Edit 12/12/16: I have decided to include you guys in my Spotify playlist for this fanfic. I made it public and I add songs to it that inspire me or remind me about the story and its characters. You could call it a "soundtrack". After all, it is themed towards Cars and this story. :) Check out my DeviantArt page (my name there is also 0lemons0) for the link because we can't link on this site. I'll have it in my latest journal entry, then post it to my DeviantID. You have to have a Spotify account though. So, if you have one take a listen sometime!
Chapter 24 - "Just an Empty Cup"
On an overcast Saturday afternoon, Jane idled at the entrance of Flo's cafe with a full tank of gas waiting impatiently for the town to finish up their lunch. The night's rest made her feel all better.
"Come on! Come on!" Jane bounced on her axles in excitement, "The track is waiting!"
"To be young again and able to bounce that high without hydraulics," Ramone snickered, "Ah.."
"You ain't old, baby," Flo said driving by, "Because if you're old that means I'm old."
"You'll never be old," Fillmore said.
Flo smiled, "Why thank you, Fill-"
"-BECAUSE we're all just...parts...waiting to be used again," he continued, "Waiting to be part of a new-"
"QUIET, HIPPIE," Sarge ordered with a stomp of a tire, "You're scaring the girl."
Jane laughed, "I'm not scared! I can handle anything!"
"That's my girl," Lightning said proudly.
"That's right!" Lizzie cleared her throat, "I've seen generations of women come through this town. All of 'em strong and wise."
"And she's the strongest and wisest so far," Sally added.
"Who is?" Lizzie asked, falling victim to her dementia.
"Alright, baby, you ready to go race?" Lightning asked.
"Yeah! Yeah!" Jane revved up her engine happily, "Let's go!"
"Who's-a that young man?" Luigi asked, gesturing his nose to the road. The townsfolk all turned their hoods.
A boxy black race car, who only looked familiar to Jane, was driving toward the town. He kept a straight face, knowing some of them might remember him. Oddly enough, he didn't have a cigarette stuck in his lips.
"Jane, that sure looks like your friend from school," Flo said, leaning over.
"It is," Jane replied. She rolled toward the road while Lightning and Sally glanced at each other.
Lighting mouthed silently, "Guy-friend."
Murphy pulled over to the side without going up the small hill on Flo's property, "'Sup, Jane?"
"Hey there, Murph," Jane waved.
"So are we-," he looked around, noticing that everyone in town was staring at him like tractors in headlights, "Uh.."
Jane chuckled nervously, "Oh..well..this is my family."
"Your family? I thought they were just the townies."
Sally pulled forward with a smile. She lowered a bit on her axles to match Murphy's height, "I'm Jane's mom."
Murphy's eyes switched from Jane to Sally, then he forced a smile, "Murphy."
Lightning pulled to his other side. He didn't lower on his axles, keeping his height nice and tall, "I'm her father."
Murphy didn't make eye contact with Lightning. He just replied to Lightning as he looked away from Sally, "Nice to meet you," he glanced back to Jane, "Are we going to the racing museum?"
"Actually I was just about to take Jane for a race," Lightning said, "Do you want to watch?"
Murphy inhaled deeply, "If she wants."
Jane whispered to her father, "Dad.."
"Of course she'll want you to watch!" he replied, "Come on, come with us."
"I can just wait here and eat."
"Murphy, it's alright," Jane said, "We can go to the museum."
Lightning's eyes widened, "But, Jane, you wanted this for a long time."
"Yeah, but we can race whenever, you know?" Jane drove around Murphy, "It's cool."
"We can't race whenever. You know that I took time out to do this with you."
"How about you all go to the museum and then maybe Lightning can take you racing too, Murphy?" Sally suggested. She looked over at Lightning and gave him a look.
Lightning nodded, "Sounds like a good idea. What do you say, buddy?"
"..buddy?" Jane uttered.
"Sure," Murphy agreed.
They three cars began driving down the road. Lightning pulled between Murphy and Jane, but as he did, he caught a whiff of a smoky scent. He looked down at Murphy with a raised lid, but Murphy didn't see this. His eyes were glued to the racing museum.
"Dad, Murphy likes to race too," Jane mentioned.
"Does he?"
Murphy didn't answer. He just pulled ahead of the cars and nudged the Racing Museum doors open.
"Kind of quiet," Lightning noticed.
"Yeah…," even though Jane knew exactly why he wasn't so warm with the older race car.
They watched as Murphy's brake lights disappeared into the building. When Lightning and Jane caught up, they drove inside to find Murphy staring up at Doc Hudson's piston cups. Their golden reflections penetrated deep into his pupils. He brought a tire up and pressed it on the glass.
"Whoa…," Murphy said, to no one in particular, "I've never seen so many of them in one place before."
"Pretty cool, right?" Lightning asked, desperately trying to talk to him.
