The Wake

I’ll keep saying this: Maxx is my favorite character. He’s so fun to write. To the story!
***********
Amy shifted on her feet uneasily, wondering what could be taking Jay so long. He had promised to pick her up after he got Tyson. For whatever reason, she was worried about the two meeting without her. She figured that they would meet at some time; Tyson often expressed his dislike for her Sponsor and Jay often expressed his worry about becoming friends with someone she met over a milkshake.

The way she figured it, they would either become good friends or enemies for life.

She worried that they would become enemies.

There really wasn’t any reason why they should. Honestly, they were both good people (as long as one discounted Jay’s life as a Sponsor) and tried to treat everyone well. There wasn’t any reason why they shouldn’t get along. There shouldn’t.

“You’re doing it again,” Maxx said.

Amy wished her car was there by her so she could scowl at him. However, Maxx was sitting in Hacker’s garage, getting his necessary work done. He had driven himself there as she waited at the RCC for Jay to show up. At the moment, she sat outside her building, dressed in a dark dress for the wake.

“Doing what?” she asked the voice in her head.

“I can tell you’re getting aggravated,” Maxx said. “What is it this time?”

“Jay and Tyson are late,” Amy complained. “I’m just wondering what is taking them so long.” She got out her phone, preparing to text Tyson.

“Sure,” Maxx said sarcastically and she got the impression of an eye roll. “That’s why you’re getting aggravated.”

“Maxx…” she warned, not knowing what she could do to her program who was miles away.

“Amy…?”

“Shut up.”

That, of course, did not make her car shut it.

“You’re worrying over nothing,” Maxx went on as if he didn’t hear her. “You should just tell both of them that they are really good friends and that you don’t want any romantic relationship with either of them.”

“Maxx…”

“Oh? You do want a romantic relationship?” he asked, chuckling. “I should have known. If you want my input…”

“Which I don’t.”

“Then I’d pick Jay.”

This surprised her. “Why?” she asked, frowning down at the curb, really wishing Maxx was there so it didn’t seem like she was talking to herself. Thankfully she was still at the RCC. It was very common for Racers to talk to their programs when separated.

“I think he has first dibs,” Maxx explained. “After all, he’s been trying so hard to get your affections.”

“You’re mad.”

“I’m inside of you,” Maxx pointed out. “If I’m mad, that makes you mad.”

“Shut up.”

“Why should I?”

She groaned, holding her head in her hands. Why did the Circuit never disclose just how annoying the programs could get?

“I’m trying to concentrate on this evening,” she eventually said. “Can’t do that if you’re arguing with me.”

“Ah, but you like it when I argue with you.”

“Maybe I should get Hacker to install a mute button into your program,” she threatened. “Maybe then I’ll get some peace and quiet!”

“You’d get bored without me.”

“Give it a try.”

“I said that you’d get bored. I won’t let that happen.”

She groaned again. Why did they have to program her car to have a smart mouth?

The sound of an engine caused her to look up; the blue sports car of Jay’s was unmistakable. “My ride is here,” she said, standing up as Jay pulled up. “Stop talking to me.”

“I won’t be far from your thoughts.”

“You’re in my thoughts,” she snapped as the door opened and Tyson climbed out. “Now, leave me alone.”

Tyson froze for just a moment before relaxing. She had explained to him about Maxx and, while he was rightly nervous to hear about the computer chip in her brain, he took it fairly well. Perhaps it was just strange seeing her actually talking to Maxx without him there for it to sink in.

“Maxx bothering you?” Tyson asked, that worried tone he usually used whenever she started talking about the Circuit. It was obvious to her that Tyson wasn’t too thrilled about Maxx either until she told him that Maxx was the best thing that had happened to her in the Circuit.

“He’s always bothering me,” she said, rolling her eyes. “I love him to death but he’s like an annoying little brother who won’t leave me alone.”

“I love you too!” Maxx laughed in her head.

“You can have front seat,” Tyson said, holding the door out for her. “I’ll sit in the back.” His eyes briefly glanced to the driver still hidden from her view. “I don’t think Jay likes me very much.”

So she was right. They wouldn’t be friends. Idiots.

She got in and let Tyson close the door for her. Glancing at Jay, she noticed that her Sponsor was dressed a casually as he could get, which was probably the best that Tyson could. Jay nodded at her but refused to make eye contact.

