put my suspicions to rest for the moment. I turned to Speed and asked, "So, do I get my surprise after this?" He shifted his mouth from side to side, as if contemplating if I deserved it yet.

"I guess I've put you through enough," he said. "Yep. You'll get it after your shower." I clapped a little, finished my meal, kissed his cheek, and went upstairs to the bathroom.

I hummed a nondescript tune in the shower as I washed off the sweat from gym and emerged in a pink robe. A red towel was on my head. I tied the robe with my right hand and rustled water out of my head with the left. When finally I thought my hair was as dry as it was going to get, I threw the towel aside on my bed. I picked up a bottle of pink lotion to spread on my arms and legs.

Night had fallen long ago. It was around seven-fifteen. Limos were probably already coming to pick some of the girls up from their houses. In my mind I pictured a faceless girl with my dream dress on dancing with Speed.

"AAAAAHHHH!!" I shrieked. I clenched my hands into fists. The cap on the bottle of lotion in my hand popped off. Lotion gushed out all over my arm and the floor. I smeared the flowing lotion all over my legs and both arms, and even put some on my neck to get rid of it. Then I picked up the towel to rub it in a little better.

That was when I noticed my yearbook in the center of the mattress.

"I didn't leave that there," I said to myself. I picked it up and opened it. It now had no new book smell, nor the sound the pressure of the opening placed on the binding, anymore. I looked at the flyleaf. In large black letters were the sweetest words I could have ever read:

YOU will ALWAYS be my NUMBER ONE!!

-- Love, Speed.

Number one? But he could have only known that if he'd heard … I ran to my closet, opened the door and gasped. My hands flew instinctively to my mouth. There it was, right in front of me, hanging in front of the rest of my clothes: my dress! Even in the dimly lit room it shone like a pink diamond.

"Surprise," said a voice.

"You bought me the dress," I said. I turned to see him in a tuxedo, carrying a transparent box that held a corsage in it.

"Yeah," he nodded. "It didn't take a genius to figure out you weren't really looking at that white jacket, which I love, by the way. It goes with the car and my helmet and everything." He grinded the tip of his black dress shoes into an imaginary stain on the floor. "Mom told me what you said. About being number two?" I glanced to the floor, "I figured she would."

"I'm glad she did!" he exclaimed. "I never wanted you to think I care more about a car than you! I was born to shift gears. I'm meant to be behind the wheel. Racing is my passion … but Trixie, you'll always be number one."

"You're carrying a corsage," I suddenly observed aloud. But he was so happy about that race! Was he really going to blow it off and take me to prom?

"Yes I am," he replied, eerily like he'd read my thoughts. "Because here's how I see it, there are going to be a thousand races in my lifetime, but how many chances am I going to get to take you to senior prom? So, I'm gonna ask again: do you, Trixie Shimura, want to go to prom with me?"

"Yes!" I said. "Yes, I do!" I jumped into the air and tackled him to the ground.

"That's great!" he said, strain evident. I kissed him and said, "Oh, Speed, thank you! This is the best present you could have ever given me!"

"I please to aim," he moaned. I helped him to his feet, groomed him a bit, and gave him another kiss, "I'm going to get dressed, and then we can go."

"I'll be waiting downstairs," he said. As he left, I blew him another kiss. I stared at the dress in my closet. Finally, everyone was going to see how wonderful I looked in it. My smile was uncontainable as I took it off the hanger.

Speed stood with his mother, father, brother, monkey, and Sparky at the foot of the steps. Mrs. Racer was snapping pictures of him. Pops looked as if he might weep, but I was pretty sure that was because of the money Speed lost the family by dropping out the Nitona race.

"Honey, you look so handsome!" she declared. "Like a little gentleman!"

I came to the top of the steps.

"Holy canoli," said Sparky. Everyone looked up at me. Mom Racer gasped and clapped her hands together. She was about to cry tears of joy. Spritle dropped his candy bar, and after Chim-Chim was done chattering, he stole it. Speed stood still, totally stunned. I was a little insulted. How bad did I look normally?!

"You look really pretty, Trixie," said Spritle. Chim-Chim nodded in agreement. Mom Racer snapped a few pictures as she said, "Sweetie, you're beautiful!"

"She's right," said Speed, finally finding his voice. "You really are."

"It's a great dress, huh?" I asked.

"It didn't look nearly as until you put it on," he replied. I couldn't believe it. He thought the dress looked good on me!

"Oh, Speed!" I gasped. I threw my arms passionately around him. SNAP! Mom Racer took another picture. When I let go, Speed opened the box holding the corsage and offered to put it on me. I held out my wrist and watched in awe as he tied the pink roses around it.

"It doesn't clash, does it?" he asked.

"No," I said with a smile. "You really put your all into this, huh?"

"Anything to make you happy," he said. "Let's get going. Don't want to be late." I slipped my hand through the crook of his arm and together we started out the front door. Once we got to the Mach 5 and Speed held the door for me, the reality of all of it hit me like a ton of bricks.

I was actually going to prom!