Richmond has been calling nonstop. I already told him I was on my way but he just kept on calling. I arrived at the play house and went straight to the racing track.
The play house was a private property I had received for my birthday when I turned 18. It was a mini mansion with large areas of land surrounding it. It had a big pool at the back close to the mountains. The view here was really great so I often hanged out here. It became a general hanging spot for me and the gang. We built a race course cause racing was kind of like our main thing. There was a basketball court at one end of the building and a huge garage where most of our vehicles were parked. We called it the play house because it was a place we could come to avoid all the responsibilities we had to shoulder.
We were having a race today, where the loser would have to sponsor our next trip. I had lost the last time so I guess that's why Richmond is afraid I'll bail. I got to the track and found Richmond fully geared up.
"Hey my man, you actually came, I thought you'd bail on us" he said teasingly".
"I already gave my word" I said smiling. "Where's Scott" I asked when I couldn't see him anywhere.
"There" Richmond pointed. "He wanted to warm up before you came". Richmond stated.
"Show off" I said rolling my eyes while Richmond hit me hard at the back of my head.
Among the three of us, Scott was the best when it came to racing. He has never lost, not even once. Every time we raced, it's like it's already decided that he's going to win while Richie and I competed for second place. I really don't see the need for him to warm up when he's already this good. I'm the one who needs the warm up the most. Richmond stared at me as if he could read my mind.
"C'mon bro, if he doesn't practice hard he might lose his touch you know, and next time be here on time so you can show off" he said smiling. Shit! He could read my mind.
"You wizard be gone" I said waving my imaginary wand in the air. He gave me a hard knock on the head again.
"You are so childish" he said shaking his head.
"Only with you guys" I said smiling.
"Go change already, I'm super hyped and I want to get this started" he said pushing me away.
I got changed into my racing suit and put on my helmet. I held my googles in my hand and headed to the track. Scott was already back from his little test run and he was talking to one of the staffs. We exchanged pleasantries and went to our vehicles. Mine was an Aston Martin Vulcan. We drove to the starting line and waited for the signal to go. We were going to do three laps and the first to cross the finish line wins.
"Get ready to be annihilated" Richmond said cockily.
"The only person getting annihilated is you bro. Hope you've saved enough for our trip cause I'm gonna make sure I spend your whole inheritance" I said. Scott just chuckled. "I'm coming for you Scott" I added as I put on my protective googles.
"Do your best" Scott said grinning. Just you wait till I beat your ass. That was what I thought to myself. I really wanted to beat his proud ass. We got the signal to start. I really wanted to win this time. Just once I wanted to beat Scott. At the end, he finished first and I came in second.
"This isn't fair, I want a rematch" Richmond demanded.
"You lost fair and square so stop complaining" Scott replied.
"My hands were sweaty and I had a full helmet on so it blocked the perimeter of my vision" Richmond kept on complaining.
"Stop being childish, you're almost 29" Scott said laughing. I just stared at them as they talked.
"You lost so prepare for our trip and we are not going easy on you. Right Anthony?" Scott said facing me. I was taken aback as my mind was not even in the conversation. "Are you alright" Scott asked.
"I'm fine, just tired" I replied while he stared at me trying to figure out what was wrong. I didn't like it when he looked at me as if trying to figure me out. It made me uncomfortable so I needed to sooth the mood quickly. " Honestly I'm fine, I'm just thinking of how much of Richmond's inheritance I can squander" I said laughing and trying not to sound awkward.
"I know right. Let's buy an island with his money" Scott said patting my shoulders.
"You guys are heartless" Richmond said throwing kicks in the air which I dodged but one landed on Scott.
"As if. You didn't hold back when it was my turn so don't expect me to go easy on you" I said mischievously.
"Is it too late to say I'm sorry" he said with pleading eyes.
"Come closer and I'll think about it" i said grinning. And when he did I gave him a hard knock on his head.
