The Fast and the Furious

[Kazuya Hikari]

9:00pm, Saturday

Th sound of music suddenly began playing out of nowhere, as Alex pulled his cellphone out of his pocket as he walked down the sidewalk and looked at the caller ID: Drake. "Drake? What is it?" "Alex, sorry to call you like this on your free day, but I have a favor to ask of you." "What is it?" "I need a racer, a good racer, and you're the only one that qualifies." Alex stood there, silent, before sighing. "Fine, I'll do it, sheesh." "Thanks Alex, you're a savior, I'll make sure to pay you well for this. Head to the repair shop, I went ahead and called Jace and told him to get a Nissan ready for you." "Yeah yeah, whatever you say Drake." Alex ended the call and shoved his cell into his pocket, and headed towards the repair shop, reaching it a few minutes later. Drake O'Neil, was a race host and a good friend of Alex. He arranged high stakes street racing events that Alex often raced in and won.

The repair shop, Midnight Genesis, was a repair shop that catered to one, and only one particular client: the racers that gathered from all over San Diego, and raced against each other. If this sounds like the movie The Fast and the Furious, that's because it is. Alex saw Jace, a mechanic who worked for Drake and a close friend of Alex, waiting outside for him, and handed over to him the keys to the car. Turning around, Alex looked around, seeing some used Nissan cars that Jace would probably tune up, and one Nissan that was sleek and brand new, Alex had to wonder which Nissan Drake was talking about, there was only one way to find out. He pressed the button, and was slightly shocked, the remote unlocked the door of the brand new Nissan. Alex thought that Nissan was for someone else, not him, he thought the car was for another racer. Alex opened the driver's door and climbed in, then closed the door. He then placed the key in the ignition, and started the car up, and drove off, heading to the spot used for racing, an empty parking lot of a closed down mall. He stopped at a traffic light, and pulled out his cell, sending Drake a text message, telling him he was on his way, as the light turned green just as Alex sent the message, and was off once more.

A few minutes later, he reached the empty mall, or so it looked empty. He drove up the ramp that led to the higher levels, and continued going higher and higher, until he reached the spot where all the racers in San Diego gathered. Drake saw Alex pull up, and finished talking to someone before coming over, as Alex stopped his car. "Alex!" Drake called out, as Alex rolled down his window. "So, who is it I'm taking on this time?" Alex asked, as Drake bent down, leaning on the open window. "Him." Drake said, pointing at a young Caucasian guy who was leaning against his car, looking cocky and smug, his friends surrounding him. "His name is Ray, and he's good, very good, but not as good as you. Don't beat him too badly." Drake said, as he patted Alex on the shoulder before straightening up and walking back. Alex shook his head in amused exasperation, as he slowly rolled his car to the start, and stopped. He then locked the doors, and glanced over at Ray, waiting for the girl that would start the race. Alex faced forward, concentrating on the ramp in front of him, as he stepped on his accelerator while his other foot was still on the brake. It was time to show why Drake had called Alex in, and why Alex was called, "The Drift King."

[Kazuya Hikari]

As Alex waited for the race to start, he glanced briefly over at Ray, who was smirking at Alex, talk about cocky. He then saw Maya, a friend of Drake, Jace, and him, who was another racer, stand in the space in between Alex and Ray's cars, Drake right beside her, his arm wrapped around her, if Alex wasn't good friends with both of them, he'd probably have thought from first glance that the two of them were boyfriend and girlfriend, but that wasn't the case. "Alright, who's ready for a race!" Once they was in the correct spot, Drake nodded at Maya who pointed at one of the girls on her left. "Ready?" She then pointed at one of the girls on her right. "Set?" She then raised her arms, and a second later, lowered her arms quickly as Alex released his foot off the brake, and was off, speeding past Maya, Ray right behind him. Alex drove down the center of the aisle, quickly reaching the first corner, as he pulled up on his hand brake and drifted around the corner, releasing his brake and moving forward as soon as he cleared the wall, Ray right behind him. Alex had to hand it to him, the guy was good. Crowds of people lined the aisle Alex and Ray were driving down, the first one to the rooftop won. The rooftop was about four levels above, as soon as Alex reached the second-last level, the crowds of people began to stream towards the elevators leading to the rooftop.

