Chapter 14: A Winning Spirit
Kira looked out of the window and smiled to herself when she saw her racing motorcycle. For almost a year she'd been working hard to be ready for the new season once Motocross returned to Atlanta. Now she only had a few more hours before she'd go out and try her skills out on the track among other riders for the first time.
First, she had to finish a paper that she'd been assigned in her English Literature class. Kira read through it and figured that it wasn't that bad for her first college paper. She knew that others her age were still trying to barely get through high school but thanks to passing her GED test back in the fall, she'd been able to start college classes. It may make her weird but she'd always liked school, though college was a bit different. Still, she liked the challenge of it.
She also liked the anonymity of going to class and no one really having the time to ask her any questions about herself. She could be part of a group without revealing too much about herself. Sure, there were always those who seemed to be just a bit too cheerful who liked to think that everyone just wanted to be friends but with only a look or two Kira was usually able to send them backpedaling away.
After reading through the paper one last time Kira pulled the paper out of the typewriter and placed it in her folder for class on Monday morning. She then got up from her desk in her room and grabbed her helmet from her bed. She was glad that Ben was out of town since she wanted to race in her first race without feeling his eyes on her. She wanted to make him proud of her but she knew that she was going against experienced riders tonight. Up until now she had no real gauge to see how well she had learned to ride; tonight she'd not only be riding but racing as well. The thrill of it had her heart pounding in her chest. The hours couldn't pass fast enough for her.
Kira walked her bike to the starting line and looked around as other racers did the same. She felt more than a little nervous but she knew from her years of street fighting that you could never show such emotions around your competitors. Instead she kept a cool look of contempt on her face and ignored when anyone approached her. She put her helmet on and climbed onto her bike as the signal was given for the riders to prepare for the start of the race.
As the starting pistol rang out the bikes all sprung forward as each vied for the lead. Kira was surrounded by the other riders and found that paying attention to the other riders around her was taking more of her focus than she had anticipated. Still, as another rider took a spill in the second turn she was able to separate herself enough from the rest of the pack as each of the racers scrambled around the wreck that ended up taking three racers out of the running.
When she crossed the finish line she felt a great sense of pride in her accomplishment. Still, there were two other races of the day so she went right in to prepare for them. She watched some of the other racers and when she spotted one she remembered him from the year before. He'd gotten better in the last year. He'd placed second in the first race and it was clear that he planned to do better in the next one.
At the end of the second race, Kira was satisfied to find that she'd reached fifth place. Not bad for her first real race but she wanted to do even better. She'd watched the other racers during each race and she was beginning to see the same kind of tells that she'd look for when she would fight others for money. Some favored going to the outside of each turn while others took to the inside. Other riders seemed more concerned with competing against certain racers rather than winning the actual race. She figured that if she filed away every bit of information that she saw she could place even better in the last race of the day.
One thing that she knew was in her favor was that this race was on an actual track. She rode better on them rather than out in the wooded trails that she'd practiced on. Her next race may not be as easy to place in so she wanted to do her best in the last race today.
When the starting pistol shot out, Kira saw as two racers at the front of the pack became absorbed in their own competition. Still, they were far enough out in front of the rest of the racers that no one was able to take advantage of their distraction to take the lead away.
Kira, meanwhile, zipped back and forth between the riders in the back until she was in the middle of them. As each turn came up she used the knowledge of each of the other riders' habits to slip by them one at a time in each corner. By the last lap she was once more in fifth place. She watched as the next two riders vie for third only for one of the riders to barely nudge the other, causing the bike to spin out of control. Kira went high to avoid the collision and increased her speed away from remaining rider as he tried to regain control of his bike. When she reached the finish line she smiled broadly behind her helmet's mask. She'd finished in third. A place that she hadn't really thought that she'd finish in.
Perhaps she should have told Ben about today's races after all.
Jebb waved over to his friends at the small table that they'd been able to swipe from some of the regulars and joined them. The roadhouse was full and he hoped that meant that he and his friends might be able to go under the radar and not get carded in the chaos. Of course, he could just suggest to his racing buddies that they could all head back to the hotel since he'd thought ahead and brought a jug of the family's finest whiskey with him in anticipation of winning today's race. Sitting down, Jebb began to kid Charlie about the spill that he'd taken in the first race which had disqualified him from any further races for the weekend. The fact that Blake had nearly suffered the same fate when Matt Kinnison had cut him off didn't dissuade him from joining Jebb in his teasing.
Speaking of Matt, Jebb saw the man strolling over to a young woman that he'd seen earlier in the day at the race. She was a newcomer to Motocross but when he'd first caught sight of the redhead today he'd been certain that he'd seen her someplace before. He'd been quite surprised when the woman had come in third in the last race of the day; just behind himself and Kinnison. He'd thought to himself that he definitely would like to meet the girl who had been able to keep up with him so well. Apparently, the other man had similar thoughts.
Jebb could see his longtime rival going through his usual clumsy approach that he always took when he zeroed in on a girl that he planned to take back to his hotel for the night. Jebb was almost always amazed when it would actually work for the guy more times than not. Personally, Jebb figured that any girl should be able to see right through him in a heartbeat.
Tonight appeared to be one of those nights that the girl of choice would not be so easily convinced to leave with Matt. That caught Jebb's attention since he knew that Kinnison did not take rejection well. He stood and started to head toward the bar as his friends groaned behind him and stood to join him (just in case). They had seen this scenario played out a dozen times and knew from experience that at least one, if not both, of the men will be riding in tomorrow's races with only one good eye by the time the night was done.
At the bar, Matt was going through his usual routine to convince the newest rider to leave out with him. He was confident that his customary spill would work just as it always has. From his vantage point, Jebb could see the redhead's face contort in annoyance as he moved through the crowded bar. Shaking his head, he wondered if Kinnison would ever learn that when a girl says no she means no.
