Finals and Training

Not interested in doing intro right now. To the story!
**********
Amy really hated how miserable finals were. There was so much to remember, so many projects to get done, and so little time to do it.

And, of course, there was a major Race right after finals too.

“Why do they do this to me?” she muttered as she studied with her friends in the library. “School piles on the work load and Jay insists that I train more for the Race coming up…”

“Sounds like you put this on yourself,” Aaron said. He lounged as she and Natalie poured over their books. As a Talented in Chemistry, he didn’t need to study. The only reason he was in their classes was to prove that his Talent was strong enough in the basics. Once they hit their third year of class, he would be moved into higher classes, ones designed especially for Talented. However, until that time, he spent his spare time helping them study.

“I did not!” she insisted, jotting down an answer to the test study.

He raised an eyebrow. “Really?” he asked, stretching and putting his hands behind his head. “If I had been in your position, I’d retire from the Circuit first and then attend classes.”

Amy snorted, rolling her eyes. “Yeah, and then I’d be in my late twenties when I finally had my degree. I want to get out of school as fast as possible.”

“If you wanted to do that,” Natalie said, looking up from her text book, “why don’t you use your Talent to study?” She sighed, looking back down at the book. “I’d give anything learn this faster.”

“Because I can’t be fast all the time,” Amy answered, flipping through her notes to find another answer. “That would wear me out.”

“You can’t be fast all the time?” Aaron asked with a frown. “What does that mean?”

Amy glanced up from her work, frowning at him. “You’re Talented,” she remarked. “You should know that you can’t trigger your Talent all the time. You’ll burn out. Everyone knows that.”

“But what does that have to do with studying?” he asked. “In a few minutes, you’ll have done the work it would take you hours.”

“Yeah,” she said, rolling her eyes. “And forget it even faster.”

Natalie glanced up again, looking just as confused as Aaron. “Forget it faster?” she asked. “What do you mean by that?”

“Think about it,” she told them, “you’re going to spend hours memorizing it, but if you don’t use it, you’re going to forget it. And that’s with normal people. They’ve done studies on Speeders and what they can and can’t be fast at. Yes, I could use my Talent to study faster, but the rate at which I will forget it will also be sped up. There are some things that are better left done slowly and normally.”

“Got that,” Aaron noted. He then paused to think. “Have you ever used your Talent to study?”

“Once,” Amy admitted. “I was in the fourth or fifth grade when I did it. I was studying for a spelling test but I really wanted go out and play, but Mom wouldn’t let me go out until I knew the words. So, I used my Talent. Mom tested me, I passed, and I went out to play. The next day when I took the actual test, I failed miserably. I’ve never made that mistake again.”

Aaron laughed, tilting his chair back onto two legs. “Wow. I’m glad that my Talent doesn’t do that to me.” Amy spared him a glare before she returned to her study guide. For the next hour, she and Natalie scowered their notes, occasionally asking Aaron some questions, and trying to get as many answers as they possible could.

Bzzt! Bzzt! Bzzt!

Amy groaned. Reaching into her backpack, she pulled out her cellphone. Jay had insisted that she carry one shortly after he bought her contract. Checking to see who was calling, she wasn’t surprised to see who it was. Pushing the talk button, she put the phone to her ear.

“What do you want?” she asked abruptly, holding the phone to her ear by her shoulder as she struggled to write down another answer.

“Pleasant as always,” Jay said, his tone not the least offended by her rude answering. “You anywhere close to being done?”

“Why?” she asked, not willing to tell him the truth. She only had a few questions left to answer. “This test is important to me.”

“And it’s important to me that you survive the Circuit,” Jay answered without missing a beat. “Once you’re done, come down to Hacker’s shop. He wants to do a full diagnostic of Maxx before your Race next Saturday.”

“Give me a half hour,” she insisted. “Then we’ll be there.”

“Half hour then,” Jay agreed. “I’ll order pizza. Bye!”

Click.

She sighed, putting her phone away. Lately, Jay had been more affectionate than normal. It wasn’t outright hitting on her, but she could feel that he was trying to worm something out from under his promise to her.

“Your Sponsor again?” Aaron asked, his face darkening a bit.

“Yep,” she grumbled, thumping her head on the table. “He wants Maxx to be checked out before the Race.”

“He’s a bit possessive, isn’t he?” Natalie noted.

She sighed again, lifting her head. “I wouldn’t call it that,” she admitted. “More like trying to keep up with his part of a deal.” And she wouldn’t complain about it. Jay had promised to help keep her alive. To help her retire. To live her dreams. She wondered why he didn’t ask for anything in return for his deal. Sometimes Hacker hinted that Jay had a crush on her, but she brushed that off. No male ever found her crush worthy.

“Sponsors are weird,” Natalie concluded. “They live in their own little worlds.”

