Speed Freak (17 page)

THE LIGHTS WENT
out, my foot went down on the gas. The karts ahead of me were slower, and I made up four places before the turn, snaking my way through the gaps, seeing them almost before they opened. I snuck past another kart on the hairpin, picking off the middle bunch one by one over the next couple of laps.

The leading pack of Josh, Ollie, Lewis and Craig were tightly bunched. I followed them round, waiting for my chance, compensating in every turn for the drag at the back. Craig was driving like a demon. He’d made up three places and now only had Lewis in front of him.

Drive your own race.

Ahead of me, Josh tried sneaking through to pass Ollie, went too far into the greasy part of the seal and spun off. I kept out of the way and ducked under on the inside, getting past Ollie. Had to fight to keep the kart steady as the inside wheels caught the edge of the slippery stuff. He played by the rules and let me through.

Only Lewis and Craig ahead of me now. I could wait this out. Sit tight and just make sure I came in third.

No. Beat that sniveller. Grind him into the dirt.

I missed my braking point on one of the infield
hairpins. I was very lucky that it didn’t cost me a place.

Concentrate. Get into the zone.

I drove the last couple of laps alert for any chance to overtake, but there were none. Third. Not too bad.

Grandad met me with, ‘What’s it doing?’

‘A bit of drag on the back. Apart from that, it’s a fecking miracle.’

‘Can we fix it, Grandad?’ Felix asked, his eyes so big and worried they almost swallowed his face.

‘We can fix it, mate.’ Then to me he said, ‘All you have to do is stay in third place, Archie. No heroics. Be consistent.’

‘Yeah. I know.’ And we both knew I’d go hard out and do everything, except cheat, to win that final. ‘How’s Silver?’

Grandad shrugged. ‘Don’t know. They haven’t come back.’

Felix kicked a trolley tyre. ‘It’s not fair. Mum promised she’d watch. She
promised.’

‘A lot of things aren’t fair, my lad,’ Grandad said. ‘Your mum’s probably helping save that girl’s sanity. Or her life. None of us would be here if your mum hadn’t stepped up, so no more grizzles from you. Understood?’

Felix dropped his head. Possibly to hide tears.

‘Chin up,’ Grandad said. ‘We’ve got work to do, you and me.’

That chirped Felix up.

Dave Higgins joined us as we reached our tent. ‘Shouldn’t you be helping Craig?’ Grandad asked.

Dave smiled. ‘His dad’s not so happy with him. Told me to make sure everything’s good here and then if there’s any time left Craig can have my undivided attention.’

‘Pity it’s taken him fifteen years to thump sense into that boy,’ Grandad said. ‘Thanks, Dave. Archie — go and get yourself fuelled up in the canteen.’

I was pleased to go, even though it meant walking on my throbbing feet. But the usual body parts were all kicking up a fuss by now anyway, so what did a couple more matter? Quite a lot. They ached like stink.

Sel and Jack were already there, plates of food disappearing down their gobs. I got spag bol and joined them. Ollie, Josh and Lewis came in a couple of minutes later. We talked about the racing, and then about Silver, but none of us said too much. She was one large question mark, that girl. We didn’t mention Craig either. Best not to go there.

Then, what do you know — he strolls in as if he was still king of the dung heap. He bought a drink, then sauntered over. ‘The forecast says the rain will stay away. Good, eh?’

None of us responded.

I got up. ‘See you on the track.’ But I looked at my mates and not at Craig.

‘I’m off too,’ Sel said — and, with that, the others vanished as well, leaving Craig frowning at an empty table.

‘He’s lucky you didn’t punch him, Archie,’ Josh said when we were outside.

‘And pollute my knuckles? Nah. He’s not worth it.’

‘He’s unbelievable,’ Lewis said. ‘Turning up like that and expecting us all to ignore the fact that he’s a cheating ball of slime.’

Jack squinted up at the sky. ‘Hope he’s right about the forecast, though.’ The sky was dark. Looked to me like it would fall on us at any second.

