'You ready?'
Alex returned to the cafeteria, and Takumi was there waiting.
'Seeing that you're smiling, I suppose you passed the exam and got promoted.'
'Was it ever a doubt? Come on, let's go.'
'Of course….it wasn't. Where are we going?'
Alex sensed the change in his voice. He had a doubt and a solemn one, but Alex ignored it.
'To your house, we have to get ready for the race.'
Takumi thought that Alex was just offering sympathy, but the boy got fired up when he came back.
'Oh, then let's go. I even know a way to sneak out of school. There's a secret passage that can get us out. We have to crawl on our stomach, as it's more like an underground passage.'
'I have a permission slip signed by the principal to get us out but forget it, that sounds way cooler, let's go.'
Alex was not going to let this chance get away. He could add a new mystery to the school or use it when he wants some fresh air.
The passage was a tight squeeze. It was in the boy's bathroom behind a toilet. The pipe of the toilet was loose and was light enough to be moved easily.
The passage was rough, although not very long, and you would resurface from a hollow tree in the nearby park. Takumi had found it by accident when he had constipation and applied a little too much force, ending up moving the toilet.
He showed Alex the passage, and they entered it one by one.
'Hey, who made this passage? I can't imagine a student doing this.'
'You know how this school was originally a prison first. Someone must have dug it back then.'
'Oh yeah, I hope the person who worked so hard made it out, though.'
It doesn't matter who you are, hard work will pay off eventually.
'Hey, I see the light, we must be near.'
They both got out from under the tree.
'We better go to my house first. Since you don't have a motorcycle, I can give you mine. You can ride a motorcycle, right?'
'I can ride one, but I'm no pro. One of my friends also likes motorcycle racing, and he took me to a drag racing competition, and that's…. where I met her….'
***Cheers roared as a rider crossed the finish line first. Due to being famous, many had placed a bet on her and weren't betrayed. The ones who didn't, regretted it, and among them were Takumi.
He never believed she could win. His anger got extinguished when the girl took off her helmet and revealed her long blue hair. Mesmerized by what he saw, he went to take a closer look but tripped.
His accident had gained the attention of the girl who looked at him with her emerald jewels, and her dark red lips curled up. At that moment, the girl had not only won the race but also his heart.***
'Hey, come back. Come on, let's go.'
Alex snapped his finger to bring the starstruck boy back. He believed her smile was approval that he can get close to her. The girl only laughed, seeing the dumbass fell on the scalding hot ground and didn't bother getting up.
'We can't.'
'Why?'
'Because when I challenged her, she said that I can only beat her with my bicycle.'
'This just keeps getting better and better.'
Alex thought he would instead help the girl now.
'Fine, let's go to your house.'
After a while, they arrived at Takumi's house.
'Can I see your bicycle?'
Takumi opened the garage.
'Sure, it's right there.'
Takumi pointed towards a city bike that looked like it was made in the 1980s.
'That lump of metal, it doesn't even have any gears'
'My father rode it when he went to school, and now, he passed it on to me.'
Alex started to think that maybe some people can't be helped, but he wanted to press on.
'Do you have a picture of her motorbike?'
'Yeah, I have it on my phone.'
Alex looked at the pic and what he saw horrified him.
'Yup, you're doomed.'
Alex saw total defeat.
'Why? It doesn't look that fast.'
'You really don't know about bikes, the bike she is on is a Speed Freak 300, judging from here, a 2014 model, she really is a motorcycle racing fan, a hardcore one.'
'Is that bad?'
'Way more than bad.'
Takumi's face grew pale as he started describing the specifications.
'The beast is a 296cc, has a horsepower of 39 hp, parallel-twin engine, 6-speed gearbox, acceleration of 0 to 100kmph in 6 seconds, 16 valve DOHC and a top speed of about 180 kmph.'
'Ho-how do…you know all that?'
'Because that was the one I was going to give you. My dad likes sports bike, and this one is one of his favorites'
'We are never going to win.'
--So it hits you now?
The best Takumi could get out of his beaten-down bicycle was no more than 30kmph, and it was racing against something that could make it look like a baby crawling against Usain bolt running at full speed.
Alex was thinking as hard as he could. He didn't know why, but something inside him refused to give up.
'Okay, did she give you any handicaps?'
The situation was beyond saving, yet Alex went on.
'Only 2. One, that I can add anything I want on my bike and that I get to decide what kind of race it will be.'
--That's not much. We need something else.
'What do we do? We would need to fit a jet engine on my bike to even have a chance of winning.'
Takumi was scratching his head in frustration as the reality was hitting him hard. But when Alex heard Jet Engine, worries went away, and his eyes lit up.
'Then that's what we're going to do.'
'We are?'
'Just one thing, are you willing to risk your life and the life of your bike to win?'
'I'm…not sure I would go th-'
'Great. We have a lot of work to do. We need a battery, a big metal tube, a propane cylinder, a spark plug, and good brakes.
The preparation for the race began.