I had no idea about Deacon Dardenne, no matter how "famous" he was, from the perspective of other girls in Saint Helier.

Galing nga raw sa dalawang prominent families. Bad news: I didn't know those families. Malay ko ba sa kanila?

Masasabi kong famous ang isang tao kung kilala ko. Kaya nga famous, e. How come na famous ka kung hindi ka familiar sa lahat?

Deacon was so low-key yet famous that everybody knew him aside from me. Kaya nga kahit si Meerah, hindi makapaniwalang hindi ko kilala ang raccoon na 'yon.

Another day at school, and I thought it was a normal day until I felt something was wrong.

"Girl, what happened na naman?" mahinang tanong ni Meerah, patingin-tingin sa paligid, parang kinakabahan.

Napatingin din ako sa buong room namin. Sobrang tahimik nila, and that was the weird part. Our room has never been as quiet as this since our freshman year started.

"What do you mean by what happened?" I asked.

Then she showed me the post online. It almost took my breath away after I saw this post from the confession page.

Deacon was the sender, and the post said:

To the Raven,

You gave me a good idea tonight. Wanna race?

5-km limit. You win, I'll be your slave until our graduation.

I win, you'll be my slave until the year ends.

If you think I'm worthy to be your slave, I'll see you on the road tonight.

Cody Dardenne

I smirked at it. "Does this raccoon race?"

"Girl, owner sila ng car company," Meerah answered.

"Again, does this dumbass motor race?"

She shrugged. "Cody never participated in such a night race. It's the first time we heard about him challenging someone, most especially you. Kaya nga ako nagtatanong kung ano'ng nangyari."

Ibinalik ko sa kanya ang phone niya habang natatawa ako nang mahina. "Gusto yata niyang mapahiya kaya naghahamon. Oh, well. Good luck sa kanya."

Gerry, my stepdad, used to bring me to Ontario for motorsport. My dad here in Manila gave me my big bike as a birthday gift because I requested it.

First time daw nina Meerah na marinig na makikipagkarera si Deacon. Even Salva and the rest of the gang were surprised by the challenge. None of us knew if that raccoon could race. They knew

him as one of the nepo babies who came from the family of car dealers and racers.

"Cody's not mayabang, Venn," Meerah explained. "Saka favorite niyang manood lang every night."

Of course I knew that. Para namang hindi ako nakikipagkarera for the past two years. I never saw him bring any motors, though. Tingin ba niya, just because car dealers nila, gano'n lang kadaling makipag-race sa mga gaya namin?

Huh! He must be dreaming!

I replied to that post, para naman maraming maka-witness kung paano ko siya ipahiya sa buong school for the second time around.

Sure! See you later, Raccoon.

Ang alam ng lahat, nagde-date kaming dalawa because of what happened sa cafeteria.

The population of Saint Helier was so small that even other students from different programs knew what was happening.

Five in the afternoon, naka-ready na ang big bike ko. I even roamed around the nearest subdivision just to test-drive my bike.

The news was so ridiculous, all of us asked each other if that raccoon really raced. Never pa raw kasi nilang nakita siyang makipagkarera, even 'yong mga stalker niyang fan.

And that called for everyone's attention na pagsapit ng gabi, sobrang daming nakamasid sa 'min.

Five-kilometer distance, and we were on a service road. It was illegal. It was lethal. It was the kind of

race no expert racer would ever want to enter, mainly because, compared to the legal tracks, once na may ma-damage kaming property o may masagasaan kami, that was a valid reason to put us behind bars.

11:57 PM

Surrounded ang buong area ng mga fan ni Cody at mga spectator ng laban ni Raven.

I was in my full gear. My red and black Ninja ZX, in good condition. Full face helmet was sitting above my bike's seat. Black leather jacket was on. Fitted black jeans and my favorite black GORE-TEX. The tank was full. All geared up.

Jameerah wasn't fond of watching night races, but I guess she was here because of that raccoon. Friends kami, pero sure akong hindi siya dadayo

rito para lang sa 'kin. But still, she was on my side as a bystander.

"Girl, never pa naming nakita si Cody na mag-race, but he came from a family of racers."

"How many times do you have to remind me of that, Meerah?" I rhetorically asked.

"Not that I don't trust your skills, girl. I know, magaling ka. Siguro confident lang si Cody na mananalo siya, and I believe that he will win tonight."

I chuckled at that. Surprisingly, hindi ako na-offend kahit pinalalabas niyang matatalo ako ngayon.

Siguro tanggap ko rin kasi na kakampi talaga siya kay Cody over me kasi crush niya 'yon.

"Root for him if you want, Meerah. He badly needs your support."

"Venn, nagwa-warning lang ako. It's for your own good."

I shrugged, smirking at her. "Nandito na tayo."

The air felt thicker and heavier. Maybe because the number of people around us doubled—or maybe ten times larger—than usual.