Seriously, she thought as Tyson got in behind her. These two need to get along.

“How was the ride?” she asked, directing her question to either of the young men.

“Uneventful,” Jay said blandly. “Just how all rides should be.”

“Yep,” Tyson said. “Nothing to report.”

If that wasn’t a lie, then she didn’t know what was.

“So,” she went on, refusing to let there be any awkward silences on their way to the wake. “Where are we going? You didn’t tell me where this thing is being held.”

“It’s being held in the Racer Museum,” Jay said, driving off. “The top floor is generally reserved for formal events; generally for winning the Final or funerals, or important announcements. It’s not uncommon to hold it there.”

Amy frowned. She knew about the Racer Museum but she had refused to go there. She was living in her nightmare, she didn’t need to be reminded about the tragic history of it.

And she really didn’t need to see the display about her father.

Nearly everyone had asked her if she had seen it during her first few months in the Circuit and wondered why she hadn’t already. She always gave the same reason. She had barely known her father. He was more of a stranger than a father to her. The words hurt to say in her mouth, but she said them. Maxx was the only one who really knew why she didn’t go.

It was just another reminder of what the Circuit had stolen from her.

They had killed her father. She didn’t want to see the celebration of it.

The entire ride over she kept trying to draw out some sort of conversation out of either of the young men but only got short, unhelpful answers. She refused to give up. Silence wasn’t her friend at the moment. Why weren’t they helping?

Finally, Jay pulled up to the building. It was similar to other museums she had seen in her life, large, spacious, with too little parking around it. Though it was nearing evening, the building was lit up, people milling around the entrance before going in.

“I’ll find a parking spot,” Jay said as he stopped at the front of the building. “I’ll meet up with you inside.”

“Fine,” Amy said as Tyson got out and opened the door for her. Once they were clear of the car, Amy could have sworn that Jay sped away just a bit too quickly.

“What really happened on the drive down here?” she asked Tyson as they went inside.

“Nothing,” Tyson insisted. “We barely talked. It was really awkward.”

She raised an eyebrow. That was unusual; Jay had grown up having to have small talk with anyone and everyone. Surely he could have found something to talk about with Tyson.

“I’m sorry if I’m not good enough company for this,” Tyson was saying. They walked up to the elevator and joined the other guests up to the top floor. “You probably should have brought someone more used to situations like this.”

“No,” Amy said, shaking her head and smiling at Tyson. “I’m glad that you’re here. Otherwise I’d be suck with no one.” To make sure he knew that she was glad, she took his hand, squeezing it more for her comfort than his. “It’s nice to have a friend here.”

Tyson blushed. For a moment, she thought that he wouldn’t make eye contact with her, but surprised her when he held it. She smiled, feeling relieved.

Yes, she was glad to have a friend here.
**********
Jay was one of the last few people to get up to the top floor. Of course the upper room was already filled with people but he only sought out one person among the throng. And though it stabbed his chest, he was certain she was with someone else.

Thinking that he would have a better chance of finding them if he walked around, he wandered around the room’s edge, pausing every few steps to look at the displays. Each wall was dedicated to one of the three Racers who had died the week before, highlighting their lives and the races they had been in. He forced himself to look at all of them, to burn in his memory just why he was working to bring down the Race Circuit.

He was going to stop the slaughter of the Talented.

But he needed to be reminded. He wanted to remember why he was doing this. These Racers had families; he could see those who truly mourned among those in attendance. They weren’t the Racers who were here because it was polite to go to these wakes; they weren’t the Sponsors and other high end officials here who treated this more like a cocktail party than a wake. No, the families were crying, accepting heartfelt and not so heartfelt condolences from everyone. He paused when he saw a young girl, perhaps a sister of one of the Racers, hold a picture of the Racer close to her chest, tears welling her eyes. She was probably told not to cry, important people were here and they had to make a good impression.

At least, that was what he was told to do at his mother’s funeral.

Why are they killing the Talented? He wondered for the thousandth time. It plagued his thoughts, haunted him in every meeting he was in with the same men who plotted the deaths of these Racers.

He had been born into this world. He knew just how cutthroat these men could be under the polite front they gave the public. He was aware of just how much corruption seeped through the entire business. He should have grown up used to this; it should have meant nothing to him.

