Chapter Thirteen: The Race Track

"So, what would you like to do for the rest of the day?" he asked as we both buckled in our seatbelts.

"Don't you have somewhere to be?" I asked with an arched eyebrow.

"If I had somewhere to be do you really think I would be asking you what you wanted to do?" he asked sarcastically, making me roll my eyes.

"Well, you've never asked me about my plans before so allow me to be a little skeptical."

"Fair enough. But I've been a total jackass to you since you guys moved in. And well, I owe it to my brother to be nice." He said with a shrug and I looked at him, surprise painted all over my features.

"Wow." I breathed out.

"If you don't want to do anything, just say so." He snapped and I laughed.

"No, it's not that. It's just shocking to see you so ... nice." I admitted.

"Don't get used to it." he said as the car purred to life.

**

"Oh please, if you knew her like I do, you'd understand." I exclaimed with a laugh. We were currently having lunch at a restaurant called Black Impala. I had never heard of it, mainly because it was in the areas of Port Elizabeth my dad forbids me to go to. Jackass thought it would be best to have lunch away from the obvious hangouts, so that we could avoid awkward questions about why a principal was having lunch with his student.

"So rude." He said disapprovingly, shaking his head and I snorted.

"Not this again, please. I'm only rude to people who deserve it. It's not my fault you happen to be one of those people." I teased as I dipped some fries in mustard.

"You keep doing that, eventually that foul mouth of yours will get you into trouble worse than suspension." He stated, sawing the ribs on his plate. I decided to ignore his comment, not liking where the conversation was headed. So, I distracted my mouth with more chicken wings. I listened to him complain that he had to wake up early with a hangover only to go watch our hockey team lose. I laughed at that. Our conversation was light, filled with a lot of chuckles and giggles in between. As a principal, he was a jackass. But I guess that is what to be expected from a principal. And especially one so young. I'm assuming people wouldn't take him seriously if he wasn't such a hard ass. Anthony, on the other hand, is not so bad. He has an odd sense of humour and is very easy to talk to. It feels like I am talking to my peer when I talk to him, and that is a breath of fresh air. When we finished our food, Jackass settled the bill and we went back to his beautiful car.

"I really love this car." I said as I ran my hands over the exquisite interior of the i8.

"You're into cars huh?" he inquired and put the car in drive.

"You could say that." I said vaguely.

"Oh yeah? Then you wouldn't mind if we took a detour before we went home?"

"Sure. As long as I make it Ayanda's meet on time." I glanced at my wristwatch. It was a little over 3pm and Ayanda's meet started at 6pm. I was enjoying my day with Jackass and I didn't want it to end yet, even though I would never admit it out loud. We listened to Drake on our way to wherever Anthony was taking us. I was shocked obviously, but this man was so full of surprises. First, he has a disgustingly sweet tooth, almost as if there's a little boy trapped inside a grown man's body. Second, he was an ex pro racer and lastly, he listened to Drake. My eyes lit up as I read the sign of the arena he just drove into.

"You're taking me to a racetrack?" I asked beguiled.

"Not just any racetrack." He pointed out as he parked and stepped out of the car. I followed suit and went to stand beside him at the entrance of the arena.

"This is where it all began." He said with glee, grabbed my hand and led me inside. My entire arm was tingling from the sensation of his skin on mine, a blush creeping up on my face. It was either what he had just done didn't register in his head because of the excitement of being in the arena where it all began, or he intended to do it but decided not to say anything about it. The logical part of me decided on the former, while the teeny side of me that had a slight crush on this infuriating man decided on the latter. A few people were surprised to see him there and greeted him with enough love and excitement to make Anthony feel at home. He grabs your hand and suddenly he gets upgraded from Jackass to Anthony? My subconscious sneered and I shook my head, ignoring her.

"Hey everybody, look who it is! It's the Viper in the flesh!" an old, short and bald man shouted across the arena, spreading a blanket of silence from everyone in close vicinity, who stopped what they were doing to turn and look.

