The Crew

Chapter 5

Billy woke up that Saturday morning with an aching head and a crooked arm. His crew wasn't able to catch up with Hollister's crew that previous night and when they had eventually ended up close to catching them just as they were leaving the Spit, Hollister and his mate had vanished. Billy had been so frustrated and angry that he had driven around the rest of that night til he found where Tommy was staying and tagged his car. That would teach them a lesson. Now that word had gotten out that Ella was indeed dating his rival, made things more complicated for Billy. He clenched his fists thinking about it now. Ella could've chosen anyone else, instead she ended up with one of the people he hated most. Billy sat up, disturbing a sleeping Jennifer beside him. "What's wrong babe?" Jennifer asked sleepily. Billy got out of bed, ignoring her question, instead pulling on his clothes that was lying by his bed. "Get up, we have plans to make today," he told her abruptly. Jennifer's soft concerned look changed to confused and hurt but she got up anyway, giving the bed a longing look as she got ready.

Meanwhile, Tommy was at the Gold Coast's main Raceway track where he worked part time with some of the crew, including his girlfriend Ashley. "So when is Josh and his new girlfriend coming? I'm dying to meet her, from what you told me, she's so much better than Ava," Ashley said to him, as they watched a few guys practice run some Toyota 86s and a Nissan GTR on track. Tommy shrugged, adjusting his Aviator sunnies. "He mentioned he might swing by later," Tommy replied, his main focus was on the cars on track. He was glad and happy for his best friend, but he also knew that a new girlfriend, especially a very pretty one with past baggage, could also mean a big distraction. The rivalry between the crews were getting more intense lately and they had to focus on keeping themselves on top, especially now that they knew Billy was doing illegal dodger dealings.
Ashley White, Tommy's girlfriend, hadn't met Ella yet as Ashley wasn't at that last car meet. She had found out that car meets and standing around looking like a trophy wife while the guys did their thing was kind of boring. She rather preferred the track events where they worked. She just hoped that Josh's Ella was into the scene as much as he was or else they could be dealing with another "Ava". Tommy saw Ashley's thoughtful frown and chuckled. "Relax, Ella is actually pretty cool. She's been in the car scene before. Actually she dated Billy Bennett before they had that accident. It's a miracle that both of them got out alive," Tommy mused, turning back towards the track. Ashley screwed up her face at the mention of Billy's name. "Billy Bennett? Are you kidding me? Who would date such a lowlife as him? He's such a douche. And apparently he wants to plan some crew versus crew thing up at the Industrial Sheds. Something called Rush Hour......." Ashley trailed off as Tommy turned to look at her, his face gone pale as if he'd seen a ghost. Now Rush Hour was an illegal event hosted by some of the most illegal street crews in the hood. It was usually held out in the middle of nowhere at some abandoned industrial sheds in the hinterlands. Josh and Tommy's crew had been a few times and had won, but there were usually cops that would swarm the event, every time, leaving everyone scrambling away before anyone could get fined. "Where'd you hear about that?" Tommy asked her. Ashley shrugged. "I didn't want to say anything til Josh got here, but that new girlfriend of Billy's mentioned something about it to a couple of girls who mentioned it to a few people in the crew, apparently they want us to compete just so Billy can beat the crap out of Josh. He really wants our crew gone and he wants Josh to leave town," Ashley informed her boyfriend. Tom had never looked so worried before. He pulled out his mobile as he shook his head. "This rivalry has gone to far, there can only be on crew on this town. And that crew is going to be us," he muttered as he dialled Josh's number.

Back at the Hollister's place, Josh and I had nearly fallen asleep again when Josh's mobile rang for the second time that day. "Arrrrgh, what the heck?" Josh mumbled as he fumbled to pick up his phone from the floor. He answered it in an annoyed gruff voice, but his tone soon changed as he talked for 10 minutes before hanging up with a strange look on his face. "We have to head to the track where Tommy works. Now," he said, switching the movie off. Dazed and confused, I blinked and asked him why as he sat back down, pulling on his shoes. "Billy has decided to challenge my crew to an illegal street race...........you know, Rush Hour? If we loose, Billy wants me out of town. Which means losing my job and you," he said, looking miserable. My eyes suddenly flashed with anger and I clenched my fists. How could Billy do this? What on earth was his problem? Was this all because of me or was it far deeper than that? I was starting to get very peeved off. Josh and I both got up from the couch and I put my arms around his waist and looked up at him. "It's going to be okay, I believe you can beat him, right?" I say. His blue eyes locked on mine, instead of answering he bent down and kissed me passionately. Finally after 10 minutes we broke away breathless. He blushed and smiled. "It'll be fine, let's go," he replied, glad he had a girlfriend who believed in him.

So later that day, we headed up to the racetrack where Tommy and the rest of the crew worked. Tommy and his girlfriend came over to greet us and Tommy introduced me to Ashley. Ashley had a friendly look about her, with strawberry blonde hair, freckles and green eyes. She seemed genuinely nice. After introductions were made, Josh and Tommy headed towards the garage, leaving Ashley and I to sit underneath a makeshift shelter close to the track to talk. "So you're the new girl in our boy's life now aye?" Ashley said with a teasing smile. I blushed and smiled back. "Well yeah," I answered shyly, looking out towards the track. The boys were now out there, talking to a few guys that were road testing a Tesla and an Infinity car. "He's a pretty great guy..............can't really say no to a guy like that one," she commented. "He and Tommy go wayyyyyy back. They been best mates for ages before I came along, and when I started dating Tommy it felt like I was the one playing third wheel since the cars spent so much time together in the car scene." Ashley chuckled. I grinned as she turned back to look at me. "At least you're much better than the last one. I think you're definitely good for him, if you're into this kind of thing," she said with a wink. If she meant the car scene, there was no worry there. Even though I wasn't supposed to back in there, I felt a gravitational pull towards the car scene. I secretly loved every minute of the adrenaline. There was just something about it that was dangerous yet thrilling. We both looked back out to the track, this time the boys were laughing at something one of the guys that had been driving the Tesla were saying. Both guys looked up towards their girlfriends and waved. We giggled, waving back before continuing our bonding.