Our story begins in June 2015 on a Thursday in the early afternoon on the northern shore of Staten Island, New York in a modest home on a hill. Two cars in the driveway and one in the garage. One car is a modest black 2010 Toyota Corolla S and the other is a silver 1990 Nissan Skyline R32 GT-R that has obvious signs of being tuned such as a modest spoiler on the rear, a carbon fiber hood and some fancy racing rims. The car in the garage is a 2011 Lexus RX350 that has some flat tires and a very thick layer of dust over the car. A young woman is seen tinkering under the hood of the Nissan while an older man is walking out the front door. The woman hears the door open and looks up from the car. "Heading to the lab, dad?" the woman asks. "Yeah" the man responds with a tired sigh. " Gotta go tinker with the serum. Again." he says defeated. Her father Hayate is a 48 year old Japanese man with short dark brown hair thats greying. He stands at 5 feet 9 inches and has a typical build of a man his age. "Still not up to spec yet?" the woman asks with concern. "We're close, but how close I dont know." the man says with confidence while he goes to get in the Toyota Corolla. The man opens the door, sits down and starts the engine. Before he closes the door he yells out to the woman. "Be sure to visit your mom in the hospital later. I'll try to get there same time as you if possible." "Alright dad, i'll try to get there around 5." the woman says back. The man puts his hand up as a sign of acknowledgement then pulls out of the driveway. The woman goes back to working underneath the hood of the Nissan Skyline. She pulls out the oil dip stick to see if her oil needs to be changed. She looks at it and determines it doesn't so she puts it back in the closes the hood. She then clamps the hood locks in place to secure the hood, wipes her hands on the shirt then goes inside the car. She starts the car and gives it a quick couple revs. While she revs the car, she listens to the turbocharger she recently installed intently. The spooling and compressor surge sounds bring a smile to her face. She then gets out of the car and goes inside the house to her room to change her clothes. She changes her shirt to a black graphic t-shirt of Ghost In The Shell Stand Alone Complex with a white design of the main character Motoko Kusanagi holding a pistol on the front. She then changes to blue skinny jeans and black high top Vans. She then looks in the mirror to check her outfit. She is a 23 year old half Japanese half African American woman with mocha colored skin and shoulder length dark brown hair and dark brown eyes that stands at 5 feet 10 inches. She's in very good shape with a 6 pack and toned arms. She then leaves her house and goes back to the car. She gets in and closes the door then lowers all her windows. She then shifts into 1st gear and drives down her driveway. She reaches the end, looks left then right then pulls out while doing a small burnout.
The woman drives towards the tip of the northern shore of Staten Island to go her friends house. About 10 minutes later she reaches a modest 2 story house with 3 cars in the driveway. She revs the engine of her car loudly and makes the car backfire before shutting off the engine and getting out the car. She goes to walk to the front door but before she reaches it, it opens up to her friend standing there in a white t-shirt and sweatpants with a somewhat disgusted but happy look on her face. "Damn it Naomi, I told you to stop doing that s**t. Neighbors hate it." her friend says with a slight sense of sternness and happiness. "I know but c'mon, you know the turbo sounds sick as f**k. Plus you know you love it." Naomi says with a smile on her face. Her friend then opens up her arms and they both hug each other. "You know I do but the squares I live around like the quiet." the friend replies. "Ehhh these squares eventually gotta live. The sounds of life, you cant ignore them forever." Naomi says with conviction. "Agreed but ya gotta respect what people what despite it being the dumbest s**t ever dude." her friend says in response. "Sadly you're right." Naomi says defeated. "Well you're looking great Monica. Been hitting the gym? Naomi asks as she looks at her friends body. Monica laughs then responds. "A bit. finally got to the squats and been working on the abs." she says as she slaps her abs. "Nice." Naomi says with approval. Ashley then lets Naomi in and they sit at their living room table. Ashley is a blonde haired 23 year old German American woman with brown eyes. She looks and acts like the girl next door but its evident she hides a part of herself from the world. "How's your dad Naomi?" Monica asks. "He's doing ok. He was actually heading back to the lab when I saw him earlier. We're supposed to hopefully meet up at the hospital later." Naomi responds. "To see your mom?" Monica asks