Programmed Lives – Second Stage
Chapter Fourteen
The time that elapsed between Takumi's brain making the decision and his hand actually moving was so short that he found himself grasping the girl's arm before being fully conscious of doing it.
'Hey, why did you do that for?' Takumi asked still absolutely astounded by it all.
'Oh, that's just a thank you kiss, for not telling anyone you've seen me,' she said shrugging.
'Do you just go around kissing people randomly?' Takumi asked not sure whether he wanted to be angry or not.
'Oh no, I only kiss people who I think they're cute enough,' she said with a giggle.
Takumi didn't know what to say to that. This girl was just too much.
'You really don't have a clue of who I am, do you?' she asked.
'Nope, sorry,' he said blushing.
'That's so cool!' she commented and Takumi had the distinct impression that she wasn't talking to him now.
'Why is that?' he asked.
'Well, it doesn't happen often that I have to introduce myself,' she said without any trace of arrogance in her voice then, she said: 'I'm Mina-chan and I'm a singer.'
'AH! Oh…' Takumi stuttered recalling what Matsumoto had said earlier, 'Oh my gosh…' he added making her laugh again.
'Ah, I see that at least you know of me,' she commented.
'Yes, I know of you, you won the Golden Disk this year, didn't you?'
'Oh, so you're not quite as clueless as you look,' she said.
Takumi was still too shocked to feel annoyed at that comment.
'So, what are you doing here?' she asked.
'I'm a driver. I'm with the Kirin Takahashi Racing team.'
'Aren't you a bit young for that?' she asked.
'Look who's talking, how old are you? Sixteen?' he asked, this time getting slightly offended.
'Almost, I've just turned eighteen. What about you?'
'I'm twenty,' he said making sure his voice sounded as deep and serious as Ryosuke-san's did.
'Ah, an adult, nice,' she said and Takumi couldn't help but to think that she was taking the mickey out of him.
Takumi didn't know when or how come but he found himself sitting next to her on the ground.
'So, why are you hiding?' he asked suddenly.
'Ah…I just needed some space, I guess…' she said getting serious and almost sad.
'Why?' he asked.
'It's just that, sometimes, it gets too much,' she replied and, seeing that Takumi was clearly not understanding her, she added, 'the fans, the media, the pressure. Sometimes I need some space so I can be myself for a bit.'
Takumi thought that was incredibly sad.
'Why don't you quit singing if it's so bad?' he asked.
'Oh, I've thought of quitting numerous times but I have a problem: I'm in love with music. Even if I weren't famous, I'd still sing all day long. I can't help it.'
'I can understand that,' he commented, after all, for him driving was like an addiction and he simply could not live without the speed.
'In any case, I couldn't quit even if I wanted to. My manager says that since I'm so talented, I have the duty to exploit this talent, not doing so would be selfish of me.'
'That's stupid,' he said then, seeing her shock, he added, 'just because you're good at doing something doesn't mean you've got to do it.'
Minami remained quiet for a bit, then taking a quick look at her watch, she said:
'Oh, I better leave. If my manager finds out I'm gone he'll get the police to organise a search party.'
Takumi looked at his own watch and, with dismay, he realised that he too had to run if he wanted to make it on time for the team's pre-practice meeting.
'What's your car's number?' she asked as both of them got up.
'Eighty six,' he replied.
'Alright, I'll cheer for you then. In exchange, try to come and see me sing, okay?'
'Sure,' he said and then, she kissed him again.
'Bye, bye,' she said leaving him standing there, feeling rather foolish.
'She's done it again,' he commented to himself touching his lips with the tips of his fingers.
He walked back to the garage with a silly smile on his face and a slight blush on his cheeks.
'Where in the hell have you been?' Keisuke said walking up to him.
'Er…I went for a walk…' Takumi said.
'We're about to start the meeting and no one could find you. This is a professional racing team…'
'That's enough Keisuke,' Ryosuke said then, looking at Takumi, he said 'don't be late again, understood?'
'Yes sir,' Takumi said, his slight blush turning into a deep shade of red that made him feel extremely hot from the neck up.
The look his father gave him only made him feel worse and, if that wasn't enough, half way through the speech Ryosuke was giving to the team, he suddenly remembered two tiny facts: one, a perfectly unknown girl had just kissed him and, two, he already had a girlfriend.
Oh gosh, Mika would kill him if she found out about what had just happened. Served her right for leaving him alone, Takumi thought ignoring the fact that he was being horribly unfair to her. After all, it was as much his fault as it was hers that they didn't see each other much these days…
'So, what do you think Takumi?' Ryosuke's voice made its way through the fog that seemed to have taken possession of Takumi's brain.
'Er…' Takumi said feeling extremely confused since he had not followed a single word of the entire conversation.
'I understand if you feel uneasy about starting the race yourself,' Ryosuke said saving Takumi from his own mistake.
'No, no, it's fine,' Takumi managed to say still fighting to get rid of his troubling thoughts.
'Alright so, we'll have Keisuke start the free practice and then Takumi will have his run,' Ryosuke stated.
