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Chapter 2:
Many Meetings
Lea sighed as she packed her small duffel bag with anything she could think of. The old man had come back again and said that the race would be in a week and for that short week in waiting she and the other racers could stay at his condo, just a few blocks away from the tracks.
Lea grabbed her picture of Damon out of the drawer and shoved it in the bag alongside her t-shirts and jeans. Then there was her pendant, which was the last gift given to her from her brother. It was a beautiful pendant, a glass green stone imbedded with a strange symbol.
"It' magic." he had said.
"Really"
"Yeah. Anytime you need help, as long as you wear this pendant, you'll be safe." So from that day on, Lea had wore that pendant without fail.
A familiar red car was waiting in the front of the orphanage when Lea closed the door behind her.
"Hey there, kiddo! Are you excited" came Mai's voice from the driver's seat.
"You bet I am" Lea said energeticly and shoved herself and the massive bag into the front seat.
As the car sped off, Mai turned on the radio and began singing to one of her favorite songs. Lea peered out her window at the quickly passing landscape. Her mind reeled as she thought of what she would do once inside the city, staying for a week in a fancy condo, and, hopefully, winning that race and getting her face posted on the front page of newspapers. She would be a star, if only for a short while and, even though she would have rather enjoyed a quiet day locked away in her room, she would always rise to any challenge and any adventure.
"You look happy" Mai began"If only you would smile, it would be complete." Lea turned the sides of her mouth upward, but then she went back to her sad face.
"I don't like the way it feels."
"What, to smile? That's rediculous." Mai said and made a sharp left, almost making Lea crash into her window.
"Whoops! Sorry 'bout that" Mai said hastily and made another sharp right, now almost making Lea fall off her chair.
"What's up" Lea said quicky, clinging to her seat as Mai made yet another sharp turn.
"Sorry, but, there's this weird car following us."
"What" Lea yelled and turned in her seat to see a jet black jeep making the same sharp turn they had just made. In Lea's wonder, she let her hands go, resulting in Mai crying out,
"Haven't you ever heard of a seatbelt" And Lea having her wind knocked out of her.
The car sped along, eventually turning sharply into a busy street.
"To the tracks" Mai cried out suddenly and, dangerously weaving in and out of the other cars, sped away.
"Man, that woman can drive" A boy with a long brown braid and wide blue eyes exclaimed. "And to think, that's just her mentor" A boy with brown hair and deep, green eyes nodded silently.
One Week Later...
Mai jabbed the large racing helmet roughly onto Lea's head.
"Now, remember, be sure to brake before you turn, and don't be too stressed out, and clear your mind, and don't forget to"
"I know, I know" Lea said impatiently crawling into her blue and black race car. Mai smiled.
"Be safe and have fun, kiddo" She said and gave Lea a thumbs up. Lea took a deep breath and set her foot on the gas petal. The make shift traffic light in front of her flashed red. All the other cars around her growled and hummed like a swarm of angry bees.
Then, she felt like someone was watching her, from the audience, no doubt.
But whoever it was, they felt familiar...
Yellow.
I know this feeling, I know who it is... it must be...
GREEN!
"And they're off" came a man's voice from one of the large speakers positioned around the stadium. Lea gasped and pushed down on her gas petal. Gritting her teeth, she thought of only one thing, the one thing that she always thought of when she was racing;
"I'll make you proud, brother." she smiled slightly and pushed down harder on her gas. "I'll make you proud."
"That's her" Quatre yelled as the black and blue car zoomed past, way ahead of all the others. Meanwhile, Duo mummbled something and turned over in his seat.
"DUO"
"Okay, man, sorry! Is it my fault if races take so long to start! I was having a nice dream." Duo said and sat up in his seat. "So where is she"
"There, the black and blue one."
"Oh... WHAT! She's way ahead of everyone else! What speed is that"
"AND THERE GOES LEA, AT A TOP SPEED OF TWO HUNDRED AND THIRTY MILES PER HOUR" The announcer said energeticly. Duo's mouth fell in his lap.
"You gotta be kidding..."
"Nope" Quatre said, smiling. "She's definitely the one we need."
"They're close, they're very close, will it be a tie? How will it end" the announcer cried out.
"Please" Lea said, a glint in her eye. "SPARE ME" she cried out and hit the hardest she could muster on her gas petal.
"Wait a momment folks, Lea is gaining speed, and fast! There they go, it's close, very close... AND LEA IS COMING, SHE'S ALMOST IN THE LEAD, IT'LL BE A PHOTO FINISH! AND THE RACE IS OVER! Judges are examining the photos... AND IT LOOKS LIKE LEA WINS"
The crowd roared.
Lea lightly stepped out of her car. Instantly a swarm of reporters and photographers rushed over to her.
"Miss Lea"
"Could we have a word, Miss Lea"
"Is it true that you hit 230 MPH, Lea"
"M-miss Lea"
"Miss Lea"
Lea stared at them all, but then turned and began to walk away.
