Senior Standoff | RETIRED VERSION

Season 1 - Episode 7 | NOT REVISED

Friday afternoon, Ky grabbed the keys to the car we shared, claiming it for the race. I'd been expecting it. But, when he did, all my hope of winning the race drained out of me. Even Asher had been laughing about how little a chance his car stood. We were screwed.

I sat on my front porch, watching as the sun was getting closer to the horizon. Ky had already left. Asher was supposed to pick me up any minute. While I waited, I picked at the strings that hung from the shredded ends of my denim shorts. Coupled with a black tank top and a pair of black canvas sneakers, they made for a cute outfit.

The sound of a roaring engine arrived before Asher did. My attention snapped to the road, where a black sport bike came into view and parked on the curb in front of my house. Asher stood up and pulled off a helmet. He shook out his hair and then looked at me.

"What are you waiting for?" he asked.

I stood up and crossed my lawn to him. The metal was creaking with the heat as it settled, the smell of the engine filling the air. My eyes slid down the shiny, black metal.

"Where did you get this?" I asked him. Maybe I was wrong, but I didn't think Asher could afford two vehicles.

"It's Finn's. We traded for the evening," Asher explained. He reached for the matching black helmet that had been strapped to the back of the bike. I hesitated for a second before taking it. This was insane. Asher had to have been planning this one the whole time. If he knew how to drive this thing, we were going to blow everyone away. Even Ben in his precious Mustang.

I slipped it on my head, lengths of my hair flowing out from underneath. That was going to be a pain to brush out. With the visor lifted, I fumbled around with the chin strap to secure it. Eventually, Asher chuckled and helped me out.

"Is that helmet on tight?" he asked.

"Good to go," I said.

Asher swung his leg over the bike and pulled it upright. He waved me on behind him. There were pegs for me to rest my feet, the seat barely big enough to accommodate both of us. The front of my body was firmly pressed against his back. With my arms wrapped around him, I could feel everything, from the breaths he took to the movement of his muscles as he prepared everything.

He looked over his shoulder. "A few ground rules. You need to hold on tight, and you need to lean into the turn when I do. If we're going to win this, we have to work like a well-oiled machine. Got it?"

"Got it. You're not going to kill us, right?"

"No, but I'll definitely make you scream." He pulled back on the handlebar, revving the engine. "Ready?"

"Yeah!"

Asher put his feet on his foot pegs, and the bike sailed off. As our speed picked up and the air rushed even more around me, my arms tightened. Was it easy,to fall off? I would be holding on for dear life, probably.

The only sounds I could hear were the engine and the wind. Most things went by in too much of a rush for me to see them. I rested my head on Asher's back. Cars and houses passed by like they existed for only a second. If only I'd known to wear a jacket. It was much colder on the back of the bike.

Everything spaced out as we made it into the rural, under-populated section of town. Here, back roads snaked through woods and large farms, away from everyone and everything. Police rarely monitored this area. That was perfect for us, because the last thing we needed was to get ticketed for street racing.

Which was exactly why the race never ended up online. Instead, seniors only were invited to park in town and hike to the starting line to watch. It was always simple. Pairs of teams would race until one was crowned champion. Both members of the team had to be present in the vehicle. Those were the only rules.