"Jimmy!" Ant- I mean, Jackass exclaimed. He let go off my hand to give the short and chubby man who was dressed in greasy coveralls, a hug. People erupted in cheers and calls. I just stood there awkwardly, feeling cold without his fingers interlaced with mine. Oh God. I ignored my subconscious once again as I watched Jackass greet the people around him with the biggest smile on his face.

"And who is this lovely lady? Finally got rid of the snobby redhead huh champ?" the chubby man asked. He had a slight accent I couldn't quite place. I felt my cheeks burn as all eyes diverted to me and the chatter seized.

"Uhm, no. I'm still happily married, thank you very much and the 'redhead's' name is Gia, Jimmy. This is George's daughter." He said, his ears tinged pink with what I assume to be embarrassment.

"Gia Shmia, it makes no difference. She made ye quit." Jimmy bellowed, outraged. The other people were shaking their heads disapprovingly. Whether the disappointment was for Jimmy or Jackass, I could not tell. Well, this is awkward. And for once, I agreed with my subconscious.

"Jimmy please." Jackass sounded defeated, and looked it, judging from the way his shoulders sagged. Jimmy made a noise at the back of his throat and turned to look at me.

"You're a product of George huh? Who knew that rascal could help make such a beautiful angel!" he said with a sweet smile that made me blush.

"Nice to meet you." I said softly before he squeezed me in a bear hug. Jackass introduced me to his former pit crew, who made it their mission to let him know how much they missed working with him.

"Guys, we've been through this." He started to say but Jimmy cut him off.

"Ye yeah, ya did what ya thought was best. Spare us the bullshit." He grunted and shook his head.

"Jimmy!" Jackass groaned but the chubby man just ignored him, instead turned to look at me again.

"Ya like cars sweetheart?" he asked in his foreign accent. I nodded, unable to find my voice.

"Well, what are ya waiting for Ant? Go show ye lovely lady the racetrack!" he ordered, making the other guys laugh, causing yet another groan to escape from Jackass.

"And if ya wanna get back on the track, I just finished modifying a mustang. Ye could try that out yeah?" Jimmy continued, and I shrieked, drawing everyone's attention to myself. I was too excited to care.

"No freaking way? A mustang?" I shouted and a few people laughed, including Jimmy.

"You like?" he asked, and I nodded rapidly like a bobble head doll.

"LOVE!" I shrieked and this time, Jackass laughed as well.

"Well, shall we?" he asked, motioning for the doors that lead to the racetrack. I was so excited that this time, it was me who grabbed his hand. He looked down at our intertwined hands, and I was glad that he didn't pull away, instead pulled me towards the doors. A couple of seconds later, the racetrack came into view and it was breathtakingly beautiful. The stands were empty, but there were a few cleaners who were picking up papers and random objects. There were about 10 cars on the track; some were accelerating full speed, while others were just loitering around the track, testing their tires and stuff, I'm assuming. I jumped up and down in excitement, not being able to contain myself for much longer. Jimmy told Jackass that the mustang was parked in his old pit, because apparently, he was thinking of his champion race car driver when he started working on the car. His pit crew was already getting to work when we made our way to the car, still holding hands. None of us dared mention it, but it was like avoiding a big pink elephant that was floating around us. The car was beautiful beyond expectations. The sponsor stickers weren't placed yet, so it was just in its plain sleek black colour. Jackass squeezed my hand as we both stared at the Ford machine with adoration.

"Care to join me for a ride?" he asked when I looked up into his eyes. I nodded excitedly and he laughed, pulling me in for a hug. At first, I didn't know what to do. But I eventually wrapped my arms around his torso and hugged him back. His hugs were warm and comforting and gave me a sense of pride. Someone cleared their throat and we broke apart. After putting on the right gear, helmet included, Jackass warned me not to touch anything and blah blah blah. I had stopped listening because I was just anxious to get in the car already. As he was strapping me in my seat, a white 2005 Dodge Charger pulled up next to the car, grabbing Jackass' attention. An attractive man that may be around Jackass' age stepped out with a delicious smirk on his face.

"Is this the return of the Viper?" he said sarcastically in an English accent.

"Wellington." Jackass spat out, stiff and rigid with his fists balled up. Who was this man and why was Jackass getting so riled up?

