"Hey, Nitasha! Good run today!"
"Thanks, buddy! See you tomorrow at the races!"
Many people knew of the great car racer Nitasha
Tani. She was among the best, always getting in the top three, usually
landing in first place. Great technology surrounded the track, and
the driving was becoming more complicated than ever. Most people
could figure out the systems only with years of training. The age
that one could start racing on the professional track had decreased, though.
The minimum age was fifteen, and children started their training when they
were barely in school. It was a huge focus on people's lives.
The brilliant minds of the world have devised several
different ways that a driver can be their best on the track. Several
cars had been "rigged" to suit the personalities and abilities of its pilot.
Nitasha's specialty was typing. The faster she typed, the faster
her car went. Many programs had tried to clock how fast she was,
but nothing could measure up to it. Of course, some people were still
very traditional and just used the regular driving of the twentieth century.
These people rarely made it into the top ten, but they enjoyed the thrill
of traveling at top-speed.
Jake Groga waited for Nitasha every day just outside
the speedway. They had been together for a few years, ever since
Nitasha started racing. He was a member of her pit crew, and every
time they stopped, they had a few precious seconds to talk. Luckily,
the races were usually over within an hour or two, then most of the rest
of the day was free. Jake reached into his shirt pocket and took
out a small box.
"Hey!" Nitasha called out. "How'd I do in
the rankings this time, Jake?"
"Oh, hi, Tash!" He hurriedly shoved the box
into his pocket again and looked up at the television monitor. "You
did pretty good, but..."
"I didn't do as well as I could have. I know
that. What's my ranking?"
"Second."
"Are you sure?!" Nitasha ran to look at the
screen, and sure enough, someone had done better than her in the qualifications.
She looked for the name, and all it said was "M". "Who in the world
is M?"
"Some new guy. I've heard he's pretty good,
and he must be, considering he was faster than you."
"Impossible! His time is a minute less than
mine!"
"Hey, you were the one who didn't push the pedal
to the metal this time around. Or click the keys to the board...
Whatever you do out there."
"Hm. Wonder what his big secret is."
Their friend, Mika, walked down the hall solemnly.
"Hey, you two."
"What's wrong, Mika?" Jake asked. "Are you
all right?"
"Didn't make it into the race. I don't know
what happened out there! My car just skidded to the side! Hit
the wall, too. That took me out of tomorrow's running."
"Tough break," Nitasha said. "I'll come over
and see what's wrong with it, if you'd like."
"That's okay. My mechanics are already on
the job. So, how'd you do, Nitahsa? Even though I can already
say that you probably did a lot better than me..."
"Second. Some guy named M beat me."
"M? Yeah, I've heard of him. I think
he might have sabatoged my car."
"Come on. We've never met the guy and you're
already making accusations?"
"You're right. Guess I can't really do that."
Mika had been racing professionally a year longer
than Nitasha, but she went through much more training than he had.
He used to be the best on the track before she came along. The resemblence
seemed remarkable with the same thing happening now. Someone new
had come, and he was better than the best.
MORE LATER!!! ^_^
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