The Finishing Line

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AKIRA

"Shit, shit, shit!" 

I see his car inching slightly ahead of me.

I can't let him win this one.

I hesitate before turning my car to the left and slamming it into his car side. His car skids over the to the side of the track losing speed.

That's all I need to slam my foot on the accelerator and speed along the track. I push my middle finger out the window just to annoy him. I laugh as I drive past the finishing line. I put my foot on the brakes and turn the wheel which makes the car drift and eventually stop.

I'm still unbuckling my seat belt when there's a large cheering crowd around my car. I get out of the car struggling to open the door because of fucking people standing in the way and move pass the crowd.

Some people cheer for me while others call me all sorts of names for losing their bets. It's not my fault I'm awesome.

I remove the hood on top of my head and my mask. And then I see him. He's still getting out of his car when he sees me and slams the door shut. Shit.

He starts moving towards me, his face read with anger and I thank the heavens for blessing me with the loserness that's written all over his annoyingly handsome face.

When he finally reaches to where I'm standing he pushes his finger into my face. "You-you-" He's fuming with anger. I swear I see smoke coming out of his ears.

Uh oh. He's mad mad.

I raise my brow. "Yes? How may I help you?" I decide to further push him off the edge.

"You cheated!"

"I did?"

"Yes you did!" He's almost screaming at this point. I can't help but laugh.

"Princess, you're at an illegal street race. Everything's legal here." I intentionally use the nickname I know he hates so much. "If you really care about rules, maybe you should give go-karts a try."

I keep talking, "And I won. That's all that fucking matters. We're at 11-9 now. Keep up."

I smirk and pat his shoulder lightly and walk past him making sure to slightly bump his shoulder just to me petty.

"Goodbye Zavier."

"Goodbye Akira." He says my name like it's poison.

I first met Zavier at my very first street race. He was one of the other racers and was getting all cocky about how he was definitely gonna win.

But I won that race and he's hated me ever since. We've had 20 races together so far out of which I've won 11 and he's won 9.

And I know he's gonna do everything he has in his power to win the next race. But for now I ride my winner's high.

The after party immediately starts. I look around to see people already stuffing their bodies with all sorts of alcohol and snorting cocaine and God knows what else.

I snatch a bottle from the nearest table and take a sip. I wince at he burning sensation moving down my throat.

I look around when I see a familiar mop of blonde hair running toward me.

"Hey Axel."

"Hey baby boo!"

"How many times have I told you to not call me those cringe ass names?" I slap his arm.

"Anything to annoy you bubs."

"I'm just gonna pretend you did not just call me that." I hold hold out my hand and roll my eyes.

He pulls out a wad of cash from his pocket and slams it in my hand. I count the money making sure it's five hundred dollars. Once I'm satisfied, I put it in my pocket.

"How's your boyfriend?"

He blushes and scratches his head, "He's not my boyfriend."

"Why don't you tell him that yourself?" I nod my head to his side. Axel turns his head around to see Michael staring at him with a smirk on his face. 

I turn around to give them some privacy and head towards my car. I pull out my phone from my pocket and open my notifications to see 9 missed calls from my brother Jordan. I ring him back and he picks up on the third ring.

"Hi Kiki!" He nearly screams. "I've been calling you for so long. Are you okay?" I'm quick to reassure him,"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. Just had an extra shift today. Are you hungry?"

"I finished dinner an hour ago but I definitely won't say no to some pizza..." I laugh and respond, "Pizza it is." Jordan hangs up the phone after saying goodbye. I put my phone back in my pocket and lean against my car closing my eyes.

I let out a sigh and rub my eyes as I think about the last time I slept. Ever since Mom and Dad died I had to take responsibility of taking care of Jordan along with myself. Some days are worse than the others and I have to do several jobs at a time to take care of our expenses.

Racing makes things a lot easier but i still need to save up for Jordan's college and pay back the loan I took to buy my car. I get into the car and start the ignition as the sound of the engine fills my ears.

Just as I'm about to drive out, someone taps my window. I roll my windows down as I see Zavier staring back at me like he'd rather be anywhere else.

"Yes?" I ask wondering what the fuck is he doing here. "I uh-" He clears his throat, "I need a ride." I look at him like he's grown two heads and  smile, "I don't know if you've noticed this yet but you're racer and are definitely capable of driving a fucking car."

"My car's engine isn't working and all the other racers aren't leaving the party yet." He explains. I stare back at him before saying, "Thirty." He pulls his eyebrows together and looks at me like I've gone mad. "What?"

"Thirty dollars for the ride." I look at my staring wheel to avoid eye contact. Zavier furiously replies, "Are you shitting my right now? Thirty dollars for a fucking ride!" I pick dirt from my nails as I reply, "If you don't like my prices, call an uber."

He stares up at the sky before letting out a sigh, "Fuck! Fine." He moves around the car and pulls the handle on the passenger door and let out a grunt when it won't budge. I hide my laugh as I say, "Advance payment only." 

He stares back at me like he'd rather jump from the empire state building than to ask me for a ride. Then slowly he pulls out his wallet and pulls out three 10 dollar notes and holds them up for me to see. I unlock the door and he opens it and gets in.

He puts the cash into my awaiting hands and slams the door shut. "Buckle up, princess!" I chirp and he pinches his nose letting out sigh. 

This day just keeps getting better and better.

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