Author's Note 2/20/2017: Hey, guys! Just a little reminder to write a review if you like the story! They feel really good to read! And I also respond to your messages when you send them, so feel free to contact me if you'd like!

You don't have to though. It won't affect whether or not I post chapters. It just makes me smile.

c:

As always, thanks for reading! 3

Chapter 28 - "Kick the Dust Up"

"But Jane, you have to eat breakfast," Sally said, as her daughter was fixing herself up in her bedroom mirror.

"If I eat I'm gonna be late," Jane insisted, "Is my eyeliner even?"

"Let me see. Look at me."

Jane turned slightly, glancing at her mother.

Sally sighed, "You're wearing way too much."

"No I'm not," Jane turned back to her mirror, "All the girls wear winged eyeliner."

"I thought you liked not being like all the girls."

"Hey, Sally," said a yawning red race car, "Good morning."

"Morning, Stickers."

Lightning drove down the hallway, "Breakfast ready yet?" he asked as he drove.

"On the table, sweetie," Sally called out to him. She continued speaking to Jane, "At least have some toast before the butter makes it too soggy."

Jane shook her hood, "Can't do that, momma. Bread has too many carbs and butter will go right to my quarter panels."

Sally put herself in reverse and groaned, mumbling under her breath, and she drove to the dining room.

"You won't believe what Jane is saying," Sally said to Lightning.

Lightning leaned down over his coffee mug and let the steam touch his chin, "She's probably nervous about the tryouts coming."

"She's putting on more and more makeup everyday, she doesn't want to eat breakfast because it might make her late, and when I told her that she should at least have some food, like toast, she told me that it has too many carbs."

"That can't be right," Lightning chuckled, "She should know carbs are good energy for her sport. Hang on a minute," Lightning called down the hallway, "Jane?"

The young Porsche carefully applied the rest of the lipgloss on her brush to her bottom lip, "I'm coming!"

She packed her trunk full of school books and headed out of her bedroom.

"Hi, dad!" she passed the dining room, about to drive out of the garage door, "I'll see you later! Bye, mom! Bye, dad!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Lightning moved away from the table, "Come back here."

"Somethin' wrong?" Jane said, with her tire on the garage switch.

"Yeah, you didn't eat...and what's all over your face?"

Jane groaned, "It's makeup, okay?"

"Jane, come here and eat."

"I'm not hungry."

"Jane."

A horn blasted twice outside the Wheel Well.

"Gotta go," Jane pressed the switch. She drove outside and the garage door shut behind her.

Sally looked over at McQueen with pursed lips, "Told you."

"Ever since Murphy came back from California, she's been acting really weird," Lightning took a sip of his coffee, "I haven't heard her on the phone with any of her friends."

"You think she's nervous about racing, but I think she's still nervous about what I told you happened between her and Gianna."

"From what you told me, it was just a misunderstanding."

"Stickers, if I saw you with another woman, I wouldn't be too happy with you or that woman."

"You wouldn't actually blame the other woman though."

"Depends on the situation," Sally spun her teaspoon in her coffee, mixing in some sweetener, "I saw an innocent dance too...but when I was a teenager, there was no such thing as an innocent dance."

"Jane is different," Lightning gestured to the air, "She's not a normal teenage girl."

"Different is Jane wearing that much makeup to school," Sally shook her hood, "Which makes her fit right in. That's different."

"I'll bet anything there's nothing she wants to fit into."

"Oh? I'll do you one better," Sally raised her eyelids, "I'll bet anything Murphy likes girls who wear that much eyeliner."

Outside, the birds finally sang their songs again and the frost was melting off the cactus spikes. While the air wasn't cold anymore, every once in a while a small breeze would remind the traveling students that Spring has only just begun.

Jane pulled onto the line of students behind Miss Fritter and took in a deep breath.

"And we're on our way!" Miss Fritter, the school bus, said to the students on her route to Carburetor County High, "We heard from a few of you over the last few days what you did over the winter break, so let's hear from the rest of you!"

None of the teenagers replied. They just rolled along, following her, with half opened eyes and dead suspensions.

"The last couple of days we heard about amazing adventures! I know one of you must have had something cool happen, huh?"

Again, none of the students answered. Murphy and Gianna drove next to each other. Gianna was where Jane once drove. These days, Jane was driving all the way in the back of the line with Alyssa, and Austin was up front right behind Miss Fritter. His body swayed happily as he drove.

"Ooo! Ooo! Me! I have something!" the young officer said, "I went to Nebraska!"

"Wow! That's pretty far from here," Miss Fritter replied, "And then?"

"Then I came back home! That's the best part!"

Miss Fritter blinked, "Hmm...very nice, Austin," she looked in one of her side view mirrors, "Murphy? What about you, race car?"

Murphy kept his stare ahead at the student in front of him.

"Gianna? How about you?"

"I'd looove to tell you," Gianna smirked, "I hung out with Murphy all break looong. Even this week. We had sooo much fun."

Jane leaned over to Alyssa and whispered, "She's lyin'..."

Alyssa nodded in agreement, "You can't expect anything else from a girl with lip injections."

"She had lip injections?"

"Look at those airbags. They flap around every time she talks."

"No wonder all of the things she says sound like one big fart."

Alyssa giggled with Jane, which caught Miss Fritter's attention, "Ladies!" she called out, "What about you two?"

Jane shook her hood, "Nothing excitin', Miss Fritter, I just practiced my racing with my dad!"

Gianna rolled her eyes. She smirked again, but this time it was at Murphy, and she didn't even bother to keep her voice down, "Racing, she calls it! Hah!"

Murphy narrowed his eyes and spoke through his tightened jaw, "Just drive, Gigi."

Alyssa leaned forward, calling Gianna out on her words, "Yeah, Miss Fritter, unlike Gianna, Jane doesn't pass the time with her axles spread out."

A couple of students gasped at her diss.

Jane's jaw dropped, "Alyssaaa!"

Gianna adjusted one of her mirrors and glared at Alyssa behind her, "Jealous, bitch?"

"Nah," Alyssa snickered, "I'd rather not be all used up by the time I'm a senior like you."

"Ladies," Miss Fritter interrupted, "Enough," Miss Fritter spoke to Jane again, "Are you excited to be on the racing team? I'm sure that track must be thawed out by today!"

"Oh yeah...," Jane said. Her voice trailed off as she thought about Gianna's words to her friend, "I can hardly wait…"

Up front, Austin frowned as he took a peek at Jane in his mirrors. For once, he wasn't staring at Alyssa.