They announced our final. Felix kept looking for his mother, but his mouth stayed shut. Silver must be in a bad way — Erica and Gran had been with her for ages. I hoped like hell she’d be okay. Poor cow.

I pushed my kart on to three, behind Craig. I spent a few moments trying to bend his chassis with the power of my mind, then I got to work doing my prep. This race would demand my total concentration for all
twenty-seven
laps. It was going to be long, and it was going to be hard.
Excellent.

The starter counted us down and let us go. Craig set a steady pace for the rolling laps. Again, my mates made sure I got an extra lap to test my kart, and this time everything felt damn near perfect.

The lights went out. We were racing. I fell into the zone pretty much straight away — that state where the kart seems to know what to do all by itself. Where my mind computes all the variables of the race — track, other drivers, passing opportunities — all without conscious thought.

I passed Lewis on the top hairpin when he braked too soon. Craig was now only a kart length in front. I kept my concentration, stayed in the zone. I waited, patient, watchful and alert.

The chance came on lap 18. We came up to turn four. It was tight. I braked heavily. Craig did too, but again he went wide the way he’d done when he munted my kart.
Forget that.
I ducked through, watching him in my peripheral vision to make sure he gave me room.

I was through. He’d have to scramble to get out of that corner smoothly.

Stay in the zone.

Nine laps left, with Craig behind me, bumping my kart
every chance he got. I drove my own race, intent on staying on the track, on making sure I hit my braking points.

Six laps to go. I was leading. The steward counted the laps down. Five, four, three. I held the lead, driving hard out.

Second to last lap. The drizzle started. It was like driving on ice. I slowed just enough to ensure I stayed on the track. Had to change the line through every corner. No more bumps from Craig.

Final lap. Halfway round, the sky opened. Water bounced off the track, smacked into my visor, soaked me to the skin. I had a bad moment at corner seven — the sweeper that tightens up. Wrestled the kart and managed to stay off the grass. Nobody had passed me.

Hold it together. Three turns left.

Turn eight. Not tidy. Turn nine. I stayed on the track and was lucky to do so. I took the final turn — the
high-speed
right-hander — at half the usual speed. It’d be crazy to lose it now.

Down the finish straight, water all around me. I knew spray would be kicking up behind me. It might drown Craig. Nice thought.

And there was the chequered flag. I crossed the finish line, and all I knew was that nobody had beaten me. I took a quick look behind. Lewis was just crossing the line, with Ollie behind him. No Craig.

I’d won. I was going to Portugal to race. ‘Yeee ha!’ I took both hands off the wheel and punched the air. It was hard to believe.

I drove into the pits and on to the scales. ‘Congratulations, Archie,’ the steward said. ‘I’m glad you won.’

Grandad and Felix came running in. ‘You did it!’
Felix bellowed. ‘Archie, you won!
Awesome!
’

Grandad squeezed my shoulder. ‘Bloody good race, Archie. Fine driving. Damn fine driving.’

Lewis drove in next, followed by Ollie, with Josh not too far behind. ‘What happened to Craig?’ I asked. Not that I cared — just curious.

Grandad said, ‘He went too fast into that final corner. Went straight off the end.’

‘Dear dear,’ Lewis said. He swiped water from his face with his gloves. Hard to tell which ended up dirtier — his face or the gloves. ‘You drove a mean race, Archie. Sorry you beat me. Bloody glad you beat that cheating ball of slime.’

‘Come on,’ Grandad said. ‘All you guys need to get dry. Get something warm into yourselves too.’

We left the karts to be checked, and sloshed back to our bases. Gran and Erica were waiting for us, hot Milo already steaming in mugs. Gran threw me a towel. It turned out every stitch I was wearing was drenched. I got changed in the trailer, pulling on my spare suit ready for prize-giving.
Prize-giving
. I’d won. It was starting to sink in.

I went back to the tent with a smile on my face.

‘Mum watched the whole race,’ Felix said. ‘She thinks you’re awesome.’

It could be time to teach that kid a different word, but not today because he was right. Erica was awesome. Today was awesome.