Amy couldn’t argue there.

As soon as she was done with her last question, Amy bid her friends goodbye and left. Maxx was right where she had parked him. Since people discovered that she drove Maxx to school, he had a tendency to move around the parking lot, keeping people guessing where he might be and to break up the day.

“Jay called?” he guessed as she got into him. Today’s form was a simple car, one of many in the parking lot. The only difference was that Maxx didn’t have a lock.

“Yep,” she told him, his engine revving. “He wants Hacker to check you out before the Race.”

“Good plan,” Maxx agreed. “I don’t want to accidently kill you.”

It had been a joke between them since the “kill” code had been broken. They’d tease each other about how Maxx could destroy them both at any moment. Amy knew she should have been bothered by that code, but Maxx’s joking helped ease that fear. It was a way to mock the Circuit’s attempt on her life. A way to show each other that the Circuit no longer had a hold on them.

Driving to Hacker’s shop was a familiar route now. Every other week she and Maxx were in the shop, often with her wearing that funny device on her scar. She would have complained about it if she didn’t notice a difference in Maxx. He had always been an awesome car, but once Hacker was done with his checkups, Maxx ran smoother, turned better, and overall preformed better. She put up with it to make Maxx even better.

Arriving to the shop, she drove right in. Hacker, of course, was at his computer. Surprisingly, Jay wasn’t there.

“Where’s the Sponsor?” she asked as she got out of Maxx.

“Getting pizza,” Hacker answered, staring intently at his screen. “It was easier for him to go get it than have it delivered. He should be back soon.”

Amy shrugged it off. It wasn’t unusual for Jay to pick up dinner for them. She would hate to admit it to anyone, but she enjoyed suppers at the shop, joking around with Jay and Hacker about unthreatening things. It helped her forget that she was in danger.

“Are you ready for the Race coming up?” Hacker asked, spinning his chair away from the computer and over to Maxx.

“As ready as we’ll ever be,” Maxx answered, opening his hood up for the mechanic. “Amy’s a great driver and your tune-ups have made me the best program in the Circuit. We have a really good chance of getting into the next series.”

And if we win the next series, Amy thought, then we’ll be in the finals. That was how it worked. Win any of the top three spots in all four series and you were qualified for the Finals in spring. The five other Circuits around the world held their own series, some with more series, others less, but the goal was all the same. Reach the Finals.

I’m always focused on the next Race, the next test… Her life was way too hectic.

“And I’ve returned!”

Hacker glanced up from his work in Maxx’s engine. Jay walked into the shop, carrying a few boxes of pizza, one for each of them plus one more. Amy was amazed at just how much these two boys could put down their gullet.

“As usual,” he said, putting the pizzas down on an empty counter. “There’s pepperoni for Hacker.” The mechanic quickly grabbed his box from Jay, rolling his chair back to his computer. “BBQ chicken for Amy,” he said, handing her a smaller box for her. She took it and then sat down on the couch. “And meat lovers for me,” Jay finished, brining his box over so he could sit next to her on the couch. “Sorry, Maxx. I didn’t bring you anything.”

“No need,” Maxx declared. “Just so long as you keep providing me some of that high grade oil, I’ll be fine.”

They all laughed at that.

The next few minutes were silent as they ate their pizzas. Amy had to admit that it was nice that Jay always got dinner for them. The more she got to know him, the more Amy realized that Jay was actually a nice guy. Still annoying, but nice.

“How are your finals coming?” Jay asked after the first few slices of pizza were gone. “Stressing out yet?”

“A bit,” she admitted. “It’s a good thing that I have Aaron and Natalie to study with. I doubt that I could get through classes without them.”

“Study buddies are nice to have,” Jay said, picking up another slice of his pizza, “but I always preferred to study alone.” He took a bite, his face thoughtful. “Though,” he said after swallowing, “I suppose that has something to do with the promise I made not to cheat.”

“Studying with others was considered cheating?” she asked. Jay didn’t talk about his Talent very often. She also noticed that he worded things carefully. The way he promised things always left a loophole for both him and the person he was making the promise with. It must have been a difficult childhood for him, learning how to use his Talent and not letting the Talent use him. It made her Talent seem good natured.

“Yes and no,” he answered. “Studying with others wasn’t cheating, but if they gave me an answer that I couldn’t study myself, then my Talent would kick in and I’d forget it. It was awful.”

“I can imagine,” she sighed. She glanced briefly at Hacker. He was still devouring his pizza, though his eyes were locked onto the computer screen. “I’ve met more people in the last six months who’ve wanted to hide their Talents than I would have figured. I had always thought that I was the only weird one who didn’t want my Talent known.”

