The Drift that Made Us

Chapter 6

UNO

The men’s restroom was empty when I exited a cubicle after doing my business. I placed my hand under the faucet waiting for the sensor to recognize my hands and give me the much-needed water. I could hear voices from the other side of the wall, even if the water flowing sounded calming.

“Mysty girl, I have a question. It’s okay if you don’t want to answer, but I am inquisitive,” the girl said; it sounded private, but I had no choice because I could hear them from there.

“Zai, what is it?” another girl asked. I didn’t know anyone named Mysty, but Zai seemed familiar.

“Is Reed your boyfriend?” Silence heard nothing for a few seconds. Reed? I knew only one Reed, and it was the motherfucker who told me to shut up yesterday. Zai talked to the new girl who invaded my parking space and had that weird, deadly bag. I needed to speak to her about that, too. That thing knocked me unconscious; she had to throw it away before killing someone.

“Shut up, Zai!” another voice said, sounding familiar.

“Rejine May, I just wanted it to come from her,” Zai said. Rejine May, the girl who had the guts to join my team two years ago but failed.

“No, he’s not my boyfriend,” the girl said. What was he then? An attention seeker who wanted to “impress” some girl?

“Why did he fill the cloud stage with blue roses? Oh, is he courting you?” What? Was Reed making a scene again? That motherfucker should learn some manners.

“What?” the girl called Mysty yelled in shock and seemed to slam the door.

Mysty, whom I didn’t know, sounded annoyed about Reed’s actions. Why would he even do that? It wasn’t healthy!

“Where are you guys?” I asked while walking in the corridors.

“We’re in front of the cloud stage. Where are you?” Kiro asked.

“On my way there.”

“You should see this. It’s hilarious!” my friend giggled and hung up. A few moments later, the crowd got bigger in front of the Cloud stage, filled with blue roses. A smile formed in my mouth. Why the f**k was he so cheesy? I wouldn’t do that for anyone; I couldn’t.

“Reed’s a romantic!” Kiro said, laughing, and stood beside me.

“Mysty must be touched!” Toby said. He was kidding. What happened was humiliating. But his eyes sparkled like this was a great idea.

“Yeah, so touched; he will punch Reed in the face!” Dani said and then chuckled. I would side with him on this one.

“Rome, miracles happen, huh?” I said.

“Bro, I’m here, late or not. I’m here, by the way, guys. I have a story,” he said.

“What about?” Toby asked.

“I was at Serenity last night, and I was running a bit late,” I was half-listening to them, and half of my attention was on the cloud stage.

“And that’s shocking?” Kiro interjected. Rome gave him a sarcastic laugh.

“Anyways, I was about to climb out of my car, but….”

“But?” Dani asked.

“There’s this couple who were making out and chose to lean on my driver’s seat window,”

“No way!” Kiro exclaimed.

“Yes, way, I was about to shout, ‘Get a room,’ but the guy left, and the girl was crying,” Rome said. What an asshole, whoever that guy was!

“You didn’t watch?” Dani asked.

“Oh, I did, and guess who the guy was,” Rome had that spark of excitement in his eyes.

“Who?” It slipped into my mouth without thinking much.

“Bro, didn’t know you were listening; it’s Reed!” he said, stressing the motherfucker’s name. My gaze fell over to Mysty. Was she the girl Rome was talking about the other day? She went off stage and rushed to go somewhere. Her face was red. Poor girl, she looked like she wanted to smash something.

“Mysty?” Toby held her arm from dashing. She looked up at him and had a question mark in neon lights and bold letters on her forehead.

“Are you okay?” he asked, letting go of her arm.

“I’m not okay, Toby. I need to go.” Her tears threatened to fall, but holding them in took a lot of courage.

“Wait! You want to get rid of the flowers, right?” Kiro asked.

“Yes!” Mysty said.

“I have a plan. Will you let us help?” Kiro said with a wicked smile. He was good to help her, but why would he include us? If it was Kiro’s plan, I bet it would involve women.

“You guys are game, right?” The mastermind of the “plan” asked us four. They all wanted to help get rid of the flowers. Toby was hesitant because he said he didn’t know what to do. While I had no intention of meddling in other people’s business because who does that? I wanted this to be over.

“No singing!” I’d always been a music fan, but this wasn’t the time. We needed to get rid of the flowers, but Kiro with Rome would be a romantic bomb, and I wouldn’t be there when they decided to sing for everybody.

While they were deep in the plan’s specifics, I snuck out like a thief who didn’t want to get caught; so they would never find me in the sea of people. The girl stood near her friends, Zai and Rejine May. I couldn’t hear them from where I was sitting, but based on their facial expressions, they must be calming Mysty.

A few minutes later, Dani held five microphones from the cloud tech lab. He told the other three that I was missing. Kiro flashed a nervous laugh but didn’t let it get to him.