softly. "Yeah." Naomi responds sheepishly. "There hasn't been any real progress but hopefully that'll change." Naomi says with a bit of hope. "So how's the Skyline holding up? anything new?" Monica asks. "Still waiting on new taillights, a new Sparco seat and a new digital gauge. Once I have those I should be set for awhile." Monica then responds. "I thought you hated digital gauges" she says confused. "Oh I do, I just don't feel like reading kilometers." Naomi responds reassuringly. "Fair enough." Monica says satisfied with her answer. "You want anything?" Monica asks. "Uhhhhh you got any orange juice or mango juice?' Naomi asks. "We got mango." Monica says. "Sweet, I'll have some." Naomi says gratefully. Monica then gets up and goes to the cabinet for a glass then to the refrigerator. While she does that, Naomi checks out her body. Naomi looks impressed at her progress and looks at her butt. Naomi nods in approval. Monica then turns around and brings Naomi her mango juice. "Thanks." Naomi says as she reaches for the glass. "So how's your folks?" Naomi asks. "They're ok. No worse for wear." Monica says confidently. "Good. Good." Naomi says. "So, do we have any races lined up soon?" Monica asks with a bit of hopefulness. "There is an event at Watkins Glen we could sign up for in a couple weeks. That's if we can get the crew together that is." Naomi says. "Hmmm. I think Bryan should be free. Jack and Alexis should be free too but I'm not sure about Silvia." Monica says with assurance. "Alright, think you can spot for fuel and other expenses? I got tires repairs and transport covered." Naomi says as she looks around the room doing the math in her head. "I can do that if you can fix the engine mounts in the Mini for me." Monica says. "Done and done. Naomi says with confidence. Naomi then looks at her phone to look at the time. "Oh s**t gotta run it's getting close to 5. Hopefully dad is on his way." Naomi says with haste. "Alright let me not keep you." Monica says as she stands up and goes to hug Naomi. "I'll keep you updated on race week." Naomi says as separates from Monica's hug. "Tell your folks I said hi." Naomi then leaves Monica's house and heads for the hospital.
Naomi arrives at the hospital about 20 minutes later. She parks her car then walks inside. She takes the elevator up to the 4th floor and goes to the cancer wing of the hospital. She then goes to the front desk and the lady sitting behind it looks up at Naomi. "Oh hey Naomi, just in time. Your dad arrived a few minutes ago. You can go right in." the lady says to Naomi. "Thanks." Naomi says as she walks away from the desk and towards the room her mother is in. She walks in and sees her dad standing over her mother. Naomi's dad looks at Naomi and nods at her in acknowledgment. "Hey dad." Naomi says softly. "Hey." her dad says back. "The doctors say anything?" Naomi says hoping for good news. Her dad sighs then replies. "No. Status is the same." her dad says with a stone face. Naomi then walks over to her mother in the gurney and looks at her. Naomi's mother Alicia is a 45 year old African American woman with greying black hair. She is fairly skinny due to being in a coma for a couple years from dealing with liver cancer. Naomi looks at her father then looks at her mother. "Are you close?" Naomi asks sheepishly. Her dad looks at her. "Than I thought but I need to be sure." her dad says with a hint of hope. "Can you expedite the process?" "Maybe but I gotta see." "Alright." Naomi then goes to hold her mothers hand. She then goes to move hair out of her mothers face and talks to her. "Don't worry mom, you'll be back with us soon." Naomi says with some hope. Naomi and her father after about half an hour leave the room and leave the hospital. Outside they start talking to each other. "Hey dad I'm not gonna be here in a couple weeks. Going to Watkins Glen for a race." "Naomi you know I support your racing habit but you really got to find another hobby. Don't think I can take another call about you in the hospital after a crash." her dad says concerned. "Don't worry dad, I'll be careful. I got careless last time. Besides, you and I both know that outside of martial arts and racing I don't know any other way to express myself. Especially with racing." Naomi says with deadly confidence. "I know I know. It's just I don't want another one in a coma." her dad says highlighting his concern. "I know dad. But as painful as it is, gotta accept that it's a part of the risk factor. I've accepted it. Hopefully you can too. Niki Lauda once said 'I accept that every time I get into the car that there's a 20 percent chance I can die.' I know my limits dad and I wont exceed them" Her dad then hugs her. "I hope not." He then lets go. They both then get into their respective cars and drive off.
prev chapter
Share This
Email
Facebook
Twitter
Read Request
My Library
Subscribe
Flag Writing