“I’m not surprised,” Jay said blandly. “I’ve met several Talented who don’t want others to know about their Talents. A few Speeder, who like you, didn’t want to join the Circuit. There’s Hacker there and others who use their Talents for not so legal things. There are even a few Talented whose Talents are so strange, most people honestly don’t think that it is a Talent.”

“Like yours,” Amy said.

He shrugged. “You have to admit, an Oath Maker is a pretty unusual Talent.”

Unusual was right. She had never heard of such a Talent until she met Jay. Maybe her friend Sally was right. There were a lot of Talents out there that no one knew about and that they were so unusual that people didn’t consider them Talents.

Suddenly she sighed. When was the last time she talked with Sally? It had been over eight months since she last saw her friend. Sally was attending the Tech Institute here in Acro City and Amy hadn’t bothered to look her friend up. She had been great sending mail back and forth with Mom, but Sally she let slip through.

I wonder how she’s doing, she thought.

“What’s the sighing for?” Jay asked.

“I just realized something,” she muttered. “I’m not a very good friend.”

He frowned. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Yeah,” Maxx chimed in. “You’re my best friend! And you take good proper care of me!”

Amy chuckled. “I have a friend from high school that I haven’t seen,” she told them. “She lives here in the city going to a different school and I haven’t bothered to look her up.”

“Ah,” Jay said, understanding. “I see. Why haven’t you?”

It was Amy’s turn to shrug. “Probably because I didn’t want her to know that I’m a Racer now.” She paused, remembering all the news about her since her stunt nearly a month and a half ago. “Though she’s probably figured it out by now.”

“Then she hasn’t come to see you,” Jay noted.

“I guess I’m not good at keeping friends,” Amy sighed.

“I wouldn’t say that,” Jay said, smiling slightly. “You’re my friend.”

Amy started a bit at his statement. Staring at him for a moment, she started to share that slight smile. Yes. He was a friend, wasn’t he?
**********
“UGH!”

Amy and Aaron once again waited outside the classroom for Natalie to finish her final. As usual, Aaron was the first one out and Amy was in the middle of the pack. They waited for their friend to finish her final, since she was usually one of the last students out.

“That test was terrible!” Natalie wailed as she came out. “I think I failed it!”

“Don’t worry,” Amy said, putting an arm around her friend’s shoulder. “You probably didn’t. All your other scores would make up for whatever you missed.” She shot a mocking glare at Aaron. “That one, however, I think might have failed miserably. I mean, he shot out of the classroom fast enough that you’d would thought that he was glad to be out from his horror as fast as possible.”

“What about you?” Aaron accused teasingly. “I thought there for a few times that you used your Talent to get through a question faster.”

“Only on the essay ones.”

This managed to cheer Natalie up a bit and they headed out for lunch. They had one last final, for their lab, that afternoon. Amy was looking forward for that test to be done. It meant a month long break. Her next big Race was that Saturday and then the next one wouldn’t happen for a while yet. She had gotten permission from the Circuit to spend the break with her Mom. It was a welcoming break that she desperately needed.

“Are you nervous for the upcoming Race?” Aaron asked as they went into the cafeteria.

“A bit,” she admitted. “I’ve had finals to worry about and the big Race on top of that… Maxx wants me to train more but I just haven’t had the time to do it.”

“Will you be ready?” Natalie asked.

“Should be,” she answered. “People tell me that I’m a natural at Racing. My only competition should be Bluebird and Silver Fox.”

Aaron whistled softly. “Bluebird I can see you beating, but Silver Fox? She’s won the last three Finals. There’s a lot of people who compare her with your dad.”

For some reason, that sent a chill through Amy. Her Dad had been killed by the Circuit. She wasn’t sure why they decided to kill him, nor how they managed to make it look like an accident, but it still bothered her. It was always in the back of her head, pricking at her thoughts at odd times.

They killed him for a reason, she thought. They didn’t want him to retire. Did they want the same for all Racers? Preventing them all from retiring. She knew her own life was in danger from the Circuit. She had grown too popular too fast. They wanted her gone.

Would they want the same from Silver Fox?

“Oh look!” Natalie said, snapping her out of her disturbing thoughts. “They brought the ice cream machine back! I’m starving!”

“Always thinking of sweets,” Aaron teased her. Amy could only half smile. Ice cream was always nice, but she had troubles on her mind.
************
Her last final was done and Amy was dreading the next couple of days preparing for the upcoming Race. Aaron and Natalie both understood as she bolted for Maxx, knowing that she had to catch up on her training. They promised to be at the Race to cheer her on and then to have a party after her victory.

Amy had to get across the finish line first.

Bundled up in her coat, she hurried for Maxx. It had turned cold as finals approached, making everything seem that much more miserable. Oh, what she wouldn’t give to have a normal life, be like her friends to enjoy their winter break. But no! She was also a Racer. Races had to trained for. There wasn’t going to be much of a moment to rest until after the Race.