"I'm sure she's excited," Austin said in her defense, "She's been looking forward to this day her entire life."

"Not anymore," Gianna snarled.

Jane flinched. When she looked back up and focused on Gianna, she could see that she took pleasure in her fear.

"I don't want to make you nervous," said Miss Fritter, "But word went around the school and there are a lot of students looking forward to seeing you there, Jane."

Murphy's mirrors twitched. Miss Fritter practically said that no one was interested in seeing him.

Jane perked up again, "Really?"

"Oh yes! A female racer eventually racing for the piston cup? Female students are going to be watching you like a hawk! Even some of our staff are excited to watch your tryouts! I'll be there!"

"But...you're a school bus."

"I do much more than school bussing...but that's for another day."

As she said that, Austin looked down Miss Fritter's rear door, which had small scratches in it. When he followed the scratches down to her chrome bumper, a closer look revealed that Miss Fritter's bumper actually had a small twist in it.

"Sounds mysterious…," Austin commented.

"Like I said, some other day, I'll tell you kids what I do in my part time."

Miss Fritter pulled up to the high school with all of the students. They all pulled off of the line and Austin waited for Alyssa and Jane. In the meantime, Miss Fritter waved to them, "See you all tomorrow!"

Jane's eyes widened at Alyssa, "Oh my god, everyone is gonna be lookin' at me."

"That's a good thing!" Austin said, nudging her, "You heard her! Everyone at school is talking about you!"

"Just the girls," Jane corrected.

"Jane, Jane, Jane. If you get the attention of all the girls, then a lot of guys are going to look too," Alyssa winked.

The trio drove through the front doors, following the other students. As the doors opened, the students parked by their lockers began to lower their voices, and turn to Jane. The male students all watched curiously. Some of them even raised an eyelid, as if the sight of her was less than exciting. The girls, however, grinned wildly. A couple of them even waved as she drove by.

Austin waved back to the girls, but then they quickly pulled their wheels back.

"Look at all the girls!" Austin said, "They're looking at me!"

"They're looking at Jane, smart one," Alyssa giggled. She leaned into Jane, "Do something back...these are gonna be your fans."

"Fans…," Jane looked up and down the lockers, swallowing heavily, "U-Uh.."

The bell rang and the students checked the clock in the hallway. Suddenly that small pause in Jane's life came to a stop and the students were all on their way to their classes.

Austin, Jane, and Alyssa all pulled into Miss Relay's classroom. The police interceptor parked up front with Alyssa like he always did, Murphy pulled into the classroom and parked at the back of the room like he always did, but just before Jane could drive forward and park next to Murphy like she always-

"Ugh!" Jane was pushed to the side into a set of desks.

"Oops, did I hit you..?" Gianna said, narrowing her eyes at Jane, "You'd think a race car would move faster and get out of my way."

She pulled forward and rolled next to Murphy, "Hiya, baby!"

The Hyundai Genesis batted her eyelashes at him, then turned her eyes to Jane who was still pushed into the desks.

"Find somewhere else to park," Gianna pressed her body against Murphy, "Because this is my spot, honey."

Jane moved off of the desks and sighed. She glanced over to Murphy, who didn't even think about looking back at her in front of Gianna.

"Okay, class," said Miss Relay, driving into the classroom just before the late warning bell rang, "Let's go on and get started with our day!"

The Chevrolet Opala looked around the room at all of the student's faces, then stopped on Jane, who has yet to find a parking spot.

"Jane Taylor, class has started. Please move quickly and find a parking spot," Miss Relay smiled, "I'm sure you'll have no problems finding a spot fast. You're one of the quickest girls in school after all!"

"Sorry, Miss Relay," Jane looked around and found a spot toward the windows. She pulled up quietly and didn't say another word.

"You can count me in as one of the cars that'll have her eyes on you today!" Miss Relay continued, "Alright, so! In today's home economics lesson, we are going to be talking about something you will be using almost every day!" she turned to her blackboard, picked up a piece of chalk in her tire and wrote: EVENT PLANNING

Alyssa raised a wheel, which Miss Relay saw in one of her side mirrors, "Go ahead, Alyssa. I'm listening."

"You said we'll be using this every day, but no one has an event every single day."

"Very good observation," Miss Relay put her chalk down and she turned back to the class, "I'm glad you made that observation, actually," she looked at the entire class and spoke to them, "I understand that you're all in high school and your days might not necessarily need much planning because you're in a very...hm...carefree period in your lives, but in the future as you all grow into adults, you will need to understand how to plan your day to day lives. Every single day is an event."

"That's common sense though," Austin said, without raising his wheel.

"You might think it's common sense, but I'm almost certain you couldn't plan a wedding if I asked you to right now, young man."

"Neither could you," said Caleb, the Kia Sorento, "Because you're Miss Relay, not Missus Relay."

Murphy snorted in the back of the classroom.

Miss Relay raised an eyelid, "Young man, that was very inappropriate."

"Yeah, douchebag," Alyssa growled, "It's guys like you that keep Miss Relay single."

"Alyssa, I don't need any help, but thank you," she took in a deep breath, "Back to what I was saying…"

After an hour and a half of home economics passed, the bell rang again. The students began to pack up their books and head out of the classroom. Alyssa quickly got up and gathered her things. She pulled around her desk to leave, but Austin jumped up and drove after her, eager to spend as much time as possible with her before asking her to go to homecoming with him.

Jane blinked, waiting to drive out with them, but once she saw they were already gone, she frowned. She turned her wheels and pulled away from her desk as Miss Relay turned around to the chalkboard and wiped away the chalk with a dusty eraser.

"You coming or what, babe?" asked Murphy at the door. Jane's mirrors perked up at his words and her eyes pulled right up to the race car.

"Yep!" Gianna replied. Unfortunately, Murphy was looking through Jane at Gianna behind her. Once Murphy got his answer, he drove out of the classroom to wait for his girlfriend. While Miss Relay wasn't looking, Gianna shoved Jane into another set of desks again, "Oops...sorry, Jane. You were blocking my lane," she giggled like a choking goose, "Ah-haha! That rhymed!"

Jane cringed at the sting of one of the desk's corners hitting her in the chin.

"Hopefully you won't see me later, McWhore," Gianna cooed. She immediately drove out of the classroom.

Miss Relay hummed to herself as she was getting ready to leave too. She put the chalkboard eraser back down on the ledge and then turned to gather her lesson plan off of her desk, but noticed Jane was still there.

"Jane Taylor, the bell rang."

