Double Date on the Track
I opened my eyes … unfortunately. The sky was a shade of teal that suggested that it was early morning, but the sun wasn't up yet.
"I should ask Mom and Pops if I can keep a coffee machine in my room," I said to myself. I rubbed my eyes, yawned, and touched my feet to the floor. I cracked my neck, skipped to my door, turned the knob, and tip-toed to Speed's room.
"Speed?" asked I softly. I opened his door and looked around. "Speed, are you up?" No one was there, but I continued to glance about.
"What are we looking at?" asked a voice.
"AHHHH!!" I screamed. I turned around. Heart racing, I breathed heavily in Speed's direction, "Where were you?"
"I snuck down to the kitchen to have a muffin," he replied.
"Muffin?"
"Well, Spritle always takes the blueberry muffins and leaves me with the corn muffins and I hate the corn muffins and …!"
"God, I wish I could be like you."
"What is that supposed to mean?" he asked.
"It's almost been a year and every time I wake up for a race I feel like I'm stuck in the peak of a ramp jump and there's no way down," I explained. "All you're worried about is muffins."
"I like muffins," he muttered under his breath. To me he said, "That feeling is going to go away." I gave him a coy stare and stared into his eyes, "Is this feeling going to go away?"
"I sure hope not," he smiled. We leaned into a kiss. He brushed a piece of my hair behind my ear and whispered, "Trixie, I—"
"Hey, Speed, if Mrs. Watersratt asked us to come back to Annville and talk to the kids, would you like to go?" I inquired.
"Waterstratt?" he asked. "Annville? Trixie, you know how much I hated that place!"
"Well, it's not like they're going to ask you to do math or anything," I said. I bounced up and down and begged, "Plee-ease? Come on, just think about it. That's the place that brought us together."
Speed shifted his mouth from side to side. "Alright, I'll think about it," he seceded. "But let's get this straight, it's for you and the kids … not for Watersratt."
Speed hated our third grade teacher but, then again, she wasn't very fond of him, either. The very idea that he'd think about seeing her again made me remember all over how lucky I was in love.
But would I be so lucky on track?
The index finger of my left hand was dancing on the hood of the TRX-1, which was parked at the green and white start line of the third Kirikala track. Ironically, we had never raced on the second before. This track, however, was much more modern than that of Kirikala 1. There were skyscrapers everywhere. The track itself was held out of the water by metal bracing.
Speed and I stood side by side, staring at Cannonball and Kellie.
"Do you really think we can beat them again?" I asked Speed.
"Why not?" he asked in return. "We've done it before. Don't sweat them, Trixie. We've got at least one thing they don't."
I glanced up at him, "And that is?"
"A real relationship," he said. "Trixie, I've been trying to tell you all this time—"
"All drivers to your cars!" yelled the ever-more annoying PA. "All drivers to your cars."
Speed whispered something that sounded a lot like, "Damn it."
"Give me a nice big hug when I get to the finish line, okay?" I asked.
"You got it, Trix," he responded. I watched him climb into the Mach 6 and smiled behind him. Once he was in the car, I could clearly see Kellie Kalinkov. She stared at me as I jumped into the TRX-1. Her eyes seemed to ask, "Are you ready."
I glared, "Ready as hell."
"3 …"
Focus, I thought.
"2 …"
There is nothing but you, your car, and the finish line, I lectured myself as I hit the accelerator.
"1! … GO!"
"And rubber to burn!" I yelled aloud. Immediately I felt something ram the side of the TRX-1.
It was Kellie. She laughed at me, "Hi there. Amateur."
"Has-been!" I screamed. I pressed the A button on my steering wheel. The jumping jacks emerged from my car. I flew into the air and rolled back onto the track. My head bobbed up and down a little. I let out a deep breath and looked to my right.
I was next to Kellie again.
"Great," I sighed. A neon light trail was on the right side of the track, pointing forward. Kellie and I turned in unison to avoid scraping the other side. We rode into a tunnel; I was on the ceiling and Kellie was on the ground.
"Kalinkov!!" I yelled. I pressed the jumping jacks again and landed on the ground. I was finally in front of her. She screamed, "Not again!"
Suddenly, the GRX tumbled past us. Kellie gasped.
"Oooh, that's GOTTA hurt!" yelled an announcer. "Speed Racer just crushed Cannonball Taylor!"
"Again," added the second.
"Way to go, Speedy," I whispered. The ramp was just ahead. I stomped on the gas and looked up to the sky over my head. For a moment I reminisced on flying in my helicopter. That was, until I saw Kellie and the Matryoshka rolling over my head.
I landed on the other side of the ramp and hit the boost button. She slipped further and further behind me. Letting out a sigh of relief, I looked in front of me. There was only Speed and Snake Oiler.
"Caught between the little turd and his girlfriend," he muttered. I pouted as I tried to catch up to him. The finish line was already in sight, even though it was rather small from where I was. It was obvious Speed was going to get there first, and I wasn't going to be third.
I gave Snake Oiler a death glare as I came up beside him. We rivaled one another to stay ahead, until …
Flames were all around me. At first I thought it was my hate igniting the track, but it soon became obvious that things were not so simple. I immediately pressed the B button. A dome closed over my head.
Thank you, Pops Racer, I thought.The TRX-1 twisted around and hit the sides of the track more times than I could count. I couldn't see a thing, but there was only one thing I was looking for: a Kiwksave bubble … maybe two.
But it never came.
"Oh, no!" I shouted.
I had only seen a person die once before. I was over at Speed's house watching the Casa Cristo on TV the night Rex Racer crashed. I hoped to never watch something like that again, especially not up close.
Snake Oiler was not the nicest guy in the world. He dealt with race fixers and hurled snakes at people. He tried to put tire burn on my face. His nickname for Speed was 'Punk.' But he didn't deserve to die. Not like that. I couldn't watch … but I couldn't look away, either. I couldn't even blink. The flames grew and went higher.
"And there's been an explosion!" called the announcer. "And not a Kwiksave to be seen! Call in the rescue crews!"
"Only two cars seem to be missing from the track," added the second announcer. "Snake Oiler and Trixie Shimura."
"TRIX-IEEEEEEE!!" screamed a voice I knew all too well. "NOOOOO!!"
I turned the steering wheel with as much force as I could until my car was facing forward. Then I pounded through the flames to the finish. I zigzagged and hit the sides three times before I stopped. I imagine I looked rather like a pinball.
"And Trixie Shimura has emerged from the crash!" yelled the announcer. The crowd went wild.
I turned around in place for a full minute, I think, before I stopped and looked in front of me. There was Speed, standing on the finish line, helmet on the ground next to him. Silent tears were streaming down his face.
"Trix …" he whispered. "I—I—I—" He ran over to my car, put his hands on the hood, and stood there, weeping silently. I took off my helmet, unstrapped my seatbelt, slipped out of the car, and took him in my arms.
"It's okay, Speed. I'm here. It's okay," I whispered. We touched foreheads. He kissed me, over and over, on the lips, the cheek, the forehead, the hair everywhere on my head he could get to. He'd never done anything like that before. I guess he was just so happy to see I was okay.
Mom and Pops were in the audience; sharing mutual 'Thank God,' glances at one another. Spritle and Chim-Chim were holding each other, sharing tears of joy for my safety (at least … I hope they were from joy; knowing those two they might have been disappointment). The audience watched Speed and me in one of our most tender moments. The rescue team rushed to find out what I already knew.
Snake Oiler was dead.