"Yeah they're-," Murphy stopped himself, knowing he's not allowed to talk to McQueen. Jane pulled around him, "Murphy, didn't you say that you had questions?"
"I could answer some," Lightning added.
"And me," said Jane.
"Well..," he took his stare away from the Piston Cup and glanced at Lightning, but then he quickly changed his glance to Jane, "Did you really live right next to him?"
"Still don't believe me?"
Murphy turned with Jane, who led him to another smaller section of the wall, where personal photos were taken and put up for display. She pointed to a print of her as a girl scout, holding up a badge with the old Hudson Hornet smiling at her. Lightning and Sally were cheering in the background.
Murphy brought his tire up and gently touched the corner of the picture. He pulled in a little closer and squinted, "Your eyes really were much different then."
"There's more," Lightning mentioned, "Over here," he motioned toward another wall, where more prints covered the paint.
Murphy smirked, "Is that the Fabulous Hudson Hornet wearing a Santa hat?" he chuckled softly.
"Yeah," Lightning came over, pointing, "And Jane's first Christmas with us all."
"What was in that present he's handing her?" Murphy asked Lightning.
"That was her porcelain Piston Cup," Lightning smiled, "And she took it right out of the box and..," he pointed to another picture of it broken on the floor. Jane was laughing in the picture, but Doc was shocked.
"Good job, Jane," Murphy said, laughing.
"I didn't know it was fragile!" Jane exclaimed, "I wish I still had it though. I mean..I still have the pieces. Now that I think about it, it would have been cool if it actually had my name on it."
"One day, baby," Lightning said, "It'll happen, okay?"
Jane smiled up at her dad.
"What about this?" Murphy tilted his body, curiously, at a photo of the mature race car behind him with the legend.
"That was taken after I lost the Piston Cup to Chick Hicks," Lightning said, "You know who that is?"
"Yeah..I know 'em..," Murphy looked up at him, "But why do you look so happy?"
"Because I was standing next to a legend," Lightning said.
"But you lost the Piston Cup that year."
McQueen shrugged his axles, "You have to understand something," he tapped Murphy's fender, "I said the same thing to Jane. I'll say the same to you. It's just an empty cup."
"Unless it's made of porcelain," Jane muttered, "Then it's a broken cup."
"Besides, I beat Chick every year after that," Lightning grinned.
"You couldn't have," Murphy sneered, "Because Chick Hicks won plenty of Piston Cups since then."
"I'll have to disagree with you, Murphy," Lightning lectured, "I-"
Jane nudged her father, "Dad, don't.."
"My only advice is that you two don't ever lose sight of what it actually is because otherwise it can change you," he pointed his tire back and forth at both of the young cars, "I don't want to see either of you change who you are for a cup."
"I signed up for the Racing Sports Network program at school," Murphy said, bringing his eyes back to the glorious trophies on display, "Because..you have no idea how badly I want one."
"An RSN program?" Lightning looks at Jane, "Did you know about that?"
"Well, I-"
"I was actually planning to tell her about it while we looked around the museum," Murphy interrupted, knowing Jane couldn't lie, "I would have had her come with me while I signed up, but then I heard an officer was picking her up," he snickers, "I thought it was somethin' serious, until I found out she knew him."
Jane shook her hood, "He still doesn't believe I know everyone here."
"I know that feeling with your mother," Lightning remembered, "You should have seen my face when I learned she knew Mater.
"Yeah, well, basically it's just a program when the Racing Sports Network guys come over and watch our school's team race around and they judge us silently in the distance," Murphy explained, "No pressure. Heh. They just pick you out if they think you're something the rest of the country should see...then..they put you on a professional racing team. The racers these days are kind of getting...old," Murphy glanced at McQueen, "They're just doing something different now. Scouting for racers instead of waiting for the talent to show up by itself."
"Hollywood used to be the same way," Lightning said, "Music too. People used to have to get noticed, but now you kids are all over the internet showing yourselves off that the talent agents come to you guys."
"Exactly," Murphy affirmed.
"Jane, you should give it a try," Lightning brought a tire to her door, "Give it a shot."
Murphy's eyes widened up, knowing full well that Jane had the potential to be great, but he didn't see anything in her today that would show she's ready for it just yet. He gave Jane a look and motioned his hood to her father.
Jane nodded, "Yes..yes, I'll sign up for it..," she promised.
"Great!" Lightning turned to the door, "Then the entire country will see how great you're going to be."
"McQueen?" Murphy said.
Lightning stopped, "Yeah?"
"You think I could..touch one of those Piston Cups of his? Just hold it?"
"Sorry, buddy," Lightning shook his hood, "Those are going to live out their lives in the display case."
Murphy sighed, "Fine.."
Lightning paused, "Oh, you know what? Jane, I'll be right back. I have to remind Mater that we're not doing the search," he nudged the door open with his nose and looked back at Jane, "Don't go racing without me."