I could race with anyone, even lead a thousand people under my wing, but I could never be like a matinee idol who would give flowers to anybody. It would be a million times better if the first person I provided flowers to were someone special. That sent a shiver down my spine. Who was I kidding? I had no time for that. Besides, blue roses were not my vibe. It looked like it was for a wake for someone who passed away, not for a girl you liked.

Two thousand and twenty-one years later, the flowers were in the hands of anyone who wanted them, and everyone who received one was happy. After all that cheesiness, my friends, who I hoped won’t kill me, went down the stage with ear-to-ear smiles.

I was about to praise them, but Kiro walked to Mysty and winked at her. Classic Kiro!

“I told you I had a plan,” he said as smoothly as an operator.

“Thank you! A million times!” She said, smiling at each of them.

“I believe we haven’t met yet. I’m Rome,” he offered his hands. Mysty looked at it and accepted it awkwardly.

“Hi, Rome! Thank you for helping! I’m Mysty!” She smiled at him again. She looked at Zai as if they were talking but through their eyes. Rejine May busied herself with people handing her their flowers.

“No worries, though. I have a question…” Rome paused. Kiro sensed what he wanted to ask, so he slapped Rome’s arm, but he didn’t mind Kiro.

“You’re curious about the flowers?” Of course, she knew the question already.

“I am curious about your reaction when you saw the flowers?” Rome asked. Mysty looked into his eyes and inhaled a deep one.

~0~

On Friday, the red drifters minded their business while arranging finger food and banners to welcome our new members on our designated cloud track. I practiced lapses while waiting for our rookies.

We needed more leaders in our team, micro leaders under me. We needed more people who knew how to handle a couple when I wasn’t around. That would be great.

My teammates disturbed my thought when a handful decided to signal me to stop. I climbed out of my car and walked toward them.

“Why?” I asked.

“Master, are you in a good mood today?” one asked. That was a stupid question, so I did not answer him.

“What is happening, Toby? Dani?” They looked at me but failed to answer my question.

“What the hell is happening?” I even looked at the other members. Did somebody die without my knowledge? Or maybe Rome or Kiro had an accident, and no one had the guts to tell me?

“Can somebody tell me what the f**k is happening right now?” I was still asking nicely.

“Master, Kiro said, they have a surprise for you!” Dani said. Did it even make sense? They looked so scared, like some villain beat the s**t out of them. That would make more sense, honestly.

“As in Kiro and Rome?” I asked.

“Yes!” Toby answered.

“I promise; Dani and I had nothing to do with it, so please chill, alright?” Huh! It seemed like they were planning to surprise me with something I would never approve of in some way. If this were nonsense, I would make them run the track a hundred times.

“Can you tell me? I don’t have time for this.” I finished a lap and would do two more because I was unhappy with the speed. I would never be satisfied!

Toby was about to tell me all about it but was interrupted by a commotion behind me. I heard Kiro’s voice telling our teammates to stop staring at him. Classic Kiro! He wanted all the attention, and when people did, he deflected them.

I didn’t face them. I headed straight to my car and did a lap. My patience, like a ticking bomb, has exploded already.

After the last lap, the red drift team was still crowding on something or someone. I would love to tease Kiro in advance for his surprise. I hope he learned a lesson about what was in store for him. I increased quickly and headed straight to where he was standing pretty, and I drifted when I saw a girl between Kiro and Rome. I was about to scare the s**t out of Kiro, but there was an outsider.

I killed the engine and climbed out. I walked to my teammates and saw Mysty. Why was she here? Unfamiliar faces were staring at me, too! Maybe they were my new teammates.

“Why is she here?” I asked Rome, and he just shrugged.

“Master, she’s our new and only girl teammate!” Kiro exclaimed. Pride and excitement lingered in his words. I almost choked because of what he said.

“Kiro and Rome, I need a word in private!” I yelled at them. Mysty flinched because of my outburst.

When the three of us were in private, it took a lot of strength and patience to stay in control, especially when one of my trusted friends knew my preferences and ignored them anyway.

“What the actual f**k?” I asked both of them. They paused for a few seconds, and Rome answered.

“What’s the big deal, Uno?”

“The big deal is you let this happen; you know the drill,” I said.

“Bro, we didn’t want to do it this time; I hope you understand,” Kiro said before a nervous smile spread.

“Why wouldn’t you? It was simple, when a girl landed on our team, scared the s**t out of them, and handed them a transfer slip. Was that so hard?” I shouted at the two and walked out.

I didn’t know how to f*****g deal with women, their emotions, and words with multiple meanings. Unlike men, who were always straight to the point. Women were incredible and powerful, like my mom, but not on my team. My training program was and always would be harsh with men in mind. I didn’t want to do this, but it was necessary.

“Get in!” I yelled at the girl. Sorry, Mysty! Today wasn’t your lucky day.