"I-I know…I'm sorry," Jane pulled herself off of the desks, "One of my pencils fell on the floor and I slipped trying to pick it up."

"You just make sure you be careful throughout the day. You don't want to put too much stress on yourself or it'll hurt your chances to impress the coach."

"Mhm..," she took a deep breath and drove down the classroom.

"Now...wait a minute. You look like that program is weighing down on your roof."

Jane spoke as she rolled forward, "I was so excited to be a part of the team, but ever since I wrote my name on that list, things haven't really gone as planned."

"You haven't even started," Miss Relay smiled, "But you have so much support."

"Everyone keeps staring at me. It feels weird...and other cars are treating me different."

"You know, my first day teaching, I remember feeling like you."

Jane glanced up at her, "Huh?"

"Oh yeah," the experienced Chevrolet giggled, "Imagine me idling in front of a bunch of windshields staring at me for an entire school year expecting me, just one car, to change who they are by the time they never see me again."

"With all due respect, Miss Relay, it couldn't have make you feel like me at all...'cause you kept doing it."

"I kept going because no matter how scary it felt to be up there, I was up there because I had something to say. I was built to spread what I've learned in my lifetime and help cars like you grow into something great," she nodded her hood, agreeing with herself, "Young lady, if you perform on that racetrack like you do on all of your tests in this class, then you can make it without a problem. You were built to show other cars what ambition gets them. You were built to show the world what women are capable of. Don't you quit, Jane Taylor, because if you quit you might be able to talk yourself into believing you're not letting yourself down, but there are a lot of women in this school - no - in this world - that could use a fearless young lady like you."

"Fearless…," Jane repeated, "I'm fearless."

"There you go!" Miss Relay nudged one of Jane's front tires, "Now you drive onto that track later and you show this school what you were built for!"

Jane's next class was racing history. Although Jane had a connection with Miss Relay, racing history was the class that she looked forward to the most. Not only did she spend the next hour and a half listening to stories and important figures in racing that she could discuss with her father when she got home, but Murphy was also in that class without an angry Hyundai Genesis in sight. Gianna has rubbed Jane the wrong way since the first time she met her.

As Jane pulled into the classroom, she gave it a quick look around. Even though winter break was only a couple of weeks and she's already been back to school for a few days, it was long enough to make the classroom feel foreign again. There were no windows in the room at all, unlike Miss Relay's classroom. The walls were painted a solid white with nothing on them except for the back wall, which had a projector mounted in the middle, pointing to a pulldown screen at the front. Very dull, but Jane didn't notice it over her enjoyment.

She drove around the obstacle course of desks until she reached one of the desks in the rear. She parked behind it and placed her notebook in front of her, bending it back to a clean new page. She wrote the date at the top right of the looseleaf, one number at a time, until she heard the familiar squeaks of a tire rolling into the classroom. Her mirrors perked up and her eyes found that black boxy race car, who seemed more like a stranger the closer she got to him. Her pencil dragged across the corner of the page before she could finish writing the date. She only looked at him with her eyes, keeping her hood down so it wasn't obvious.

Murphy turned into the classroom and glanced at Jane. He stopped in his place, going to turn in a different direction, until Jane looked up at him completely.

"Howdy, Murphy."

Murphy inhaled and gave Jane a nod. Instead of turning away and picking a different parking spot, he swallowed the remainder of the saliva in his mouth and pulled up next to Jane. As he put himself in park, he tossed his notebook on the desk. He stared ahead at the blank pulldown screen, waiting for the teacher to arrive.

Though it was now thick and awkward, the air around Jane suddenly smelled smoky with a light cologne finish. Her pupils widened at the familiar scent. She's only ever smelled the combination on him before.

"You haven't been answering my texts," she continued, quietly inhaling a little deeper to smell him.

Murphy kept silent, bending his notebook open to a clean page too. Jane could hear his breathing in the quiet classroom as a gentle whistle filtering in and out of his body. He took out a bright orange felt tip pen and began scribbling. Even still, Jane kept trying to talk to him.

"Gee, that pen is really orange…look at that. It's pretty really firece."

His pen stopped moving when she said that and he pulled his lips in, holding back a small giggle.

But Jane noticed and she grinned. Still, the stubborn race car didn't look at her, or say a word. He took his tire and ripped out a small piece of looseleaf with the words he scribbled in orange. He pushed it over to her. Jane raised an eyelid and took a look.

Can't talk to you.

Jane gasped softly. Murphy quickly took the paper back and added another note.

And Gigi took my pen.

In came the Dinoco Blue 1982 Pontiac Firebird. He was panting, quickly moving over to his desk and getting his paperwork together.

"Sorry I'm late," his smooth voice said, "Had a meeting with the coach as part of our preparations for the Racing Sports Network Program," he exhaled and shook his hood, "Bad news, kids," he looked to Murphy and Jane, "I know you two are on the team, yeah? RSN is coming to our school very soon. If you want that spot in the Piston Cup race for the rookie racing class, make that clear when the ice on the track thaws...because it still hasn't thawed, so there won't be any tryouts today."

Murphy hit his tire on the face of the desk. How much longer was Carburetor County High School going to hold him back from something he wanted? He wasn't the only car who wanted the opportunity so badly, but he was the only car who felt entitled to it.

Jane's pencil eraser penetrated her lips, as she stared at her teacher. His name was Mister Adam Springwheel and he fascinated her. He held so much knowledge, but unlike all of the cars in her life that knew about racing, Mister Springwheel wasn't related to her, and he was absolutely fine. Her eyes ran down his sleek fenders, cutting into his doors and riding up to his quarter panels. He was much younger than the other teachers at the school, but much too old for Jane. That didn't stop her from gazing at him.

Just then, Jane shook her hood out of it. She forgot to reply to Murphy's note. She flipped the paper over and scribbled a reply with her pencil.

She's not here.

Murphy tapped his pen twice, then ripped out another piece of paper to write on. This time, it was bigger so that they could write more.

Can't lie to her.

Jane rolled her eyes.

Now you tell the truth?

Murphy groaned under his breath.

Not your problem.

Jane gave him a look and nodded.

You were my friend first.

Murphy's eyes widened.

Gianna isn't my friend.

Jane sighed.

She's controlling your friends.

Murphy bit the inside of his cheek.

Might be for the best.

"Really?" Jane furrowed her eyelids and whispered through her snarled teeth, "By the way," she pressed her pencil deep into the paper, then passed Murphy one last note.

You lied to her. You're talking to me.

