"Tyler?"
"Yeah, Lina?"
"You're a fucking idiot!"
Tyler Morgan and Lina Navarro were in a red Volkswagen Jetta, speeding their way out of their neighborhood, and south towards the heart of Silver Rock City. Earlier in the evening, Tyler's mother, Sylvia, had turned in for the night and Tyler initiated his impeccable plan to sneak out so he could hang with Lina and their friends. However, when he saw his mom's keys on the coffee table, he couldn't resist the chance to go for a joyride. Lina ended up joining him since she was the only one that showed up even though she hesitated to get in but felt she needed to be there to keep him from crashing.
"Yeah, thanks." Tyler rolled his eyes as he kept the wheel steady. His foot was shaky on the gas, he drove them out onto a new street where there was more traffic, "hey, do you think we could race in this?"
"In a fucking Jetta?"
"Relax, I'm kidding." He chuckled as he glanced at her. Tyler couldn't resist bringing up racing, even if they were in a car that had no real chance against the typical street racer in Fortune Valley. In and out of the city, racers were street roguish outlaws, a unique mix of the crazy and the clever. The Valley's police department was merely forced to tolerate them for decades as the street racing scene became a major part of the area's gambling community and gambling is what mainly brought money to the city.
"Just keep your eyes on the road!" She said as she held onto the hanger handle.
"Okay, okay…"
Lina huffed as she kept gripping the handle above the window. It was dawning on her that even though Tyler was an idiot for stealing his mom's car at the age of fourteen for a joyride, she was also an idiot for getting in the car with him. But she isn't the bigger idiot. Right? Right.
"Look," she said, "we gotta go back but we gotta be chill about it. If a cop sees us or something-"
"I'm chill, you're not." Tyler cut in, even as he could feel his heart rate increase, he felt very focused on keeping the car steady. "We're gonna be fine, I'm just gonna take us around the city for a little bit and we can head back."
Suddenly Lina's phone started to vibrate, the caller ID showing the name "Jess Miller" Lina quickly answered it, putting the call on speaker.
"Hey, Jess?" she said into the phone.
"Yeah, hey." The voice of Jess Miller was heard in the interior of the car as Tyler went to make a complete stop. "Where are y'all? I had to get out of the house by promising to go play tennis with my mom later this week."
"Hey Jess!" Tyler shouted as a car passed by them, honking in frustration from Tyler's poor driving.
"Are y'all DRIVING?" Jess asked, "where the fuck are you guys?!"
"It's just a quick trip, no worries," Tyler said as Lina gave him a look. He would step on the brake as they reached a stoplight. While they waited, a white 1973 Porsche 911 RSR pulled up next to them.
"We're heading back right now, Jess. Don't worry, just meet us at Rav's garage in the Barrio. Okay?" Lina was doing her best to not sound agitated and freak Jess out, her mind racing to figure out the route to the Barrio's best mechanic. She was rather good when it came to finding a way.
Tyler glanced over at the Porsche, wondering if that was the one, he thought it was. The tint in the Porsche was too dark for him to see through the windows but he still recognized that Porsche: it was Gallo's father's car. Gallo Rivera was older than Tyler and Lina and was old enough to drive. However, he was normally forbidden from driving his father's car, much less racing is. If Gallo was out on the streets, then he must be on a joyride as well. Feeling cheeky, Tyler revved the engine as he stared down the Porsche.
"What are you doing?" Lina asked quietly as she heard the engine, "don't you even…" he eyes widened as she recognized the Porsche. "Fuck… Tyler what are you doing?"
"Huh? What's he doing?" Jess sounded frantic through the phone. "Where are y'all? What happened?"
The Porsche revved back; Gallo seemed willing to entertain his friend despite the circumstances. Tyler revved again as the light remained red. Gallo revved as well, the sounds of their engines getting in a shouting match. Tyler couldn't go back now, not after issuing a challenge that he couldn't win. Could he?
The light turned green as Lina started to shout. Tyler put his foot on the gas, pushing the car forward while the Porsche would do the same. Within two seconds, Tyler and Lina could see the Porsche take off in front of them, moving at a speed that a typical stock Jetta could never hope to match. Even still, Tyler kept his foot on the gas.
He tuned out the world around him as he felt the intense desire to get ahead. His mother's car just could only remain behind, even as he stayed on the gas and gripped the steering wheel. He couldn't even hear Lina yelp as she was startled, clutching the sleeve of his shirt as she braced herself. Was it his father's spirit that he inherited? Maybe.
Lina wasn't having all that much fun. She thought they would lose control, crash, and maybe die. And yet, as she held her breath and her body tensed up, she felt an adrenaline rush that she wasn't quite used to. It was a sort of thrilling high that would puzzle her in the coming days. The sort that she would feel the desire to chase later in the future.
Despite pushing past 90 mph, Tyler and Lina were left in the dust as the Gallo was gone. Tyler started to slow down, feeling his heart in his throat as he'd never been felt so fast before. Lina's hands were clammy as she let go of his shirt sleeve, leaving it very wrinkled. Something told them that now was a great time to head back home. Unfortunately, they were too late to notice the flashing red and blue lights would appear the rearview mirror.
"Pull over," she said in a shaky voice as she abruptly hung up the phone on Jess who must have been panicking after hearing Lina's shrieking yelp.
"Maybe we could lose them?" Tyler's suggestion was foolish, for obvious reasons.
"Pull. The FUCK. OVER!" Lina shouted at Tyler in desperation, she might be in trouble as well as he is, but she was not about to risk her life anymore with him. Honestly, she doesn't understand why she tries to stick around with him. He was funny sometimes and really cool but he was also a fucking idiot, and he might be a little crazy.
Tyler sighed as he pulled over and brought the car to a shaky stop. Under the lights of Silver Rock City, Tyler Morgan was being arrested for operating a vehicle without a license. A couple of weeks later, Tyler was found guilty of reckless driving as a minor and sentenced to six months in Juvenile Hall. Meanwhile, Lina Navarro took a closer look into the racing scene herself. She had a lot to learn, and she planned to soak up as much as she possibly could.