‘You go so fast. I had no idea,’ Erica said. ‘And when the race started … I thought you’d be killed, Archie. I really did.’

‘Nah, I know what I’m doing. But thanks for watching. You don’t have to ever again.’

‘I was surprised — it was really interesting.
Nerve-wracking
because we all wanted you to win, but I got drawn into the whole thing. I’m glad I saw it.’

I sipped my Milo and grinned at her. A phone went. Dad, of course.

‘How are you feeling, Dad?’

‘Stoked, son. Best medicine a bloke could have. Wish I could’ve been there. Or maybe not. Might have thumped that young jackass into the middle of next century.’ With that, he hung up, which I figured meant he still wasn’t feeling well and didn’t want to talk about it.

‘Is Silver okay? Can I see her? I want to tell her thanks for the kart.’

Erica shook her head. ‘Her father’s taken her home. She’s a mess right now, but she’s on her way to recovery.’

A wave of shame washed over me. ‘I shouldn’t have yelled at her. Can’t believe I said that about her mother.’

‘Archie, listen to me,’ Erica said. ‘You yelling that at her has probably saved her life. It shocked her so much it broke through the wall she’d built up. Her dad’s been so worried about her that he never leaves her alone. Her aunt stays with them so she’s never alone at night. The grandparents help out too.’

I gaped at her. ‘They thought she’d kill herself ?’

Gran nodded. ‘Poor girl. It turns out she believed if she hadn’t stopped to look in a shop window then her mother wouldn’t have been standing in the path of that car.’

‘Jeez, that’s heavy. But I don’t get how yelling at her …’

‘She’d refused to talk about the accident, or about her mother,’ Erica said. ‘Her dad thought the racing might
help her, and it did to some extent. But not enough, and he was facing that when you yelled at her.’

So that’s why old man Adams had given me the kart like it was worth nothing to him. I wasn’t totally sure how all that got mixed into Silver being desperate to make sure Craig didn’t win — maybe she didn’t know either.

I finished my drink. There was a lot to think about, but right now it was time to celebrate.

CRAIG CAME TO
prize-giving. My guess was that his dad made him come. Mr Bateman looked stern. Craig looked at the floor. Mr B shook my hand. ‘Congratulations, Archie. A well-deserved win.’

‘Thanks. And thanks for letting Dave help with my kart.’

He just nodded and went back to sit beside Craig.

My turn came for the podium and the speech. I did the usual thanking of my sponsors, then went on, ‘I owe today’s win to the huge efforts of several people. I wouldn’t have been able to get here if my fantastic step-mother Erica hadn’t decided she really could drive a van and trailer all the way from Wellington. Grandad — you’re an ace mechanic and bum-kicker.’ I paused for the laughter to stop. Should I mention Craig’s dastardly deeds, or not? Yeah, bugger it. He deserved to be showered with shit. ‘I won’t thank Craig for destroying my kart, but I do thank Dave for helping put it back together. And lastly I’m hugely grateful to Silver Adams for letting me use the parts off her kart. And, just in case anybody hadn’t guessed, I’m totally stoked about winning the Challenge. Yay! I’m going to race in Portugal!’

I collected my trophy and we left as soon as we could after that. Erica wanted to get to Waiouru, stay there and leave early so we’d get home mid-morning.

Felix was ecstatic. ‘You won, Archie. You beat that sniveller. You should have heard us cheer when you got past him. And then when he went off the track we cheered and clapped.’

We let him rave on. It was kind of peaceful, driving through the rain with him babbling away in the back seat. When sleep shut him up, Erica said, ‘Are you tired, Archie?’

‘Flat knackered. It’s a demanding track, that one.’

‘Will it be like that in Portugal?’

‘No. There’ll be way more karts on the track. More than seventy. I’d like to make it into the top twenty. I’ll be rapt if I can do that.’

She drove without talking for a few ks and I was nearly nodding off myself when she said, ‘I’ve never had to patch up a kart driver.’

I decided not to show her my feet, or to mention that they were aching up a storm.