"Okaaay, dad," Jane replied with a soft laugh.
When Lightning was gone, Murphy turned to Jane, "I shouldn't have done that."
"Done what?"
"I really shouldn't have done that," he looked down at the tile flooring, "My dad is gonna kill me if he finds out I was talking to Lightning McQueen."
Jane laughed, "But you weren't talking to him, you were just hanging out with me."
"Look at you getting the hang of fibbing," he chuckled, "Your dad isn't that bad, by the way..I thought he'd be much different."
"Told you," she grinned, "Believe me now?"
"You're not off the hook yet."
"Oh yeah? And your father? I didn't get to judge him yet," she stuck her nose up at him, "If we're critiquing each other."
"You already met him!" Murphy insisted.
"Not really really."
Murphy thought for a moment and looked at the time on a clock on the wall, "He's probably out practicing, but he'll be later," he motioned his nose to her headlights, "Just gonna..need those again when it gets dark."
"Anytime," said Jane as she drove to the exit, pushing the door open with Murphy following close behind.
Sally was back to work in the Cozy Cone. She pushed her empty coffee mug away on her desk, while flipping to the next page of her novel.
"Knock, knock," said her husband. Sally smiled up at Lightning, "At least you don't rev for my attention anymore."
"I didn't want to disturb your reading."
"Nope, that's alright," she closed up her book, "I'll finish up the chapter later. How did it go with the kids?"
"Murphy had to warm up to me a bit."
"I saw that he didn't seem very open to you at first."
"I didn't...say anything did I?"
Sally shook her hood, "Not that I know of..and I doubt Jane would have ever spoken negatively about us."
"Could just be a shy little guy."
"What about Jane's racing lesson?"
"I'm taking her - well - them right now, but I just have to go tell Mater that we're not doing the search...and I wanted to drop by and tell you about the guy friend."
Sally smirked, "Remember when you were just a guy friend?"
"Where's he going to take you to race?" asked Murphy, as he drove down the road with Jane.
"He used to take me out to a place called Willy's Butte when I was younger, but between both my parents having two jobs and going to school, I haven't watched him in-," Jane stopped in her tracks.
Murphy immediately stopped as well.
"In..a really long time..," Jane focused on a pebble on the asphalt. She kicked it with one of her wheels.
"You can do it on your own though," Murphy started to drive with Jane again, "Your dad wasn't there yesterday."
"I think we were both looking forward to this for so long that we just kept looking forward to it.."
"Jane!" Lightning called out. The two teenagers turned around.
"You two ready?" he asked, driving closer to them.
"Uh-huh," Jane perked up.
When the three cars pulled up to Willy's Butte, the giant rock formation intimidated their size, along with a wall they'd have to gain enough speed to drive up.
"I can still remember the first time I brought you here," Lightning said with a sigh, "You were still in a baby trailer."
"Not in front of my peers, dad.."
He pulled behind a rope that Doc left behind for their races. It would serve as their start and finish line.
"Now I'm gonna do a quick run around the track and I want you to watch carefully because-"
"You can't race here," Murphy said, he pointed to the ground, "This is dirt."
"So what?"
"She's not doing any rally races."
"Murphy told me that Piston Cup drivers don't have the tires for this," Jane argued.
"With all due respect, Murphy," Lightning stretched out his axles, "This Piston Cup driver doesn't need the tires for this."
He slammed on his gas pedal and Lightning flew down the road.
"Whoa!" Jane smiled wide, watching the dusty dirt kick up behind her father the faster he went.
His body floated up onto the wall, driving sideways and defying gravity.
"Should I plan his funeral now or do you need some time to grieve?" Murphy warned, "No one with a brain between their doors would even go as fast as he's going on all this dirt."
As his drove back down the wall, onto flat earth, the most difficult turn of them all stared McQueen right in the face.
Murphy rolled forward, "That's it! Someone has to stop him! He's gonna fall!"
He pulled right onto the track and drove straight through the middle of it, "McQueen!"
"Murphy! Don't!" Jane cried.
Lightning couldn't hear him. He was too in the zone. He came up to the turn and spun his wheels left, shooting his body to the right and effortlessly making the turn.
Murphy slammed on his brakes, slipping in the dirt, and watched with furrowed eyelids, "Holy mother of manifolds.."
Jane watched with pride on the sidelines, bouncing in place, "Go dad! Go!"
Murphy shook his hood, unable to believe what he just saw.
"But..you have slick tires," he thought, "That's impossible."
Lightning came around the last bend and crossed the finish line, "How was that, little star?"
"That was awesome!" Jane cheered.
"Where's Murphy?" Lightning looked around, only stopping when he saw the young racer driving toward him from the middle of the track.
"How did you do that!?" Murphy asked.
"I'll explain when you guys get on the track," he revved twice, "What are you waiting for?"
