Todaywas the day my life changed. It had started off normal; I woke up,showered, dressed and then drove to work. Once I was in the shop,that was all I focused on. Sorting out stock, packing orders from thelast few days, re-checking others, refilling the shop floor and, asalways, dealing with customers.

Itwas a Saturday so it was decently quiet. I was just finished withfilling up the cleaning product shelves when the door opened. With alook over my left shoulder, I saw a guy about my own age. 'I'llbe with you in a moment,' I called out. I slipped behind the deskand logged into the computer saying, 'How can I help you?'

Hehad grey-blue eyes and short, scruffy, dirty blonde hair. Althoughclearly being white, there was a hint of Latino in his skin. To behonest, he was quite good-looking. 'I ordered a load of partsyesterday,' he simply replied.

Ichecked the order logs. There was only one order placed yesterday soI assumed it was his. Glancing at the fairly long list, I noted theywere Nissan parts. 'Nissan?' I asked, just to check.

'Yeh,that's it.'

'It'sout back. It won't take long,' I explained, though some of theparts I knew were kind of heavy. In the storeroom, I called for helpto my colleague. 'Hey, Nicky! I need a hand!' No sooner had Ifinished, was he pacing beside me. Having checked this order earlier,I knew exactly which pile it was. I picked up an armful of thelighter items and left the rest to Nicky (he was as strong as a bullso I knew he would manage). 'Okay, where do you want them?'

'Couldyou bring them outside to my car?' he asked, taking a head gasketfrom me.

'Sure,no problem.' I followed him and Nicky followed me. The customertook out his keys and remotely unlocked his car. That was when Ilooked up. His car was beautiful; so beautiful that I stopped andnearly dropped half his order. 'Woah,' I mouthed as he opened thetrunk. Nicky walked straight past and loaded his half into the backof the Honda S2000.

'Er,miss, can I have my parts please?'

Ilooked at him then shook my head. 'Yeh. Sorry.' I quickly butcarefully placed the parts into his trunk. 'I was just admiringyour car,' I explained.

'Likeit, huh?'

'Er,yeh.' I pulled myself together. 'So that's three hundred,seventy four dollars and thirteen cents,' I told him, rememberingthe total from before.

Takingout his wallet, he counted out three hundreds, a fifty, a twenty,four singles and a quarter. I took it off him but before I could sayanything, he spoke first. 'Keep the change.' With a wink and asmile, he went to the driver's side and ducked inside.

Icouldn't just go back indoors, I had to hear the purple sleek carpurr away and roar once taking a left.

Afterswitching off the back room lights and locking the shop up, I headedjust down the street to my little Subaru. I bought it cheap just toget me around town but when the sun went down over LA, my other lifebegan.

Iwas changed and ready to go. Opening the garage, I got into myMustang and sped down past my flat and my Subaru. Taking a shortcutover the freeway, I was down on the back streets in no time. Therewere a few 'Road Closed' signs so it was clear I was in the rightplace. Round the next corner, the crowd and the music started.

Droppingto first, I slowed to a crawl and let the crowd move out of my way.Finding a spot, I parked up and got out to see a few very familiarfaces.

'Hey,Ella. 'Bout time you showed up,' came André's voice.

Ismiled. 'Hey, Dre.' We shared a quick hug. 'Fern, Carlos,' Iadded, nodding to my other close friends. 'Are you racing tonight,Carl?'

Heshook his head and looked very miserable. 'Can't. Broke myfingers on my gear hand.' Bringing his right hand up in front ofhis chest, I saw that they were splinted and bandaged. He couldn'teven bend them. I didn't ask why, he was always getting into somekind of trouble. 'You should though,' he added, smiling broadly.

'Nah,you know I can't,' I reminded him.

Andréturned to me from checking my engine. Why not? There's a slot andyour driving is more than perfect.'

Foldingmy arms, I told him why. 'I can't afford another hit. Not afterlast month.' Indeed, my last race cost me a whole front end to fixand my car account was running low.

'ThenI'll lend you the cash,' he offered.

Keepingmy instant frustration at bay, I looked for an escape route and soonfound one. Heading off through the crowd, I found one of the raceorganisers. Of course, this was street racing so he was one of thelow-key guys. 'Ed! Hold up.'

Hewas accompanied by an overly pretty girl in tight denim shorts and atank top that showed the tops of her boobs a little too much. 'Ella,what can I do you for? There's a race slot free,' he suggested inhis slightly Mexican accent.

'Yeh,I know. Listen, do you have a lookout position that needs filling?'

Seeminglydisappointed, he bowed his head. 'Ella, Ella. You should race. Ican fit you in, it's no big deal.'

'Nothanks,' I said hastily. 'I'm low on funds.'

Iliked Ed. He was more of an acquaintance but he knew my family,especially my dad. They used to race together before things got bad.'It's not a big race. Three thousand dollars but no worries.'He went to walk away but turned back. 'Although, I hear there's arookie who's high on the odds.'

Ilaughed. 'Ha, you know as well as I that rookies always lose firsttime. Especially round here,' I added, remembering a story fromtwenty-five years ago.