She said, ‘Rugby, soccer, tennis even. I’ve patched up injuries from all of them. Skiing and snowboarding — some really nasty breaks from those.’ More silence for another couple of ks. ‘He’s so little.’

‘I was six when I started racing,’ I said. ‘It’s the best fun.’

‘He might hate it,’ she said.

I laughed. ‘Are you going to let him have a go?’

More silent ks before she said, ‘I might. I’ll talk to Bill. It’s a big step for me, Archie.’

‘You’re cool, Erica. You’ll cope.’ I spoke through a massive yawn.

‘Go to sleep, Archie. But I’m not carrying you into the motel.’

‘Walk, or sleep in the van?’

‘You got it.’

DAD WAS STILL
flat out on the sofa when we got home. ‘I’m fine. Much better. Now sit yourselves down and talk me through the races.’

Erica gave him a kiss. ‘Not me. I’ve got to start work in an hour.’

I needed to get to school too. So did Felix. But Erica just winked at me and left us to talk to Dad.

After lunch, I settled Felix on the bar of my bike and doubled him to school. He kept yelling, ‘Go on, faster! Foot to the floor. Faster!’

That could well have answered Erica’s doubts about whether or not he’d like racing.

I passed Mr Taylor on my way to maths. ‘Congratulations, Archie. Well done.’

‘Thanks, sir.’

So my friends had spread the word. Yep. They disrupted the lesson for the first few minutes by demanding to know all the gory details. Mrs Chin was a pretty relaxed teacher and she gave me the floor for about five minutes before she dragged us back to what we were meant to be doing.

I hadn’t mentioned my bruised feet, but nothing gets past Ginnie. Straight after class, she asked, ‘Why are you limping?’

‘Because when another kart drives over your feet, it
buggers your own kart, plus there’s collateral damage on your feet.’

‘Show us,’ Nina said.

I pulled the shoe and sock off my left foot, which had the prettiest bruises. They were properly impressed.

‘You’ll have to give the assembly talk,’ Colin said, an evil grin on his face.

True. I’d forgotten about that. It was the downside of doing well at anything at our school — they hauled you up in front of assembly to explain what a red-hot dude you were. Or dude-ess.

I guessed it would happen on Wednesday, when we had senior assembly. I was right. I had to sit on the stage along with a Year 12 girl who’d won a writing prize and a Year 13 boy who’d beaten some top guy in a chess competition. They both did okay — even the chess guy. He was quite funny. That was a surprise.

I made my speech short. Thrilled to win, rah-de-rah sort of thing. But I finished with, ‘I’m going to miss the exams, because I’ll be racing in Portugal. I’ll think of you all, though, slaving away here. Might even send you a postcard.’

I got booed rather than applauded.

BY THE WEEKEND
Dad was up and around again, swearing at the boot he had to wear on his ankle. I made the mistake of asking if he thought he’d be fit enough to be my mechanic in Portugal. Nearly got my head snapped off. ‘Three weeks away? Of course I will be. I’m fine. Stop your fussing.’ It was so good to have him back to
normal that I let him get away with a swift change of subject. ‘We’re having a celebration dinner tomorrow, Archie.’

‘Your famous roast chicken with stuffing and gravy?’

‘The works. But you and Felix will have to do the running around.’

What that turned out to mean was that he sat at the table and we did the work. Erica disappeared off somewhere but she promised to be back in time.

The kitchen was smelling wicked by the time she returned with sparkling apple juice for Felix and me, and champagne for her and Dad. I decided now wasn’t the time to challenge the
no alcohol for minors
rule.

‘Hey, Felix, we’re damn good chefs,’ I said, toasting him with a glass of too-sweet bubbles.

We were, too. The meal was perfection on a plate. Four plates to be exact. We all stuffed ourselves. ‘I’m gunna bust if I have any more,’ Felix said.

Dad shoved himself back from the table. ‘Right, troops. Leave the dishes for now. Follow me.’

Felix looked at me. I shrugged — something was up, but I didn’t have any idea what.

There was a suitcase on the lounge floor. A new one. With my name attached to it. ‘For Portugal,’ Dad said.