Jane turned onto the track with Murphy and they stayed behind the line.
"One lap," Lightning said, pulling up to the side of Murphy, "When you get to that turn, do not question what I tell you to do, just do it."
Murphy clenched his teeth and revved his engine hard.
Lightning nodded in approval, "Nice," and he revved right back.
Jane smirked, "Oh yeah?" she revved her engine and she roared louder than Murphy.
The two males looked over at her in surprise.
"Where did you learn that?" Lightning asked.
"Practice, dad, duh."
Murphy gave her one quick nod and looked ahead of himself again.
"Ready?" asked Jane.
Between his clenched teeth, Murphy said, "Set."
"Go!" Lightning yelled, slamming on his gas pedal. He knew the kids weren't wearing any slick tires, so they had a much better chance getting around the turn than he did.
As they came around the bend, they gradually began to lift up onto the wall. Lightning made it all the way to the top, Murphy kept himself in the middle, and pulled right ahead of Lightning. Jane, however, skipped the wall completely and kept herself on the flat land.
Lightning gasped hard when he saw the young man overtake him, "Wow.."
Murphy narrowed his eyes at the coming turn.
"Alright, guys, get ready!" Lightning called out to them. He stayed behind now, so that he could watch them just in case. As they got closer, he started giving them the instructions, "You're going left! Turn your wheels hard right and swing left!"
Jane took a deep breath in and locked her wheels right. Like the silhouette of a ballerina, her body glided over the dirt, turning left with perfection. Murphy grit his teeth even harder, but he hesitated. He didn't lock his wheels hard enough, then all of a sudden he lost all control, "Wh-ah!"
As Jane was just about to come out of the turn, Murphy's body slid right into hers, knocking them both off of the track.
"Murphy! Ugh!" Jane drifted to a stop, which was the only action that stopped Murphy from flying off the edge and into a bed of cactus.
Lightning slowed to a stop, "Jane you did it on your first try! That's incredible!"
"Thanks, dad!" Jane said. She looked in her mirrors and saw a long black scratch down her side, "Oh no.."
Murphy pulled away from her, "I totally didn't mean that. I have no idea what happened back there."
"You alright, buddy?" Lightning asked.
Murphy checked his mirror and he had a white scrape on his door, practically matching Jane's.
"Just a scratch," Murphy stomped his tire, "Dammit."
"Hey, hey...watch your mouth. Crashes are a part of racing."
"Hey, remember I said I knew an expert in body art?" Jane giggled.
"You think he could fix me up before I get home?"
"Absolutely," Lightning answered, "In fact, he can fix both of you in that time."
"I'm so mad," Murphy growled, "Ugh.."
"It's okay, Murph," Jane said, "You're acting like an entire stadium just saw you mess up."
"They might as well have," he complained, but the truth was, he was more embarrassed that Jane was able to make that turn, and he couldn't.
"Speaking of messing up," Lightning tapped Murphy's fender to get his attention, "You have some acceleration."
"Hm?" Murphy looked up at McQueen.
"You pulled ahead of me faster than I've ever seen anyone overtake me."
Murphy began to calm down after hearing what he did well, "You really think that?"
"You both did great. Even if we didn't finish the race."
Jane laughed, "We should have done this a long time ago, dad!"
"I'm sorry I didn't," Lightning nuzzled her, "But..how about this.."
"What?"
"As long as you're good, I'll let you come out here and practice all you want."
Jane pounded her front wheels into the ground, "You mean it!? By myself!?"
"Absolutely. You're old enough and you've earned it. I owe you too because you've been so patient. When I was your age, I never waited for my parents to help me start my lessons," he brought his wheel under her chin, "And I'm so proud of how honest you are."
Jane's mirror drooped, "Right..thanks, daddy.."
Murphy saw Jane's expression drop and he quickly changed the subject, "First things first, we have to sign you up for the RSN program."
"You better," Lightning purred, "So you guys want to go again?"
"I think I'm just gonna hang with Murphy."
"Are you sure, little star?"
"I'm sure..thanks for taking the time to race with me, dad."
"I feel bad that I haven't before," Lightning admitted, "I've been so caught up in finding that Mustang with Mater, but..now I want you to come out here and practice your little engine out. For me."
"I'll do it for the whole town," Jane promised.
"Alright then," he turned back toward the town, "Let's get you both to Ramone's and get you fixed."
Jane and Murphy pulled up to Ramone's House of Body Art. Latin rock music poured out of the front door. Murphy browsed through the window, staring at the designs on the hoods that Ramone can give any car who asks for them.
"I can finally get something hot here," Murphy said. He looked over at Jane, "And you can use a change too."
"What's wrong with my paintjob?" asked Jane.
"For one thing, there's a giant scratch in it," he spelled out, "You're welcome."
Jane rolled her eyes.