Once Alex was gone from his sight, Drake folded his arms and smiled slightly. He then turned and headed to the elevator, once he reached the rooftop, much of the crowd was already gathered there, Ray's friends waiting to see if Ray would win. The sound of an engine could be heard, as a car drifted along the spiraling ramp, the sound of car metal scrapping against the side could be heard, Alex and Ray were neck and neck, Alex was ahead slightly. They continued up the curving ramp, Ray's car scrapping against the concrete sides, as Alex concentrated, making sure not to hit the sides. The crowd was leaning over the concrete sides, cheering for Alex or Ray, as Ray pulled ahead slightly, the cocky grin on his face, but just as he thought he was going to win, he hit a snag, he rolled over a scrap piece of metal that punctured his tire, making his car skid slightly, as he tried to maintain control, but his car began to drift towards Alex, his speed was too fast, Ray would end up slamming into Alex. Or so they thought. Alex maintained his focus, and stepped on the accelerator, his car moving forward inch by inch, as Ray's car came closer and closer to Alex's car, the concentration on Alex's face visible, would he make it out in time?

[Kazuya Hikari]

The crowd held their breath in anticipation as Alex... managed to escape the imminent crash, as Ray's car slammed into the side. Alex drifted up the rest of the ramp, and lifted his foot off the accelerator, slowing down, and drifted to a stop, as the crowd erupted. Alex's friends ran to him as Alex saw Ray drive up the rest of the way, the side of his car completely scrapped. Alex got out of his car as his friends congratulated him, slapping him on the back, as Drake came walking up to Alex. "Alex!" Drake called out, clapping Alex on the shoulder and leaned in close to Alex's ear. "Good job, we made a chunk of change from this one. Here's your share of the profits." He then placed a chunk of change into Alex's hand, as Alex peeled off a couple bills and pressed them back into Drake's hand. "Y'all see this? This is respect! I might need you for another race soon, but I'll call and let you know if I do, aright?" "Sure thing Drake." Alex replied, as Drake walked off with his own little posse. Leaning up against his car, his arms folded lightly across his chest, Alex looked past the crowd and saw Ray glance over at him before quickly looking away, the loss had probably deflated his ego a few levels. "Not so cocky anymore, is he?" "They all are at the beginning, they all think they're the greatest... think again..."

His friends laughing at the comment, Alex saw Ray talk to his friends, one who made a comment, causing him to shove him away angrily and sulk off. "Sore loser ain't he?" "Just because they win a couple races, they think they can win against the best. Pshawww..." Unfortunately, Alex knew this very well. All the racers he had raced against had all thought they had a chance just because of a couple wins, but Alex didn't get to be the best just by winning a couple of races. He had worked hard to perfect his technique and skill, but he knew there was always room for improvement, being the best certainly didn't constitute he knew everything about racing, far from it. "Hey Jace!" Alex called out as Jace, who had come during the race, looked over from chatting with Drake and Maya. "What's up Alex?" "If you got time on Monday, can you give the car a once over?" Alex asked, motioning with his head at the Nissan. "Sure thing, just bring it in and I'll check it." "Thanks." Checking the time, he saw it was getting pretty late, and told his friends he was off, as he climbed into his car. He would turn the ignition on, and drive down the ramp, heading out of the empty, abandoned mall, and headed home.

[Mr. Seran]

Total Word Count: 1605
Posts: 3
Average Word Count: 535
[3 ÷ 5 ] x $15 x 5 = $45

*Admin* I'll be reading this over in more depth soon as I'm back this afternoon.