Snow Space

Rush

"Imagine though, how would your mum've taken it?" Gaz said, downing the last of his fourth beer, as the two boys sat on the ledge outside his room, surrounded by discarded bottles. 

"Don't even," Khamil grinned, shaking his head at the thought. "She'd have fucking flipped. At least now we can pass it off as a rumour." 

"Calm, that." Gaz leant back to grab another bottle off of the windowsill, twisting the cap off with his teeth almost effortlessly, so that it hissed open gently. "How was it this morning, when you went back?"

"Pretty calm," Khamil replied, taking a sip of his own drink. "Rob wasn't there though, so y'know. Fuck all's been solved."

Gaz nodded, before looking back out at the darkening street below them, where a couple of the Bateson Road boys were doing wheelies on their bikes, their laughs floating up. There was a brief silence as they both looked down at their mates - who showed utter disregard for anyone else who might live in the area with their obnoxious cackles.

"You should deck him," Gaz said with a wry smile, and Khamil rolled his head over with a cheeky look.

"Almost did."

Then a playful smile began to spread across Khamil's face. 

"But then I thought of something else."

Gaz looked over at him, curiously. 

"What?"

Khamil looked over at his friend, as if his grin said it all.

"Yo, don't do that fucking face. Tell me what you're planning."

With a trademark wink, Khamil jumped to his feet, setting down his bottle on the ledge as he slipped through Gaz's window. 

"Follow me if you're not a pussy."

"Yo!"

-

Khamil still hadn't disclosed anything to Gaz as they walked down the street towards his own house, though his walk was full of excited anticipation, as he skipped along the road. 

"Aight man, allow it! Just tell already."

A devilish glint in his eye, Khamil looked at the exasperated Gaz who was watching in bewilderment, before heading towards the council house, surveilling the windows of the building.

"Fam, it's like 10, you're gonna wake everyone up if you go in now."

"Who said we were going in there?"

Gaz glanced at Khamil, his brow furrowed as he tried his best to decipher what his friend was saying. It was only when Khamil raised his eyebrows towards the shining, red vehicle sat proudly front of them that he caught on, his eyes instantly widening.

"No."

Khamil grinned mischeviously, pulling a set of keys from his pocket and jangling them victoriously, as Gaz backtracked, pointing in alarm.

"Yo!"

"Why do you think I went back earlier?" Khamil asked cheekily, before unlocking the door of the red Spider Fiat, and then chucking Gaz the keys, who caught them quickly.

"Khamil - no."

Khamil slid into in the front seat, flexing his fingers on the wheel with glee. There was no stopping him now.

"Nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, this is too much, fam!"

Intoxicated with impish delight, Khamil was unyielding from his seat at the wheel; there was a brief silence as Gaz stood outside, clearly longing to join his friend inside the car. Khamil's grin grew as he finally got into the passenger seat reluctantly, though once in the car his demeanour changed. He looked across at Khamil, exhilaratingly amused.

"Where to, sir?" Khamil asked, feigning aristocracy as he took on the role of a chauffeur driver.

"To the liquor store, my good man!"

Windows down, engine revving, Gaz resumed his usual amusement, shaking his head as Khamil's eyes widened with adrenaline; the car started up. 

"You're a fucking nutter, you know that?"

Flashing one more roguish smile, Khamil accelerated the car, and it zoomed off down the road, accompanied by the hollers and whoops of the two boys inside. Overcome with adrenaline, Khamil grabbed the wheel, spinning the car around the corner of the main Bateson road, much to the shock of Pikey and the other boys sat by the convenience store. Cackling with hilarity, Gaz stuck his head out the window, holding out his middle finger to his mates as they passed them, prompting yells and laughter - these soon faded into the night as the car sped along the road. For years, this had been Khamil's wistful longing - the only rule he truly had desired to break, and here he was in the driving seat of Rob's beloved Fiat. He'd never felt so alive - especially with the wind racing in through the window and stealing his breath, rushing past him. Gaz's hollered whoops next to him only made his grin grow, and as he passed the old bus stop by the cinema, he too began to yell in exhilaration. The red car swung around the roundabout, causing both boys to lurch forwards - and then suddenly the spine-chilling wail of sirens behind them started up. Eyes widening, Khamil quickly looked up to the rearview mirror as Gaz spun around to look out of the back window.

"FUCK! DRIVE, MAN!"

The joyride had now escalated into a full-blown car chase, though once the shock of it had settled, Khamil was laughing again - everything felt so real. The blare of the police cars, the wind blowing through the windows, and his grip on the wheel as if his life depended on it. Lights flashed past the window momentarily, with no time to even distinguish whether it was a street-lamp or another car. 

"KHAMIL!"

Gaz yelled, as the car swerved dangerously down the road, Khamil's inexperienced driving skill causing them to bump all over the place. At the same time, both boys had realised that the darkness was shrouding what was a tunnel - the turn far too narrow for the car to make, and  with a sudden fear gripping him, Khamil slammed down on the break. The car screeched as it skidded along the pavement, finally stopping inches away from the bricks, far too close for comfort. Khamil sat at the wheel, his whole body burning with nerves and shock at the near collision, as Gaz's heavy breaths of disbelief filled what would have been a dead silence. Slowly, Gaz turned to look at Khamil, who was unable to tear his eyes away from the wheel. 

"Rah."