Murphy growled under his breath and violently crumpled the paper in his wheel.

"Is there a problem, Mister Hicks?" asked Mister Springwheel.

"No, sir," Murphy replied.

"Wonderful," Mister Springwheel chuckled, "We don't need you stocking up on any more days to your detention," then he turned to the rest of the class, "Class, I originally had a lesson plan that I specifically made up for what would have been a very special day for our school's team...possibly historic! If Jane-," he gestured to her, "-made it into the tryouts, but mother nature hasn't been on our side here. Our team is off to a disadvantage. Other schools have indoor tracks because their schools are built for all seasons, but we unfortunately live in the middle of a desert...so that's our achilles' ball joint. We only have an outdoor track and y'all can't race on a track that's frosted over," he held a tire up, "But before we begin, I have your exams."

Murphy cringed, lowering on his suspension. Jane smiled wide, eager to see that number circled in red ink, and hopefully with a comment written in her gorgeous teacher's handwriting.

Mister Springwheel came around the classroom, pushing a tiny rolling cart with a stack of exams on them. As he pulled up to each student, he handed them their exams, coming to Murphy and Jane next. He handed Jane her exam with a small smile, then passed Murphy's to him facedown.

Murphy sighed, knowing exactly what a facedown exam meant.

Mister Springwheel's smile made the top of Jane's hood blush. She ran her eyes over the front page of her exam and saw a thick red '100' circled twice. Right underneath, in Mister Springwheel's perfectly messy handwriting, were the words: 'Keep up your dedication!'

Jane proudly placed her paper on the corner of her desk, where anybody could see how well she did. On the other hand, Murphy just kept his tire on top of the exam, which was still facing down. He didn't even look at the exam. He folded it in half and shoved it between the cover of his notebook and the first page.

Mister Springwheel spoke as he drove back up to the front of the classroom, "Since we might have our first female racer on our team this year, I figured this would be a perfect day to introduce you all to the first female racer to compete in the Daytona 500. Who can tell me what her name is?"

Jane's smile beamed from the back of the classroom, but she didn't raise her tire. She didn't know the answer and neither did the rest of the class. Mister Springwheel looked at Murphy, whose eyes were struggling to look back in time to see if he could remember the answer from last semester.

"Mister Hicks, don't look so glum. I didn't mention her name in my class last semester, so don't think too hard if you're trying to remember something."

Murphy sank even lower on his suspension and the retired racer continued.

"Janet Guthrie," said Mister Springwheel, "She didn't win the Daytona 500, but she was a trailblazer," his eyes looked at the entire class as be professed his knowledge, "You all know that at the beginning of every race, you hear 'gentlemen, start your engines!', right? It was different in time," he pressed a button on his desk and the projector turned on. It lit up the pulldown screen behind Mister Springwheel, "It was the first time the country heard 'lady and gentlemen, start your engines!' by a grand marshal. Who can tell me what a grand marshal is?"

Murphy raised his axle, flailing his tire as if his life depended on it, "Right here."

"Go ahead, kid."

"He gets chosen to say those words at the beginning of every race. It's a tradition."

"Ah, yes! I told you if you read the textbooks I assigned instead of the ones you have at home, you'll learn a lot more! Very good, Murphy! It's one of those sports traditions that gives you chills every time you hear it."

"Because then you hear all of the engines roaring right after," Jane added.

Mister Springwheel nodded, "That's an even better feeling."

He drove to the end of the classroom and turned off the lights for the students to be able to see the screen better. A small movie started with a bunch of screaming fans in the static of the old film used during that time. The racetrack looked fuzzy, but the students could see a bunch of older cars from the 70's all watching the Daytona 500 live in front of their windshields. Sure enough, the grand marshal at the time called out to the racers below, "And so, lady and gentlemen, start your engines!"

The crowd screamed in delight as the wheels began to spin at full throttle.

As the movie played, Mister Springwheel narrated a bit, "You can see this race took place before I was built. I never had the chance to race with Janet Guthrie when I was a racer, but I wish I could have been part of her history. Even if I did land a Dinoco win and got this paintjob."

"What place did she win?" asked one of the students up front, without raising his tire.

"She didn't…," Mister Springwheel's voice lowered, "By the time that race was down to the last ten laps, her engine blew out."

Jane's mirrors lowered.

"Whoa…," the student continued, "Can we see her explode?"

"No!" Mister Springwheel skipped ahead in the video, making sure he passed that part. At the end of the video was a short interview, but it was only Janet Guthrie's voice over clips of the Daytona 500 that year.

"A sense of responsibility was forced upon me," Janet Guthrie said. Her voice was very modest and gentle, "So many cars told me what I was representing for women in other fields...and I ended up thinking that I had to live up to it."

The video cut out right after that. Mister Springwheel flashed the lights back and pressed the button on his desk to turn the projector off again.

Jane raised her tire, "Mister Springwheel, why did Guthrie stop after that? It wasn't because male cars thought her female engine couldn't take it, right?"

"Honestly-" Mister Springwheel sighed, "-...for a long time, that's what cars believed, but the real reason she stopped was because she just didn't have enough money to hold her pit crew and team afloat. We'll talk about how important sponsorship is in another class. Rumor has it that Janet Guthrie also had one of the loudest revs in history."

"Impossible," Murphy said, cutting Mister Springwheel off, "Everyone down there is more or less the same."

"Again, you're not wrong, Mister Hicks," he replied, "But when the only car you're focusing on listening to down there is her, she seems to be the loudest."

Jane listened to every word Mister Springwheel said. Although he somewhat admitted that the idea of Janet being the loudest was only imaginary, she couldn't help but wonder if he was still right.

Mister Springwheel thought for a moment, catching Jane's concerned glance from across the room, "But I can offer some advice…"

He turned toward the half of the room Jane was parked in, but didn't directly speak to her so that the students understood he was still speaking to everyone, "To bring out the biggest, strongest rev you have, it's not about what's underneath your hood, guys. It's about what's in your mind. It's about the cars rooting for you to win. You don't rev to show off to the cars next to you. You don't rev to show the cars around you that you're better than them. You idle there with the idea in your mind that you're gonna rev for every single car out there who wants to see you become something phenomenal. You rev so they can hear you. You rev so you drown out the sounds of anyone who tells you-," he looked over at Jane, "-that you can't do it."

Jane pressed her pencil into her notebook so hard when Mister Springwheel spoke that the tip snapped and clinked against the classroom floor.

"If you can manage to do that, you'll be the loudest car on the track."

