Part 2
2 months later…
As Tyler climbed into his silver 2001 Pontiac Sunfire, he put his hand on the steering wheel and a flashback hit him.
“Tyler!” Amber screamed out in his mind as he relived the crash.
Tyler snapped back into reality and had his hand against the back of the passenger seat as if to protect his now deceased girlfriend from the wreck that occurred months ago.
As he started the car, he moved the stick shift into reverse to back out of the lane, extra cautiously. He was pretty nervous today, because it was his first days at the local college scene. Tyler hadn’t left the house much since he was released from the hospital a month ago, and wasn’t too fond of driving anymore. He slowly accelerated out of sight from his house and waved good-bye to his mother before the small evergreen in the front yard blocked their view. As Tyler made his turn onto the highway, two cars went flying by him at high speeds and he remembered that fateful night again. When he reached the college parking lot a few minutes later, he got out of his car and locked it. He had a few classes with his friends today, so at least that would be a big plus.
As he entered his first class of the day, the plump professor, probably fifty-five years of age looked up at him and welcomed him to class. His friends James and Kyle motioned over to him to come sit by them. They were some of the only people who came and visited him. Amber’s family did too every now and again, but he knew they still blamed him for the loss of their daughter. He could see it in their eyes.
“Hey bro, how’s it goin’?” whispered James as Tyler sat down next to him.
“Nervous and still having those ****ing flashbacks” he whispered back to him.
“Tyler, you need to come to the races with us this weekend, man. Gavin has put a lot of work in his motor and he says he is the fastest thing around now. The only car that gave him a shot was your GN before the wr—“ Kyle said excitedly till James gave him a glare and Tyler slumped back into his seat with a great pained expression on his face.
James just shook his head at Kyle, with that “you damn moron” look upon his face. Kyle was always that way though. He never really had the fast car, but loved watching the races. As the saying goes, when God dealt him brains, he got the short end of the stick. Kyle was just one of those kids that really never knew when to shut his mouth. He played football and never had the time to really build up a car, or had the concentration for highly detailed work.
James was the Salutatorian of the trio’s class, a true genius in ways. The kid could pump math calculations through his head like no ones business and could reprogram a chip with minimal effort. This is how he was able to finance his skyline, which ran mid 12’s all day.
Tyler was one of the nicest kids you may have ever met in your life. Never did anything wrong until his dad passed away from cancer only a few months before the crash, and he was left the GN sitting in the garage. When his father died, his mother and him were left with a large insurance check on top of their all ready hefty bank account, so money was no factor in it. That is when he got into drag racing. His mom was very concerned with it, because she didn’t want to lose the only thing she had left. Tyler started with a low 12-second platform. He slapped on a TE-62 turbo, a Mease Performance intercooler, and a street cam from Comp Cams. After this, he took the car to the track with a new best of 11.4. Tyler read up on alcohol injection kits and fabricated one up himself, got his heads ported, and got his transmission built up with all billet parts and a new 3000 stall. He took it to the track the following week and ran a new best of 11.0. He had a new hobby he loved, and was very proud of the work he did on the car.
As class ended, the three friends walked out of the building, and decided to have a smoke break until their next class together.
Kyle lit his cigarette and asked Tyler again if he was going to go to the races this weekend at the track.
“Let me think about it, man. I am still not sure if I am ready for it yet.” He replied softly as he opened his box of marlboro cigarettes.
“Sound good, guy. Just let me know by this weekend and we can get something hooked up.” Said James.
As the three lit their cigarettes, the moved onward down the three block walk to their next class. Tyler had thought about getting another Grand National and doing all the work to make it kick some serious ass again, but didn’t know if he had the heart to go through with it. Too much **** to deal with in his mind before he could pour his heart into another car.
Before the guys entered the next building, Tyler stopped them.
“I’ll go to the track, but if I get weird… just let it go, okay?”
“Sure thing, we know you’ve had a tough time, don’t let us pressure you into anything.” Kyle said, which was very sincere for something that was uttered from his mouth.
“Thanks, guys. For everything.”
“What are friends for?” James said as he gave Tyler a little punch in the shoulder.
