Too Fast

A gift(s)

I opened my eyes groggily. "Huh?" I scanned the room. The hospital room. "Why? Where am I?" Ben rushed over to the side of my bed. "Dude, you're lucky to be alive!"

I grunted at the memory. A large van had knocked me off the road as I'd crossed the finish line. I looked down at my body. No wounds. I slowly got up painfully. "No, you're not ready man, get some rest."

"Wait." I said through gritted teeth as I stood up. "We're illegal street racers! We're gonna be arrested the moment I'm able for jail!"

Ben looked worried, but pushed it away. "Sure. Let's try and get out of here." He wrapped an arm around me as we hobbled around. He put his cap over my face, hiding my features. Surprisingly no nurses pulled us up. We walked out of the hospital into the car park.

I hissed. "How the heck did we make it out of there?"

"I have the nurses wrapped around my finger." He stuck his ring finger out. I pretended to gag.

"Let's just get out of here." I said, looking forward, trying not to wince at the pain of my right foot.

We got into Ben's Commodore. That's what he called it, anyway. No one really knew what it originally was. The car had been so decked out, with a commodore shell, and a new skirt and front and rear bumpers, all covered in orange spray paint. It had a V10 engine, (two extra cylinders) tires that cost more than they should have by a long way that gripped the road better than any other car I'd ever seen, and a spoiler that meant he always had to park with two extra spaces, one on each side, because the spoiler was wider than the parking space allocated.

"So, where's my car?" I asked once we had driven off.

"Uh, Shaun, you don't have any more cars." He looked anywhere but at my eyes.

"WHAT!?" I shouted.

"They were all taken when they found out you were illegally racing."

"I'm gonna kill that rookie." I said.

"He reported you to the police, personally carrying you all the way to the hospital, too." He said, sounding grateful.

"Still gonna kill him," I chuckled.

"Don't worry, I've got an early birthday present for you." Ben said. "And it comes on four wheels."

He drove off at the sight of my massive grin.

-----------------------

Ben drove quickly yet cautiously around the city. He took the corners a lot slower than I would have liked, but that was the downside of a Holden, if it even was that.

"You corner too slowly." I chuckled under my breath.

"Excuse me?" He glanced at me. "If we weren't here right now, I'd open the door and kick your ungrateful butt out of my car."

We drove up a slight ramp into a garage, opened by a remote in Ben's left hand. The Commodore eased through the opening, and he helped me out. Through gritted teeth, I walked back around the rear of the vehicle. I stopped.

"Ben," I said.

"Yea?"

"When did you get a new badge for your Commodore? Or should I say, HSV Commodore?"

"Uh, I,"

It clicked.

"Hah. You got that there to lower suspicion from Jake, didn't you."

"N-,No." He grinned sheepishly.

"And then you registered it as a different car, so you wouldn't be tracked down for illegal street racing."

"You got me."

"You little sneak."

"Alright, can I just show you my car already? Your soon-to-be car?"

"I can't say no."

With another click of his remote, the 'wall' behind us quietly rose, revealing a-,

"Mitsubishi Lancer Evo." A voice came from beside the car. Aidan. He walked up to us, and tossed the key to me. "You like?"

I was overcome with sadness and happiness all at once. I'd just lost all my cars, the ones I'd spent hundreds of thousands and many cuts and bruises on. All gone. Every last one. And yet, Aidan and Ben, my best friends, had invested probably 70 grand for me, and pulled me out a hospital illegally. They'd taken the time to make sure I didn't get caught, let alone themselves, to help me, and too make sure I still had a chance at the one thing I could do.

Race.

I clicked the button, and the doors unlocked. I locked them. "Thank you so much guys." I said. "This means so much."

"I'm glad you like it." Be said.

"We have one more thing." Aidan said. He handed me an object wrapped in a silk case. I opened it, and a pair of Ray Bans came out.

"Seriously? I mean thanks, but you didn't have to. I don't need these.

"We know. I was joking." He gave me a leather object. "This is the final thing."

A wallet.

My hands fumbled with the clip, and a credit card slipped out. I caught it.

"It's got 100 grand on it."

I couldn't speak. 100 thousand dollars!? "You can't, I won't," I stuttered.

"Use it wisely." Aidan pressed it into my hand firmly.

I gripped it tight. "I'm guessing this is 'cause I have no money of my own?"

Ben spoke this time, looking at the ground. "It disappeared the night you crashed."

"You guys are the best." I put my arms around their shoulders in a huddle. "So, what do we do now?"

"What are you going to use the money for?"

"A little fine tuning."