"Matthews. Didn't think I would see you around here after you quit to become a high school teacher." His tone was mocking as he flashed Jackass a crooked grin.

"I'm a high school principal. Not that it's any of your concern. Are you scared that if I came back, you would drop down to number 2 again?" now it was his turn to mock. The grin fell from the English man's face and he growled.

"Let's do it. Right here, right now. Let's settle this like men!" he said through clenched teeth and Jackass provided a lopsided grin of his own.

"Okay, where's the other man?" he taunted, making me chuckle. This is hot.

"Fuck you Matthews." The angry man shouted, to which Jackass responded with a laugh.

"Are we racing, or do you need a moment to gather yourself, Wellington?" He asked in a bone chilling tone, causing everyone around him to snicker as they prepared for the oncoming race. Jackass turned on his heel and walked over to the driver's side of the car and got in. He didn't say anything as he strapped himself in and made sure that both our windows were protected. He started the car and the engine purred to life in a pleasing deep sound. He drove the car out to the starting line and waited there for the white Dodge. He turned to look at me and I gasped at the way the blue of his eyes looked to be boiling.

"You should get out." He said, his voice cold as ice.

"What? No!" I argued.

"Get out Azania. This isn't safe for you."

"And it's safe for you?"

"Damn it! Can you for once in your life try and not make my life difficult? Get out!" he screamed and slammed his hands against the steering wheel.

"You can scream all you want. I'm going nowhere." I stood my ground, crossing my arms over my chest and relaxing into my seat.

"Azania, if something goes wrong-" he tried to reason with me, but my mind was made up, so I turned and grabbed his face in my hands and looked him straight in the eyes.

"Nothing will go wrong. Stop being such a pessimist. I want to experience this with you; I want to know what your life was like before you traded it in for a suit and a name plate. You will do great. And we won't get hurt. I trust you." I said sternly, watching as his eyes went from a stormy sea to a peaceful ocean. He looked like he was having an internal battle, until he leaned into my touch and closed his eyes. When he opened them again, I was taken aback by the raw emotion in their depths. With a sigh, he finally nodded and pried my hands off his face. My heart fluttered in my stomach. What was I thinking? Jackass flashed me a grin before pulling his own helmet over his head. An inscription at the side of his helmet caught my eye.

Run while you still can. There's a viper on the loose.

A.M '02

"Is this your old helmet?" I asked as he adjusted a few things, revving the car in the process.

"Yeah, both of them are. I wore this one in my first race, and the one you're wearing now is the one I wore in my last." He said absentmindedly and I nodded. Jimmy walked towards us, passing the car and slamming his hand against the hood and went to stand in between the two cars. He lifted his left hand up and both cars revved. Then followed his right hand and the revving continued. I gripped my hands on the edge of the seat as Jackass asked, "you ready?" with a little apprehension in his voice.

"Let's do this." I exclaimed and he revved the car again at the same time that Jimmy's arms dropped. The car shot forward with such a force that pressed me against the seat. I couldn't even hear my own screams over the loud engines of the cars and the burning tires. Jackass surprisingly laughed as he pressed hard on the accelerator, putting a safe distance between him and Wellington. After a few more seconds, Wellington shot right past us and gained even more speed. I cursed the same time Jackass said, "stupid kid." The finish line was about a 100m away and Wellington was still ahead of us by a good 20m. I started panicking, I wanted Jackass to win so badly and it didn't look possible at the moment.

"ANTHONY!" I scolded and he just laughed and said, "Chill. I got it baby."

Did he just call me baby? Oh gosh I think I'm going to die, and it won't be from a car crash. The finish line was getting closer, and just as I was about to scream at him again, he changed gears and stepped hard on the accelerator, allowing the car to fight against frictional force and shot past Wellington, and over the finish line.

"Yay! We won!" I screamed excitedly as Jackass drifted the car and brought it to a halt. He laughed as I quickly unbuckled my seatbelt and launched myself at him so that I was straddling him. I don't even know what came over me, but next thing I knew, my lips were pressed up against his, and I was kissing my principal.