Hindi na ako sure kung nandito ba sila to watch me or to watch Deacon. But whatever the reason was, isa lang ang masasabi ko: these people wanted to see who would win in this race.

12:17 AM

"WHOAH!"

The crow roared as the black and gold superbike entered the road. Even my jaw dropped after seeing

it approaching. "Party Up" by DMX boomed on the speaker from the watchers.

"Y'all gon' make me act a fool

Up in here, up in here

Y'all gon' make me lose my cool

Up in here, up in here"

I never knew I could see a unit of Superleggera anywhere in this city! It was so beautiful, my breath almost left my body!

"Fuck me," I cursed, staring at the bike in its full magnificence.

Na-excite ang lahat. Kahit ako, napapatitig sa motor na dala ng raccoon na 'to. Sobrang rare ng units n'on na kahit available sa PH, sobrang mahal naman!

Ten minutes before the start, Deacon only showed himself with his full-face helmet on. He

only wore that letterman jacket and white V-neck shirt underneath. Jeans were still lousy. But I could see the black boots he wore for this race. Mukha lang siyang gagala sa school sa itsura niya.

"I don't think you will take this shit seriously," I said to him, riding my bike.

Five-kilometer race. Everyone was watching us. Some were reporting at the end of the finish line, preparing themselves once we reached the goal.

Ang ingay ng cheer ng mga nasa paligid. Naghahalo ang sigaw para kay Raven at sigaw ng fans ni Deacon.

The revolutions of our motors thundered in the air. Smoke around us. The cheers went wild. A guy raised his hand in the middle of the road, waiting for the go signal.

Mas humigpit ang kapit ko sa motor grips. Ang bigat ng paghinga ko habang tutok sa lalaki sa gitna ng kalsada.

Sumigaw ang lahat.

"Three!"

Ang lalim ng paghinga ko.

"Two!"

Whooh . . .

"One!"

Fuck.

"Go!"

Within that second, I almost flew in the air, reaching my one-and-a-half-minute limit.

Everything looked like a straight line curving. Lights streaked in my peripheral vision. I needed to take the same road with a five-kilometer mark.

Focus na focus ako sa daan. All of a sudden, a swift thing went past me.

Sa sobrang bilis n'on, hindi ko alam kung dahil lang ba sa bilis ko kaya 'yon nawala agad sa paningin ko. I was too focused on the path, hindi ko na nakikita nang malinaw ang mga nasa gilid ko maliban sa harapan.

I was hitting 190 kph, and it was enough to kill me once I landed on a truck.

It was one of the longest one minute and a half of my life, and the moment I saw the long red cloth on the finish line, I was already clapping inside my head.

Hah! The fucking cloth was still there!

A loud zing and tire screeches surround the road.

The cloth hugged my waist as I stopped my bike in the middle of everyone waiting at the finish line.

Mabilis kong inikot ang bike paharap sa pinanggalingan kong kalsada saka huminto sa mismong finish line.

Saka lang ako nakahinga nang malalim at naramdaman ang lamig ng hangin sa pawis mula sa noo hanggang leeg nang mag-alis ako ng helmet.

"Hahaha! That was a fucking rush!" I exclaimed, laughing at everyone.

Bumaba pa ako sa motor at sinuntok-suntok ang hangin habang hawak ang pulang tela.

"YEAH! I made it!"

It took me a few seconds to see their faces. Nakatitig lang silang lahat sa 'kin. Dahan-dahang nawala ang tawa ko habang hinihingal.

Inisa-isa ko sila ng tingin.

"What?" I asked.

Lahat sila, lumipat ang tingin sa kaliwang gilid ko. Bigla akong kinabahan.

Para akong nasa horror movie na dahan-dahang lumilingon sa gilid hanggang sa manlaki ang mga mata ko.

"Oh shit . . ."

Napalunok ako at parang nabuhusan ng nagyeyelong tubig nang makita siya.

Deacon was there, hugging his helmet, standing like the other spectators. Hinanap ko ang bike niya. Nakaparada na sa likuran nila.

"That was a very boring fight, Ravenna Fucking Marcello," he coldly said. "You disappoint me. Puro ka lang pala yabang."

One by one, everyone's eyes felt like a needle piercing me in every part of my body.

"Cody wins, guys!" Zandrey yelled. "Talo ang Raven!"

Deacon raised his head, and I didn't see any traces of celebration in his eyes, compared to the watchers around him mocking my loss.

Parang nawala sa focus ang lahat. Bumagal ang paligid maliban sa kanya. Siya lang ang nakikita ng mga mata ko at malabo na ang lahat.

Siya at ang malamig niyang tingin sa 'kin.

He wasn't celebrating.

He wasn't happy because he won.

His cold eyes screamed that he knew he'd win, and he was just here to show me the painful process of how he would do it.

He said he was disappointed.

I felt it.

♥♥♥