easy to love

chapter one

Veritas wasn't what you'd expect out of a street racing car. She was a black Ford Focus that looked more like a businesswoman's car than something a teenager would use for illegal drag racing. But what she lacked in appearance, Veritas made up for in speed and control.

Charlotte could feel her heart in her chest as she pushed the car to go faster. It was a dirt road in the middle of a conservation area, barely wide enough for two cars. What made it perfect for racing was how straight it was. Almost half a mile of perfectly straight road, with trees on either side to muffle the noise of the engines and of the crowd.

The crowd.

Charlotte could see them in the clearing ahead. They were sitting on their own cars, the headlights on and illuminating the finish line painted across the dirt road in bright white spray paint.

She glanced out her passenger side window to see the other car, a Ford Fiesta, almost neck and neck with her. She inhaled deeply, before finally pressing the gas all of the way down.

Veritas accelerated forward, the speedometer passing 100 miles an hour as she pulled ahead of the Fiesta and crossed the finish line.

Her heart pounded in her chest as she slowly began pressing the break, careful not to slam on it and send the car flying. Veritas finally slowed to a stop, and Charlotte reversed into an empty spot in the clearing next to a silver convertible.

She inhaled once, before opening the door and stepping into the clearing. At once she was surrounded by people talking at her, but she ignored them as she made her way to James.

James was in charge of bets. He sat on top of his truck with a locked toolbox filled with cash and a spreadsheet with everyone's bets and payouts calculated.

She stepped on the tire and pulled herself into the back of the truck, walking over to where he was sitting. "How much?" She asked, skipping any formalities.

"The total pool was at $6,000, with twenty bets on you and forty on Marcos," he rattled off while unlocking the box. "House take is ten percent, your take is ten percent. That gives each of us $600 and the winning betters $240 each." He pulled out six hundred dollars in twenties and tens and handed it to her. "Good job Charlotte."

She nodded, folding the money and slipping it into her pocket. "Same time next week?" She asked, fiddling with her snapback and glancing towards Veritas.

"Same time," he confirmed. She turned to jump down when he said, "hey, you going to Marcos party later?"

She shrugged, not turning back to look at him. "I'll think about it." With that, she jumped off of the truck and headed back to Veritas.

"DeNoir!" A voice tinged with a Dominican accent called to her. She turned her head slightly to see Marcos bounding over to her. His eyes sparkled with excitement despite his loss. "You coming to my party?"

She tilted her head, raising an eyebrow at him. "I'm invited? I would've thought I'd be the last person you wanted there." She wished she could read his expression better, but everything below his eyes were obscured by a black bandana. The bandana was the signature of the racers, they wore them to prevent cops from getting a good look at them if the race got broken up. Charlotte wore a matching one in crimson, and a Harvard snapback.

He shrugged, seeming to consider the idea. "Nah, you're fun even if you did just lose me a hundred bucks."

She rolled her eyes. "I'll be there. You better have Tito's tho."

"Scout's honor," he called as she walked away to her car.

Charlotte slid into Veritas and began following the other cars out of the conservation land. She took a left at the entrance, and pulled into the small gravel parking lot for Upper Mill Pond. She opened the glovebox with one hand and untied her bandana with the other. She threw the bandana haphazardly in, and got out of her car to remove the license plate covers.