" You bastard! He yelled as I ran away with him chasing after me and Scott following behind.
People often talked about how cold I was, but with my friends, I was the exact opposite and that was because I trusted and loved them. I had a lot of issues growing up so I found it hard trusting people. Scott and I were really close but there has always been this tension between us. Like we were cool and all but we weren't. It's hard to explain in words but we both clearly treasured one another. I remember the first time we met. It was during a gathering, I had gone with my father and as usual I had kept to myself. Sean didn't attend for some reason so I just sat alone on the swing while the other children interacted with one another. I stared at them wishing to join them but I was scared of being rejected and I knew alot of people naturally didn't like me. I was only nine years old but I could tell. Just as I sat alone, I noticed a boy who just stared at me. I stared back and normally when this happens, the other person looks away, but he kept staring as if trying to figure out what I was thinking. I became uncomfortable and looked away. He got up and approached me while I wondered what he wanted.
"Are you Anthony?" He asked. I looked at him for a second before I replied with a nod.
"Do you want to play with me and my friend?" He asked again. I just stared at him. This was the first time someone invited me to play apart from Sean so I didn't know how to respond. He pulled me by the hands and told me his friend was at the other end. I followed him until I suddenly stopped in my tracks while he turned back to face me.
"Aren't you scared of me?" I asked curiously. "All the other kids are" I said.
"Should I be?" He asked staring at me. I couldn't find the words to respond. "I want to find out what's so scary about you" he said smiling before he continued to walk forward with my hands in his. This time I just followed obediently. He introduced me to Richmond who was so free spirited and interacted with me as if we have known for ages. When I first met them, I still had my walls up but gradually those walls broke down completely and we have been friends since then. Scott is one person I treasured and also envied. He was brave and more matured than the rest of us. He was friendly and easily loved. I had always wished I could be like him, but I was like this, not proud like people say I am but just shy. Most people didn't know this, but I was really shy. I guess Scott could tell and that was why he approached me first. If he hadn't done that, I would probably still be alone till this day so im really grateful.
We got changed and we headed to the bar inside. Richmond had girls over even though I always warn him not to let girls in the play house. Scott was at the other end of the room playing mobile games while I sat at the bar with Richie. He asked one of his girls to come keep me company but she didn't dare move after she saw the look I shot at her.
"Chill man! You're scaring the ladies" Richmond said patting the head of the girl.
"Don't let your girls come near me" I warned.
"Don't worry, I don't like sharing anyway" he said smirking.
"Whatever man" I said downing my shot.
"Speaking of which, we're working on a new project and we need sponsors. So are you interested?" Richmond said this time with a serious tune.
"What kind of project is it this time" I asked interested.
"Well it's a movie adaptation of a famous novel. You must have heard of it, the one about a maltreated girl who later changes her life by marrying a rich old man and later coming for revenge. I can't recall the name" he said scratching his head in an attempt to recall the name.
"Vicious" one of the girls with Richmond said.
"Oh yes vicious, that's the name" he said smiling at her.
"That book is so good but I don't like the fact that she died at the end after taking revenge on her family. Are you gonna make it end tragically in the movie too" she said pouting.
"I don't know yet, somethings might be changed though so I'm not certain, the final work will be sent to me later after the director and his team has decided". He said. The girl kept on giving her opinions about the book and she actually talked intelligently which impressed me. I nodded as she spoke and when she noticed, she turned away shyly while blushing really hard.
"C'mon man,all you had to do was nod and you're already stealing my girl" Richmond said facing the girl and pouting. She started teasing him together with the other girls and I genuinely lost brain cells. I looked away and started downing my shots. I looked at Scott and noticed how he didn't care about anything around him except for the game he was playing. I looked again at Richmond and watched him play with his ladies. I was tired and my mind wandered until it landed on a memory. A memory from earlier today. I had remembered the elevator girl and I couldn't help but smile while I replayed the whole incident in my head.