They discussed for a while the different tactics to adopt in the several foreseen scenarios and then, after about twenty minutes, Ryosuke said:
'Alright, you two get a light lunch, take a shower and get ready for the free practice.'
Takumi started walking towards the motorhome when he felt a hand on his shoulders. He turned his head around to find his father's staring at him.
'I don't know where you got lost today but, right now, focus on your driving. You've given a hell of a chance to prove yourself, don't waste it daydreaming, alright?'
'Yes dad,' Takumi said.
'Good, now go and make me proud,' Bunta said tousling Takumi's hair showing one of his rare displays of fatherly affection.
That alone made Takumi remind himself of what he was supposed to do there. He had a job to do and he couldn't afford to get distracted. Not even if the cause of the distraction were two highly disturbing, not to mention unexpected, kisses from an absurdly beautiful girl.
What in the heck did she think she was playing at kissing people like that?
He was doing it again! Focus, Takumi, focus, he thought getting annoyed at himself.
Finally, the free practice started and Takumi was left to watch Keisuke's evolutions with the car on a small monitor placed in the team's boxes.
He was doing rather well, Takumi thought and, observing Ryosuke, he could tell his Team Manager was pleased to see his brother performing up to the other drivers' standards.
'Aniki, I'd like the front suspension to be lowered a little, it gets a bit too bouncy in the middle sector,' Keisuke said getting out of the car after his run.
'Alright, we'll do that after Takumi finishes his turn,' Ryosuke said.
Takumi got inside the car and started it. The helmet he was forced to wear was still rather uncomfortable and it felt too heavy on his head, nonetheless, he knew it was necessary so he bear it as well as he could.
He drove out of the boxes slowly and, making sure there were no incoming cars, he drove all the way down the pit lane to incorporate himself into the track.
Finally, after so many training sessions, this was the real thing: he was driving a race car in Japan's best circuit during an official racing event.
Takumi wasn't sure what he had expected to feel but he was sure that it wasn't this strange and indefinite sensation that made him feel so lost and frightened.
He had seen Keisuke's expression when the man had got out of the car: one of absolute happiness and confidence.
Clearly, his team mate didn't feel out of place, on the contrary, Keisuke looked, and probably felt, like at home in his role as professional driver. Unlike Takumi, Keisuke had probably never felt insecure in his whole life…
'What in the heck are you doing?' he heard Fumihiro say through the radio.
This made Takumi realise that his car was going stupidly slow and he was veering dangerously towards the edge of the track.
'Shit!' Takumi said not realising that back at the boxes everyone could hear what he said.
'Shit indeed, now, drive properly or get back in here!' Fumihiro admonished him.
'Yeah, sorry,' he said and that made him focus again on the track.
'What's wrong with him?' Ryosuke asked Fumihiro back at the team's box.
'I don't know.'
Ryosuke threw a sideways look at Takumi's father but, unfortunately, he couldn't read anything from the old man's facial expression.
'He's probably nervous Aniki,' Keisuke said joining the conversation.
'Well, I'll talk to him later,' Ryosuke said.
Even though Takumi tried his best, his lap times were, at best, rather poor. He knew that and, by the time Fumihiro asked him to go back into the boxes, he felt very frustrated about it all.
Ryosuke was walking towards the car when someone, by the looks of him a fellow driver, walked into the box and said, talking to Takumi:
'You call yourself a driver? My granny drives better than you! I refuse to...'
'Hey!' Keisuke said walking towards the newcomer menacingly.
Ryosuke made a gesture that made his younger brother stop.
'Excuse me, I don't know who you are but this is definitely not your team's box and I will not allow you to speak to my driver in such a rude manner. Now, get out of here before I call the circuit's officials.'
The driver looked at Ryosuke and said:
'Oh! I know who you are! You're the great Takahashi Ryosuke, aren't you? What? You're no longer driving? Too afraid I may beat you?'
Neither Keisuke nor the rest of the team could believe their ears and they all waited patiently to see what Ryosuke replied to that.
Ryosuke just laughed it off.
'We'll see about that,' he finally said.
The driver, looked at him, then at Takumi, snorted and said:
'With a driver like that, you're the one who's going to see.'
After that last rude remark, the guy left and the whole team could hear his laughter as he walked back to wherever his team's box was.
They all then looked at Takumi who was still in the car looking extremely miserable.
'Hey, don't worry about that arrogant bastard,' Keisuke said.
'Yeah, he's just a bigheaded pig,' Fumihiro said trying to lighten up the mood.
'No, he's right,' Takumi whispered.
'What? Don't tell me you believe a word of what he said? Takumi, we all know you're one hell of a driver,' Keisuke said.
'No, I'm not,' Takumi said, this time speaking louder. He then looked up and saw his father's worried expression.
Slowly, Takumi got out of the car and, not daring to look at anyone in their face, he said:
'I've known it all along: I'm just not good enough to be here.'
With that and without removing his helmet, he ran out of the box.
'I'll go and talk to him,' Ryosuke said.
To be continued…
