Racing Andrius

Eva: A Glimpse into the Past

When we got back to the room, Morgan got us all seated in a circle on the rug before she began her story.

"You remember the first Circuit race you went to was between Cassio and Davies right?" 

"Yes," I said 

"So actually, Peter was supposed to drive but he was recovering from a wrist injury. He got his cast off by then, but the area was still delicate." Morgan said

"So Peter is actually the Prince of Racing?"

"Yes, but since his wrist broke he agreed to let Cassio race with the title at stake." Brittney explained

"This is deviating from the point." Morgan said loudly, "You asked about last time Andrius was angry? It was the day that Peter broke his wrist."

"It was quite unnerving." Brittney interrupted again and Morgan rolled her eyes

"Are you telling the story or am I?" Morgan said annoyed and Brittney zipped her lips. "Anyways, so that night, Davies drove with the Dukes and won."

"Who?" I said confused and Morgan slapped her forehead,

"So the way the Circuit works is first the potential members race against each other and out of that group, the top twenty get into the club. Those twenty people then race against the current members to place their rankings. They first have to compete against the top 20 Ravens. Those who win, go on to compete with the Knights. The ones that lose become Ravens and the ones that win, become Knights for the year. Same thing goes with the next level. The ones who beat the Knights, compete with the Dukes while the ones who lose stay as Knights."

"For the Knights that win, do they move up?" I asked trying to follow

"No. This is because there is a cap of 4 Dukes maximum. Currently, our schools Dukes are Luke, Drew, Sam, and Peter although technically its supposed to be Cassio."

"Is there demotions if the current Knights lose?"

"No, you can only go up and not down, but that is only between Knights and Ravens. This is because other than the title difference, everything else is the same."

"So the beginning of the year is the only time for promotions within the rankings?"

"Yes."

"So back to what you were saying earlier. What happens if someone beats a Duke, do they become a Duke?"

"This is where it gets confusing. Dukes do not move because once you beat the Knights, you go into a sudden death round. Once you beat the Dukes, you race the Prince, and if you beat the Prince, you race the King. This is the only time when the King might lose his title."

"Why don't Dukes move?"

"Dukes are usually chosen in a race once every four years. This is because the King graduates and usually the rankings move around to accommodate for that. Such as, Prince becomes King and he either holds a race or selects his Dukes and Prince. This year is special because the current Dukes, Prince, and King will be graduating which is why the rankings are really detailed this year."

"Let's say Davies wins against Andrius, what will happen?"

"Well, it is very unlikely but Andrius will be King until the end of the year then Davies will take over the next year, choose his own Prince and Dukes."

"So theoretically, Davies doesn't even need to race Andrius."

"It might be to secure his spot." Brittney said

"Are you guys done?" Morgan said

"Continue," Brittney nodded to Morgan

"Back to where I was. So that night, Davies drove against the Dukes and won then he made fun of the Dukes and especially Cassio since he was supposed to be the best of the Dukes. Cassio got really mad, but that was not it. Davies demanded to race with the King, but Cassio said he had to race with the Prince first. That was when Cassio and Davies had this big argument. No one knew who through the first punch but the two ended up rolling in the dirt trying to beat each other up. That is when Peter came in to stop the fight but Davies somehow accidentally broke Peter's wrist. It happened really quick. One moment Peter was going towards the fight the next moment he was on the ground cradling his wrist. That was also when the fight stopped and everyone stared shocked at Peter on the ground. Unfortunately, Andrius arrived just at that moment and when he saw Peter, I swear his face went scarlet." Morgan shivered 

"None of us had ever seen Andrius that angry or run that fast for that matter. He bolted from his motorcycle to where Davies was standing and gave him a good beating...then did the same to Cassio..." Brittney said with wide eyes. 

"It didn't go on too long because Drew and Luke were able to calm Andrius down saying getting Peter to the ER was most important." Morgan said,

"What happened next?"  

"Well, Andrius and Luke helped Peter to the car then drove him to the ER. Then Drew told everyone to go home and warned everyone not to talk about this matter with administration." 

"That was it." Brittney said after Morgan. 

"Peter and Andrius must be close." I said

"Yes, although-" Brittney said then Morgan nudged her. "She has to know!" Brittney said looking Morgan dead in the eye. Morgan sighed and left the room.

"You don't have to tell me," I said

"No. You will know since now you have joined the Circuit circle."

"The what?"

"Forget it. What I was going to say is that Andrius is actually childhood friends with Peter's twin brother...Charlie."

"Charlie?!" I said. Wasn't that the name that Peter wanted me to call him when his mom was around...

"What? You know him?"

"No, no, continue." I said blinking to clear my thoughts

"Well you see, Charlie and Andrius were inseparable and amazing friends. They actually founded Circuit after Speed was disbanded. A few months ago, they were driving back from hiking and both of them got into an accident and Charlie died. After that, no one dared mention the name Charlie in front of Andrius. It is also why no one is allowed to call Andrius, "Andy" cause that is what Charlie used to call him." 

"I see," I said, "...Is that also why Andrius doesn't race anymore?" 

"Probably,"

"I also assume this is why Morgan doesn't like this topic?"

"I think your assumption is correct, Ms. Detective."  Brittney nodded 

"Stop it," I said lightly slapping her on the shoulder while thoughts filled my mind.

Why did Peter want to go by the name of his brother?  Is it because...Peter is trying to be his brother in front of his mother? But why? To make her happy? 

"Is the gossip girl session over yet? Can we all go to sleep? I need my beauty sleep." Morgan said suddenly and interrupted my thoughts.

"Yes, its quite late already." Brittney nodded with a yawn, "Talk more tomorrow."

"Good night." Morgan said and climbed into bed before she pulled on her eye mask

Brittney climbed into her bed, "You going to sleep soon?" she whispered to me.

"Yeah, just give me a minute." I said and Brittney held up the ok sign before turning in her mattress.

I quickly turned off the lights and climbed into bed. I took a deep breath as I stared at the ceiling before feeling drowsiness making the world fade away along with the last of my thoughts. Right as I was about to fall asleep, my phone buzzed and my mom had texted me a long message. 
"Hey honey, just wanted to let you know I missed you. Also I have some great news, a friend of mine has a son who is single and I decided to set you two up for a blind date. Don't complain, college is the best time to date and find your type. It happens to be at O'Henry's tomorrow night at 7pm. Don't be late and remember to wear something nice! Love you tons, Mom." I read then one more time, not quite believing my eyes. 

Quickly I texted, "Who is it?"

"What is the point of a blind date if I tell you who it is?" my mom texted back quicker than I thought she would. 

"Tell me or I won't go." I texted back 

"Nice try. Go. Otherwise you're paying for the remaining years of college tuition."

My jaw dropped and reluctantly I texted, "Fine"

"Good" my mom texted followed with the :) emoji.

I buried my face into my pillow and made a long sigh.

Looks like there goes the rest of my peaceful weekend...