Okay, sure, Rachel's house wasn't as neat and tidy as it usually was. Despite the occasional clutter here and there, the house/garage hybrid was definitely cozy. It had a heavy dose of modern minimalism (by Y2K standards) with its tans and maroons. Yet, with a tinge of classic luxury to bring the vibe home. This was especially the case with the guest rooms, in which Rachel made sure at least two beds were supplied in each room for her six-member team. For Wolf, he deemed the suite "unfit" for him, and opted to sleep in his car instead. Brian, Roman, and Kenji all died of laughter as they watched the trench coat toting man exit the room with a turned up nose. Afterwards, the three of them called dibs on whoever got the sofa, bed, or whatnot, and began winding down for the night.*
Lying down on the bed, Roman had his nose damn near buried into an Import Tuner magazine, which featured a plethora of sensual pictures of women with cars.
"Enjoying those curves?" Brian teased as he shuffled his nightshirt onto his upper body.
"Curvy as hell, gaaawd damn…"
"Chill out, man, you'll scare the girls off the pages with your horny ass." Laughing at his own joke, Brian threw himself onto the sofa he planned to sleep on and gave his attention to Kenji, who was sifting through his EDM CD's for some late night music. "So what's up with you Kenji? What made you wanna kick it in Bayview, bro?"
Kenji paused what he was doing and took a seat on his bed. "Lots of things. You could say I just got bored."
"Bored of what? Being the fastest driver," Brian snarked, not totally serious. But the tone of Kenji's reply came perhaps a little too nonchalant, showing Brian just how much of a cocky person Kenji was.
"Yeah, actually. My crew, Bushido, reached a bit of a… ah, hmph, let's just say 'snag.' My girlfriend, Yumi? Heh, she's almost as good as me. And even our newest members don't fall too far behind. We're so good, we don't know what to do with ourselves. I can't speak for the others, but as for me, I'd like to think of Bayview as a challenge. I can push my limits here against dumbasses like Eddie. I'm especially looking forward to meeting with DK."
Roman paused to glance over his magazine at Brian and Kenji. "'DK'? Who the hell that is?"
Brian replied, "C'mon, man, you remember that dude I told you about that basically had the whole Tokyo street scene to himself?"
"Yeah? So?"
"This is the same dude me and Kenji are talking about."
"Hold on, I thought he stayed in Tokyo? What the hell is he doin' all the way down here in the 'States? 'Cause if we have to race that fool,-"
"-Don't lose sleep over it," Kenji commanded with a smirk. "DK got his reputation by scaring losers who can't even hold a drift for more than five seconds. He's an embarrassment to the sport. Doubt he's ever faced an opponent, like me, who doesn't tuck tail and piss himself after a threat."
"Wait, bruh. Ain't there a reason why people're scared of that fool? Doesn't dude have homeboys from the Japanese mafia or some shit?"
"You mean the 'yakuza'?" Corrected Kenji.
Rome shrugged and crossed his arms. "I dunno, homie, whatever they call it up there."
Kenji nodded and fumbled with the case of one CD he'd been eyeing. "From what I know, that's just a rumor. Doesn't matter to me, regardless. The yakuza shouldn't have ties to street racing anyway. And even if they did, I'd still steamroll them as well. Doesn't matter to me who you are. When it comes to proving my superiority, I don't let anyone intimidate me. I break them."
Brian snickered, somewhat impressed but also annoyed by Kenji's bravado. "You got spirit, bro. I can appreciate that."
Kenji popped his CD into his portable player and got ready to tune his two roommates out for the night. "You have to be confident to be the best. And I am the best. No offense to my partners," he disclaimed, giving a respectful nod to them, "I'm glad to race with you both. But, make no mistake here, I am the best. And if you don't believe me, watch closely. I'll prove it to you soon enough."/
=Over in the Other Guest Room=
Now, as for Suki and Angie? Well... that's a different ball game. It was a hell of a lot more awkward for the two unfamiliar female racers that couldn't be any more different. Suki stepped into her room, fresh from the shower with just a towel covering her body. She learned against the wall, pulling on her wet ends as she watched Angie read a surfing magazine on the bed. Their room was just as small with two beds in it.
"You ain't gonna take a shower?"
Angie flipped a page. "Mm'nah."
Suki bit her lip and sat on her bed, thinking of ways to break the awkward silence between the two. Only the sound of rustling pages from Angie's magazine teased the air.
"Sooo… your car's pretty badass. Ain't my cup of tea, but I can't lie, it's nice to have a classic set of wheels on the team."
"Aaaand your car is…," she looked up at the ceiling and paused. Suki could see a joke form in Angie's mind, to which the woman laughed at in her head and returned to her magazine. "Your car's a looker, for sure," Angie settled for a condescending insult.
Even so, it was enough to finally offend Suki. "Now, what the hell is that s'posed to mean?" Suki asked with her hands on her hips.