Perhaps it was his Talent that gave him the sense of moral most of his equals lacked. After all, he was forced to keep every promise he had ever made. While he should have been bitter about it, he was more bitter when people didn’t keep their promises. He was forced to magically, why couldn’t they do the same? Why was he the only one who ever kept vows? Wasn’t that wrong? Where were people’s values these days?

He shook the thoughts out of his head. It was useless to think on it. Twenty some odd years of life had taught him that life isn’t fair, that it isn’t kind, that it isn’t what everyone wanted. So when he did find someone who was kind, fair, and helpful, it gave him some small hope that there could be something done in this world to turn it better again.

“Son!”

Jay half turned when his father came up to him. Of course Ford was here. One of his Racers had been killed during the race. Jay knew his father well enough to know that the man had given the family a large sum of money to help them through this hard time in their lives. Most people didn’t know that about a third of the Racers came from extremely poor families; being a Racer was basically a blessing to their families, an income they wouldn’t have otherwise had. He was so glad that Amy only had her mom to worry about and even then didn’t provide for her.

“How was your meeting with the Racer’s family?” he asked, accepting the champagne glass from his father and taking a small sip.

“Tears,” Ford said blandly. “A lot of tears. Glad that I got that over with. It’s never easy meeting with the Racers families.”

It was at times like this that made Jay wondered if father really was a bad person. Ford ran a solid business; he cared for his workers and tried everything he could to help them out. Even as Jay was growing up, trying to hide his Talent from others, his father had been there, helping and protecting him from others who would use his Talent to their advantage. Jay owed a lot to the man.

Except… He had been part of the meetings that planned the Racers deaths. Was it guilt that made Ford give back to the families or was it a front to the world.

Jay wished he knew.

“I see that Aims brought her friend,” Ford said, nodding to the center of the room. Jay immediately sought out after the Racer. Indeed, she was mingling among the other Racers, introducing the young man he had invited for her. It hurt a bit to see her smile as she introduced him to the other Racers, laughing at the jokes they shot at her and him. They would never act that way around him; he was a Sponsor. He was evil.

“You’re doing the right thing, son.”

Jay frowned at his father. “What do you mean?” he asked, half knowing what he meant. It would hurt to actually realize it.

“You’re letting her go,” Ford said aloud and patting his shoulder, making him flinch. “I know that you’ve… shown interest in her, but really, it’s not possible. She’s a Racer and you’re her Sponsor.”

“Are you saying the cliché that our different statuses are pulling us apart?” Jay asked, raising an eyebrow.

“No,” Ford said, shaking his head. “I’m saying that she brings attention and you are merely background. It’s the way that things should be.”

Jay glanced back to where Amy and Tyson talked with the Racers.

“He’d be better for her anyway,” Ford went on. “From what I’ve heard, he’s Talentless and far from pubic eyes, something that she wants. You shouldn’t deny her that.”

Oh, that hurt with truth. Jay didn’t say anything as his father left him to his own thoughts. It made sense, so painfully perfect sense that he turned to go. His father was right. Amy didn’t want him; she made it a point to tell him just how much she didn’t like him and wanted to be left alone. She needed someone on the outside of Racing, out of the Circuit and the world that it entailed.

She didn’t need him.

Jay left the wake, deciding to just wait for Amy and Tyson to be done. He’ll wait in his car, trying his hardest not to cry.
**********
Amy was surprised when she couldn’t find Jay a while later, after she had talked with the Racers and the families of those who died. He had been there just a few moments before, talking with his father…

“Excuse me,” she said to Tyson, squeezing his shoulder in a brief farewell. “I’ve got a call to make.”

“Sure,” Tyson said, eyeing the crowd a bit nervously. He had a right to be nervous. He didn’t know anyone here and the teasing the Racers had given him earlier had been… eventful, to say the least. She was sure that if she hadn’t been there, he would have been teased relentlessly. She had no doubt that the Racers would descend on him the moment she was gone.

“I’ll just be a minute,” she promised, then slipped from the room. Outside, the hall was relatively empty, with a few individuals who had escaped here to get a breather. She snuck past them and to a part of the hall she was sure no one would overhear her. She took out her phone and quickly called Jay. Bringing the phone to her ear, she listened for a few moments before he answered.