"Hola, ninos," said a sleek purple low rider. He cruised out of his shop with a welcoming smile. His keen eye for paint immediately spotted why the two young cars were there.
"Oh man, Jane, we need to get that fixed before your mom sees it," the lowrider laughed, "Or else she'll put those same marks on your dad," he turned to Murphy, "You like what you see in that window?"
"Hell yeah," said Murphy, "Can you hook me up with something like this?"
"Of course!" he stepped aside, "The name's Ramone, by the way."
"Murphy," he replied, as he drove inside. Jane followed close behind.
"Give me something that screams champion," Murphy continued.
"But keep it appropriate for school or we'll get expelled," Jane reminded him.
"School is temporary," Murphy blurted, "Reputation is forever."
"You're both right," Ramone laughed, "Hm…" he looked the young man over, "You know what would look good?"
"Flames?" asked Jane.
"I've taught you well, little star."
"Flames?! You can have me wearing flames when I drive out of here?" Murphy asked excitedly.
"Faster than you can race," Ramone pointed along his fender, "Right here. A nice smokey gray, but very modern, almost tribal, flame job coming right out of the rich shine and blackness of your natural paint."
"Modern tribal flames," Murphy repeated, "Sounds sick already."
"Wait until you see it," Ramone said, "Wait until you see what I see."
"What about me?" asked Jane.
"You're beautiful just the way you are," he glanced over at Jane, "But I'll enhance it. I can have your entire body a plum purple, but on the lighter spectrum," he brings his tire up as he imagines her.
"Wow! Purple? Cars won't even recognize me!"
"See? Now...hm...for your design…," his eyes looked her up and down, then he nodded, "I got it. I got it," he drove around Jane and pointed to her wide quarter panels, "Two shiny lightning bolts..one on each panel..raven black, like the spoiler I'll put on you too, but so shiny it'll blind all those racers behind you...and any guy who tries looking back there," he eyed Murphy playfully.
Murphy quickly looked away, "If you can actually pull off the paint job you said I could have, I'd only be looking at myself."
Ramone shrugged, "Suit yourself," he raised on his hydraulics, reaching for his tools on a higher shelf.
Sally was now in the Wheel Well while Lightning took over the Cozy Cone to meet some of the tourists. She was tidying up their living room, listening to some country hits station on the radio, when a knock on the door stopped her.
"Someone there?" she asked with a raised voice, just in case she was hearing things.
"Moooom!" Jane sang from behind the front door, "It's meee!"
"Oh, Jane, I'm sorry! One second," she finished wiping down the coffee table and then left the rag there, "I'm coming!"
As Sally got closer to the door, she heard the giggling of two young automobiles. She raised a lid, "Is someone with you?"
"It's just Murphy," Jane said in between giggles, "Open up! Open up!"
Sally rolled over the garage door switch and the door lifted up. Just as the sight of the two cars came into view, Sally's jaw dropped. Her bumper practically touched the floor.
"Surprise!" Jane exclaimed, sporting her brand new paint job and modifications, "Do you like it?"
"Yeah and check me out!" Murphy flashed his side, "Look at these flames!"
"You look so-...," her eyes glanced from Murphy to Jane, "So..different."
"Can you believe it!?"
"Yeah I actually look like a race car now," Murphy laughed, "And Ramone did it for free!"
"And so do I!" Jane agreed, "And I actually feel faster!"
"Well, you do look more grown up," Sally admitted, "Both of you do," she finally smiled, "I think you look as beautiful as ever, little star, but why the sudden change?"
"Ramone thought we needed a change," Jane glanced at Murphy, "And Murphy said he's been dying to change his look for a while."
"Well, I think you made a great choice," Sally scooted over a bit, "Would you like to come inside?"
"Yeah, sure," said Murphy, "We're only killing time before Jane and I go see my dad."
"Oh, Jane, will you be eating dinner with us?"
"I think Murphy's dad might have food when we're there," Jane shrugged, "I might as well show Murphy my room too."
"I'll let dad know that you'll be with him, so he's not worried."
Murphy drove inside with Jane, looking around and noticing how neat the home looked compared to his. While his father keeps old magazines everywhere and old condensation rings on the coffee table, Lightning and Sally are constantly cleaning. The air smelled of cinnamon candles. Jane led him down one of the hallways, "This place used to be a motel," she mentioned, "But now, my parents run the bar outside and we all live in here."
"Interesting..," Murphy said, following along. His eyes trailed down her quarter panels, where her lightning bolts were. He was just about to drive into her again, but her tail lights snapped him out of it when she stopped in front of her room.
"Right in here," she said. She pushed the door open and the warm glow of string lights met their brand new paint. One of the walls was covered with clothespinned family photos and photos of Jane and her friends. On the opposite wall was a large knit checkered flag nailed at the top two corners. Her bed was made perfectly with layers of flower patterned comforters and sheets, while her desk was organized with everything in its place.