"All that matters is being the fastest," said Murphy.

"Mister Hicks Junior," Mister Springwheel smirked, "There's a lot more to racing than just winning."

The next bell rang and it was time for the students to head to the lunch room. Jane waited outside in the hall for Alyssa and Austin. She tapped her wheel. As the students drove in one by one, she started to think those two would never come. She slipped her phone out of her wheel well and checked it. She noticed that she had a few missed texts.

Have to sit with Alyssa today.

Alone.

Just for today.

Promise.

Jane's mirrors sank. She turned to the cafeteria doors and peeked inside of the windows. While she's been waiting the entire time, Alyssa and Austin have been sitting together eating their lunch. They were smiling at each other, as if there wasn't a member of their trio missing. Just then, her eye caught Murphy and Gianna. They were sitting at the back of the cafeteria, which Jane knew was Murphy's idea, drinking out of the same straw.

Jane pushed the swinging doors open and entered the large room. The windows were wide and clear, letting the students catch the sunlight. The tables were arranged in a zigzag pattern, such that the students were able to see each other better - even if they were parked at separate tables.

As she made her way around the tables to the buffet line, all she could think about were the knots in her gas tank. She was very hungry, but the thought of eating made her tank turn. She put a tray down on the line, picked up a tray clip, and picked up the food she felt she could eat. She picked up a bottle of water, some napkins, then went to leave, but a delightful scent caught her grille. She sniffed the air, following it to a tray of mozzarella sticks.

Jane adored anything with stringy melty cheese, but she loved it as much as she loved racing, and she couldn't risk any amount of weight gain. She shut her eyes tight and rolled on, passing them, and going to the next food item.

There were bowls of generic salad all lined up in a row, staring Jane in the face. Jane's eyelids furrowed and she shook her hood. She reversed back to the mozzarella sticks and grabbed a plate of them, then attached the tray clip to her side. She clipped the tray onto her and turned to the tables.

She faced Austin and Alyssa across the cafeteria. She waited for Austin to looked at her, then raised her eyelids, as if to ask if it was okay to come over.

Austin was gazing at Alyssa, "But anyway, I really think you're an awesome girl."

"Come on," Alyssa took a bite of her apple and crunched it, "I appreciate what you're saying, really, but don't you think it's cold?"

"Cold?" Austin blinked in astonishment, "Uh…," he caught Jane looking at him from across the lunchroom and quickly shook his hood 'no' at her.

Jane sighed, then looked down at her hood. She turned around and picked a table off to the side, where no one else was parked - right by the garbage bins.

"I didn't say anything mean to you," said Austin, defending himself.

Alyssa bit the inside of her cheek, "Yeah, but we all know I'm not the girl you're after. You're talking me up to get to Jane."

"Jane!?" Austin said loudly.

Jane's mirrors perked up and she smiled, getting ready to drive over. Austin looked over at her from across the lunchroom and shook his hood 'no' again.

Jane's eyes widened and she picked up a mozzarella stick.

Gianna heard Jane's name and started her hunt. She eyed the table Austin and Alyssa were parked at and was surprised to find that Jane wasn't there. She kept looking, until her eyes locked right onto the lonely Porsche. She put on her smirk, then looked at Murphy, "Hey, baby?"

"Mm?" Murphy asked, bringing a tire onto hers.

"You done with your yogurt?"

"Well, no I'm still-"

She grabbed his cup of yogurt from him anyway.

"Hey! Gigi!"

Austin lowered his voice, "I'm not going after Jane...I...I said what I said because I like you…"

Alyssa took a sip of her carton of milk, "In that case...I don't see why we can't see where it goes..," she smiled a little.

"Really!?" Austin revved his engine twice, "You mean it?"

Alyssa giggled, "Yeah, totally."

Austin scooted closer to her, "Come with me to homecoming then."

Alyssa blushed under the baby blink of her paint, which made her hood look bright red, "Alright!"

Gianna drove with the open cup of yogurt to the garbage bins, but she didn't stop in front of them. She leaned against Jane's table, eyeing the bin from the other side, as if it were a basketball hoop.

"Excuse me," Gianna said.

"You're excused," Jane glanced up from her food, "If you're here because you think I was staring at your pet Murphy, you're wrong."

"Oh, sweetie, no…," she pouted her lips, "I'm just-," she revealed the cup of yogurt, "-throwing this out."

She cranked her axle back and tossed the cup of yogurt right at Jane.

The Porsche gasped and ducked her roof. The yogurt went right over her roof, but just before Jane thought she was in the clear, it bounced off the edge of the garbage bin, and splattered all over her trunk and spoiler. She yelped at the sudden cold goop and her bottom lip began to tremble, "Wh-..."

"Aw...and this is why I didn't make it on the basketball team," the smug Hyundai turned around and flashed her rear to Jane, "But I make a damn good cheerleader," she reversed closer to Jane, "Take a good, hard look at those little marks on these quarter panels, baby."

Through her shock, Jane's mouth hung open, and her eyes focused more on Gianna's rear. She noticed the tiny scratches, which matched evenly on both sides. They were a little dark from the paint of the car that made them. That only meant one thing.

"Those are the marks of a man who can't resist me," Gianna snapped. She turned back around, looking Jane right in the eye.

The young Porsche's eyes turned bright pink, watering right at the bottom of her windshield.

"Don't cry, baby," Gianna slapped the table with a wheel, threatening Jane and making her jump back with a heavy gasp. Gianna clenched her teeth and spoke through them, "But if you need comfort, get close to me. You'll smell his cigarettes. You'll smell his cologne."

Jane threw herself in reverse and left her food on the table. She blinked away some tears and hurried out of the lunchroom, bashing her face through the swinging doors on the way out. The noise of the door's loud squeaking made a few of the students' hoods turn, including Austin, Alyssa, and Murphy.

Austin and Alyssa caught Jane's tail lights just before she left, noticing an odd sludge on her rear. They glanced at each other, wide-eyed. Murphy, however, didn't catch her with his eyes. He merely saw Gianna speaking to a car - who he couldn't see because she was blocking his line of sight - and by the time he glanced back up, the cafeteria doors were swinging violently, and Gianna was on her way back over to him.

"The hell did you steal my yogurt for?" Murphy asked with furrowed eyelids.

"I thought you said you were done," Gianna shrugged.