2 months later…
As Tyler climbed into his silver 2001 Pontiac Sunfire, he put his hand on the steering wheel and a flashback hit him.
“Tyler!” Amber screamed out in his mind as he relived the crash.
Tyler snapped back into reality and had his hand against the back of the passenger seat as if to protect his now deceased girlfriend from the wreck that occurred months ago.
As he started the car, he moved the stick shift into reverse to back out of the lane, extra cautiously. He was pretty nervous today, because it was his first days at the local college scene. Tyler hadn’t left the house much since he was released from the hospital a month ago, and wasn’t too fond of driving anymore. He slowly accelerated out of sight from his house and waved good-bye to his mother before the small evergreen in the front yard blocked their view. As Tyler made his turn onto the highway, two cars went flying by him at high speeds and he remembered that fateful night again. When he reached the college parking lot a few minutes later, he got out of his car and locked it. He had a few classes with his friends today, so at least that would be a big plus.
As he entered his first class of the day, the plump professor, probably fifty-five years of age looked up at him and welcomed him to class. His friends James and Kyle motioned over to him to come sit by them. They were some of the only people who came and visited him. Amber’s family did too every now and again, but he knew they still blamed him for the loss of their daughter. He could see it in their eyes.
“Hey bro, how’s it goin’?” whispered James as Tyler sat down next to him.
“Nervous and still having those ****ing flashbacks” he whispered back to him.
“Tyler, you need to come to the races with us this weekend, man. Gavin has put a lot of work in his motor and he says he is the fastest thing around now. The only car that gave him a shot was your GN before the wr—“ Kyle said excitedly till James gave him a glare and Tyler slumped back into his seat with a great pained expression on his face.
James just shook his head at Kyle, with that “you damn moron” look upon his face. Kyle was always that way though. He never really had the fast car, but loved watching the races. As the saying goes, when God dealt him brains, he got the short end of the stick. Kyle was just one of those kids that really never knew when to shut his mouth. He played football and never had the time to really build up a car, or had the concentration for highly detailed work.
James was the Salutatorian of the trio’s class, a true genius in ways. The kid could pump math calculations through his head like no ones business and could reprogram a chip with minimal effort. This is how he was able to finance his skyline, which ran mid 12’s all day.
Tyler was one of the nicest kids you may have ever met in your life. Never did anything wrong until his dad passed away from cancer only a few months before the crash, and he was left the GN sitting in the garage. When his father died, his mother and him were left with a large insurance check on top of their all ready hefty bank account, so money was no factor in it. That is when he got into drag racing. His mom was very concerned with it, because she didn’t want to lose the only thing she had left. Tyler started with a low 12-second platform. He slapped on a TE-62 turbo, a Mease Performance intercooler, and a street cam from Comp Cams. After this, he took the car to the track with a new best of 11.4. Tyler read up on alcohol injection kits and fabricated one up himself, got his heads ported, and got his transmission built up with all billet parts and a new 3000 stall. He took it to the track the following week and ran a new best of 11.0. He had a new hobby he loved, and was very proud of the work he did on the car.
As class ended, the three friends walked out of the building, and decided to have a smoke break until their next class together.
Kyle lit his cigarette and asked Tyler again if he was going to go to the races this weekend at the track.
“Let me think about it, man. I am still not sure if I am ready for it yet.” He replied softly as he opened his box of marlboro cigarettes.
“Sound good, guy. Just let me know by this weekend and we can get something hooked up.” Said James.
As the three lit their cigarettes, the moved onward down the three block walk to their next class. Tyler had thought about getting another Grand National and doing all the work to make it kick some serious ass again, but didn’t know if he had the heart to go through with it. Too much **** to deal with in his mind before he could pour his heart into another car.
Before the guys entered the next building, Tyler stopped them.
“I’ll go to the track, but if I get weird… just let it go, okay?”
“Sure thing, we know you’ve had a tough time, don’t let us pressure you into anything.” Kyle said, which was very sincere for something that was uttered from his mouth.
“Thanks, guys. For everything.”
“What are friends for?” James said as he gave Tyler a little punch in the shoulder.