It was early afternoon. Although there wasn't that much of a crowd in the cafeteria situated at a corner of the city square. Some people were sitting scattered here and there, busy spending their time as they pleased.

A couple was sitting at a table in the corner, with a paper cup full of coffee and an almost empty plate of chicken drumsticks in front of them.

"Are you even a man?"

Mark's gaze was fixed on the plate when Lisa's words harkened in his ears.

What a weird question!

He picked up the last piece of drumstick and had a bite. It was delicious.

"What do you think?" Mark responded calmly, though the tone of mock wasn't concealed fully.

Not getting a response after a while, he looked up at Lisa. His eyes met hers, and he noticed her face, reddened. She stared at him with a deathly gaze, and...

"Fuck off."

Lisa suddenly stood up and threw the paper cup full of coffee on him.

Mark was momentarily stunned!

Even before he could react, she sped towards the entrance, and in a few seconds, he heard the sound of slamming the door.

Some took a quick look at what had happened, then turned their attention back to themselves.

"What's wrong with her!" He muttered.

"Didn't you get it? Your girlfriend has just dumped you!"

Suddenly he heard the words from behind. Mark turned around and found Joe, his best friend, standing beside his table with a wide grin on his face.

"Is that so?" Mark tossed the bone on the plate, and a sigh of relief came out of his mouth.

Joe took the seat Lisa was sitting just minutes ago.

"Aren't you feeling bad?"

Mark chuckled, "Not at all! I've had enough of her nonsense. I was thinking about a breakup myself."

"Great for you, then! By the way, are you coming to the party tonight?"

"No, I have other works."

Joe sighed. "Bro, a race again! Why can't you quit it? It's too risky."

A smile played on Mark's lips, "You won't understand the addiction to speed, as long as you won't experience it."

Joe nodded in disagreement, "Well, I'm better off with my own life." He stood up, "Okay, take care. I gotta go, bye."

Joe left the cafe with the parcel he was waiting for.

Mark looked at his shirt. The spilled coffee had already stained a large area, and some was still dripping on the floor from it. He needed to change it.

A look of annoyance appeared on his face; it was a brand-new white shirt, which was just ruined by Lisa. "Rubbish."

Three months ago, he met Lisa in a club. Since their first meeting, he started liking her.

It was the biggest mistake of his life. He proposed 'this' girl to be his girlfriend, even thinking about it now made him want to slap himself.

For him, the last month was no better than hell! Who had ever thought that the girl whom he liked, would be a living nightmare!

Throwing tantrums, clinging to him like a leech — was it all a girlfriend for!

Thinking about the past, Mark let out a sigh of relief. Finally, he got rid of this relationship. Now, he had to focus solely on his life alone.

"Enough of this drama, now back to my original life. Girls are anyways, annoying."

With this thought, he proceeded towards the gate of the cafe.

*****

Since childhood, Mark's life had never been a cakewalk. His mother passed away when he was only one and a half years old. He had grown up with his father — a drug addict gambler.

Throughout his childhood, every day, he faced the same thing: lack of money, attacks from creditors, and the police coming and taking his father away from home.

He never felt the love of family. Moreover, his father's irresponsibility made his life miserable.

Mark was fed up with his life, he was determined to make it better. One thing he clearly knew was that it was never possible while living in his home.

Five years ago, he got admitted to a high school in this city through an admission test and moved in here. Since then, he lived in this city.

Being an international student in a different country, also in an expensive city like this, it was hard for him to survive.

The scholarship alone wouldn't meet his needs; so he started working part-time. It was hard for him, but he managed. By any means, he was willing to make his life worth living.

Mark had only one obsession in his life: the addiction to speed.

He was introduced to it when he was seventeen, and since then, he had become a sucker for speed. Nothing could intoxicate him the way speed could.

This addiction gradually drew him into the world of street racing and betting, and even before he could know, he became an integral part of it. 

Taking part in night street racing and winning a fat balance every time — it became his routine job.

Growing up in poverty since childhood, Mark could not control himself from this greed and gradually surrendered himself to this addiction. The more days passed, the more he drowned in this world.

*****

Mark looked at the clock, it was already ten. Finishing the burger and the coke he had brought for dinner, he went up to get ready.

Today's race was an important one because it was a 'winner-takes-all' pool, where he could almost get around seventy percent of the total money.

Getting ready, he came out of his rental stay. In front of the gate, his favorite Ducati was parked.