"Wait! Miss Lea"
"I'd like a word, Miss Lea"
"Could you answer a few questions, please"
Lea stopped and gave all the reporters her coldest look.
"I don't wish to talk about it." she said coldly and continued making her way to the garage, where Mai would be waiting.
After evading the reporters, Lea stopped at the driver's lounge attached to the garage for a soda.
"Well well well..." a young boy said. "If it isn't the driving wonder, Lea."
"Hey, Matt." Lea said dully and rummaged around in her pockets.
"How do you do it" he said. "Hit 230 MPH"
"Simple" Lea said and pulled her soda out of the dispenser. "I press on the gas petal. That's how you get the vehicle to move, right" she sat down on the couch next to some other drivers whom she didn't know. Everyone laughed, all except Matt.
"You trying to start a fight with me"
"Please, you're hardly worth the trouble." Lea snapped and Matt was instantly upon her. Grabbing her up by the scruff of the neck, he snarled,
"What did you just say"
"You're not worth it." Her eyes flashed. "Go on and hit me" Lea said dully, waiting for the inevitable. The boy reared up, but stopped.
"If I hit you, what would your poor brother think? Ah well, he's dead now. And good ridens, he was always such a pest"
BOOM!
The boy's hands loosened on Lea's collar as he slid to the floor. Lea stood there, her hand balled into a fist. Her face was contorted with uncontrollable anger.
"Hit 'em again, Lea" called one of the girl drivers. No one seemed to like Matt at all.
"Yeah, do. He was a jerk." came a young man's voice out of no where. Lea turned around and saw a boy, maybe a year older than she was, casually reclining in the corner of the room. "Hey, how's it going" he said.
"Who..." she said breathlessly. Just then, another boy emerged from the shadows. It was the same boy she had seen at the bus stop. "You" she cried. The boy looked up. Most of his hair covered his face, which made it hard for Lea to make out what his facial features were like.
But his eyes were the same as her brother's were.
Once.
Now his eyes are dead, like the rest of him.
Lea collapsed down on the couch, her gaze never leaving the boy's.
"So, we goin'" Duo said impatiently. Trowa shook his gaze from the girl's.
"Yes."
Lea stepped into a black jeep. Another boy was waiting in the driver's seat.
"Hey, Quatre, I thought I was driving."
"Well, okay, but if you drive like you did last time..."
"Whadaya mean by that? Are you saying that I'm not a good driver" Duo said and Quatre backed down into the back sat with Trowa and Lea.
Lea stared out the window, watching the people and animals enjoying life. When she turned to catch another look at the strange boy whom sat next to Quatre, she found that he too was looking out the window.
"Duo, watch out for that" Quatre yelled.
"I know, I KNOW" Duo said iritably and turned. Lea went back to looking out the window. Duo shot her a look in the rear view mirror.
"Man, you and Trowa are so alike" Duo said and smiled wryly. "I'll be keeping my eye on you, Trowa."
Trowa, though, didn't seem to be listening. Lea's eyes widened as they passed the lovely condo where she had been staying.
"Where are you taking me" she said quietly. She had never thought about why she was going with them, but all of her instincts told her to do so.
"Where? To a secret location, kid." Duo said and slipped on a pair of sunglasses. Lea lifted her eyebrow and Quatre reassured her they were going to an airport.
"Which one"
"Er..." Quatre said uncertainly. "Trowa? Which airport shall we be going to"
"Whatever you want." Trowa shrugged.
"There are dozens of airports, Lea, which one is the best"
Lea too shrugged. "How should I know? I've never been on vacation."
"What! Come on now, perhaps your old folks took you to Disney World or something..." Duo said, watching her in his mirror. Lea shook her head.
"I'm an orphan."
"Join the club" Duo said. We're pretty much all orphans, or at least the vast majority of us."
"Us" Lea asked, not really caring to hear the answer.
"Yeah, there are five of us." Duo said. Trowa leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes. "Trowa, Heero, and I are orphans. But golden boy here" Duo pointed to Quatre, who blushed slightly"Has twenty-nine sisters."
"Twenty-nine" Lea exclaimed. She had almost never raised her voice or shown much of any emotion since her brother died, but now she felt a little better about it. Quatre nodded.
"And who's this Heero character" Lea asked once again.
"Hold that thought, we're already here." Duo said and turned into an abandoned airport.
"Wait a sec, what's going on" Lea said looking around her whole surroundings. An abandoned airport, three strange young men, all hiding something from her. What are they planning for me? she thought desperately. What are they going to do with me?
TO BE CONTINUED
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AN: If anyone has any ideas, questions and/or comments, you can e-mail me for reading!
And thank you Trowa, Duo and Quatre, for helping me out on this one! It's been quite a challenge, but I enjoy working with you guys!
And this story is written/being written, for Yuy Ren, who invited me to become a member of the slowly growing number of writers on this website. Thank you!