She pulled open one of her desk drawers and shuffled around, "Ah..here it is," and pulled out a clear zipper storage bag. It had small yellow pieces in it.
"Is that an emergency bag of crackers or something?"
Jane sucked her teeth, "No, smart one," she flattened the bag on her desk, "It's the little Piston Cup I broke."
Murphy drove over to get a closer look, then he looked down at her again, "Not nearly as nice as a real one."
"Of course not," she looked up at the string lights, which were now glowing brighter because of the evening sun, "Oh, hold on," she turned to the window. While she wasn't looking, Murphy quickly took the bag of broken Piston Cup pieces and hid it on himself. Jane closed the blinds then turned back to Murphy.
"I just put the pieces back so you don't lose them," Murphy lied, "You left them out," he nudged the drawer shut.
"Thanks," Jane replied. Murphy drove around her room, pretending to look around, but he was actually making sure that he would be able to drive without the hidden bag falling.
"I like that checkered flag," he said, "Who made it?"
"The flag? Oh! Lizzie made it! You haven't met her yet," she laughed at the thought alone, "Oh, she'd talk your roof off."
"Another car in town made that for you? Where I live, we're not all this close."
Jane shrugged, "Have you ever spoke to them?"
"No," Murphy furrow his eyelids, "Why would I? I don't know them."
"Then you'll never know them if you don't say 'hi'," Jane shook her hood, "Duh."
"Even still, I doubt my neighbor would knit me a checkered flag."
"Not with that attitude," she raised an eyelid at him, "You hungry? Because my mom mentioning dinner made me hungry."
Murphy took a deep breath in, "A little, but I have to warn you that my dad isn't the best chef."
"I'm sure you're exaggerating."
"Riiiiight. Just follow me."
The two young cars arrived at Murphy's shortly after sundown. As Murphy drove up to his gate, he went to knock it open like he always did.
"Wait!" Jane grabbed his tire, "You just got a new paint job. What are you thinking?"
"Crap, you're right. Shine your headlights over here."
As Jane turned to the gate latch, Murphy tried to push the gate with his tire, but it was no use. It needed much more force.
"Your dad will probably open up if you give him a honk," Jane suggested.
"Yeah, about that.."
"You don't have a horn, do you?"
"You ever hear a race car honk?"
"Good point..," Jane looked up at Chick's front door. She flashed her high beams and honked her horn twice.
From inside, Chick saw the lights and heard her horn, "Huh?"
It couldn't have been his son.
He rolled to the window and pushed the curtain open. He spotted the purple Porsche and the young tribal marked boxy race car, "Who is-"
He unlocked the door and pulled it open, "HEY. You kids stop playing around with my property."
"Dad, it's me," said Murphy. He laughed, "I got a new paint job."
Chick drove closer, "Whoa, champ, look at you! You've only been painted for - what? A few hours? And you already met a girl?" he glanced to Jane and her new look as well, "A sporty one too."
"Mister Hicks, it's Jane," she said with a soft smile.
"Oh-oh-ohhh," Chick smiled, "Whoops, sorry, champ," he punched the gate latch and it opened right up for them, "Guess I'm gonna actually have to get this fixed now. Just go on inside."
The cars drove through the gate, Murphy first, then Jane, passing Chick. As she drove by, a flash of reflected light touched his eyes and he looked down. His eyes immediately locked down on one of Jane's lightning bolts.
"Wait a minute..," Chick raised an eyelid, watching the kids disappear into the house.
"Here," Murphy said. He lifted a tire, presenting the very underwhelming home. It was clean, but still as disorganized as when Murphy got home from school the day before.
"It's unique," Jane said with a smile. She looked around, "It's nothing like Lizzie's Curios."
"Whose Cheerios?"
"Lizzie," Jane reminded him, "You haven't met her yet, but she owns a shop full of antiques and memorabilia. It's...just like this."
Murphy's mirrors twitched, "Really?" he looked around too, but suddenly it didn't look as bad to him as it did before, "Huh.."
"So, Jane, you like the place?" asked Chick from behind them. He kicked the door shut with his rear tire and Jane flinched.
"Uh-yes! Yes, I do!" she said. She turned to Chick, "It's cozy."
"I'm glad you think so," Chick looked at Murphy, "So where did you two get your paint jobs done?"
"We were painted in-"
"Murphy, don't be rude. I was asking Jane."
"Uh-..in R-..Rotor Junction."
"Rotor Junction," Chick nodded, "I know that place."
"You...do?"
"Of course! Used to get my paint jobs there."
Murphy slapped his own face with his tire. Even he knew that town didn't actually exist.
"Well, I'm gonna go make dinner for you two," Chick cruised past them, between them, passing by her lightning bolts again to make sure he wasn't only seeing things, "Hope you like eggplant parmigiana."
"I love anything with cheese melted all over it," Jane's engine purred at the thought of it.
