Driven To The Edge

Chapter 1

You sit in the sweltering math classroom, watching a fly slowly crawl across the whiteboard as you click the top of your pen over and over. The teacher's head is turned towards Mater, who is staring at him dumbfounded, unable to answer the quadratic equation he's been asked. Finally, the bell rings,

"The bell doesn't dismiss you, I do!" cries Dr Hudson, but it's too late. The clatter of stationary being scrambled together and thrown into pencil cases, backpacks being zipped shut and conversations about the afternoon's plans break out amongst friends whose chairs squeaked and scraped against the old plastic floor as they stood to leave drowned out his pleas.

You heave your heavy backpack over your shoulder and move over to Mater to help him pack his books. He looks downtrodden.

"What's wrong?" you ask.

"Oh it's nothing", he responds, but he still won't make eye contact.

Knowing Mater, you realise it's not best to push him on it, and he'll talk when he's ready to.

As we pass through the school gates we spot Cruz a little way ahead of us, she waves and drives over to join us.

"Hey, guys! I just had the best idea!" she grins, she spot's Mater's look, "What's up with him?"

"Oh, it's just Dr Hudson being a dick again and picking on him when he knows full well Katie has the answer.' You respond. Mater still says nothing

"Oh shit, I'm sorry dude, everyone knows Dr Hudson is just an old fuck, lashing out at people because his wife is leaving him and taking everything in the divorce, including his dignity," Cruz says in her typical no-shits-given fashion. Mater even cracks a smile at that.

'So what's your big idea?' you ask suddenly remembering the start of the conversation.

"Oh yeah! I heard Dan talking about the Piston Cup, it's this weekend".

Of course, you knew the Piston Cup was this weekend, it was only one of the most important racing events of the year and you had never missed it, plonking yourself in front of the tv with your dad every year, it was a right of passage. Although since he died in a car crash 8 months ago you hadn't been sure how you'd feel about watching it this year. "Well it's being held in Kentucky this year so I thought we could skip school Friday, and get the bus there. There'll be loads of scalper tickets, it'll be wild." Cruz always had crazy ideas like this, she never cared much for rules, but this was the first time you ever said

"Yes".

Mater and Cruz look at you like you're insane.

Cruz asks, "wait really?" just to check she didn't dream it.

"Sure," you say. Seeing the Piston Cup in person would be the perfect thing to take your mind off the passing of your father. Sitting on the couch at home watching it by yourself or with your mom would be too painful. Remembering the way he'd hold your hand as the racers turned the final bend, and how he'd lift you in the air and spin you around the room when Lightning won. But being there in person would be a great distraction, that way you'd still get to watch your favourite event of the year without all those painful memories attached.