Buying a Car and Getting Stuck

"You're very confident, aren't you?" The man said.

George looked at him coldly and said, "So you're not going to apologize. I'll just have to beat you until you do." Feeling emboldened, George rushed around the table, catching him by surprise. The man tripped and dropped the bottle as he tried to adjust his footing to face George. George kneeled on the man's chest and raised his fist to punch him in the face.

"Don't, don't! I apologize! I apologize!" The man called out before he could be hit. "I'm sorry." He said in a low voice.

"Too quiet, Frodo, I can't hear you," George said. "Louder."

The man gave George a hateful look and said loudly, "I'm sorry."

"Why are you telling me you're sorry, Frodo. Tell her," George said sarcastically, pointing at Charlie.

"Don't go too far." The man said angrily.

George waved his fist and said coldly, "Say it."

"I'm sorry." He said again, looking in Charlie's direction this time.

"What do you think, Charlie? Is he sorry enough?" George turned around as he asked the question. He saw Charlie looking at him with a smile. In that instant, his heart skipped a beat. He had finally experienced it after 20 years. He loosened his grip on the man and got to his feet. He stared blankly at Charlie. The man took the opportunity to escape.

"Thank you," Charlie said softly walking over to him.

"Oh, it- it was nothing. It's what anyone would do." Only after hearing Charlie's pleasant voice did George come back to his senses. She was looking at him curiously.

"You- you know my name?"

He realized that they hadn't actually met before. "Oh yes," he said. "I- I'm also from Harrison U. Hi, uh, my name's George." He stared straight at her and extended his hand politely.

Charlie chuckled at seeing his actions. "You are so funny. My name is Charlie from the music academy at Harrison. Nice to meet you." She reached out and shook his hand.

As their hands touched, George felt his heart beating faster again. "What's going on? Am I sick? Why does my heart feel like it's going to beat out of my chest?"

"There he is. Get him. I want to skin him alive." Frodo had returned and wasn't alone.

"Quick, run." George quickly ran towards the back door of the bar, pulling Charlie along with him. He saw Frodo leading a group of men into the bar.

"Hurry up and get them. Don't let them escape," Frodo ordered.

George picked up the pace. They were fast and agile, successfully dodging tables all the way to the back door.

"Hurry," George pointed at the door. "Once we get out, they won't be able to catch us."

He pushed the door open and found two tall men standing right in front of him. They were dressed in black suits and looked very imposing. George thought they were done for. He skidded to a stop and said, "Just let her go. I'll go with you. I promise, I won't fight back."

"Mr. Rudd, we are here to collect you," the man on the left said.

"You are?" George was stunned for a second and was a bit confused as to who had sent them to collect him. Charlie looked from George to the man and back again, she was at a loss for words.

The man in black said, "We were sent here by Flora to take you home."

"Flora!" George exclaimed. "Well, you got here at a perfect time. Can you help me teach the people behind us a lesson before we leave?"

"No, this place is too dangerous. We can't let you get hurt. We have to take you back first." The man in black turned and held out his arm suggesting that they would start moving. "Young, sir, don't worry. We'll take care of everything."

George rolled his eyes. But seeing that the man in black was serious. He said, "All right, then let's go."

Soon, George and Charlie were sitting with the man in black, in a black limousine. Charlie was in a daze when she got in the car and still in one when she got out. She was standing in front of the school gate before she knew it, with George sending her onto the women's dormitory.

"Charlie, don't think about tonight. It's in the past. Just go back and have a good sleep."

Seeing her in a trance, George assumed that she was frightened and he was trying to be gentle. She nodded and went up the stairs without a word.

George was a bit disappointed. "Why didn't she say goodbye to me?" He watched as he disappeared into the distance before he reluctantly turned around to leave.

Charlie stopped in the stairway and looked back. "Who is he?" She thought. "Isn't he the one who's famous for being shabby? What was that all about with the men and the limo then?"

Charlie had never received such treatment in her life. All of a sudden she had a strange feeling and she hurried back to the dormitory.

After George saw Charlie off, he didn't return to his dorm. Instead he went to the hotel next to the school and got a room to sleep in for the night. The next morning, he called Flora to thank her. After hanging up the phone, he truly felt admiration for Flora, his talented assistant. It seemed that she could actually find out his whereabouts at any time and even save him from the most dangerous of situations.

