Shut Up and Drive

Chapter 2

Music hummed throughout the car as George drove the twenty minutes to his campus. His mind seemed to be going faster at the different thoughts and the urge to ride the bumper of the van in front of him. People in his opinion seemed to be driving a lot slower than normal and he kept checking his phone to make sure he wasn't gonna be late.

His route seemed to be normal in a sense. He'd take the easiest path google gave him that didn't either look backed up or had construction going on before setting off. He drummed his fingers on his steering wheel looking around at what he could see of L.A. George had to thank Sam for whatever strings he pulled. George had surprisingly gotten into L.A's College of Engineering, Computer Science and Technology on roughly 3 scholarships. Whatever other cash he had saved up, he used on what he needed that he couldn't get from the scholarship money.

Working with computer's was always a small hobby he had just to pass time. He had rebuilt his computer that sat on his desk at home from spare parts laying around an old racing pals place. Racing. The word seemed to cause shivers to run down his spine and his hands to tense on the steering wheel. The word felt like hot lava as it seemed to echo in his head. A long time ago that word brought adrenaline to course through his veins at the smallest whisper. Racing had been something he loved to do. No matter the time, space or people he was down for anything. He was a good streetracer on L.A's streets, and raced with the best of them until his accident. An accident he was lucky to walk away from.

That brought his mind to Sam. Sam had been the one person that dragged his ass out of that life. A blessing and a curse. George finally had found someplace where he belonged and as soon as something bad happened, Sam was the one to pull him out of it. Sam told him to forget about that life. To go off and start new. Every now and then George's mind will play tricks on him and he'll see his old friend around town but George knew that would never happen. Sam moved on from L.A.. Went somewhere George hoped was nice. Got out of the racing life as soon as George did and never looked back.

George sighed as he looked around. He noticed he had made it to campus and with a bit of time to spare. He reached behind him for the bag, before stepping out of the car. He noticed students walking around campus, either talking amongst themselves for doing work that they needed finished. George walked the path leading to his respected building.

Looking around he admired the campus. Sam had set him up here and most of his freshman year he had spent as much time as possible out of his dorm too scared to be around people. He didn't like the fact that he was forced into adulthood without having a say. Sam hadn't asked him anything about what he even wanted to major in. Sam knew George for a long time and guessed that out of everything George liked, it had been computers. Sam had filled out George's admission forms and scholarship applications as soon as he was stitched up and placed on bed rest. Of course George tried to get Sam to stop and to think about what he was doing. Sam wouldn't budge though. He had wanted George to stop racing and at least live his life and major in something else that he was interested in.

This was a change for George. The kid had been racing since he was 16 and watched races since he was ten. His parents always were against him watching movies involving that kind of stuff. Even watching Nascar wasn't at all good for him in his parents words. Racing held his interest though and he wanted to be a part of that life. That's when his parents had given him an old beat up Nissan Skyline. His parents didn't want to give him any fancy cars but also didn't want him driving around a dump that would break down every month.

The first thing George had done with that car was take it to his friend Sam. Sam and him spent hours upon hours in the shop. They both-mostly Sam- turned it into a beast. From the new bodywork and paint job to the engine that sat under the hood. If you were a bystander looking in you wouldnt know if the car had been old and beaten up. It gave George hope and from there he started racing, practicing when he could out on the backroads, Sam rode shot-gun and then got into his first actual adrenaline coursing race. The car changed his life around that time.

But now here he was. George was a normal college student, driving a normal ass car he picked up from a used car dealer, walking around people where he didnt feel like he fit in. Though he was one of the best in his class and some people came to him when they needed help. He took what he could get and wouldn't complain. It was better to be distant though. Then he couldn't make connections from people that could easily walk away.

George went along his way. Going through lectures and through labs till his classes got done roughly around 3:30 or 4 o'clock. He hurried to his car quickly starting it up, tossing his bag in the back and leaving. For a second he probably wouldn't have noticed it. Something about it though made him do a double take. There sitting a little ways down the road sat a green dodge challenger. All shiny and clean, he noticed some students stop and gawk at the vehicle on their way to either their night classes or to their dorms. He noticed the very tinted windows so he couldn't see who sat in the driver's seat but that wasn't what got him. It was that as the car sat idle, it's headlights were what had gotten his attention. No one but Sam drove around with green headlights. This confused him because a couple times while driving around he'd seen the car parked at a bakery or with someone leaning against the side, back to the road but he's never seen it around his campus. He knew there was no way it was a student which only made him question really who it was. George pulled out of the parking lot, his eyes never leaving the car especially as he drove out of view of it.

The twenty minute drive didn't seem to take as long as it had on his way to campus. He hit the button for the garage and pulled his car into it, leaving enough walking space on either side of the car. As he got out, bag slung over his shoulder, he glanced over at the black tarp that covered his second car. His mind contemplated hard if he should just walk inside and forget about the idea that stirred. Sighing, he knew he couldn't avoid his past forever. He set the bag down and approached the car.

Even a mere glance at the covered vehicle had a suffocating feeling erupting in the base of George's throat. He'd taken every precaution to avoid even the faintest thought of it since the incident, afraid that the slightest bit of acknowledgement would have him two years back, strapped down to a hospital bed wondering if he'd ever recover. He'd realized the strange art of surrender that accompanied his fear, how willing he'd been to abandon who he truly was in hopes he'd never feel that helpless ever again, and he despised the hold it had on him. Maybe that's why he advanced towards the tarp, one hesitant step after another, ignoring that choking feeling as it climbed upwards. George tried to swallow it down as he placed a shaking hand on the tarp, grasping it tightly and taking a deep breath, hoping to calm his nerves before ripping the tarp completely off. That blanket of green was the only barrier separating him from his repressed reality, and he was suddenly encompassed by the overbearing and somehow comforting sounds of tires screeching, of horns blaring, people cheering him on. And George was smiling. Genuinely smiling, filled with the bittersweet and nostalgic feeling that came with drowning in the brilliant blue of his car, and he hated himself for ever letting go of the life that completed him.