Fanfic: In The Fast Lane

6: A painter

Chapter 6: A Painter

Doc yawned awake. He stretched out his axles and started his morning routine. Listening to the nearby argument, he drove up to Harley's bedroom door. He knocked twice with his tire and got no response.

"Harley, you awake?" He asked and slowly pushed the door open. She was parked in her usual spot and was sound asleep. The little radio sit beside her and was playing soft static. Doc cracked a half smile and drove over to the radio. He turned it off and ironically woke up Harley.

"Morning... Doc" she yawned as she stretched her axles. "Last night was fun." she gave him a sleepy smile. Doc chuckled as he thought about the party.

"Yeah, it was." he said and patted her fender. "You should sleep in, you had a long night. The arguing had died down next door and Doc glanced at the window. "Otherwise, you'd be as grumpy as Sarge over there." Harley giggled tiredly.

"That would be no good." she said and Doc chuckled again.

"Right." Doc said and patted her fender. "You go back to sleep, I'll come and check on you in an hour, okay?" Harley nodded and closed her eyes again as Doc made his way out to the courthouse. Harley tried, but she couldn't go back to sleep. She the smelt something strange, but it was a familiar strange. A smell she thought she'd never get used to, even if it had been the same one every day for the past year. Paint. She drove out of the clinic and passed by Flo's.

"Morning, soldier." Sarge called out and Harley giggle.

"Morning, Sarge" she saluted with her tire and Sarge rolled his eyes.

"Good morning, Harley." Fillmore said and Harley waved.

"Good morning Fillmore." Fillmore smiled at her and she giggled again. She could tinted her path and pushed softly through the doors of the body shop where a blue and purple Impala was singing and mixing some new paint and spraying it on a testing board.

"Booorrrn! In East L.A! I was. Booorrrn! In East L.A!" he glanced up and saw Harley. He then rose up and turned around in a hurry.

"Hay, mija!" He was wearing a mask and Harley giggled.

"You look funny, why do you-" Before she could finish, Ramone was rushing to put a mask on her face. "What the!?"

"You can't just come in here while I'm working, Harlina! It's dangerous. The fumes can mess with your engine and lungs and, hijole you don't want that. He backed up and looked at Harley. "There. All set." Ramone lowered to his normal height and Harley tugged at the mask and Ramone swatted her tire away.

"But you do the always wear one." she whined and Ramone shook his hood.

"I've been doing this for a while. And I'm an older car. Tu eres un chicita."

"What?" Harley asked and Ramone chuckled.

"You're a little girl." he translated. "And you're too young to be exposed to these fumes. He then rose and pointed a tire to a corner of the room near the ceiling. "Plus my rooms dental action system isn't working." he said with a touch of annoyance.

"Is that why I can smell this stuff all the way from the clinic" she asked and Ramone raised his eye rims.

"Really? Da- I mean. Wow, I really need to get that thing fixed." he nearly cursed, but Harley didn't catch it.

"What color are you using today?" she asked and drove over to his work station. There were many cans of paint they had tight lids covering them, two or three other that were open. Ramone shook his hood and drove up beside her.