Chapter 2: A sign of things to come
...I just cleared that corner at 70mph. In my Volvo. Without crashing.
I'm absolutely revelling the fact that these sports tires are keeping me so glued to the road. Absolutely no wheel slippage and enough grip to tear the tarmac from the road?
I'm cruising at a brisk 95mph here, without another car in sigh--.
Did I just see a car there? Unmarked police car? Nah, couldn't have been. Would have given chase by now. Too flashy for a police car too, anyway. But point well taken, hindbrain, I'll slow down now. Just as well, the railings here aren't built for stopping understeering Swedish roadtankers.
Slowing down helps me appreciate the scenery more, too. When the weather is clear, you get beautiful views of the neighbouring islands. It is quite relaxing, I must say. Those togue racers have a hidden motive for coming out to the mountains to race, then? Well, looks like I'm in on the secret now.
I'll have to point the scenery out to Mother on the way back, too. I know she still enjoys painting when she has the energy, and I think she'll appreciate it.
---
When I return from buying groceries the next day, I notice two more cars than usual parked on our street.
Looks like Eddie and Tiare are here. Huh, didn't know Tia drove Eddie's old Punto. Still rolling those OZ rims, huh? I remember when Eddie bought them to "butch up" his first car, the Punto in question. Sorry, man, but the fact that it's a Punto alone isn't going to help you much. It was a quick save too, when you nearly bought an MX-5 in sky blue. I hope you're not trying to tell me something...
I enter through the front door to the living room. Eddie is sitting in the arm chair, facing in the direction of my Mother, who's sitting on the couch. Tia is sitting down on the carpet, apparently having a joke with my Mother that Eddie apparently hasn't got, or he has become the subject of it, seeing as he's pulling an impressively blank face. He brightens up when he sees me.
"I hop--."
The sentence doesn't even finish before I dig a bag of banana chips out of the bag and chuck them to him. Eddie's addicted to the things, and none of us can figure out why. Tia looks up at me, with a mock-expectant look on her face.
"You haven't forgotten about me, have you?" she pouts. I laugh, and dig my hand into the bag.
"Of course not, Tia. How could I? Uhh... toilet roll?"
She giggles as I proffer the thing to her. She gets up, and takes it from me.
"Oh, alright then. Probably tastes better than the things Eddie eats, anyway. I'll come help you unpack."
She walks off into the kitchen, putting the toilet roll into the bathroom as she goes. I follow her, and put the bag on the kitchen counter, and split it down the side. She joins me, and we start putting things away.
"So when did you get Eddie's old car, anyway?" I ask her.
"Oh, it was just lying around waiting for sale when I passed my driving test, and I just asked him if I could have it instead. And I'm
fine by the way, thank you for asking." She winks at me.
"Oh, sorry, yeah, I was getting around to asking that? So you passed, eh? Am I going to see you zooming around Tsukuba any time soon?"
Tia occasionally frequents the track with Eddie, usually tagging along when she hasn't got much better to do. She's just started University this year, though, so I haven't seen her down there (or here, for that matter) for quite a while. Doesn't race much, though. At least, I haven't seen her in action very often.
"Maybe", she says, finished with putting away the last of the groceries. "I've just got a really hectic timetable at the moment. I've got a night class tonight that ends around 4 a.m."
"That sucks. Then again, I get off work around that time, so I might see you on the way home, if we're lucky. Want anything to eat or drink, by the way?" I've got my head stuck in the fridge, fishing out a couple of beers. She shakes her head.
"Your Mom already offered. I've just had lunch."
"Fair enough", I smile and walk back out to the lounge. I take station beside Eddie on the floor next to him and pass him a bottle. "Here's the beer I owe you. Enjoy, they're the last two left."
We pretty much spend most of the afternoon laughing and joking. It's nice to see my Mother this happy, with a smile on her face. There haven't been much, recently.
All too soon, though, it's time to head off to work, for Eddie to head off home and Tiare to head off to her class. Still, at least there's one thing to look forward to tonight. See how the highway drives on track tires. Should be an interesting night...
---
I'm currently following up the pack. When my shift ended, I happened to run into a small group of cars. Among the drivers and passengers, one of them was Takeshi "Yari" Ueda, so called Yari because of his impressive Evolution. He was riding shotgun with another familiar face from the track, Terry. Terry pulled up at the lights and Yari wound the window down.
