Wanted: Credits
The ride from Lilly's school to Tej's Garage usually lasted about fifteen up to twenty minutes, depending on the traffic. Usually. With Brian as one's driver, it lasted merely five up to ten minutes.
Having arrived at Tej's, Lilly got immediately out of the car, she had still not been saying just one single word to her older sibling after he had made that comment about Shane and girls.
Brian left the car as well, locking it with his remote, though, just in case. Even though it was an unwritten law between the racers that stealing another one's car was like high treason, the blonde preferred to be absolutely sure because they were many other people in Miami who did not race and, therefore, did not know the racers' laws. So, he would not even begin to keep his Evo unlocked, risks were just too high that it would get stolen.
The Evo was a great car. Within the few days he had been racing with it, he had already won almost as much as he had made per month sitting in the Nissan. He figured it was this way because of the Evo being still so rare in Miami, Brian could not recall having seen this model ever before on the streets. People just wanted to know whether or not their vehicles were better.
Brian grinned.
Of course, he thought, they're not. I'm King of the Streets. Nobody gets Bullitt down.
Yet, while looking at his little sister taking a chair at the tables the crew was sitting at, he wondered how much more it would take her to get Brian O'Conner – the big brother – down.
Lilly had been acting strangely since she had come back from Verone. The blonde man guessed she was merely still trying to deal with the events somehow, however, she was..................different, in a way. He felt rejected by her. So far, she had turned pretty much each of his offerings down: she did not want to go to the races, she did not want to go with him and the others to the movies, no video and DVD evenings, no going down to the beach, no working together on cars. At first, Brian had thought that the girl had not been interested into doing such activities due to her wanting to undertake something alone with him, but she had refused those, too. The teenager was not really unfriendly or cool, just.................at least, not on purpose. Her new favourite word 'whatever' expressed this new attitude very well. Lilly was edgy and the fact that she was on her period did not make the situation any better at all for Brian.
"So",Brian heard Tej saying once he was close enough to the little group of people. It was the crew aka Tej, Marco, Alex, Diego, Jimmy and Lilly, Shane and Roman who was chewing on a sandwich.
After having grabbed a Pepsi from the cooler standing next to the tables, the blonde took the empty chair next to his friend whereas Lilly was sitting inbetween Tej and Marco.
"How's the reports?"And a wide grin settled on the man's face while the teenagers searched within their schoolbags for the sheets of paper.
Somehow, a strange feeling awoke inside of Brian when he saw his sister handing the paper to Tej. He was used to being the first who got to see her grades, it was some sort of privilege for him.
"Average B",Shane announced proudly, knowing that the crew had promised him to give him the rims and tires he wanted for his new car as a gift........................if his grades were meeting the approval, of course.
"You better be grateful",Lilly told him with played firmness.
"Yeah, yeah",the boy rolled his eyes, obviously not all too happy about being reminded that he had needed her help to receive such results, "so, when can you get started? You already have a list with everything I want, right? It'd b grear, if............."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa",Jimmy waved him off, "ya know how we work it, boy. As much cars at the highest quality as time allows it, alrigh'?"
"We already ordered your parts and they should be amongst the ones we're gonna get from Roderigo within the next days, or so",Alex explained, looking over the teenagers' reports.
"Within the next days?"The 16-year-old raised his eyebrows. "Oh, c'mon, I can't wait that long! I thought I'd already be showing up with Mika the day my contest is and that's Tuesday, man!"
"Ey",Tej pointed his index finger at him, "no special treatment here. Customers get treated in the order they come. Now, say thank you cos we're the ones paying for yar most important, ai?"
"Sorry, thank you",he answered, slightly embarrassed, before getting his report back from Marco, "has anybody seen Suki? She wanted to see my grades as well."
"She's in da back, man",Tej told him and watched the boy leave, then, he focused his attention on Lilly, "so, what are we gonna do with Chica, guys? Just check this",he indicated her report which he was still holding in his hands, "mathematics A, spanish A, phyisc ed A, chemistry B...............and so on, damnit girl, ya didna manage to hold yarself back, righ'?" He shook his head no.
"I'd say, yeah",Alex spoke up.
"Yeah",Jimmy nodded.
"Sâ,Marco stated.
"Sí",Diego smiled.
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"Lilly eyed the guys carefully, not knowing what had caused their mysterious behaviour.
"Dere ya go",Tej grinned while pulling something out of one pocket of his baggy pants and laying it onto the table.
Brian, Roman and Lilly were regarding it rather confused.
"What is that?"Lilly raised one eyebrow, eying the guys suspiciously while brushing her fingers lightly over the green ribbon being wrapped around the little black box laying in front of her on the table.