Jane sobbed in the empty hallways as she rushed to the girls' bathroom. Her tires squeaked around every turn, frantically looking for the door. When she finally found the bathrooms, she nudged the door open with her hood and drove inside. The florescent lights were so bright that they bounced off of the white tile walls and practically blinded Jane through her tears. Jane sniffled her grille and pulled in front of the long mirror. Toward the bottom of the mirror, there were water stains forming a gradient of a clear reflection.

One of the faucets turned on automatically, sensing Jane's movement in front of it. She brought her tire under the stream of water and splashed some of it onto her face. The cool water pulled the heat of her embarrassment away. She turned around and allowed the water to rinse the yogurt off of her rear. When she pulled away from the faucet, it turned itself off, and Jane drove in front of the dryer. She pulled underneath it and it began drying her face, soon drying her rear when she turned around again.

The heat of the warm air calmed her. It reminded her of the summer, when the sun kissed her metal and the canyons radiated happiness in her town. The weather may have been getting warmer again, but it wasn't warm enough to be summer yet. She would celebrate the seemingly infinite beautiful days Radiator Springs was blessed with in its climate. She'd even celebrate her first birthday, which would be an important milestone for her. Although high school felt like it would never end, senior year is just around the corner when a car turns one year old. That beautiful thought vanished when she caught her own reflection in the mirror.

"I-," her voice could barely squeak out of her throat, "I'm f-fearless."

The dryer turned off, leaving Jane alone with the sound of the faucet dripping water into sink.

She turned to the mirror and looked herself right in the eye, "I am f-fearless…I am fearless...I am...," she lowered on her suspension. The more she said it to herself, the less she believed it, and the less she believed it, the less she could look herself in the eye. Her eyelids closed, shielding her soul from herself, which made it easier to speak.

"Doc, this can't be right…," she whispered, "Things ain't the same anymore…I thought you said-"

The bathroom door swung open. Jane jumped to the side and locked her wide eyes on the door. The female student scurried into one of the stalls, prompting Jane to stop talking to herself. Who was she kidding? Doc couldn't hear her. Beyond the idea of becoming a racecar driver, talking to herself with the idea that a car from her past could hear her only made Jane look crazier.

"Man, don't even worry about it. Those tryouts are gonna be a breeze for you," Caleb said, smiling at his best friend, "You deserve it after all the hell Mister Springwheel gave you last semester, but I can't believe out of all the classes, it was his class that held you back a semester."

"Oh, I'm not worried. Not even a little bit," Murphy replied, "Joke's on him now. Once I'm on that team, if I fail his class, the school is going to think there's something wrong with him."

Caleb snickered, "There ya go!"

"Ah..," Murphy smirked and shook his hood, "But really, I'm gonna miss you when the semester is over...and you all graduate…"

"Pretty sure most of the senior class is gonna miss you too," Caleb swatted the air with his tire, "Don't you worry about it. It's not like I'm gonna move away like you. I'll always be around Carburetor County."

"I'm only moving when I graduate because California is gonna help my future…but...you and Gianna…," Murphy sighed, "I should be driving across that stage with all of you...and Gigi...I should be kissing her. I should be going to college with her...this sucks."

"You're gonna be graduating before you know it," Caleb nudged Murphy, "Like you said, there ain't no way Mister Springwheel can hold you back from gaining senior status this time."

"Senior cut day...the senior trip…signing everyone's yearbooks," the more Murphy thought about what could have been, the more his voice trailed off, "Prom."

"Will you stop? You're making me depressed," Caleb lowered his voice, "Bro, you're gonna get your own prom too, and you still got that California trip for the racing team, and you better still be signing my yearbook. I don't care if you're not graduating. You're signing it," he winked.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, but it's not the same when it's not happening to you."

"Such is life," Caleb shrugged, "Some stupid ceremony isn't gonna change anything though. If you're this worried about life making you swerve in a billion different directions, I feel bad for you. 'Cause while you're focusing on the bumpy roads, you're gonna miss the turns onto the smooth ones."

Murphy smiled, "You're right," he turned onto the main road with the Kia.

"That reminds me," Caleb smirked, "Can I drive by your place and grab a couple smokes off you?"

"Nah, man," Murphy shook his hood, "My dad busted me smoking, so I've only been taking one with me to school and smoking it here. I hid the rest at home, but he'll know what you're coming for if you stop by."

"Newsflash. You should bring the rest of the pack with you tomorrow," Caleb furrowed his eyelids, "And if your dad found them before, he'll just find them again. You shouldn't hide it in the house. Bury the pack outside and take them inside when you know it's going to rain."

"I got 'em hiding in a trophy in my room. Last place my dad will ever look is a Piston Cup," Murphy chuckled, "Trust me."

"I'll catch ya tomorrow then," Caleb said with a wave of his tire, "See ya."

"Alright," Murphy gave him a nod and drove off toward Couperville. The moment they parted ways, two ladies drove out of the school.

"And then he asked me out!" a giddy pink Prius exclaimed.

"Awww, Alyssa!" Jane smiled wide, "I bet that made you really happy!"

"Of course! I have a date to homecoming now! I have a boyfriend!" she glanced over at the Porsche, "An actual boyfriend! Not like the one I made up in my freshman semester that I told everyone was from France."

"Au revoir, Raphael," Jane shook her hood and laughed, "He never stood a chance against Austin."

"Oh shut up! You know, you should come! Just because you don't have a date doesn't mean you can't dance with us!"

"No way, not a chance. I have too much work to do. The racetrack isn't ready yet, so by some stroke of luck, it gives me more time to calm down about this whole racing thing."

"You really shooould."

"Should and would have two very different definitions."

"Okay, smartass. You're letting that speed get to your head already," Alyssa grinned, "I'll see you in school tomorrow! I have to go home and call Austin and rehearse my look for the dance! Woo hoo!"

Jane giggled, "Bye! See you tomorrow!"

Alyssa zipped away, kicking up a couple of pebbles on the ground. Jane lifted her face so that none of the small rocks chipped the paint by her chin. Although she wasn't going to be part of the experience Alyssa was having with one of her other good friends, she genuinely felt happy for her. With a sigh, Jane pulled out of park, and went to leave.

Just before she could drive away, a sunset orange sedan pulled in front of her. She had black racing stripes from the top of her hood, all the way down to the tail of her trunk. Jane gasped, stopping hard.

"Be careful!" Jane said, "I almost hit you!"

It took Jane a moment to realize, but that paint job and the racing stripes showed she was one of the cheerleaders. The unnamed female car kept a stern glare on Jane.

"Uh," Jane furrowed her eyelids, "Excuse me."