Meanwhile, Blake wondered just what it would take for his friend to realize that he wasn't the self-appointed knight in shining armor for every hapless female to catch the unwanted attention of some less than chivalrous moron. How many times had he seen Jebb take a punch to the face over some dame that he didn't even have a vested interest in? Often times Jebb never even used the whole rescuing the damsel in distress bit to get a date for his troubles. Of course that might have been by design since he always seemed to have a date whenever he wanted one anyway. What was even worse, more often than not, Blake himself ended up a bit worse for wear by the end of it all, too. All because he didn't let his buddy face the consequences of his actions on his own.
As Jebb walked up to the bar he could not hear exactly what was said but just as he had gotten a few steps behind Matt, the redheaded woman turned sharply to face the man who had harassed her and allowed her fist to connect solidly against the man. Doing so knocked Matt squarely back against Jebb causing them both to fall to the floor. Jebb was caught by surprise as the other man fell on him.
Matt scrambled to his feet, angered that he had been hit and was ready to hit Kira back. Female or not, Matt was not about to allow some mere woman to hit him. He began to lunge forward only to be stopped by Jebb. From the ground, he had reached up and grabbed Matt's legs. He yanked him to the ground keeping him from lunging at the female who had slugged him. Matt spun around and began to take his anger out on his longtime rival. From around the bar friends of both men made their way to help them in their fight as they engaged in a battle of wills.
Surprised, Kira couldn't believe that the man had butted in where he had no business. Shaking her head, she laughed to herself. She had taken care of Matt on her own. She did not need others to fight her battles for her. While both Jebb and Matt were duking it out on the floor, Kira discreetly left the bar just as police showed up to stop the fighting. She figured that both men got what they deserved. After all, neither thought that she could take care of herself. That was a big mistake.
She wasn't about to let some masher paw all over her nor would she ever wait for some guy to come and rescue her like some knight in a pair of jeans. Granted they were a tight-fitting pair of jeans that looked good on her would-be-rescuer. Kira would admit to herself that she enjoyed looking at him from afar but she didn't need to complicate her life with getting to actually know him. She preferred to be by herself. She was comfortable alone.
Once you let others close to you, life always becomes complicated. That was something that Kira didn't need. She would race against the tall, good-looking blond but she wasn't about to let it go further than that.
After unloading her racing bike off of the truck that Ben had bought her for Christmas, Kira left back out from the house on a private mission. Each week, Ben gave her what he called an allowance for things that she might want that wasn't already provided for her at the house. She rarely felt that she needed anything more she had so she had begun to do something with it that she was sure he'd approve of; if she ever told him which she didn't plan on doing.
She then loaded up the back with boxes and drove toward the parts of town that she was all too familiar with. She knew where she was going. She'd come out a few days earlier and watched from a distance to make sure that the people that she was looking for hadn't moved on yet.
Once in an area that she knew was filled with street kids she pulled over, turned the truck off, and put the keys in her bra rather than her pockets; just in case. She then quickly got out of the truck and unloaded the boxes of blankets and food that she knew the street kids in the area needed. She knew that even if the kids who lived in this alley had begun to trust her after seeing her and her truck several times in the last few months it didn't mean that they were the only ones in the area. She worked fast and remained alert while she put each box on the road beside her truck.
She knew what it was like to be hungry and cold. She couldn't in good conscience sit at home at night as the temperatures dipped as they still did in the spring evenings and not share just a little of what Ben and fate had given to her. She knew that most of those kids had good reasons for being where they were. She also knew what it was like to be afraid of the average do gooders since most sought to get the kids off of the streets and into the same system that most had no faith in. Kira figured that the least that she could do was to make their time on the streets less harsh.
With the last box unloaded Kira took off her coat and laid it down on the ground as she figured the knife in her pocket as she glanced around one last time before getting in the truck and locking the doors before pulling the keys back out. She then drove away knowing that the goods that she'd put out on the road would be snatched up in less than five minutes.
She came early on purpose. The older kids would be out still trying to earn a little cash which meant that the younger ones in the street family would have a chance to hide what they needed from the older members of the family. They'd have a chance to not be hungry for just a few days. To not be cold. To not be the last to have what they needed at the end of the day.
Glancing around the cell, Jebb wondered how he kept getting into these sorts of situations. He just couldn't help himself. Any time he saw a female who seemed to need his help he just had to jump in; especially where Matt Kinnison was involved. Sitting on the hard metal cot, Jebb figured it was just all part of being a Duke. After all, a Duke can't do good without getting locked up. Now Jebb just had to wait for his father to come and pick him up. Fortunately Atlanta was not too far from Placid. Then his only concern would be hoping that his mother would not learn of his recent incarceration.
At the other end of the cell, Blake was sulking that he too had been locked up. One of these days, he was going to learn to let his buddy fight on his own. What was worse, with a broken hand, there was no way that he'd be a part of race the next day. In fact, he doubted that he be racing for the rest of the season.
With the keys jingling, both men looked up to see the officer coming toward them. Standing up, they waited for the officer to release the cell doors before stepping out. To Jebb, it felt like everything was moving in slow motion. He knew it was only a matter of time before he'd hear yet one more lecture; though he knew his father would secretly be proud of his actions. Still, he would need to come up with a good excuse before his mother saw his black-eye.
With all that had happened, Jebb wondered what had happened to the redheaded woman who had been the one to hit Matt first. He had to admire someone who took matters in her own hands. It took moxie to stand up to a man like Kinnison. Now Jebb wondered if he would see her in the race tomorrow or if she would just fade away and he'd never see her again.