'Notthis one. He's been in town a couple of months now and his car hassome serious shit in it.'

'Hmm,what's he got?' I was merely curious.

'Athree seventy zee.' That was a Nissan model.

'André,how quickly can you get me three thousand dollars?'

'Gotit on me right now.' And he handed me a roll of bills.

Kissinghim on the cheek, I shut my hood before getting to the start line(which was also the finish line). As I had the last slot, I wasfourth in the line of sports cars. The one next to me was a Toyota.It was customary in this neighbourhood to shake hands with each ofthe other drivers. So I did, noting car two as another Ford (thoughnot a Mustang) and car one as the Nissan 370Z. The driver was leantagainst the front passenger wing and his look of shock amused me.

'Yourace?' he asked, taking my outstretched hand.

'Suredo. So, how does a rookie afford a Honda anda Nissan?' I asked, knowing they were both modified and one ran onNos tanks.

'Smallfortune.' I almost didn't believe him but his eyes held nothingbut truth in them.

Thecrowd began to split. 'Alright, alright,' came Ed's voice overthe spectators. 'Let's do this!'

Hemust be the race starter, I thought to myself as I shut my car door.Ed spoke some more but I had to get 'into the zone', as it were.'See the win. See the win,' I repeated to myself, imagining mycar crossing the line ahead of the others. 'See the win.' Istopped and watched Ed.

Mywindow was down so I could hear. 'On my mark.' I shifted intofirst and held the clutch with my right foot over the gas pedal.'Three... Two... One... GO!'

Myfoot instantly went down and the rev needle spun round. Just beforeit hit the redline, I shifted up. The jolt of acceleration hit me andI began to buzz in tune with my five point five litre, twin turbo, V6engine. I had missed this feeling more than I thought.

Glancingin my rear view mirror, I saw the Ford and Toyota trying to beat eachother. The Nissan was missing. It wasn't behind the others either.'Where...?' I began to ask myself and then looked in my left wingmirror. The reflection was headlights, familiar shaped headlights.How he was keeping up with me, I didn't know but I couldn't lethim level with or beat me. My revs were nearing the red again so Ishifted up and swerved in front of my opponent, disrupting his line.He tried to swerve around my right side though I cut him off again,seeing his line. Knowing the course, I hit my breaks and shifted downtwo gears and took a hard right, missing a large garbage bin byinches. Letting the revs build up again, I saw the hood of the Nissanlevel with my front passenger window out of the corner of my eye. 'Ohno you don't,' I said to myself. My right foot went down on thegas as far as it would go.

Fromhere on it were four left turns and at the end was the finish line.There was no sign of the Toyota and Ford in my mirrors so I forgotabout them. All my focus turned onto the Nissan and the blonde youthbehind the steering wheel. I had to beat him; no rookie had won onthese streets since thirty odd years ago at least and even then itwas a local who lived here. Whenever his nose would edge in front ofmine, I would press my right foot down just that bit more to keep upand, in some cases, pass him again. It was so close, it infuriatedme. This was not good for my focus. Instead of shifting from third tofourth after rounding a corner, I shifted to fifth. Why the hell Idid that I do not know nor even remembered. The Nissan shot ahead ofme as I head the engine resonance change as he too changed gear. Itwas the last straight and I saw the finished line half a mile ahead.

Desperate,I braced myself and pushed my thumb hard onto the little red buttonon my steering wheel. The car jolted as the Nos gas sprayed into thepiston chambers of the engine. With a few fidgety corrections of thesteering, I had control and whizzed past my opponent. The last fewhundred yards to go and I knew I had him... That was until his nosezoomed past mine, followed by the rest of the car until all I saw ofit was tail lights.

Mybrakes squealed and my Mustang jerked to an abrupt halt. The airaround me filled with tyre smoke as I breathed hard, my clenchedhands gripping onto the steering wheel. 'No.' My eyebrowsfurrowed. 'How? How did that happen?' I asked myself.

'Ella!'I heard André to my left. He ran over, Carl and Fern behind him.Everyone else was swarmed around the Nissan. Before André couldtouch my car, I opened the door and got out. I stood up straight andlooked over at my opponent. He saw me and pushed his way through tocome over.

'Goodrace, man,' Carlos said, shaking his hand and tapping his shoulder.

Turningsideways, I put my hand on the roof of my car. 'I want to know...how did you do that?'

Hehalf-smirked at my question. 'Easy. I drive better than you.'There was a cry of 'Ooo's' behind and around us.

'Noway. I want to know what you've got in that car.'

Hedid a half-turn and gestured for me to go over to his ride. 'Take alook then.'

AndI did. I propped up the scolding hot hood and checked the engine bay.'What the...?' I looked up at him (he was now only a foot awayfrom me). 'How the hell did you fit those parts and tune the car ina day?'

Hisexpression turned to one of bemusement. 'I had help.'

Islammed the hood shut and swallowed my pride. 'Hmm, well. You musthave good mechanic friends. Who are they?' I asked out ofcuriosity.