"Hey, David! Me and the boys are here for a little race, while the roads are nice and clear. We could use another car to fill out the numbers, but since you're here, I guess you'll do. You down?"
I brush the slight dig at my beloved wagon away. I shrug. It's well known around these parts that Yari runs a large part of the street racing scene. Rumour has it that his Evo produces close to 600hp. I don't think anyone has beaten him in it before. Thankfully, he's in Terry's MR2 tonight.
"Sure. What's the buy in?"
"15,000 yen. Winner takes all."
I wince at the thought of losing 15,000 yen. Money like that goes far when you live like me. But then again, me and Eddie did a little work to the Volvo this afternoon, and I know that most of these cars here can't be outputting much more than 200hp. I give in, and reach of a wad of cash. I hand it over.
"Alright, since you're the last one in, you take the back spot. Two laps on the highway. Good luck. You're probably gonna need it."
The race starts and we're all entering the tunnel.
The MR2 is pulling through the corner tightly, so I can't get on the inside and have to settle for an outside line. I hardly loose any speed and the tires keep me glued to the road as the suspension makes the car lean over onto its door handles. As we approach the next turning, I decide to try and see if my size can compensate for lack of acceleration.
The gambit pays off and the MG and MR2 are forced to give way as I power through the corner, spinning the rear inside wheel to hell in the process. But I manage to keep the lead and I now have at least one warm tire. As we dive through the next corner, I manage to pass the Celica.
Unfortunately, messing around with the rear runners has left me trailing behind the BMW and the Corolla, and it takes me up until the tunnel again to catch them up. I manage to pass the BMW, though, and start hunting down the red Levin.
This car seems familiar, and I know why. I've seen him down the track a few times, and a good word to describe him is
fast. He's not conceding any ground, and I know the Volvo can't find enough time to out drag him on the home stretch. So, I throw caution to the winds again, and dive into the corner, willing him to run wide.
Not wanting to run the risk of collision (it'd be nothing short of suicide to even think about running fender to fender with a boat like this), he slows and takes the corner slow and wide. I look to my right and I see him make a gesture that accurately describes what I just did. But I have no time to ponder making a witty comeback, because I still need to cross the finish line again.
The race ends and I look out of the wing mirror to see the MR2 catching me up as I pull up for the red light. I wind the window down as I catch the expressions on Terry and Yari's faces. Terry has the look of utmost shock on his face, while Yari looks like he's just heard the worlds greatest joke. Yari chucks a few large wads of cash into the passenger seat.
"Where the hell did you learn to drive
that like that?! Man, oh man, that was the best race I've had in ages! You beat Veggie, and you know how much work that Corolla had done to it! ****, I guess I better be watching my mirrors for the sight of a boxy old wagon with a speed demon at the wheel, eh? Listen, we best split before the cops show up. You earned that money right there, man. Later!"
The cars all go their separate ways as the lights go green, and I begin to head home. I know that this is going to have some kind of backfire along the line somewhere, but I'm far too elated to care. And 90,000 yen? That's a lot of money for such little work. I earn less than that in nearly a month. Not that I'm planning on becoming a street racer, mind you. If something happened to me... well. I just can't do it in good conscience. This was a one off thing. Not happening again. Don't want jail, or worse. Too much to loose, so little to gain...
Still, with this money, perhaps I can buy a few treats for me? Or the Volvo? Or Mother? There's enough money there for all of those, I suppose, so I guess I'll head out shopping later today. I'll just say I won on a scratch card, or something. She doesn't need to know, right?
Also, the fact that you didn't went for the usual "crap car" vs "good car" style, and instead decided to race the S2000 against the NSX makes it even better and original 👍 
Don't worry, I won't post inane comments, but real comments. As a fellow reader, I know how annoying can it be to read the same comments all over again with different words. It makes you think people don't read, just skip to the end and post 👎 It won't be like that with me 
So a quick revisit and some hastily salvaged shots later, here we are. 
.
), so I'll probably be putting them up in halves, mostly. I'll try to crank out a full one every now and then, but we'll just have to see.