She turned her wheels to drive around the cheerleader, but just as her nose turned, another sunset orange sedan pulled in front of her from the side, and then another one on her other side. Jane's eyes widened and looked from car to car.

"Chrysler, I get it," Jane said, rolling her eyes, "Girls, you can stop now. Gianna made her point."

Since it was the only way out, she put herself in reverse, and backed away a couple of inches. Suddenly the scent of cigarettes and cologne filled her space again and her eyes softened in comfort. She knew Murphy was behind her. That should make the girls back off.

"I don't think I made my point clear enough," said a voice behind the guarded Porsche. The scent didn't match the voice of the car at all. Jane immediately stopped and glanced in her side mirrors. She saw a much angrier sunset orange Hyundai Genesis. Her winged eyeliner seemed even more intense.

But Gianna was right after all. If Jane drove close enough, she did smell like Murphy.

"Turn her around," the head of the cheerleading squad commanded.

Jane's gas tank was flipping again, "Gianna, leave me alone."

The squad of sedans carefully drove in a circle close to Jane, making sure she'd turn. Otherwise, if Jane didn't turn with the girls, they would scrape the sides of her paint. Jane put herself in drive and turned with the cheerleaders. Once she was facing Gianna, she stopped again.

Gianna mimicked Jane, making her voice squeak as she repeated, "Gianna leave me alone!"

The other cheerleaders' giggles floated in the air around them. Jane's eyes shifted around, looking at Gianna's tires to make sure she didn't have another set of yogurt cups.

"Ya know," Gianna cooed, "I'll admit that I thought you were pretty cool. Look at this piece of machinery and all of the things she's capable of…," Gianna pulled in closer, but when Jane backed away, her spoiler tapped the cheerleader behind her.

"Watch it, slut," the cheerleader snapped.

Jane glanced at the girl behind her, but Gianna quickly took notice, "Did I SAY you can look away from me?"

Jane quickly looked back at Gianna, "Just tell me what you want."

"I want you to shut up," Gianna cleared her throat, "As I was saying, Slutty Taylor McWhore. Capable of anything!" she scoffed, "Except...becoming a cheerleader," she lowered her voice to tease her, "Because she's too ugly, for starters, and she drives like a man."

Jane turned her wheels in, slouching on her suspension. She tried to defend herself, "I don't wanna be a cheerleader anyway."

"Yeah, right! Those are the girls Murphy likes after all," Gianna tapped Jane's hood, "Look at you! You're so pathetic and weird! Go drive around in a circle and show my girls how stupid you drive."

One of the other sedans snorted, "She's so delusional!"

Another sedan called out, "She can't even function driving any speed under eighty miles per hour!"

"You're giving her too much credit," Gianna laughed, "She can't even go over thirty miles per hour. I said SHOW them, McWhore! Spin around for us!"

Gianna went to touch her hood again.

"Stop!" Jane stuck her nose up, "Don't touch me!"

"Oh, you don't like being touched?" Gianna lowered her voice to a whisper, "You sure loved it when Murphy touched you."

Jane raised her voice, "He never TOUCHED ME."

"Riiight. Everything is the opposite with Murphy. I know you two messed around. You have to be pretty stupid to believe everything he says," Gianna blinked, unimpressed, "Even I don't."

"Is that a fact?" Jane raised her eyelids and lifted on her suspension again to her natural height.

"You better back off."

Jane smirked as well, "Maybe he lies to you...but-"

"You naive little bitch," Gianna's more playful expression fell into a more serious facade, "Murphy wants nothing to do with you. You repulse him. He can't even get through an entire day of school without you harassing him."

"I do NOT harass him."

"You follow him into every classroom. You stare at him like some creepy old neighbor."

Jane pulled closer to Gianna's face, "It sounds like you're the one who's staring at me."

"As if. You're embarrassing, McWhore. To him and yourself."

"Get out of my grille, Gianna."

"You're the one pulling up into my face. Pretending you like racing just to be around him on the team."

"You feel threatened or something?" Jane narrowed her eyes.

"Not even a little bit," Gianna snarled her teeth, "And definitely not by a girl who lives in some fantasy racing world."

"Do you wanna race me to Murphy's and find out if this is imaginary?"

"Get this through your roof, you dense idiot, you'll never be with him. I'll always be with him."

"Because I can assure you I'm very real."

"IN FACT, he even SAID that he'll NEVER be with you. I asked him."

"Well, if Murphy says it," Jane shrugged with a snicker. Suddenly, Jane's expression fell serious too, "Then it's gotta be true."

Gianna revved her engine hard, "YOU STUPID BITCH."

"O-Oh!" the cheerleader behind Jane gasped heavily, "Girls! Move!"

The other sedans quickly moved away from Jane as Gianna pulled her tire back and slapped the Porsche across her bumper.

"Mm!" Jane brought her tire to her mouth and held her lips.

"What's the matter, BITCH?" Gianna shot forward and pushed Jane backward, "I thought you had a lot to SAY."

Jane pulled her tire away from her mouth and looked down at her treads. A small bit of oily blood trailed in and out of the maze of her tire rubber, then onto the school property.

Gianna grabbed Jane's extended axle and yanked her back again, "COME BACK HERE."

Jane yelped and was pulled against Gianna. The Genesis brought her tire back again and punched Jane in the exact same spot, but this time, her metal dented. As Jane was pushed back again, she could feel the pressure of her metal crunch inward and stay there. She moved her tongue to the spot from the inside of her mouth and felt her metal bubble against it.

Jane dropped on her axles. The sudden trauma made the world around Jane become blurry, but she could still hear Gianna's voice echoing.

"If you EVER go near him again, you'll get MUCH more than that."

Jane's breathing became heavier, instinctively licking the blood away in her mouth. She could taste the sour metallic taste.

"For an athlete, you sure are weak," Gianna continued to taunt her, "I thought you were a racecar."

Through the trail of blood trickling out of the corner of her lips, Jane narrowed her eyes at Gianna. She pushed herself up off the ground, stood on her axles, and pulled her body forward again.

Gianna took it as a threat, "Awwww…I know you like counting down from three in your little racing world, so I'll give you three seconds to run home, whore."

"Three."

Jane planted her tires firmly on the asphalt and kept driving closer, slowly. Her bloody tire left a faded trail of bloody treads.

"Two," Gianna's eyes sharpened themselves on the Porsche, who for some reason, was still coming closer, "One."

