Smoke

She's smoke

Patrick's pov

I was standing there looking over my derby car when my best friend Mark walked over. "Hey man, how's the car coming along?" Mark asked. I looked at him from under the hood, "It's coming. Passed the look over. Let's just hope it'll make it through the heat." I said. "I think it will." Mark said. I had never made it to the top 4 in my heat. I was close last year, but my car stalled and wouldn't start again.

I slammed the hood back down and sat on my trailer. My family was sitting in the pit with me. "So when are you gonna find yourself a girl Pat?" My dad asked. I shrugged, "Maybe someday. Haven't really been looking. I'm not worried about it." I said. I looked out around the track and saw a few girls walking over from their cars.

"Come on Allie! If you wanna ride rides before the derby we need to get going! It's 5 o'clock and the derby starts at 7!" One of the girls said, looking at a tall girl with long red hair, hazel eyes, and sun-kissed skin. "Hold on Tarren! While we're down here we might as well check out some of the cars before security makes their rounds!" Allie said back. She laughed and started jogging my way.

"Allie, seriously?! I'm pretty sure if you loved the derby anymore than you already did, you'd be running in it!" The one named Tarren said. "I might next year. Just you wait and see!" Allie said with a laugh. Allie went walking down the track and stopped. She turned around to her friends and put her hand on her hip, "Tarren! Kaiser! Come on! 10 minutes walking the track and then we'll go ride some rides. Please?" Allie pleaded.

The girls turned around and started walking toward Allie. "Fine. 10 minutes and that's it! No more than that Allie!" Tarren said. "YOU seriously need a derby intervention." Kaiser said, shaking her head slightly. "Very much so. We can discuss that more after tonight's derby." Allie said. They started walking toward the rest of the cars.

"Patrick! Come back to us buddy!" Mark was saying. He laughed and then looked at me. "You completely zoned out Pat. She came over and you were gone." My dad said. "Sorry. I'm back though. She was pretty. I doubt I'm her type though, but life goes on man." I said. I put my hand on the back of my neck and glanced after her. She was talking to one of the other drivers.

Two hours later

"Ladies and Gentlemen! We're going to start tonight's derby! Let's begin by getting our first heat drivers out on the track!" The announcer said into the microphone. He started listing off names, and I waited for my cue. "Patrick Yeager in the black and red 220p car!" The announcer said. I pressed on the gas and went to the other side of the track before parking across from a rival of mine.

"Miss Greene County, will you help me with the count down please?" The announcer said. "10...9...8...7...6...5...4...3...2...1!" She yelled. I slammed my car into reverse and smashed straight into my rival. I got hit on my side and then threw my car into drive and hit my rival again. His car shut off and wouldn't start again. I smiled to myself and then hit a few others. I made it to the final 5 this year and then my radiator went. I slammed my hand against the steering wheel. Once they were down to the last 4 cars, they told them to shut off their engines. They'd be in the feature tonight. They called the tow vehicles out and I steered as my dad towed my car off the track.

"You did great this year! Top 5! And you won crowd's choice!" My mom said while hugging me. "I know mom. I get so close every year." I said, hugging back. I walked over and helped my dad get my car on the trailer. "Well since I'm not in the feature and I have no one else I wanna see in the derby, I'm gonna go ride some rides, and get some food." I said. I started walking toward the fair.

30 Minutes Later

"Any single riders, need a partner?" The ride operator yelled. I moved to the front of the line and took my hands out of my pockets. "I do." I said. The operator showed me where to go and I fought back a smile. I walked over and sat next to Allie on the ride.

"I expected you to be watching the derby." I said, glancing over. "I'm missing this heat on purpose." She said. She pulled her phone out and then glanced over her shoulder. "Why is that? I thought you loved derbies." I asked. Curiosity got the best of me. "My ex is running like he has every year. As much as I love seeing his car be the first to have so much damage it won't move anymore, I can't. When I see his face I just wanna punch him." She said. "Makes sense." I said with a chuckle.

Allie looked over at me and smiled. She held out her hand, "Hi, I'm Allie." She said. I shook her hand and smiled back, "I'm Patrick." I said. The ride slowed to a stop and I looked at the operator. "Any chance you'd wanna ride another ride with me?" I asked Allie. She shrugged, "It's possible." She said with a smile. We got off the ride and she waited for her friends. I started to walk away when I hear my name.

"Patrick! Wait up!" Allie yelled. "Thank you for riding that ride with me." She said. I nodded, "You're welcome." I said. She smiled, "Would you wanna ride another ride with me?" Allie asked. I shrugged and then nodded, "If you want me to." I said. She took my hand and led me to the ride she wanted me to go on with her.

"So you run in most of the derbies around here?" Allie asked me. I nodded, "I run in the 3 main ones. I have 3 different cars, but my number is the same for all of them. I fix up my cars and run them the next year." I said. "That's really cool. I think I saw you run in the Jackson Run derby." She said, slightly questioning it. I nodded, "Yes you did. I didn't do good at all." I said. Allie shrugged, "Shit happens. You win some, you lose some." She said.

We got on and off the ride and she looked at me. "Another ride or do you want something to eat?" I asked. "One more ride. Unless you're hungry. Or wanna go watch more of the Derby." Allie said. We walked to one of the many food vendors and got two hot dogs and a drink for ourselves. We walked into the grand stands and found a place to sit.

"So why are you so interested in demolition derbies?" I asked, looking over at Allie. She held up one finger and finished chewing, "My older brother used to run in a derby every year. I grew up watching them. When he wasn't old enough to run, our uncle and dad was running." She explained. I nodded,

"Makes sense. You were raised around them." I said. She nodded and smiled, "What about you?" She asked. "Um, I grew up watching them and I had some family members and friends run every year, so I thought why not?" I said. She laughed and looked back at the derby.

A few hours later

We finished eating our hot dogs and watching the derby. "It's been very nice spending time with you tonight Pat. Thank you for everything." Allie said. I nodded and smiled, "You're welcome." I said. She pulled her phone out and handed it to me, "Put your number in my phone please." She said. I nodded and put my number in her phone. "I'll text you as soon as I can." She said. I nodded and she ran off to find her friends.

I walked back to the pit to find my family. My mom stood up and looked at me, "We thought since this is the first time in a few weeks we've seen you for more than 20 minutes that we'd treat you to dinner tonight." My mom said. (To be continued...)