"Just some extra for your report",Tej told her, his dark eyes sparkling, "c'mon, open it."
"Why would you guys give me anything for my report?"The girl could not understand her friends' behaviour. She had never received any presents for good marks simply because of her never having wanted any. Lilly did not see a reason in this kind of rewards due to her knowing that she was merely working for herself and not for anybody else concerning the matter of school.
"Why would we what?"Alex looked at her as though she would have grown a second head. "Because you deserve it? Never heard of such things like rewards?"
"I know what a reward is, Alex",she rolled her eyes, "I just don't see the point in getting one for a report? We never did that."
"Whoa",Tej frowned, "you saying that your bro's against gifts? Yo, Bullitt, what's that shit, man?"
"She would only complain, if I did it, man. You know what she's like",Brian shrugged, taking a sip of his Pepsi, "I's just trying to avoid her wrath."
"Rome",Lilly turned her head into the man's direction, "would you mind smacking him for me?"
"My pleasure",he grinned, smacking the back of Brian's head with his left hand so fast that the blonde could not move out of his reach in time.
"Hey!"He protested, rubbing the spot where he had gotten hit and grinning. "I'm innocent, bro."
"Since when?"His younger sibling rolled her blue eyes. "So, what is this?"She asked, pushing her right index finger slightly against the box lying in front of her on the table.
"Aprirlo, finalmente",Marco nodded his head in anticipation.
"Okay, okay",Lilly lifted her hands in defence, "but be prepared that I may yell at you."
The girl leant back in her chair, picking the black box up with her right hand and putting it onto her lap. Feeling everybody's eyes on her, she merely sighed while beginning to tug at the ends of the ribbon. Having opened it, she removed it neatly before laying it onto the table, then, she opened the box………………..and gasped. Inside of the box, there was a completely new Apple iPod Mini in cyan. This item costed about 250 dollar!
"Are you fucking mad?! That thing is way too expensive as to be a mere gift!"She exclaimed, looking at the guys accusingly, however, she received nothing but bewildered reactions.
"Calm down and say thank you, girl",Tej lifted his bottle of Corona in a manner as though wanting to say 'cheers' and drank.
"This is no fun, Tej!"Putting the box carefully back on the table, so that nothing would happen to the precious iPod Mini. "This is,like……………250 dollar in a box! Damn! I can't keep it, this is too much! It's not that I ain't grateful, guys, I mean…………..this is a very thoughtful gift, it's great, but…….."
"So, no arguing and keep it, Chica!"Jimmy could not believe the girl was abandoning such a present when every other teenager would have cried out for joy!
"But it's just too much",the blonde tried to reason with the men, "you know exactly that I don't want you to spend so much on me! 250 mean fifty for each, this is like………."
"Like less than one per cent of what we win during a night of racing",Marco cut her off, "why can't you just accept that we wanna do you some good, hm? You deserve some good every now and then, it's not like your old bro's taking care of that."
"Hey!"Brian protested again, feeling insulted. He was taking good care of his sister! "I know how I have to do my job, okay? And if my little sister does not want any reward even though she deserves one, I will respect that because I know just as well that she can turn my life into hell within the blink of an eye." The man had emphasized 'my' especially to remind Marco who was in charge. Lilly was his baby, not Marco's, therefore, Brian did not like the Italian judging the way he had decided to raise her.
"Rome?"Lilly used her sweetest and most pleading voice.
"Of course, Kitten",he answered before smacking the back of Brian's head again, earning another protest.
"You have to keep it",Diego grinned, "it's quite usefull whenever you wanna switch off your bro."
"But then, I'd first have to get some music."
"Has already been done",Jimmy also grinned, "we supported you with some of the latest, girl, and if you wanna have anything else, you know what to do."
Lilly ran a hand through her hair, obviously thinking about the guys' present. It was their way to show her just how much they cared. She knew exactly that they would have given her way more, if she had not made them understand months before that she would not accept expensive gifts. 250 dollar was much money, although, for people winning about 20.000 dollar within one night, it did not seem to be so much after all.
They only wanted to do you something good. Crash is getting his rims and tires paid by them as a gift and those are way more expensive than this iPod. I'd like to know how much time they have spent before coming up with this idea. It is a very thoughtful gift and I can really use it. I would have never bought one for myself. Costs too much, yet, when I think about some of my shoes…………..some have indeed costed more than 300, but they're worth it……………they make my feet and legs look so good! Okay, on the other hand, some of my shoes have also costed not more than fifty bucks - I just love 'Sawgrass Mills Factory Discount' in Sunrise. So, maybe, I should accept. It's not like the guys could use it anyways……………..and I like the colour. Cyan. I've never seen a cyan-coloured iPod Mini before. C'mon, Lilly, give in, make your guys smile.
