Quater-Mile// Dominic Toretto

1

I stand behind the counter of the Toretto's shop. Dom and Mia have been letting me work here since I was fourteen. My Mom needed the extra money since my dad ran off. He knocked up a girl who was only four years older than me. Real charmer he is. Last I heard he was somewhere on the east coast. Then again, I haven't read a single letter from him in five years. For all I know he could be in South America by now with a different knocked up eighteen-year-old. After what he did to my mom and I, I don't think I'll ever forgive him. My mom died three years ago, and he couldn't be bothered to come to the funeral or even call. It doesn't really matter anymore. I don't need him; I have a family without him.

"Have you thought about going to college?" Mia asks me.

I give her a look. "Yeah. Sure, it's right at the top of my list along with marrying Brad Pitt. You know as soon as he dumps Jennifer Aniston."

"I mean it, Toni. You have the grades. You could go to community college," Mia offers.

"Why don't you?" I counter.

"I've got to run the store," Mia insists.

"Why can't Dom do it?" I ask.

Mia gives me a look. "You know why."

"Too busy," I state. I look over to where he is in the office, back turned to us. "Obviously."

"Really, Toni, you should think about it. Think about going straight," Mia tells me.

"Yes, Mia, I will think about it," I tell her.

Mia smiles. "Thank you."

A car door slams, and I turn towards the street. The same blonde-haired guy is getting out of the same red pickup truck of Harry's as he's done every day for the last three weeks. Since the food isn't all that good here, I've come to realize that the guy is really here to drool over Mia.

"It's your lover boy," I tease.

Mia hits me with a newspaper.

"Hey!" I protest.

The guy smiles as he sits down on one of the stools at the counter.

"Tuna on white, no crust, right?" Mia asks.

"I don't know. How is it?" the guy asks as he flips through a magazine.

"Every day, for the last three weeks, you've come here, asking how the tuna is. Now, it was crappy yesterday. It was crappy the day before. And guess what? It hasn't changed," Mia tells him.

"I'll have the tuna," the guy says.

"No crust?" Mia asks.

The guy smiles. "No crust."

As Dom gets up from his desk to grab a beer the guy watches him but doesn't say anything. Mia puts a plate down in front of the guy.

"Thank you," the guy tells her.

Mia watches him curiously. Then flips through the car magazine in front of him. Loud engines start to rev. I smile as I hop over the counter.

"Stop putting your butt on the counter," Mia scolds.

I smile at her as I head out the front of the store. Letty, Jesse, Vince, and Leon pull up in their cars.

"What's up, Letty?" I greet.

She smiles at me. "Nothing much, Santos."

Vince opens the door to his car. "Talk to me, Jesse." He gestures with his hand. "This ain't working, brother."

Jesse gets out of his own car. "It's your fuel map. It's got a nasty hole. That's why you're unloading in third."

We all huddle over the engine of Vince's car.