Chapter Nine
Darren
Talking to the girls turned out to have been all the preparation I needed. Penny was like a bolt out of a blue sky, someone too good for this world. Talking to her felt like downing a whole package of Pixie Stix. My head felt light, and I could feel adrenaline pumping through me as I slid behind the wheel of the Mustang.
In the rearview mirror, I could see her and her friend heading off toward the stands together, squinting against the sun. It was hard to tell from the look on her face whether or not she had enjoyed the conversation. The only thing I knew for sure was how adorable she looked. She was wearing a white and yellow t-shirt with a large smiley face on the front of it. When we had first met a few days ago, her hair was so long I thought maybe she was Amish, but now she had cut it above the shoulders, and it really brought out the girlishness of her face.
She was so little I could have easily wrapped her up in my arms and tucked her under my chin. I wanted to do it, but I didn’t want to scare her away when we’d only just met. Maybe if I won the race, she would run up and hug me herself.
I could feel my heart racing as I turned the key in the ignition. In the distance, I could hear the announcers giving instructions, but I barely listened. I already knew what needed to be done. I was ready.
The crowd in the stands was on its feet cheering. A boy in a red t-shirt held up a half-eaten hot dog in one hand as if waving a flag. Beside him his father peered through binoculars down at us, a smile of anticipation on his face. I looked for Nic and Penny but didn’t see them; they had disappeared into the crowd.
With two minutes to start time, Dickie came running up and tapped on the window.
“You sure we fixed this thing up, right?” I asked him as I revved the engine. “I don’t want pieces flying off.”
“You’re the one who tested it, not me,” Dickie shrugged.
“I don’t care if it turns into the Eye of Sauron as long as it gets me over the finish line. I’m going to be pretty damned disappointed if I end up losing forty thousand dollars to Adam.”
“There are some humiliations that can never be lived down,” Dickie said solemnly. “You may have to leave town.”
“If you find the remains of a body in the flaming wreck of this car, don’t worry too much about it. I’ll be on my way to Jamaica to start a new life.”
“It would help if you had the money before you escaped to the Tropics,” he pointed out. “But if anyone asks, I’ll pretend like I don’t know anything.”
I reached my hand through the window and gave him a fist bump. “You always were a good friend to me.”
By now, all the cars on the strip were revving up. Darren turned with a pleased look and trotted off toward the stands. I adjusted my rearview mirror so I could see Adam; his eyes were rooted to the road in front of him, and his lips were silently moving as though in prayer.
The next few moments seemed to pass in an instant. I heard the voice of the announcer telling us the race was starting. He told us to go, and we went. I flew down the runway with the other three cars in close pursuit. The stands vanished into the distance, replaced by the green and blue blur of fields and skies to left and right.
Soon, two of the cars had fallen behind, and Adam remained my only real competitor. He lagged behind by only a few inches and was gaining fast. By this point in the race, my reflexes were automatic. I had given up thinking and was running on adrenaline and instinct. I pressed hard on the accelerator until I had placed a few feet of distance between us.
That was all I needed. Within a few seconds, I had shot across the finish line with Adam at my heels. Behind us, I could hear the roar of the crowd. I tried to imagine the elation on Penny’s face when she saw I had won—shooting up out of her seat with her fist in the air and my name on her lips, the announcer shouting, “I give you… Darren!”
Somehow, I had forgotten all about the money until Adam came walking up to me and shook my hand. “Well, you really did it,” he said. “I didn’t think you could do it.”
“You should learn to have more faith in me, Adam.”
“You certainly have enough faith in yourself.” He waited a beat before adding, “What are you going to do now with all that money?”
“Probably buy a million Pixie Stix.” It was a weirdly Penny-ish thing to say, and he looked at me as though wondering if I was okay. “Or I might splurge it all on a single very nice dinner.”
“It had better be a hell of a dinner,” said Adam.
But before I could answer, Nic and Penny came running up to us. Penny was beaming, and even the smile on her shirt seemed happier than before. Just when it seemed like she was going to attack me with a hug, she slowed and hung back slightly with a shy look on her face.
“I can’t believe you won!” she exclaimed in that adorable voice. “I told Nic you were going to win, but she didn’t believe me.”
“Pen, you weren’t supposed to say that,” moaned Nic. She always seemed frustrated with Penny, but Penny either didn’t notice or didn’t care.
“I know you couldn’t see me smiling at you, but I was. I bet that was what powered you over the finish line.”
“It definitely was,” I replied. “I’d never have won if it wasn’t for you.”
“See? Look at me being a good influence.”
“I’ll have to find some way to repay you.” I thought about it for a minute before asking, “Would you like to sit in the driver’s seat?”
Penny raised herself up, and her eyes lit up. “Are you for real? I’d love to!”
I opened the door, and she slid into the driver’s seat with the ease and assurance of a professional driver. She was so little, it was a wonder she could see over the steering wheel. “I’ve always wanted to drive one of these things,” she said quietly. “Growing up, my dad and I used to watch the races together on TV. And I tried to imagine how it would feel to be behind the wheel of a fast car and to hear the crowds cheering my name.”
“If you want, I’ll cheer your name for you.”
Penny rolled her eyes and smiled. “You’re welcome to. I just wish there were a few thousand more of you.”
“Well, that’s the great thing about me,” I replied. “There’s only one of me.”
Stifling a laugh, she reached up and adjusted the rearview mirror. “Do you think Adam likes me?” she asked in a whisper. “He’s been acting flirty ever since we met.”
Whatever high I had been on since the end of the race dissipated in an instant. A shudder of disappointment rippled through me as I watched her watching Adam. It really seemed like Penny was into me, but apparently, my confidence had been misplaced. Penny liked Adam; she had liked him all along. I wasn’t the hero; I was just a side character in someone else’s romance.
It was hard to feel excited about my money knowing I had been wrong about her. I might have won the race, but I had lost the prize.
Just then, however, I heard something that was arguably worse than the sound of my heart breaking. A glance in the rearview mirror confirmed my suspicions: the police had found out about us. A small army of police cars was swarming the strip. We were all about to be busted.
“Shoot!” shouted Penny, gripping the steering wheel tightly. It was an absurd thought at the moment, but I wondered if she had ever cussed before. “Are we about to be arrested?”
“Not if we drive like hell.”
“I don’t have time to switch seats with you!” she exclaimed. But before I could answer, she sat up with a look of miraculous calm and said, “It’s okay; I’ve got this.”
“Do you think—”
But before I could finish the question, I was jerked back, and the words were ripped from my throat. Penny had taken off over the strip with the cops in fast pursuit, and we were either going to hell or prison, but judging from the look of manic delight in her eyes, it seemed clear that she didn’t care which.