Page 7 of Drifting

Smoke fills the air around me.

Awh, I love the smell of burning rubber and nitro. It really gets me going.

Mark waves for me to stop, and I ease up on the gas.

“Good luck, Trouble,” he says as he passes me.

I smirk at the nickname they gave me, claiming I get into trouble everywhere I go.

After I check everything, I slide on my helmet, crack my neck, then strap on my head and neck restraint. Securing the seatbelt locks me into place, and I double-check the restriction on my forward movement, making sure the straps on my helmet clicks long before I’m at risk of hyper-extending my neck. Satisfied I’m locked into place, I grip the wheel, ready to go.

When I turn my head to the side, Red catches my attention in the car next to mine and draws his finger across his throat.

We’ll see about that.

My heart pounds as the flagger waves Red’s TNT into the ready position.

Thump.

You got this, I tell myself. You beat Red a couple of times already. Just keep your head on straight.

Thump.

When it’s my turn, the flagger directs me closer to the starting line, then stops me.

This is it. If I beat Red, I’m one race closer to winning the twenty-thousand dollar prize.

The flagger runs ahead and quickly turns, waving the flags to signal Go.

I take off a split second before Red does.

We’re neck and neck.

He pulls ahead for a second, then I edge past him.

He must get scared, because he hits his nitro.

A big smile forms on my face. “Premature as always, Red!”

I peddle down in gears, then when I’m right beside him, I hit my nitro and fly by him for the win.

I throw my head back and laugh. “Too easy!”

By the time I turn around and drive back to the start, Red is out of his car and arguing with Gary. For him to already be back at the start line, he must have floored it back here. I must have seriously pissed him off for him to put that extra wear on his car. He throws his helmet on the ground.

Oh, he’s mad. Poor baby.

I unstrap and climb out of the car.

Instantly, my family surrounds me, and Ricky picks me up to spins me around.

“Put me down before I puke on you,” I laugh out.

“You did it! We’re going to the finals!” Cin shouts.

When Rick sets me down, Billy pulls me into a hug and kisses my cheek, close to my mouth. “I knew you could do it.”

I freeze, not sure what to do. None of them have ever kissed me before, and definitely not like that. But I don’t get a second to worry about it as the crowd moves in to congratulate my crew and me.

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