Feeling pleased with himself and remembering his previous conversation with Flora, George went to a car showroom, determined to buy a car then and there. He wandered around the car lot for a while, looking at the cars on offer.

Eventually he was warmly greeted by a salesman. "Hello, sir, my name is Henry Little. I'm the sales manager here." He said, enthusiastically. "Sir, there's no need to say anymore. I know what kind of car you want to buy? Just come with me." He put his arm around George's shoulder and walked with him. "It's a beautiful day today. Isn't it?"

"A beautiful day to make a steal anyway," Henry thought. "Just as I was wondering what to do with that heap of junk Chevy, this champ comes along. Look at this kid. If he doesn't know his cars, it would only be fair for me to take advantage and part him from his money," he snickered, but remembered himself in time to hide it from his customer.

George thought he saw the Glint in Henry's eye as he maneuvered him around the car lot. He didn't like him, but he felt powerless to resist and wasn't in any trouble at least. Helpless, he walked past rows of nice looking cars.

Originally he had wanted to buy a low key, but luxurious Honda or VW or even a BMW. In the end though, Henry took him past all of those and into a different car lot altogether. George frowned and was a bit annoyed.

"What kind of cars are these? I want to buy a low-key car that doesn't lose any of its luxury."

He had already made up his mind to buy a normal car and keep a low profile. However, he never said that he would buy such an ordinary car as these. No matter what, he did at least have some status now.

"Oh, sir, you don't understand. These cars are the latest ones that go on public sale and are very popular. Just take a look inside this one." He opened a car door and gestured for George to have a look. "The interiors of an upper class quality at first glance. And when you look closer, you can see it's made to last. I think it fits you perfectly, sir."

"Are these cars as good as you say? Why are they hidden out here? You trying to con me." George was a bit skeptical.

"No, no, sir. What are you saying? You're my customer and the customer is always right. Our company is well-renowned for its customer service. Not to mention that I'm the manager. How could I be a con man? That would ruin the reputation of my company." Henry frown, and seemed a bit angry.

"See this Chevy, the new model that's just been released is being bought by rich people at home and abroad. I saw that you have an extraordinary temperament and I just knew that you were perfectly compatible with this car. So I recommended it to you. There are only a few of them left though. And they might be sold out by this afternoon. When that time comes, you'll regret it."

The manager knew how to speak that was for sure. Ever since he had had the black card and the money, George felt that he had an imposing manner wherever he went. He tried to put that to use.

"How much is it?"

"Not expansive. 25,000."

George looked at him rarely and said, "This car? Are you sure it's 25? What makes me think it's not worth that price?"

The salesman was surprised. He rolled his eyes and blew out breath. He took a key fob from his pocket and held it out to George. "You can't say it's not worth 25,000. You should give it a test drive. If you don't like it then we can try something else."

George hesitated for a moment before taking the car keys. In truth, he didn't really like this car. The entire city was filled with this kind of ordinary car, so it didn't match his black card identity at all.

However, he had no choice but to believe what the sales manager said. After all, it wasn't actually a bad looking car. So at least he should look good in it. He got into the car and started the engine.

After George left on his test drive, Henry revealed a sinister smile. "What a brat!" He said aloud. "I'll just stay here and wait for the money."

George didn't drive a lot. So he didn't have much experience with testing a car to see if he thought it was a good one. This one felt no different from the one he learned to drive in.

When he arrived at a crossroad, the green light suddenly turned red. He stepped on the brake and soon noticed that the brakes weren't very sensitive. With a crash, he came to a stop with the help of the BMW in front, causing the taillights on the BMW to shatter.

He heard angry shouting from front as two men got out of the BMW. The driver immediately started cursing as he approached George. "You fucking idiot. Learn how to drive. Get the hell out of the car right now."

George was scared out of his wits. "Why didn't the car stop? The brakes in this thing are rubbish." Good thing I still haven't bought it yet."

George apologized immediately after getting out of the car. He tried to calm the other man down repeatedly saying, "I'm sorry. I'm- I'm sorry."

"Sorry? What the hell?" The man wasn't calming down at all. "You drove into me and you've damaged my car. That's going to cost you," he said with a cold expression.