Angie looked up and couldn't believe she had a free invitation to roast Suki's vehicle. She'd seen that S2000 before on forum posts and on the cover once of Import Tuner Magazine. For many enthusiasts, it was hard not to bring Suki's infamous "Barbie Car" into the conversation when chatting about insane builds. But between you and her? Suki would prefer the term "Manga Car" instead, since that was what inspired the design.
"It's ugly as shit."
Oh hell no!
Suki fumed over to Angie's bedside and defended her pride and joy on wheels. "Alright, now, what the fuck?! Did I do or say somethin' to piss you off?! If I did, my bad, but I ain't gonna stand here and be talked down to like a-"
"-Hey, hey, hey, relax, kid." Angie interrupted, urging with her arms outstretched to sit down next to her.
"What?" Suki said, backing up from Angie's touch.
Angie had to stifle her laughs as she continued to approach. "I'm just feelin' you out. 'Kay? Damn, no need to flip out on me. Sit down."
Suki did as she was asked and took the empty spot on the bed next to Angie. "Feel me out? By pissin' me off?"
Angie shrugged. "Whaaat? Just being honest, here, hun! Your car is ugly to me. So what?"
"'So' you can kiss my ass," answered Suki as she turned her head away. A jolt of relief came when she felt Angie's elbow playfully poke into her side.
"Damn! Now that's what I'm talkin' about, kid. Nice to know I got somebody with a backbone on my team."
Suki whipped her head back to Angie to see her smiling. "Geez, you had me scared there for a sec."
Angie threw herself on the bed, belly up so that the ceiling dome could highlight the cobra tattoo on her waist. "Hell, I was scared that I mighta pushed you a little too far."
"Duh!" Giggled Suki. "I don't like when people talk shit about my wheels. I know it ain't everyone's speed. No one said you gotta like it, but it's still gonna smoke yours."
Angie jabbed a proud finger toward Suki, with her other arm propping up her head. "See! That's what I'm talkin' about. Now you're showin' your teeth. Just had to light a little fire under your ass to bring it out."
Suki sighed and let herself rest against the bed as well. "Seriously, though, you and Rachel are some big inspirations for me. I appreciate what y'all do."
"Oh, shut up already! We aren't all that special. Rachel's just a desperate rich girl thirsting for attention. And I'm just a crazy bitch that wants to see how fast I can push my Mopar before it sends me to hell. We're not role models. Quit saying that."
Suki shrugged. Of course, she disagreed. But she enjoyed the moment of peace with her role model turned roommate.
"How old are you, by the way? You barely look old enough to drive."
"Yeaaah… you won't believe how often I hear that. But, nah, I just turned twenty-one not too long ago."
"God, you're still a child. Your folks even know you're all the way out here with a buncha deadbeats like me?"
"Ugh, don't even get me started on them."
"Oooh, you better spill some of that tea. I love drama."
Suki sat up and pulled her legs into a criss cross. "Alright, so look. My parents were cool and all growin' up, but when I hit college, they started trippin' hard. They're loaded up, so they payed for me to go to some big shot university to become a doctor."
"Uh, huh… I see where this is goin'."
"Right?! I mean, yeah, doctors get hella money, but I don't want to do that shit for the rest of my life, y'know? Anyway, I wasn't going to school. Just didn't care. I always told them I liked cars, y'know. The body work, the paint, graphics, and all that."
"And they didn't give a shit, of course," Angie interjected.
Suki shook her head. "'Course not. So when they found out they wasted all that money from tuition, they flipped out. Know what I said? I said, 'screw it', and kept doin' my thing. Didn't matter to me what they thought, 'till they caught me at my man's garage one day. They saw a side of me they didn't want."
"Uh oh. What happened?"
"So… they found out who my people are. Y'know? My man,Tej? He's black. And our homeboy, Jimmy, is about as clean-cut as you and me. Def' not what they wanted to see from the girl they raised to be their 'princess' or whatever."
Suki sucked her lips and continued. It was a bit hard to dive in deep to her shitty relationship with her parents.
"Shit, it was bad enough that Tej wasn't some hotshot philanthropist makin' over six figures. But you shoulda seen the look they gave us both just because his skin is a little darker. And not just that, but... y'know, everything about me was just all wrong to them. When they found out I wasn't walkin' the straight and narrow…-" An idle thumb ran across her bottom lip, her lingering thoughts at the edge of her mouth. Some of them were a bit hard to spell out. So she settled and decided to just come clean. "My folks, um… they kicked me to the curb. Straight up disowned me."
Suki waited for a reaction from Angie. Eventually, it came, but Angie didn't seem too phased by Suki's backstory. She just gave the younger girl a nudge on the shoulder and shrugged, "Screw em'."
"Yep. Tej and the guys are all the family I need."
Angie nodded her head, completely understanding where Suki's motivation was coming from. Both of them were rebels and even though they probably wouldn't admit it, they wouldn't mind finding a friend in each other. Or maybe not. It probably depended on what mood they were in on any particular day.
Clearing her throat, Angie got serious for a second. "Listen, I know I was being a bitch this whole night. Most of the time, that's just how I am. But, hey, I'll be the first to admit that I could've been more cool about it. Even if I was irritated as hell."