'Myfamily.'

Therewas a sudden commotion. All the spectators and drivers began rushingto the mass of parked cars. I had seen this happen many times beforeand I knew precisely what it meant. 'Cops.'

Therookie and I followed suite and raced off down into a one way alley.Surprisingly, he followed me all the way onto the freeway. It waswhen he took the exit before mine did I allow myself some degree ofrespite. However, it was only once my car was out of sight in itsgarage and my door was locked, that I felt safe enough to trulyrelax. That was up to the moment when a dozen knocks rapped on mydoor. I was apprehensive to open it so I used the peephole.

'Areyou following me?!' I asked, shouting in his face.

Hiseyes were wide. 'No but I think the pigs were onto me so I took adetour.'

'Andyou are here...why?'

'Isaw your Subaru and thought you could help.'

'How?'My arms were folded and I was tense.

'Givingme somewhere to stay for the night. Or giving me a lift home?' heimmediately asked as I scowled.

Idecided from his posture that he wouldn't leave even if I said no.'Fine. I'll give you a lift. Wait here,' I ordered firmly.Grabbing my bag and keys, I slipped on my shoes which I had kickedoff. We got into my Subaru, fastened the seatbelts and steadilyheaded up the road. 'I'll need directions, or a street name,' Itold him as I drove onto the main street.

'EastKensington Road.' Luckily, I knew where that was.

Speedingoff, I reluctantly took the long way around so as not to bump intoany police cars. Whilst keeping an eye on my mirrors, I noticed hewas keeping an eye on me; or rather, my driving. 'Ya know, for aracer, you don't drive casually very well.'

Mybrakes slammed on. 'Listen, I haven't spent six years workinghard and tuning up my Mustang for a punk like you to tell me mydriving is crap. Either keep your mouth shut or get out,' Ioffered. He didn't say another word, just leaned back into theseat.

Itwas only when we were on his street did he speak again. 'It'sabout halfway up on the left,' he told me. Since it was quiet, Islowed down so I could drop him off outside his own door. It wasanother minute before he told me to stop. 'Thanks for the lift andgood luck in your next race.' His face was solemn which only meanthe was now being nice.

'Noproblem but it will be awhile before I can afford it.'

'Whatdo you mean?'

Iquickly told him about my minor incident and how André had leant themoney for tonight. 'So now I owe my friend cash too.' My handsremained on the steering wheel.

'Hmm.'He began rustling for something. 'Here.'

Ilooked at his hand and saw he held one of the three thousand rolls.'No. You won that out right. You beat me, I can't take it.'

'So?'He met my gaze. 'Put it this way, you put up a great race andyou came second. To be honest, I was shocked I managed to stay aheadof you. I feel I owe you something, so please, take it.'

Somehow,I could tell he wouldn't get out unless I took it. So I did,reluctantly. 'Thank you.'

'You'rewelcome.' He hopped out of my car and bent down to say somethingbut...

'Jack!'shouted a woman. 'Thank god, you're alright. We were worried.'She threw her arms around him and kissed his cheek.

'Mum,'I heard him mumble.

'Wherewere you?'

Aman then joined them. 'More to the point, where's your car?' Icould tell it was his father because they looked so much alike. Andhis parents looked ever so familiar. I knew I'd never met thembefore but I knew their faces.

WhilstJack relayed to his parents what had happened, I looked up at thedriveway. There was another Nissan, a GT-R in fact, in royal blue.The other was white and clearly a sports car though I couldn't makeout the model. Then I looked at the house. It was a simple white,wood framed house with terracotta coloured roof tiles. In the doorwaystood another man. He was bald, short and very muscular with a faceheld in a hard stare. His arms were as thick as my legs and perfectpecks outlined under a white tank top. That was when it struck me.

Thiswas Dominic Toretto's house. The woman was his sister, Mia and thefirst man from the house was Brian O'Conner. And I knew where I hadseen them before as well as knowing I had to get out of here before Igot into any trouble.

'Oi,kid.'

'Huh?'

Brian'sface filled up my empty window space. 'Thanks for bringing himhome.'

Myface must have been a picture as I cleared my throat. 'It was notrouble, Mr. O'Conner.'

Hesmiled, stepped away and followed Mia inside. My eyes followed themas they disappeared through the front door. They had left it open forJack who now replaced Brian in my window. It was only when mynarrowed eyes met his did he speak. 'Er, sorry about that.'

'Sorry?You... you could have warned me who your parents are before I trekkedyou up here,' I complained though keeping my voice low.

'Hmm.And would you have even offered me a lift if you knew who my familywere?' I was about to say 'of course' as it meant getting ridof him from my front door but I shut my mouth after a second'sthought. 'See. Look, I appreciate the ride. I'll be round to pickmy car up tomorrow.'

Iturned the ignition on. 'Suit yourself when you get it. I'm outtomorrow.'

'Oh,where are you out at?' he asked in a far too curious manner for myliking.

 'Noneof your business. See ya round.' And I revved off down the road tohead back home.