"Famous last words," Murphy mumbled, "I'll be right back. I'm gonna drop something off in my room."
"Don't I get a tour?" asked Jane.
"Actually, I tend to keep to myself...I'd rather not," and he turned away and went off to his room.
"Okaaay…," Jane rolled over to the kitchen and poked her hood in. Chick was slowly cutting eggplants on one of the counters.
"Hmf, forgot the oven," Chick said to himself, under his breath. He brought his axle over and turned the oven on. When he got back to slicing, he saw Jane at the corner of his windshield.
"You don't have to hide over there, ya know," he said, "You want to help?"
"Really? Me?" Jane's mirrors perked up, "Okay!" she rolled inside and parked next to him. Chick gently slid a knife over to her, "Careful. I don't want your parents getting mad at me."
"It's okay," said Jane, "I help my mom sometimes."
She carefully began cutting slices with the race car.
"So, Jane, you look a lot different..what made you want to change it up?"
Jane shrugged, "Well, I think if I'm ever going to race for the Piston Cup one day, I'm gonna have to pick a paint job that isn't similar to Mac iCar."
"Ahhh, a race car. Seems like you know about racing too, huh? And other racers?"
"I love racing! I grew up around it."
"Interesting, interesting, good for you. You sound like you're on a good path already. Speaking of which, I'm sure Murphy has told you a lot about his dreams too."
"Yep! He wants to race for the Piston Cup too!"
"Did he tell you about the Racing Sports Network program too?"
"He signed up for it!"
"I know, I'm proud of him. But, you know..," Chick set the chopped eggplants off to the side.
"Know what?" Jane peeked over at him, as she continued preparing the food.
"That they're only going to pick one of you come senior year to actually participate."
"O-One?" Jane dropped the knife on the cutting board.
"Don't fret," Chick reassured her, "You guys are juniors. You both will at least be invited to the field trip to California they're bringing you on."
"Right..right..," Jane picked the knife back up. Her slicing became ever slower.
"Want to see my Piston Cup?" Chick asked, seeing that he brought her spirits down.
"Sure..," Jane pushed the rest of the finished slices over to him.
"It's in the living room," Chick took the slices, "Go take a look. I'll be out in a minute."
Jane put the knife down and turned into the living room. She looked around, then spotted the Piston Cup in a trophy case on the wall. It was a very large case, but it was the only trophy in there. Dust settled on the empty spaces, but the Piston Cup seemed to be the only thing in the whole home that was regularly dusted. Her eyes fell to the inscription:
Chick Hicks
Champion
"Like it?" asked Chick, who was just coming into the living room.
"It's very pretty," Jane complimented, "But..how come it's the only trophy in this entire case?"
"It's because he's saving the room for my trophies," Murphy was just coming back into the room, "And I'm gonna fill the entire case."
"Yep," Chick said.
"Don't let the emptiness fool you. My dad says he put the rest of his Piston Cups away in our closet. He's won plenty of Piston Cups."
"Tons of Piston Cups," Chick added, "I've been catching first place almost every year..until Lightning McQueen."
"What about him…?" Jane asked.
"I had that championship in my axles and he stole it away from me."
Murphy could feel the tension building, "Jane, don't-"
Jane turned her tires inward, then stood taller. She knew he was lying. Her father had the Piston Cups to prove it and there was no way there were two winners all those years, "Stole it away from you?"
"That's alright. I'll just get him next ye-"
"Let me see the rest of your Piston Cups."
Chick's eyes widened up, "They're in storage. I want to leave them be."
"What about just the box?" Jane pulled closer, "Because if they're loose in the closet, I'm sure you wouldn't want them gathering dust."
"Actually, I've never seen that box either," Murphy said, "Can you show us, dad?"
Chick shook his hood, "I'll show you both some other time," he glared at Murphy, "You just focus on filling that trophy case, champ," he looked back to Jane, "I'm much more interested in asking you a few more things.."
"Like what?"
"For starters, you said you loved racing, and that you grew up around it."
"And?"
"Did you just...I don't know..wake up one day loving it?"
"I grew up around it, I said."
"Any friends who were race car drivers?"
"Yes."
Chick blinked, expecting her to say no, "Yes? Anyone I'd know?"
Murphy nudged her.
"No," said Jane, because of Murphy.
"What about your parents? Because, it's funny..you remind me a lot about someone I know...some car that I know."
"You don't say.."
"And that car had a daughter. A little white Porsche, who, now that I'm really thinking about it, looked just like you," Chick brought his wheel up and gestured to her appearance, "Before this change, of course."
"What a coincidence," Murphy laughed, "That's really funny. In fact-"
"In fact! I couldn't help but notice your very..different..design on your quarter panels."
Murphy's mirrors lowered and he reversed a bit. Jane took a look in her mirrors, eyeing her own lightning bolts.
"Tell me," Chick inched closer, "Does your father happen to be a race car too?"