Coming to Maxx, she was a bit surprised to find someone waiting there for her.

“Jay?” she asked, frowning. “What are you doing here?” She glanced around for the car that he usually drove. It was nowhere in sight.

“Oh,” Jay said, sitting on Maxx’s hood. “I’m just waiting for you. Done with your finals?”

“Finally,” she muttered, unconvinced that he was just waiting for her. “What’s going on? Where’s your car?”

“Hacker took it out for a test run,” Jay said dismissively. “I told him that we’d meet back up with him at the track. You need to practice driving in the snow.”

“Snow?” she asked, glancing up at the sky. Though the weather had turned cold, she had yet to see snow in the city. “Where?”

“The Circuit has some artificial snow,” Jay explained. “How are you driving a snowmobile?”

“Never driven one.”

“Best then to practice!” he exclaimed, opening Maxx’s door for her. “Shall we go?”

Amy raised an eyebrow. His actions were almost hitting on her…. “Did you find a way out from our agreement?” she asked as she got into Maxx. “You’re hitting on me.”

Jay laughed, leaning down a bit so he could look her in the eye. “I’m not hitting on you,” he said, winking. “I’m being friendly. We are friends, after all.”

Amy rolled her eyes as he shut the door and walked around to get in on the other side. So he had found a loophole finally. She shrugged it off. She would just need to get him to promise something else to make his flirting stop for good.

However, that was something that was going to wait. Maxx already had the directions to the track and they drove for it.

“Hey, Jay,” she said as they drove out of the city limits. “Do you think that the business men have planned the deaths of all the Racers?”

Jay jumped a bit in surprise by her question. “I think so,” he admitted. “But I don’t think that they’ll do it unless necessary. Why do you ask?”

“I don’t know,” she started to say when she decided that she was being untruthful. “I guess I’m just worried about the other Racers.”

“Worried how?” he asked. “They’re doing what the Circuit wants. I don’t think that they’re in any danger.”

“Maybe,” she half heartily agreed. “But… Silver Fox said something to me once. That I shouldn’t get noticed. Or something to that effect. I think she was trying to warn me about the danger.”

Jay frowned. “Really?” he asked. “How would she know about it?”

“She has been in the Circuit for a long time,” Amy pointed out. “And she’s seen a lot of Racers die. On top of that, she’s going on to try to win her fourth Final, something that hasn’t been done since my Dad was alive.”

“You’re worried that the Circuit might target Silver Fox next?” Jay concluded.

Mutely, she nodded. It was strange to hear her thoughts put into words.

“I wouldn’t worry yet,” Jay tried to assure her. “Silver Fox has a cool head and, despite her fame, keeps a low profile. I doubt that the Circuit would blow her off quickly. She’s bringing in revenue. They’re not going to cut that off.”

Amy nodded, though she still felt uneasy. While she hadn’t said much to Silver Fox, especially recently with both their contracts sold to different Sponsors, she still felt as if Silver Fox was in danger.

We’re all in danger, Amy, she told herself. Besides, what can you do? You can barely save your own life. How can you save the other Racers?

But she found herself wanting to help out her fellow Racers, to free them from the Circuit and the grasp it hand on their very lives.

The track Maxx led them to was nearby the park that she and Jay had went to after they learned what the businessmen had planned for her. As Jay had told her, there was a racetrack covered in artificial snow. It wasn’t hard to pick out Jay’s flashy car and Hacker sitting on its hood. She parked next to him, feeling a bit nervous about the training.

“Hey!” Jay said as he got out of Maxx. “What are you doing? Get off my car!”

Hacker laughed but did as he was told. “Well, Aims,” he said, approaching. “Are you ready for today’s training?”

“No,” she admitted, getting out of Maxx. “But I’ll do it anyway. Snowmobile, right?”

“That’s what the Race is about,” Hacker confirmed. “Don’t worry. Just because you’ve never driven a snowmobile doesn’t mean that you won’t be great at it.”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence,” she snorted. “Maxx. Snowmobile.”

Crack!

The new form was lager than Amy would have expected. He looked like a large ATV with tank-sized tires.

“Hum,” Maxx said, revving his engine a bit. “Don’t think I’ve ever tried this form before… When was the last time the Circuit had a snowmobile race?”

“About five years,” Jay answered. “They like to keep things fresh and pick different kinds of racing during the winter time. I remember that one year that they had a race on pedal bikes.”

“Oh!” Maxx shuttered, actually shaking his new form. “Not a pedal bike!”

They all laughed at that.
************
I always imagine that cars are afraid that bikes will replace them. Though my own Maxx has no need to worry about that. I love to travel whenever possible.

Anyway, there you have it, a nice calm post before I kill another character. Enjoy the journey!