I was curled up on my sofa with reruns of Jersey Shore playing in the background. My mind, however, was focussed on the royal blue silk handkerchief that I was twirling around in my fingers. Who had put it there? Was Phantom himself at the restaurant or did he get someone to plant it? Why did he give it back? Was he playing a game with me? How did he know that I worked there? The questions circled through my brain as I sighed. I picked up the envelope again and heard a noise, I ripped it open and saw a small, folded piece of paper that I had missed the first time I had looked inside.
I opened it hurriedly and read the message.
You look good in uniform – P
I reread the note and let my head drop back onto the sofa. So Phantom was definitely at the restaurant when I was working but that still left a lot of possibilities. My head was swimming in confusion, who was he?
I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket and I pulled it out without taking my eyes off the blue fabric.
I dragged my eyes to look at my phone. I had text from Patrick.
From: Patrick McHale
Impromptu race. Usual place, 11pm
I had two hours to get ready. I had to go, Phantom was going to be there. He never missed a race.
Spontaneous races weren’t common. They were risky because the details weren’t planned out so meticulously by Patrick so there was a higher risk of police. Usually, when they happened it was because of the request of one of the drivers, maybe to settle a disagreement or debt.
I jumped up and rushed to my wardrobe. I didn’t know how I was going to do it but I was going to find out who Phantom was tonight.
I shimmied into my skin tight jeans and slipped into a flimsy white t shirt that hung off my body loosely. After hastily reapplying my makeup, I hopped towards my apartment door, still shoving my Nike Air Max onto my left foot. I was just about to leave when I remembered the handkerchief that I had left on my couch, I walked back over to it, leaving my front door wide open. I quickly let my hair loose from its tight pony tail and felt it tumble over my shoulders in its natural waves. I hooked the handkerchief around my neck and pulled my hair out from under it, I wrapped it around my head and an inch past my hairline and tied a knot to keep it secure. I pulled a few tendrils to frame my face before darting out of my apartment.
I managed to get to the neighbourhood where the races usually took place two hours after I had received Patrick’s text and I was right in time for the parting. As I suspected, Phantom was lined up beside two other cars. There was usually only one race on nights like this one but I wasn’t surprised that he was in it.
Taylor was starting them off today and I grew irrationally jealous that Phantom was seeing her slim, tanned body rather than my own pale one. Once Taylor had dropped both of her arms and the three cars had shot off to drive I went to find Haley. I knew she would be near the alcohol and so it didn’t take me too long.
Haley was grinding against her on and off boyfriend Callum. He spotted me and beckoned me over. I weaved my way through to bodies and picked up a beer as I passed the crate of bottles. ‘Hey,’ Haley grinned at me.
‘Hi guys,’ I took a sip of my drink and watched as Haley’s eyes focussed on my latest hair accessory.
‘What the fuck is that? I thought you gave it to Phantom,’ she pointed at my head and stepped away from Callum.
‘I found it in my bag after work yesterday.’ I told her and Haley’s eyes doubled in size.
‘Are you fucking serious?’ She yelled and grabbed my wrist. I allowed her to pull me out of the crowd of dancing people so it was easier to hear each other while I drank some more of my beer. ‘Tell me everything!’