"Okay",she finally said, turned to her left and hugged Diego due to him being the nearest to her, "thank you." Then, she got up to walk around the table to hug each of the men, saying 'thank you' while doing so. Eventually, Alex, being the last one, pulled her onto his lap.
"That's our girl",he smiled, revealing his white teeth.
"Good",Tej set his bottle of Corona on the table, "now that we've established that",his expression became stern, "back to work. We gotta earn some money!"
A loud chorus of 'c'mon, boss', 'spoiling all the fun, here' and 'fucking work' sounded up, nevertheless, everybody rose from their chairs, heading to their tasks within Tej's Garage.
Having walked away from the tables several yards, Lilly suddenly turned on her heel to get her new iPod Mini, excited to listen to some of the music the guys had downloaded for her. However, she found Brian having already taken it out of its box, eying it thoroughly.
Clearing her throat loudly to gain her brother's attention, the blonde carefully untangled his fingers from the item.
"Mine",she stated firmly as if she was talking to a little child, "not yours. Mine."
"I was just watching",Brian sounded hurt, his lips were forming a tiny pout.
"With your hands?"The girl picked up the black box from the table, knowing that the instruction manual was laying inside of it.
"Hey",Roman grinned smugly, "a man's gotta make sure, ya know?"
Lilly rolled her eyes. "Whatever", and left them sitting at their table.
"Whatever?"The black man repeated in confusion. "Yo, man, what up with our girl? She all good?"
"Yeah, just on her period, bro. You'll get used to it, though. Four up to six days every four weeks",Brian shook his head no, taking a sip of Corona, although innerly knowing that his younger sister's new attitude was not only caused by her period, he hoped that things would soon change back to normal.
"How'd you know, bruh?"
"I already got almost five years of practise. Good thing about it is, whenever she's got her red days, she likes to cook and to bake",he grinned, remembering the gratin he had eaten yesterday evening.
"Mind, if I come over some time, dawg?"Both men chuckled
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About two hours later, Lilly was busy pushing a car whose paint job she had just finished out of the her 'Quarters", together with the help of Marco having refused her to be doing this all by herself. Of course, the blonde knew how to handle a car that way, yet, the guys always demanded that they got to help her with things consisting of 'pure muscle work'. The girl figured they were merely spoiling her like they always did and that she might hurt their feelings by telling them that she did not need their help, however, she appreciated it as long as it would not become too much to bear.
After having navigated the car into the 'red light room', Lilly closed the rooms doors and switched on the red lights within it. Originally, this room had been used for trash, so car parts which could have no longer been used, but after Lilly had become sprayer at Tej's, she had managed to convince him to clean the room and install an arch of red lights into it, so that the cars standing in there would dry faster. Eventually, Tej had realized how much time this safed them......................and time was money.
"Grazie",Lilly smiled at Marco shrugging.
"Perchè?"He asked friendly, returning the smile.
"Just so",together, they went back into the actual 'working area', where each of the other members of the crew seemed to be busy. Diego was screwing on a door with the help of Alex holding it up while Jimmy was working on the engine of another car.
"Hey",Alex said, letting go off the door when Diego told him to do so, "it's already 5:17. When are we gonna eat something? I'm starving."
"You guys didn't have anything, yet?"Lilly frowned. She had expected the guys to have eaten before she had come to Tej's after school.
"No, we're busy here, but I definitely need some, now",Jimmy looked at the others.
"Tell me what you want and I'll get it for you",the girl offered, still feeling the urge to make up for the iPod the men had given her earlier.
"Pizza",Diego and Alex grinned.
"From Antonio's",Jimmy and Marco chorused, also grinning.
"Okay, then",Lilly had to laugh at them, "the usual?"She received a nod from everyone. "I'll go order then, now, I'll be right back", she turned around and was already about to enter the office to make the call, when it occured to her that the others might want to eat something from Antonio's as well. At Tej's Garage, it was always the crew's decision where they would get their food from.
The blonde girl walked out into the sun, entering the area considered Tej's backyard that greeted her with the sight of much naked skin. People were tanning on the loungers, playing around in the pool, some jet-skies were racing, in the distance, she spotted Brian and Roman flirting with some girls....................it was just another ordinary day in the life of Lilliana O'Conner.
"Hey, boss",she addressed Tej sitting on one of the white yard chairs he owned, yelling something into his loudspeaker, obviously to make a guy called 'Greg', who was racing with a jet-ski, win, "you wanna have something from Antonio's?"