“Yes, Amy?”

She frowned. His voice sounded… wet? “Are you alright? Where are you?”

“I had something come up,” he said with a sigh. “It’ll be a few more minutes. Then I’ll be back up.”

“No,” she said quickly. “I think Tyson and I are done here. Will you be down front in a few minutes?”

“Yeah, I can get you at the entrance. You might be waiting for a bit.”

“That’s fine,” she assured him. “We can wait.”

“I’ll see you both in a few, then.”

“Bye.”

“Bye.”

Amy frowned as she ended the call, looking at her phone confused. What was that about? Normally, Jay wasn’t one to walk out of an event, especially if it were a wake for another Talented. Something was up.

However, she needed to go back and get Tyson. As she suspected, the other Racers had cornered Tyson and grinned as they made the poor boy blush. She pushed her way through the others to Tyson’s side, grabbing his upper arm.

“Sorry, friends,” she said, grinning in a way that meant different. “But we’ve got to go.”

“Ah,” Silver Fox said, sighing dramatically. “Well, wakes aren’t fun, so I don’t blame you for leaving. I’d leave too, but I feel like I should stay longer. I’ve known them for years, so I don’t mind staying.”

Oh, there was so much to admire about Silver Fox. She really was one of a kind person. She never let her temper rise despite her red hair, she always took her wins and losses graciously. She was just a good person.

“Thank you,” Amy said, smiling thankfully at the older Racer. “I’ll see you all later, alright?”

With their goodbyes said, they made their way down to the lobby of the museum. “Well,” Tyson said as they sat outside of the entrance, waiting for Jay to show up. “That was…”

“Different?” she offered. “Sad? Depressing? Cruel?”

“I was just going to settle for sad,” he said with a nervous chuckle. He then frowned at her. “What do you mean, cruel?”

Amy sighed, staring down at her feet. She hadn’t told Tyson about what the Sponsors were trying to do, by killing off the Racers. She didn’t want him to worry about her. Jay was worried enough about her, with Hacker and Sally not far behind him. She didn’t need another person to fret about her well-being.

“I just…” she said, wondering what she could tell him. “I just don’t like going to wakes. And they know that. But… I’m a Racer and they were Racers. They just expect us to be best buds and.. I’m complaining. I just don’t like what the Sponsors force me to do.”

Tyson hummed, his tone taking that protective sense that she was used to from Jay.

“It’s not Jay,” she quickly amended. “Jay’s actually one of the better Sponsors. He doesn’t expect me to do much… But he’s kind of in the same position that I’m in. He’s a new Sponsor and has to play by their rules. It’ll be a few years before he can talk himself out of things like this.”

“I still don’t like it,” Tyson said, suddenly taking her hand and squeezing it. “You deserve better than to be treated like this.”

Amy smiled at his sincerity, squeezing his hand back. Oh, this was what she needed. Someone to tell her sweet lies and make her feel better about life. Jay may promise to protect her, and be magically bound to it, but there was something about Tyson’s earnest desire to make her feel better, even if that meant to tell her things that she wanted, not what she should be told.

“Thanks, Tyson,” she said, leaning against his shoulder and closing her eyes. “I’m glad that you’re here.”
***********
“You’re just letting her go?”

It was the day after the wake and Jay sought out the only company he thought he could handle. Maxx sat in Hacker’s garage. Hacker and Sally were currently out, enjoying a lunch date. And Amy…

Tyson had borrowed his sister’s car and took Amy out for the day, leaving Maxx in Hacker’s good hands. It did, however, leave the program alone during the lunch time and Jay took full advantage of it.

“What else can I do?” Jay asked with a sigh, slumping down on the couch. Maxx was in motorcycle form, his front tire turned towards him. “They were cuddling last night! I drove up and they were practically in each other’s arms. And neither of them seemed too ashamed about it either. They kept talking as if nothing was happening…” He didn’t mention that Amy decided to ride back to the RCC in the back with Tyson, letting the country boy walk her back to her room.

Jay then felt sorry for all the drivers he had made wait on him over the years.

“I’m never chaperoning again,” he grumbled.

“Uh, it’s not so bad,” Maxx said. “I do it all the time…”

“You’re a program.”

“Your point?”

