H2O: A Mermaid Tail

11- edited

    I went to the cafe to find Zane in the back showing off a bunch of dirt bikes. I looked at the sign to see that he bought a dirt bike course. Huh? What I hear from Rikki, they are seriously in debt. I saw Rikki and Zane arguing over buying the bikes. Ah Rikki, practical as always. Will bumped into one of the bikes and Zane yelled at him. I went up to Will by the entrance.

    "Just ignore him, he's a dweeb." He smiles.

    "Already do." He replies honestly. We walk inside and sit at the juice bar. Zane goes up and starts talking about the dirt bike race. Grand prize? 1,000 dollars. Yikes. Rikki is NOT going to be happy with him. Zane adds that there's a 200 dollar entry fee, and Will looked a bit down hearted. He looks at the flyer that was shoved into his hands and sighs.

    "Are you going to enter?" I ask. He scoffs.

    "200 dollars is a bit much. I'm saving for diving equipment."

    "And 1,000 will get you there a lot quicker." I say. He smiles sadly, looking at the flyer, and an idea popped into my head. "I could loan you the money." He looks up at me.

    "No, I couldn't let you do that."

    "Why not? What's a little loan between friends. We are friends, right?" He nods and smiles, the hope showing on his face.

    "Yeah, we are. Thanks."

    "No problem. You can race, right?" He nods and I grin. "Perfect. I have just enough with me now, let's get you a spot!" I hop off my stool and grab my book bag. I pull out two 100s from my purse and hand it to Zane.

    "Lethia? You can ride?" He asked, laughing.

    "Well, I can, but it's not for me." Will gives him a little wave.

    "She's paying for you?" Nate says with a snarky laugh.

    "Yeah, I am. And next time you have a crush on a girl, try not to insult her. You're embarrassing yourself." His mouth went open and shut like a dumb fish. I turned and hugged Will.

    "Win this, alright?" I say.

    "I was planning on it." He said. I let go and walk away, but just hide behind a door until he leaves. Once he's gone, I pull two more 100s out and walk up to Zane.

    "My cousins coming to town, I think he'll want a spot." I say. Zane takes the money without question.

    "And what's his name?" He asks, looking down at a clipboard.

    "Just put my last name, Coleson." He nods and writes it down, then walks away to Rikki, who's staring daggers at him. I walk out and head home, to get sleep for the race tomorrow.

I wake up the next morning nice and early. I put on some comfortable shorts and a t-shirt, then go down to the garage. There, in the spot of honor, was my dad's old dirt bike. It was in perfect condition, and it's engine ran so smoothly that even the mechanic couldn't make it any better than it was.

I grabbed my old racing uniform hanging from the wall. All black, and a shaded visor. It even had an indent in the helmet where I could hide my hair. I twisted it up and put on the helmet. I pulled the suit on, it's padding making me look just like a wiry man. I hopped on the bike and left for the race.

When I got there, I didn't speak or take off my helmet. I'm Will's second chance, and I'm not giving that up because some noobs know I'm a girl. I really want to win this, to shove it in Zane's cheeky face. When the racers were signing in, I put a check mark by my last name. I led my bike up to the starting line, right next to Will. Not on purpose, there was a spot open. I couldn't resist myself so I said to Will in a wonderful Australian accent,

"Good luck mate. Lethia's really rooting for you." He looks over, confused.

"Do I know you?" He asked.

"No, but I know Lethia really well. She loves me like she loves nobody else." I said this last bit with a bit of a love struck air, going for ridiculously cheesy. He is going to be pissed when he finds out that it's me. He looked down and put on his helmet. Rikki came up.

"Start your engines!" She yelled. Across the line engines roared, everyone trying to outdo each other. I start my engine, its quiet purring a good sign for me. "And, GO!" We take off. Zane gets the lead with Nate and Will close behind. I stay directly behind Nate, barely using any power, and keep up easily. 

    Nate's bike pushes against Will's. Will's pushes back just enough to kick Nate off as we turned. I see Bella on the sides. I dodge Nate, who hits the puddle and flips over. I hit the gas, and suddenly Will, Zane, and I are neck to neck. Right at the end, I floor it and speed past, with Will in second, and Zane behind. I stop my bike and breathe, exhilerated.

    Zane comes over and pulls me to the side.

"Hey man, you're Lethia's cousin right?" I stand still, and he fidgets. "There's been a technical problem, so we can't pay you the full money up front." I stare at him and ball up my fists. Of course he didn't. I don't know Ricki's boyfriend very well, but I know that he's running his business into the ground. Rikki comes over and hands me the money. 

    "Rikki, what are you doing?" Zane snaps. She glares at him.

"The right thing. What's your name?" She asks me, ignoring Zane. I pull off my helmet, shaking my hair out, and everyone stops and stares.

"Lethia Coleson. Thanks Rikki, and Zane? You're a complete and utter douchebag. Sorry Rikki." I walk away, holding the money, and go over to Will. He's talking to some other rider, but I can tell he's disappointed. "Will?" I say. He turns and looks me over.

"Where's your cousin go?" He asks. I hold out the money to him.

"That was all me. No cousin on the trail, just a lot of time on dirt bikes with army brats." He hasn't taken the money, so I grab his hand and put it in it. "I just needed to teach those guys that a girl can beat them at what they do best. I was never in it for the money. I did take back what I paid for your ticket though, in case you thought you owed me or something." He looks at the money in his hands and then back up at me, looking like the happiest guy alive. 

   I grinned and walked over to my bike, hopping on, and riding home to put it away.

Back at the cafe later

I walked into the cafe wearing a red plaid shirt with rolled up sleeves and black jean shorts. Every girl I passed gave me a high five or yelled congrats. The guys were still a bit miffed, but they definitely looked impressed. I stepped onstage and looked over to Nate, whose neck was in a brace from his crash in the race. I nod and he yells 2, 3, 4. Bella begin to sing. 

As we finished the song I could see Will, right up front, clapping louder than anyone.