Page 7 of Race to Me

Foster’s is matte black, and twisted metal wraps around the frame in a threatening manner. The only sign of color, a small speck of bright blue, lays on his gas tank, but I can’t make out what the shape is. His friend’s bike is a bright crimson red, reminding me of Kate’s hair.

They remind me of something.

Fire and Ice.

Foster climbs on the bike after putting on his jacket and throws a black helmet over his head. He makes eye contact with me. Obsidian, unreadable eyes gaze at me for a few silent moments until they’re covered by his shield.

As if summoned by the loud sound of humming bikes, two girls walk up to them. Carrying their own helmets, a brunette saddles up on the red bike.

A girl with long black hair with strips of neon green slides in behind Foster, wrapping her lanky arms around his leather-clad chest. She glances at me, tilting her head against his broad back to flash a quick smile.

I look away.

With that, they speed off.

∞∞∞

The drive home is quick, and my stomach growls the moment I inhale the delicious aroma of a juicy pot roast that’s been simmering all day, wafting through the house.

I know what roast means.

“Mrs. Rita!” I sigh, sliding onto the barstool while she makes me a plate. I’d do it myself, but she’d refuse.

Her smile brightens the already too bright kitchen, the light making her grey hair shimmer. “How was your first day, honey?”

My nails grind against the marble countertop as I hastily retrieve my fork. Roast is my favorite, so it always comes before bad news. “It was good. Practice sucked, but what can you do?”

“Quit,” she states, then shakes her head. “Sorry, I know that isn’t possible.”

It gets quiet, and I point to my plate. “When?”

A frown lays on her normally cheerful face. “Tomorrow.”

Mrs. Rita is a devoted mother and grandmother, so I know the fact that my parents are rarely around bothers her.

Even when they’re home, they’re still not here.

Her only reservations about my parents are their lack of time in my life. I don’t want her to know any more, and I don’t want her to know the truth. But the solemn look on her face tells me she does, especially when she makes my favorite meal as a pick me up when she warns me of their impending arrival.

Luckily, everyone hides their secrets well in our glass castle. My father would never lose his temper in front of other people, even the ‘help’, as he calls her.

Dick.

As usual, she tries to make things easier for me, which only makes me feel guilty. “So tonight, we binge Netflix!”

Her ideas make me smile, but all I can think of is the work I need to get started on. “I wish! But my biology professor gave an assignment that’s worth thirty percent of our grade.”

“On your first day! That’s unreasonable; too much pressure for one student so early in the semester.” She plants her hands firmly on her wide hips.

I look at the countertop, grinning for whatever reason. “Well, it’s not just me.”

Rita can tell by my voice; I can’t hide anything. “So, you have a partner?” She inquires, her smile widening. “And it’s a boy.”

“Why would you think that?”

Her rosy cheeks bounce with a grin. “He must be cute.”

“Rita,”

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