Mark ran his hands on it once with great affection; in every race, it was his constant companion, who never betrayed him. As soon as he got on the bike and started it, it ran at a high speed on the empty road ahead.

When he reached the destination, the clock had already struck eleven thirty. This area was comparatively silent from the other parts of the city, and there was hardly any patrolling.

"Hey, man!" Seeing him, Billy walked towards him. "Excited?"

He offered him a can of Coke. Mark accepted it and after taking a small sip, he let out a grin. "As always."

"Good, good!" Billy pressed his shoulders.

"All the best, it's gonna be a li'l hard for you... Sunny joined."

Without much of a talk, he went ahead.

Mark frowned. Sunny! "That's bad." He whispered.

Sunny was one of the best street racers, Mark hardly competed with him. But whenever they joined tracks together, it was... Tough, but insanely rewarding!

The race was about to start. Mark straddled his Ducati, his heart was pounding inside the rib cage. Just beside him was Sunny, with his rugged frame and hard jawline.

The pool had grown to a staggering $70,000. And why not? The two best racers were competing with each other today!

Mark put on his helmet, taking a glance at the crowd on both sides. His eyes were glimmering in confidence.

He had to do it. 'Winner-takes-all' pools didn't happen every day, and when there was a chance, he just hadn't missed it by any chance!

As the gun fired, all the bikes roared to life. Mark's bike screamed, and in a fraction of a second, he shot off the line.

Soon, the cheering crowd had disappeared, their sound faded in a faint hum, then disappeared completely. Mark's focus was completely on the road, he had to keep his lead.

100... 120... 140... 160... 180....

The speed increased continuously, and he passed almost all the racers except one, Sunny.

They were going shoulder-on-shoulder, often replacing the lead by each other.

Mark's leg pumped furiously, and his bike responded eagerly to his every command, increasing the speed constantly!

"C'mon Mark, faster! You can do it!"

His heart was beating faster than ever, the wind whipped through his helmet, and his lungs were burning from exertion.

With a loud roar, for the first time, he surged forward, leaving Sunny behind, running at a speed of 220!

But then, all of a sudden, his head seemed to be a little dizzy, before his eyes seemed to be blurred for a few moments!

"Fuck! What's happening?"

Mark muttered in disgust. He fell he couldn't control the bike fully. His head started spinning, he was losing balance.

"No! No way!"

Suddenly, Mark's bike wobbled, and the front wheel lost traction.

He struggled to regain control, but it was too late!

The disaster struck. The bike crashed. He was hurled off the bike and tumbled through the air before his body slammed into the asphalt with a bone-jarring force.

Mark felt a sickening thud, as he was hit hard on the head, and the helmet broke. A sharp pain coursed through his veins and he let out a sharp scream. "Ahh!"

He got up, struggling. There was no sign of a single bike, everyone passed him.

His head was still spinning, and now, the dizziness intensified.

"What's happening!" He tried to stand up but fell to the ground.

He felt something liquid near his nose, a thin stream of blood was coming out of it.

"I need help!" Murmured, Mark took out his cell phone from the pocket of his trousers. He didn't have much energy left and before he passed out, he had to call Billy and ask him for help.

But as was about to dial Billy's number, he saw someone.

A bike!

It sped toward and stopped in front of him. He looked up and saw the person.

Billy! Did he came to help him? But, his expressions... Saying something different!

"Sorry, man!" A mix of pity and guilt was on his face.

"Billy! What did you do!" Mark barely talked.

A devious smile replaced the guilt on his face.

"What have I done! I just spiked your Coke a little, so that you lose your control mid-race."

"Wh-what! Why?" Mark couldn't believe his ears.

"Why?" Billy bent over to meet his eyes.

"Because you were becoming a threat to us. To Sunny."

Mark's eyes widened. "You... You're a team!"

Billy laughed. "Of course! And... Li'l boy, The thorn in the road should never be kept, it should be uprooted. So..."

His vision blurred, and his whole body was aching unbearably. He felt his life slipping away from him.

He looked up. "You... Betrayed me!" His voice was barely audible.

As Mark's eyes closed, Joe's face appeared before his eyes.

He had warned about them countless times, "Mark, come out of this world; this is not for you; they are not your type."

But he... Never listened!

Mark breathed heavily. He heard the sound of Billy's motorcycle's engine going far away from him.

And then... Everything went blank! He lost his life.

Or maybe, NOT!