"You ain't gotta sweat it, girl. We're straight now. Lookin' forward to rollin' with you on the team."
"'Same. It'll be nice to see that spunk you got play into your driving. Rachel said you guys are no pushovers."
"Hell no, we ain't. Watch. One of these days, you'll ride with me, and you'll see that my 'ugly ass car' ain't just for show. Count on it."/
=Rachel's Office=
Sleep never came too easy for Brian. It was especially the case since Rachel's Garage was just outside the hub of the city, which meant that there was at least one car speeding by every sixty seconds. So, he figured, why not make himself a little more familiar with the Queen's castle? Might as well.
Throughout the halls, Brian picked up on remnants of a place that was probably once neat and organized. Now, it looked like your typical gearhead's lounge. He noticed a light in one of the downstairs rooms, along with some faint humming. Brian knocked on the door and stood with his hands in his pockets at the doorway. Rachel peeked her head over her paperwork and paused her CD player.
"Mind if I spy on you for a bit?"
"I don't," she replied, twiddling with her Sharpie in hand. He snatched the invitation and plopped down into a vacant office chair, sitting backwards/the wrong way in it on purpose. "Somethin' the matter? Trouble dozin' off?"
"Yep. Usually right now, I'm out making terrible life decisions. What about you? You normally stay up this late with your nose buried in paperwork?"
"It's not as bad as you make it sound. Almost kinda therapeutic, y'know? 'Specially when I need a breather from the action. I can just tune out the sound of the streets, and…," she pointed the tip of her Sharpie at her CD player, "Listen to some Aaliyah."
"Well, now that I've got you distracted, I've always wondered how you became… y'know, you. Cause I'll be honest at first glance, you…,-"
"-I don't really seem like the type of woman that should be this deep into cars, street racin' and all that. Right?" Rachel took Brian's words right out of his mouth. He confirmed it by saying "yeah" with his eyes. "Don't worry. I get that a lot." Dropping everything she was doing, she crossed one leg over the other and gave her full attention to Brian. "My story's just like a lot of others. Once I got old enough to drive… nothing else mattered. I mean, y'know how it is, Brian, when you're on the streets… just you and your ride…-" She paused, her hands hovering in thought as she tried to come up with a worthy explanation.
"-...No, trust me, I get it."
"As for my occupation… *sigh* well, I always wanted to own my own business since I was a little girl. Didn't matter what it was, just wanted to make sure I didn't have to call somebody 'boss.' Y'know?"
"Mm hmm."
"So I just married street racing and business management together, aaand here we are."
"Y'know, now that you mention it, it is kinda hard to see you punching in at a nine-to-five." Rachel sucked her teeth and Brian was quick to reassure her. "Not in a conceited kinda way, though. You're still down to Earth, which is something you can't say about a lot of people in your crowd."
Rachel shrugged. "'Preciate it. My homegirl tells me that I can be a bit much. I dunno. You be the judge."
It was Brian's turn to shrug. "I think you're just fine. I mean, hell, you got six strangers from outta town shacked up in your house. If you were conceited, I think we'd be having a different conversation." They both chuckled softly until Brian paused in thought. "Well, I say six, but really five strangers. Wolf's knocked out in his car right now, believe it or not!"
Rachel narrowed her eyes and stifled a laugh. "He's sleeping in his car? Why?!"
Brian just laughed. "Must be that British leather."
Rachel rolled her eyes and let her legs trade places. "Well, damn, s'pose I should apologize I couldn't afford Aston Martin bedsheets."
"Ha, yeah!"
"But, that's my story for now. 'Course there's a lot more to it, but we'd be here all night. Don't be so shy, gimme some dirt on yourself. What made you into 'Bullitt?'"
Yeah, talk about a long story. Of course, a good chunk of his narrative would need to be filtered out. Definitely the parts about his time as a cop. For now, he gave Rachel the squeaky clean/censored version of his motivations.
"It all really comes full circle to me and Rome. I mean, we've been dogs ever since we were kids. Grew up in Barstow together. Y'know, just playing football in the dirt and getting into all kinds of stupid shit. But one thing we always loved was cars. Always. So, we figured one day we'd open a garage together." He chuckled to himself as he thought about the surge of "income" that the both of them got from the Carter Verone fiasco.
Brian ran his thumb over his lip in thought. "Uh, let's just say we came into some money that made opening a garage a lot easier for us."
Rachel got the hint and raised an eyebrow. "'Kay, I'll leave that on the table. But, hey, I sure ain't in a position to judge."
"Heh. Well, I can't say too much else even if I wanted to. I still feel like my story as this big time street racer is still playing out. Can't imagine doing anything else. But I also feel like I haven't brought the best out of myself yet. I'm hoping that Bayview can help me out with that."
"That so, huh?" Rachel stood up and got ready to wrap things up for the night. She patted Brian on the back and started for the exit. "Stick around. I'm sure it will."