Zea's P.O.V
I knew I probably shouldn't have been here. I knew that.
But I'm hardheaded and it's like I've said before: I was always going to do my best to prove people wrong. Especially when they thought they knew what was best for me.
Who are they to say what's best for me? And who was Brian to say I couldn't handle myself in this 'environment'?
Looking around at the very unfamiliar place I've put myself in, I now realize that maybe I should've listened to him.
Because as I look around the 'track' I had found through a whole lot of research of this town, I'm also realizing I have absolutely no idea what to do or where to go.
I felt as if I stuck out even though I was wearing an extremely basic outfit- some black leggings with an oversized gray hoodie and a baseball cap that was slightly covering my hooded eyes.
Another group of people push past me and don't even acknowledge me as they continue walking to who knew where.
I look around again and see lines of different cars and trucks lined up, most of them with bright neon lights and blasting music from their stereos. People were in their own designated groups littered throughout the area of land and it only made me feel more like an outcast.
I just wanted to see Brian race.
Looking behind me at the sound of voices, I see two girls about to walk past me on their way to where everybody else was.
They were beautiful and their makeup was done wonderfully. They had what seemed like their expensive purses hanging off one shoulder with their hands filled with plastic cups and plates of snack food from I'm guessing came from a food truck someplace close by.
I force myself to speak up.
"Um, excuse me," they stop when they realize I'm talking to them- their straight eye contact with me instantly making me glance down or at anything else besides their eyes.
"U-uh, do y'all know who Brian is? Or where I could probably, maybe find him?" My voice is extremely quiet and I fear they hadn't heard me and were going to make me repeat myself- something I desperately didn't want to do since my high from smoking before I came here was starting to wear off, which was making me way more self-conscious than I'd like to be at the moment.
I glance up in time when I hear one of them scoff under her breath and the other laugh lightly. "Brian?" They ask and I don't know if they're making fun of me or not but I just decide to lightly nod my head once in response.
"He,um, he's a racer, I-I think." I lightly scratch at one of my wrist awkwardly.
"We know who he is. Everyone does." One girl scoffs again while the other looks me up and down in a way I'm not able to explain.
"Don't tell me you're 'just his biggest fan'?" The girl with blonde hair smiles at me in what I was starting to think was a sarcastic way.
"No- I just- I mean, he-" her friend, the one with jet black hair cuts me off by looking at her friend with the same smile. "Of course she is Emily! You know how Brian can't go anywhere without his little groupies." My eyebrow furrow and I have no idea what she means or what she's even talking about.
Before I can ask or wonder about it even more though, she turns back to me with a weird look on her face. "Don't worry babe, he's probably getting ready for the next race. It'll start soon on the track in a little bit. You can go settle in with the rest of his little fan club!" She says 'cheerfully' before they both look me up and down one more time, turn on their heels, and walk away from me and towards where I'm thinking the track is, and laughing with one another.
I hadn't realized I'd stop breathing for a little bit until a small gasp leaves my lips and I was rocking from one foot to the other.
Looking around once again, I spot an empty space underneath some bleachers that overlooked a random field I was standing on that was also serving as the entrance way to the track a little distance away.
I rush over to it, making sure nobody had seen me or was paying me any mind, before slinging my body in between one of the metal bars to the small area that provided me with a little bit of privacy.
Not even thinking straight, I swing my backpack from around my shoulder so that it's now resting against my stomach for easier access and unzip it, seeing exactly what I felt I needed in that moment.
Reaching into the bag, I look around again just to make sure there was absolutely nobody around, before wrapping my hand around the bottle and bringing it out.
I hurry and twist the cap off and bring the glass to my lips where I down about eight huge sips in one go- the hard liquor making my eyes squint and water slightly and my body to shake lightly at the taste once it's settled in after I swallowed.
I hurry and grab the bottle of soda that was in the side pocket and down almost have the bottle right then and there.
Wiping my mouth with the back of my hand, I twist the cap back onto the bottle- after taking two more sips to settle my nerves a little more- and place it carefully back into my backpack. I do the same with the soda and make sure both are secure after zipping up the bad and slinging it back over my shoulder.
I make my way out from where I was and slowly started to make my way where I see a crowd starting to form in the distance.
Shaking my head at the taste still in my mouth, I groan out loud in an effort to make myself focus a little bit before I find myself walking a little faster- a slight indication that the alcohol was just barley starting to kick in and work.
It doesn't take me long to get to the crowd, and by the time I do the alcohol is starting to work a little bit better on me so it really wasn't hard at all for me to be able to find a spot at the very front by the gate- allowing me the perfect view of whatever was going on.
Although my eyes were low once again, I was starting to feel good. And with my vision becoming a little hazy I force myself to focus in when I see a row of cars starting to pull forward. Each car had its own unique design that made them all look extremely expensive and like they belonged in movies. The engines were all so loud that I couldn't hear anything else. The crowd of people around me screaming and cheering was just noise at this point.
I squint my eyes as I try to look to see if Brian was in any of the cars but I didn't see him. I couldn't really see any of them really- all of the windows were rolled up and tinted.
Soon, all the cars pull forward a little bit more to where I see a painted line on the road they're on. A guy walks out from the sidelines and as he walks towards the row of cars getting ready to race, all of the windows to all of the cars start to roll down- as if it was protocol or something.
The cheers got louder and even crazier.
I was wondering why they had rolled down the windows if they were about to start the race until I see the first driver hold out a wad of cash out to the guy who made his way off the sidelines and towards his car. He grabs it and places it into a bucket before going to the next car and doing the same thing. The process repeats itself until he gets all the way down the line and my eyes widen at how much money that probably is just sitting in that bucket.
He shakes the bucket teasingly towards the racers and then towards the crowd that cheered even louder at the action.
I shake my head at the noise but realize that this is my chance to see the drivers faces before they roll their windows back up.