"Wait a sec",he smiled at her before turning his attention back to the jet-skis,"c'mon, man, don't let your man Tej down, now, dawg! You're the reason I lose lotsa money! C'mon, Greg, show'em!" Another round and the race was over. Greg had won, therefore, Tej was now grinning all over his face.
"Pay up, pay up, pay up",he cheered while collecting his money, "nobody runs'em like I do", then, he looked at the blonde girl, still grinning, "you're like my lucky girl, ya know? Whenever you show up, my people win",Tej gently took her hands in his and pulled her onto his lap, "so, the guys want Tonio's? Ai, I take my usual, then",suddenly, something inside of the big pockets of Tej's pants began to vibrate, evidently it was his cell.
"Tej",she purred in a teasing manner, "I never knew you would be that happy to have me sitting on your lap."
The girl got up while the man blew a kiss into her direction when he took out his mobile phone. Before answering it, though, he told the blonde to take his chair for as long as he was gone.
Lilly sat down and eyed Suki, having a chair next to Tej's.
"Hey",she smiled at the Asian, "do you also wanna have something from Antonio's? C'mon, Suki, I know how much you like that food."
"Nah, I'm still full with the lunch my mom cooked for me today",Suki rolled her eyes, "it's always the same, every Friday since I moved out, I go there and have lunch together with my parents and every time Mom thinks I haven't eaten anything in weeks. Not that her food doesn't taste, it's great, but...............just too much, ya know? So, no, I do without Tonio's, today."
"Okay", tilting her head to the side, th blonde wondered out loud, "what are you actually doing there?"Because Suki was flipping through some kind of catalogue.
"Oh",the young woman smiled brightly, "I will start a ballet course on Monday, therefore, I wanted to get the proper outfit. I bought the catalogue to develop an idea of what to go for tomorrow while shopping."
Lilly felt as though somebody had slapped her right into her face. "A ballet course?"She raised one questioning eyebrow.
"C'mon, don't gimme that look",Suki rolled her eyes, "I always wanted to do that and if my little brother receives a car, I might as well give myself a present."
"And where do you wanna go?"The blonde prayed that her friend would not say 'The Club', knowing that the beginners' class was directly before her 'pros course' would start, thus it would be one hell of a time for her to keep her secret a secret. At times, the teacher - Jennifer - even allowed the beginners or the younger dancers in the 'advanced course' to watch the professionals.
Please don't say it, please don't say it, Lilly curled her toes inside of her sneakers the moment Suki answered.
"In this really cool studio. It's called 'The Club'",she almost giggled, searching for a page within her catalogue while Lilly had a hard time fighting down the urge to cry out loud.
What the hell am I supposed to do, now?! Why couldn't she got to 'Rhythm'?! Think, Lilly, you gotta think, girl! How to prevent her from finding out? How to stay unnoticed? On Monday, the beginners start at three o'clock, the course lasts an hour, at four o'clock, the pros start. And Jennifer usually allows them to spend some time watching us, to show them what they can reach when practising hard enough. Oh shit! But maybe she won't this time, the new beginners seems to be a class for adults and not for children. Thursdays, the pros are an hour or so before the beginners, so that won't be any problem. Pros at half past three until half past five, the beginners come at half past six. Well, as for the Sunday, there's no beginners class. How to solve that shit?
"Chica? Hello? You listening?"Snapping her fingers to get the girl's attention, Suki sighed, obviously frustrated.
"Sorry",Lilly tucked part of her bangs behind her left ear, "was just distracted for a moment."
"Anyways",doing a motion with her hand, the woman pointed at the page she had searched for, grinning in excitement like a little child, "look at this. These are the shoes I'll be wearing!"
"Oh",Lilly's eyes widened. Her friend's index finger was pointed at toe shoes, so called pointe shoes. "But I thought you're a beginner?"
Pointe shoes had been especially created for dancing on the tips of the toes, therefore, they had a little box generally made out of layers of burlap and paper, saturated with glue, in the tip of the shoe. The first time Lilly had ever heard that some boxes really consisted of nothing but old newspapers, she had not believed it. The dancing on tip toes was also called en pointe. A dancer needed several years of practise to achieve the proper knowledge and strength before being allowed to dance en pointe. Another important point was the age of a dancer. Pointe shoes were not to be used before a dancer's feet were almost completely grown out, so to speak, not before the age of eleven or twelve. If used too early, the toe shoes could ruin everything. That was why many dancers having started at the age of five or six soon lost interest due to them not being allowed to learn how to dance en pointe.
"Yeah. So?"Suki frowned, not understanding what the teenager was implaying.