Jane's heavy breathing now shook with every exhale. She was so disoriented that she could hear a voice, "You rev so you drown out the sounds of anyone who tells you-"

"And here we all thought a girl whose last name was McWhore, whose mother was a lawyer, would be fast enough and smart enough to be home by now," the Genesis stood her ground in front of the testy racecar.

Jane grit her teeth and slammed on her gas pedal, screaming a rev throughout her body and into the ground. Gianna's eyes widened. The force of her rev shook every bolt in the Hyundai's body and all of the cheerleader sedans off to the side.

With a swollen mouth and a bottom lip that was fit to be an airbag, the racecar slurred, "My name is Jane Taylor McQueen," her muffler violently roared the sound of her strong rpms, "Bitch."

She let off her brakes and forced her gas pedal as far as it could go. Her tires squealed and Jane shot forward. She slammed Gianna across the schoolyard. The cheerleaders all screamed and reversed away.

Gianna yelped loudly and spun out, almost hitting the school's giant flag pole. She brought her tire up just in time to cover her face before it slammed against the concrete base.

Gianna pushed herself away from the flagpole and saw Jane coming for her again. She narrowed her eyes and pulled forward. There was no stopping her.

The ladies smashed together, bumper to bumper, looking deep into each other's eyes like they wanted to kill each other. When Jane was tired of looking at her, she grabbed Gianna by her chin and yanked her bottom jaw. Gianna screeched as a loud snap popped between her and Jane. Gianna's bumper dislodged and her jaw dislocated.

"Oh my god!" one of the cheerleaders called out. They all sped away from the school yard, leaving Gianna alone with Jane.

Jane gasped and she snapped out of it.

"Nm-...," Gianna brought a tire under her jaw and looked up at Jane. She was trembling in the pain she felt. She desperately tried to push her jaw back into the right spot. She kept pushing, applying even pressure, until it popped back into place. Her bumper was still loose though and had to be fixed.

Jane panted, but kept her eyes stern on the helpless cheerleader, whose cheeks were already starting to bruise, "C-Can you drive?"

Gianna thought for a moment, still in shock. She looked up at Jane, wide-eyed, "Y-Yeah.."

Jane inched closer. She brought her lips to Gianna's hearing and whispered, "Then get out of here."

As the eventful day came to a close, the sun set over Ornament Valley. The evening wind started to pick up, cooling the desert ground which would soon become scorched earth by the time the summer arrived. It was an otherwise calm evening that was perfect for a late drive.

"Don't be out too late! It's a school night!" called a middle-aged woman's voice, "And keep your phone on this time, Caleb!"

"I got it, Ma," the Kia Sorento replied, as he pulled out of his home. His headlights flashed on and he turned down the street and began driving. He made it about five miles away from his neighborhood, just far enough away from anyone that would see him, then he moved his tire and pulled out a loose cigarette.

"Finally," he said to himself. Although he couldn't get more cigarettes from Murphy for a while, he had at least one more to calm his nerves and satisfy his cravings. He glanced around the empty area. Not a building in sight, besides the ones on the horizon in his neighborhood. The road was empty too. All the cars have turned in for the night.

Caleb brought the cigarette to his mouth and pressed his lips against it. He then used his tires to light a match and brought it to the end of the cigarette. He threw the lit match onto the ground and inhaled. He shut his eyes and felt the smoke lift away the stress of the day, then exhaled the spoiled breath out into the air.

Then he just enjoyed the silence. He let the cigarette burn, watching the smoke trail up into the night sky, focusing on the constellations. He raised an eyelid, as one of the stars seemed to be glistening more than the others. Either that, or he never really paid enough attention.

He took another drag of his cigarette and kept his eyes on the sky. It was impossible not to admire those stars. Soon, Caleb would have a job, maybe he'd choose to go to college, but the best part part was that as soon as the semester was over, he'd never have to do homework ever again. He inhaled some more smoke, then blew it out again. He may not have been graduating with Murphy, but that was okay. This was the start of the rest of his life.

"Mind if I have a smoke?" asked a voice.

Caleb jumped in his spot, almost dropping the cigarette from his mouth. He looked left and right and couldn't find where the voice came from. The road was still empty and he didn't hear a single engine pull by. At any rate, Caleb would have seen the car driving by, but there were no headlights.

"Hey," said the voice again, but closer this time. With the voice much clearer to him now, Caleb knew the voice was female and coming from behind him.

"Whoa!" Caleb gasped, "I didn't even see you there, lady!"

The young man went to turn around.

"Stop moving and turn your headlights off."

"Uh..," Caleb stopped right in his tracks. He hesitated, but after a moment, his headlights flashed off. Then the only things glowing in the pitch darkness of the night were the stars, the lights from the distant neighborhood, and the end of Caleb's cigarette.

"Di-Did you just come from-..wh-...did you just come from that empty f-field?" he asked.

"Kid, I just want a smoke if you got one," the woman repeated, "I just want a cigarette."

Caleb's bottom lip began to tremble a little, "Uh-...uh-I don't got any."

"You got one in your mouth, boy."

"It's my last one…"

There was a silence.

"H-Hello..?"

Suddenly the voice that came from behind him was now in front of him, "That's what they all say."

Caleb yelled, "Wh-Wh-What the hell?!"

"Give me a cigarette."

"Listen, lady! I don't got another one! Ah-," Caleb felt a tire grab underneath his front bumper, "Mm-...AH!"

The cigarette was pulled from his lips and the car put it in her mouth. She inhaled some smoke and immediately blew it in his face. The smoke burned Caleb's grille and the back of his throat. He coughed violently, trying to pull away from her, "Let GO!"

"How does a kid like you afford cigarettes? Huh? You rich?"

"I s-said I don't HAVE ANY MORE!"

The woman threw Caleb backward and snarled, "Empty your wheel wells before I do it for you."

"GET AWAY FROM ME!" Caleb screamed, immediately flashing on his high beams. When the light hit the woman in front of him, his eyes widened at who he saw. It was the car plastered to 'Wanted' flyers all over the county.

"O-Oh..n-no...no...you don't understand...I didn't mean to-"

The woman's eyes were open as wide as a possessed demon's, staring right at Caleb's eyes as if the high beam lights had no effect on her. Her pupils constricting in the light were the only things that showed him that she was actually alive. They were a faded sickly green and her paint job was bright red, but she was dusty like she hasn't seen a car wash in months.

"You don't have to do this!" Caleb's entire body began to tremble.

The car pulled forward and the only thing reflecting Caleb's headlights into his own eyes was the emblem of a Mustang.

The young Sorento held out a shaking axle and squinted in the light, "P-Please!"