Social Experiment

54 | The Race

.... Don't kill me.
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There was nothing I could say that would make Nathan change his mind.

After he threatened Thomas- who accepted the offer willingly- I tried to get him to think clearly. I figured the amount they were betting on was a large sum, and I was right. Nathan told me later that it was a matter of ten thousand dollars. Of course, when he told me how much it was exactly, I was more determined to get him to change his mind. But Nathan was stubborn, prideful, and refused to back down.

"You don't think I can beat that shit head?" Nathan had asked me when I tried to change his mind.

"No, Nathan, it's not that-" I began arguing, but he cut me off.

"Then stop trying to change my mind. I'm doing this." He said curtly, and that was the end of that.

I spent the rest of the night and next day nervous as hell about their arrangement. I mean, I knew that Nathan was the superior racer, but Thomas didn't exactly play fair. I was terrified that he would sabotage Nathan somehow, or that by some stroke of bad luck, Thomas would win. Where would that leave Nathan? Did he even have ten grand to spare?

After many hours of worrying, I found myself here, sitting on the back of Vincent's pick up at the tracks. I glance at the clock for the twentieth time tonight and feel my worries wash over me all over again. 9:47. Nathan and Thomas were racing at 10 o'clock, and no matter how hard I tried to slow time down, it felt like it was speeding up. I glance at Nathan, who is speaking with Asher a few feet away, and bite my lip.

"Hey," Tess says softly as she sits beside me. I glance at her and try to smile, but I'm sure I look pained. "Stop worrying, would you?"

I sigh and mutter, "I know, I'm trying."

She gives me a sympathetic smile. "I know it's scary. There's a lot at stake here. But Nathan is the better racer, I promise you that." She casts a glance at Nate, and I follow her gaze to see he's running a hand through his hair, a tell tale sign he's distressed. "The thing is, he's not confident."

I raise my eyebrows. "Nathan? Not confident? Why do you think that's even possible?"

"Because you're not confident in him," Tess explains, and my gaze flickers back to Nathan. "If he's not in the right mindset, then there's a bigger chance he'll make a mistake. I know you're nervous, but you have to believe in him."

I look at Tess and let her words sink in. She was right; if Nathan wasn't confident in his abilities, then that would reflect in his racing. There was no room for failure in this race, which meant I had to make sure Nathan was as confident as he could be. I glance down at my phone and check the time one last time and see that I have eleven minutes to boost Nathan's confidence.

"You're right, Tess." I smile at her and she smiles widely back at me. "Thanks."

I hop off the trunk and walk over to Asher and Nathan. Asher glances at me fleetingly, begging me to talk to Nate with his eyes, and I give him a small smile. Nathan glances at me, his expression indifferent, and I tug on his hand.

"Can we talk for a minute?" I ask softly.

He hesitates, and I'm afraid he is going to deny me, but he nods slightly. "Sure."

I shoot a look in Asher's direction before tugging Nathan a few feet away, toward the front of the car. There are people everywhere, moving in between rows of cars all around us and sitting on the hood or in the bed of their trucks. The smell of beer and cigarette smoke is strong and there are about three different songs faintly morphed into one unpleasant background sound, but I ignore it all when my eyes fall back on Nathan.