Jay grunted. Sometimes there was no talking to the program; now he knew why Amy got so frustrated with him.

“I still think you’re an idiot,” Maxx kept saying, ignoring his annoyance. “Letting her go with Tyson.”

“He’s good for her,” Jay grumbled, staring down at his feet. Unlike Tyson’s slightly ruined tennis shoes, he wore dress shoes, a type of shoe that his kind wore. “I’m a Sponsor,” he mumbled. “She deserves someone who is more her type.”

“I never thought I’d hear you say that,” Maxx said. The motorcycle somehow sounded disappointed.

“What?” he snapped at the program. “It’s the truth. You know Amy hates anything and everything that deals with the Circuit. And, let’s face it, I am kind of in the middle of everything with the Circuit. The Races wouldn’t happen if there weren’t any Sponsors promoting them.”

“You’re different from other Sponsors,” Maxx pointed out. “And Amy knows that.”

“Why are you on my side, anyway?” Jay asked, interrupting the program. “You’re a computer chip in her head. You should be siding with her.”

“I was programed with a personality for a reason,” Maxx stated. “The Racers like having their programs argue with them sometimes. Besides, since I’m in her head, I know vaguely what she’s thinking about. And I can tell you, her relationship with Tyson isn’t the best for her.”

This was new… Jay sat up in the couch, eyeing the bike in front of him. “What do you mean?” he asked.

“I can already tell that their relationship isn’t going to be healthy,” Maxx told him. “Yes, perhaps she does need someone outside the Circuit to complain about all its problems and all the grief it’s causing her, but she’s already keeping secrets from him. And she will keep secrets from him because he’s not pressing for the truth. I’m sure he knows that she’s lying about things and he’s not going after the truth. I may be a computer program, but even I know that relationships don’t work well with lies. You outright told her about your Talent on your first private meeting and you don’t sugar coat anything. You tell her what she needs to know wither she likes it or not. Tyson…” Maxx turned his front wheel back and forth. “He’s just telling her that everything will be alright and she’s believing it. A relationship should not work that way.”

Jay sunk back into the couch, carefully picking the program’s words over. There was a lot of truth in his words; he was honest with Amy on a lot of things, not just with his Talent but also the Circuit and his fears about what the Sponsors wanted to do with her. He wanted her to know the truth. She deserved truth.

But if Tyson was leading her away…

“I still can’t do it,” Jay sighed, closing his eyes and rubbing the bridge of his nose. “I just can’t.”

“Jay…”

“No, Maxx,” he said, quickly cutting the bike off. “What you say is right; relationships don’t work on lies, but she needs someone outside the Circuit right now and that’s Tyson.”

“I can tell that you’re lying.”

“Since when?”

“You care about Amy,” Maxx said bluntly. “Why don’t you just tell her? It’s one of those lies that I was just talking about.”

“Maxx, do you know what would happen to me if the Sponsors find out about my Talent?”

The program didn’t answer. He knew all too well. While thankfully the Kill Code had been removed from his program, Maxx didn’t like that there was once been a time when he could have killed Amy in a supposed crash.

“Amy is a very public person,” he spat out spitefully. “And anyone romantically involved with her will also find themselves in the public’s eyes. I’m in enough spotlight and if I get anymore, there’s a good chance that my Talent will come to light as well. I don’t need her spotlight either.”

“I hear bitterness.”

“Of course you hear bitterness,” Jay nearly snapped. “I want to be with Amy; she’s an amazing woman that I care about. But if I get too close…” He groaned, closing his eyes tight. “Damned if I do, damned if I don’t. I either protect my secret or I get Amy. I don’t see how I can do both.”

Finally, Maxx had nothing to say.
**********
I’ll say it again: Maxx is my favorite character. He can say whatever he wants and get away with it since they can’t “touch” him. And he knows more about relationships than the other characters, which I’m not sure how that happened, but it’s been entertaining to write the computer chip telling the humans off. That said: Maxx is great.

And then Jay’s father… I really want to hate the man, I do, but… He had to go human on me, showing compassion to families, being a decent businessman, and protecting Jay... I’m not sure what his motive is yet for killing off the other Talented, but I need to uncover it. It’s just frustrating.

Anyway, that’s the end of my notes. Until next time, enjoy the journey!