‘Oh wow! Thanks, Dad. That’s really cool.’

‘Open it,’ he said.

Inside was an envelope with an official type of form inside. ‘A passport application! Good thinking, Dad.’ There was something else in there too. Another envelope. With cash in it. I read the note that came with it.
This is to help you with your passport. Good luck for Portugal, darling. You’ve done so well. I’m proud of you. Love from Mum.

I couldn’t say anything for a moment or two. She was
proud of me. That was … good. Real good.

Felix got impatient. ‘Open this one, Archie. It’s from me and Mum.’

They’d given me a passport cover and a map of Portugal.

‘Hey, are you sure it’s not Christmas today? This is amazing. All of it. Thanks heaps.’ We sat there smiling at each other.

Well, Felix didn’t. He snatched a final parcel out of the suitcase. ‘Open it, Archie.’

I shook my head and pointed at the name written on the paper. ‘Read that, mate.’

‘Felix.
It’s for me? Really?’ But he was already ripping the paper off. ‘It’s a racing suit!’ He held it in both hands, clasping it to his chest. ‘Mum? It’s a racing suit.’ His eyes were doing that huge, swallow-his-face thing like he couldn’t believe what he was seeing.

Erica smiled at him. ‘You’re going to need it for when you start racing.’

Well, that kid nearly knocked her flat, jumping at her to hug her. Happy families all round.

But Felix and I still got to do the dishes. He wasn’t a lot of help because his head was somewhere far away in a land of fumes, noise and speed. I knew the feeling.

THAT NIGHT
I
talked to Kyla for ages. We had a lot to catch up on. I told her the whole gory story of Craig and how he’d tried to take me out. A lot of it — though not quite everything — had come out on various social media sites. But no one had said anything about Silver.

Kyla said, ‘You haven’t heard anything since you got home? About how she is now, I mean.’

‘No. I messaged her to say thanks. No reply though. I’d just like to know she’s okay.’

We tossed some ideas around about why it had mattered to her so much that Craig didn’t win. ‘Erica says he probably became the focus of her rage about her mother being killed.’

‘Makes sense, I guess,’ Kyla said. ‘He was always a right shit to her.’ Then she laughed. ‘Hey, he did good in spite of himself.’

‘That’d get right up his exhaust pipe. Hey, any chance of you coming up this way over the summer?’

Her face lit up. ‘I’m working on it. Keep your fingers crossed. It’s looking promising.’

We sat there grinning at each other, then she asked, ‘When do you leave for Portugal?’

‘Got the info yesterday. We fly out in three weeks. It’s starting to feel real.’

I’d never been out of the country before. Actually, I’d only been on a plane once, and that was when I was quite young. I got little shivers of excitement every time I thought about it.

We’d do all the prep we could beforehand. Every competitor got supplied with a kart and all the gear, which meant all I could do to prepare was practise, read up everything I could about driving technique, study the map of the track we’d be racing on, and work on my fitness.

I’d thought the time would drag, but instead it took off at high speed, helped on its way by Dad sussing out a kart for Felix. We took him to the track to try it out. That kid was practically dizzy with excitement. It’s a pity
his mum had to work and couldn’t see him.

Dad gave him some tips before he took off, but as soon as Felix left the grid, Dad said, ‘He’s too amped to take anything in. This should be interesting.’

His kart wasn’t as powerful as mine but he would feel like he was jet-propelled. I still remembered the feeling of speed I’d got on my first few drives. I’d been certain I’d broken the sound barrier.

We watched Felix’s progress — not too bad. He was driving at around half the speed the kart was capable of. ‘He’s doing okay in the corners,’ I said.

‘Should do. He’s been a proper little sponge. He’s absorbed all the stuff you’ve talked to him about.’

We waved him in after ten laps — it was like watching an approaching grin. ‘I went fast! I reckon I could beat you, Archie! That was
awesome
!’

We didn’t disillusion him.

He didn’t talk much on the way home, but every now and again we’d hear
Awesome
from the back seat. He was asleep by the time we hit town.