Jane pulled her lips in. There was no way to look at Murphy without it being blatantly obvious, so she closed her eyes and muttered his name, "Lightning McQueen."
Chick stood taller on his axles and looked over Jane's roof to Murphy, "I thought so."
Murphy couldn't look back at him.
Jane opened her eyes and looked up at Chick, "But Mister Hicks, I'm not Lightning McQueen."
"Your father and I may have been rivals, but-"
Jane's mirrors perked up at his change of tone.
"-but, father to father, I respected that man, and he respected me."
Murphy swallowed hard.
"Are you...mad?" asked Jane.
Chick thought for a moment, "Mad?...Mad...no, not mad...just a bit shocked. I haven't seen him in about a year..and you? You look so different. I remember when you could barely say two words," he pointed to Murphy, "And Lightning probably remembers Murphy screaming in his crib."
"No offence, but I don't remember meeting you," Jane admitted.
"I'm sure there's a lot you don't remember from back then..and by the way, I know you both had your paint done in Radiator Springs by that lowrider."
Jane smiled, "H-Hm..hm..that's Ramone..," she turned to Murphy, who hasn't said a word since. He kept his eyes away.
When dinner was ready, the cars all parked at the table. Chick was on one side, while Murphy and Jane were together on the other side.
"I know you don't want to hear it," Chick started, shoving a spatula into the eggplant parmigiana, "But I know a lot about California, so before your school makes you two head off on your little trip, you should know a few things."
"Actually, Mister Hicks," Jane said, while she moved her plate toward him. Chick placed a piece on her plate and she brought it back to herself, "Can I ask you about..you?"
Chick froze in place, "Uh..me?" he placed a piece in front of himself, "You want to know about me?" after he served himself, he put the spatula back in the serving tray, "No one's interviewed me since 2006."
Murphy stretched his axle out to serve himself, since his father became so caught up in himself that he forgot.
"Don't you think it's about time someone asked then?" Jane said.
"I'll say," Chick stabbed his fork into his piece, "Go ahead."
"When did you know you wanted to be a race car?"
Chick bit the inside of his cheek, thinking about it, "Hmm..," he took a sip of his can of oil, "Before I dropped out of high school, WHICH-", he pointed his fork at both of them, "-NEITHER of you will do."
Jane and Murphy both flinched at his action. Murphy broke his silence, "You told me your clue was that you needed quick money and girls."
"Before that," Chick answered, "Anyway, I was never good at tests. Hated them. Hated homework. I thought I was too good to pick up a pencil and put it against a piece of paper. I mean, at that point, that's all I've been doing with my life."
"All you've been doing?" Jane pulled her can of oil closer to her, "You weren't in a school club or anything?"
"I don't know what you kids call it these days, but back when I was your age, we called it being 'too cool for school'. Which, again, you two are NOT."
"Alright, dad, get on with it."
"Well, that wasn't..all I've been doing..I had to learn I was fast at some point, right? I ran away from a lot. Away from a lot of things."
"Like what?" asked Murphy.
"You're old enough for me to tell you now, so I will," Chick shifted his weight on his wheels, "When I was in high school, I wasn't this handsome," he grinned.
Murphy groaned loudly.
"I was teased - plenty - especially before senior year."
"How were you teased?" Jane took a bite of her piece, keeping her eyes on Chick, "Hm..this isn't too bad."
Murphy didn't touch his food yet, knowing that he never really liked his father's food, and he couldn't eat too much fatty cheese as an athlete.
"Couldn't grow a mustache. Trust me, it's an awful feeling. The guys in my school would chase me around the playground shouting awful names like 'the balding tire'," he pointed his mighty fork to Murphy again, "Don't you start calling me that now," he continued his story, "I used to run from those guys like my life depended on it. Eventually, I got faster and faster until I just kept going."
Jane's voice lowered, "All the way out of school?"
"And into the world of racing. And never looked back," Chick leaned in, "But my point is, against all odds, I found what I was really good at. Growing a mustache and racing," Chick looked to Murphy, "I didn't know I had this gift. I had to find out on my own. You have the privilege of knowing, so don't waste it...except...you don't have a mustache and yours is just a grille that looks like a mustache."
"Thanks for the tip, dad.."
"And me," Jane added, "I know about my racing gift too."
"The important thing is that you do whatever it takes to win," he motioned to Jane with his tire, "Whatever it takes."
"I just want to get out of this place and get to California," Murphy twirled his fork against his plate, "Can't stand living in a county where everyone just settles in life."
"What's wrong with growing up in Carburetor County?" asked Jane.
"I just said it. Everyone here just accepts where they are in life and they do nothing to try to make their lives better."
"We're moving as soon as you graduate," Chick said, "You don't have to repeat it a thousand times."
Murphy sighed and pressed his fork into his food, "I need a taxi to 90210.."