"Oh, nothing, just",the blonde shrugged, "one of my friends does ballet. She told me once that the shoes you wanna use are only for pros and not for beginners, cause they would be very difficult to dance on. What did the people at your studio say?"Lilly knew exactly that, at 'The Club', people were always informed about the gear they would need, so that she guessed Suki had not paid enough attention.
"Well",the Asian seemed to feel uncomfortable, as though having been caught, "they said something about tights, leotards, leg warmers or - what was it? - wrap skirts and spats or so."
"Nothing about shoes?"You're evil, Lilly thought to herself, knowing that the beginners should not wear any shoes during their first lessons. That way, it was easier to teach them the basic positions of the feet due to no shoes hiding how a foot was bent or how the toes were stretched or curled.
"Um, yeah, now that you mention it. I think they said no shoes…….dunno why, strange people. Well, they do their jobs, I guess",again, Suki was flipping through the catalogue, searching for just another item to show to the blonde.
"What the hell is that?"Brian, having just come over, asked, leaning over to his little sister. "Since when are you interested in tutus?"
"You're just hating cause you couldn't wear one",she grinned evilly.
"I'll start with a ballet course",Suki told him happily, eager to spread the news.
"Oh-kay",the man had obviously not been prepared for this information, thus he was now struggling to find the right words to say, "have fun, then."
"Oh, please, don't show too much enthusiasm, Bullitt",turning her head slightly, the woman's eyes suddenly widened, "Amber!"She yelled out, having spotted one of her female friends entering the garage. Quickly gathering her stuff together, the Asian excused herself, already about to start a run over to her friend.
"Promise me never to become like that",Brian whispered into his sister's ear, only half-jokingly, though, while seating himself on th chair Suki had gotten up from.
"What?"Lilly eyed him innocently. "You don't like Suki's way?"
"That's not it. She's just………........very scary, at times. I mean, ballet? All that girly jumping and turning shit? That's not like my baby",he grinned, kissing her cheek.
Well, perhaps, I ain't your baby, then, the blonde bit her tongue, fearing the wrong words might escape her mouth.
"Nah, I like cars better",she faked a smile, hating the way her brother was thinking about ballet almost as much as she hated herself for denying what made her life seem less empty: dancing.
"I'm gonna order some from Antonio's, you in?"She questioned him quickly to make herself stop thinking about the liar she was.
"Course, I'm in",Brian cheered, "my usual, okay? Or something else? Tonio's is always good food. What are you taking?"
"Um, I don't wanna eat anything, actually",the girl said, brushing her bangs out of her face, "I ain't hungry."
"What did you have for lunch?"The blonde man's voice sounded firm, causing Lilly to roll her eyes.
"Brian",she sighed exasperatedly, "I ain't gonna starve myself to death again, alright? I'm just not hungry, that's a normal thing happening every now and then. So, drop it already, will you?"
"Sorry for being worried about you",he replied sarcastically.
"So, you take your usual, okay",seeing Tej returning from the inside of the garage where he had answered the call, the girl rose from the chair, when Roman was suddenly standing in front of her.
"How's my Kitten?"He smiled brightly at her.
"On the run",Lilly held some annoyance in her voice, "m gonna order food from Antonio's, that Italian where you were with Brian and the others for celebrating last Wednesday. You hungry? Wait, you're Rome. What you wanna have?"
"Um",he looked rather stunned at her, astonished about her extremely fast talking, "ya know my special, right? I'ma take that."
"Alright, then",she walked past him and Tej who thanked her for having watched his chair.
"What the fuck was that?"Roman frowned while Tej was sitting down.
"Like I said",Brian shrugged, "she's got her red days, don't worry, she'll calm down in a coupla days."
"Chica's red?"Tej asked before grinning. "Well, she's been all nice with me, so it's gotta be you, man."
"Nah",the blonde man snorted, "you're just the one paying her."
"C'mon, dawg",his friend defended himself, "I love that girl, man. She's like my baby sis."
"I bet blondie just pissed her off",Roman said teasingly.
"If you think that you can handle her better than me, feel free to do so",Brian almost spat at them, obviously feeling attacked by his friends.
"So",Tej cleared his throat, intending to change the topic otherwise, so he feared, the blonde would be beating the shit out of them, soon, due to him disliking others judging his skills as an older brother more than anything else. Tej thought it might be the idea that somebody else could overtake the position as Lilly's older brother which got Brian so angry at times - even though the man considered his friend not to be of the jealous type, he knew that, whenever it was about the girl, Brian was................different.
"Who's holding up 'gainst me in the next run of jet-skis?"
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