Date: Fri, 31 May 2002 17:12:00 -0400
From: Stan Unknown <stan992001@hotmail.com>
Subject: Chapters 27 of Beating The Odds

			   Chapter Twenty Seven

Ryan reached at the neck of his t-shirt, got his sun glasses, and put them
on. "You don't have to back away. You've been watching both of us pull up
this hill, right? We know what we're doing."

"Yeah, I've been watching. You both are lots better now, I have to admit,"
he answered.

"Then come up right beside me. I just want to show you how smoothly I can
take off," Ryan said. "You aren't scared, are you?

"No, of course not," he said, as he walked up to the door.

"See you later, man. Good luck on finishing the roofing," Ryan said, as he
revved up the engine, drifting back a couple of feet, then quickly let out
the clutch. He burned the tires for a few seconds, then shot up the hill,
laying rubber all the way. When he shifted into second near the top of the
hill, he laid more rubber and the car went slightly sideways before Ryan got
it back under control.

Bruce looked back and waved. The roofer that had been standing beside the
car when it took off had staggered backwards and had fallen down. All of the
other roofers were standing around him, laughing.

"I think it's time to go back to the beach house," Ryan calmly said, as he
slowed down and took the turn towards the main highways at a much higher
speed than he should have.

"Ryan, I'm going to kill you. Pull over right now," his Dad yelled.

"Come on Dad, that guy was just being an ass hole and you know it," Ryan
answered.

"RYAN!!! PULL OVER!" his Dad yelled.

"Ok! Ok! Don't get so bent out of shape. I had the car under control the
whole time," Ryan answered, as he pulled the car to a stop in front of one
of the first houses in the subdivision.

"Get out! Now!" his Dad yelled, as he stormed out of the front seat.

Ryan also got out and met him. "Dad, I know you're mad, and I also have your
temper. What I did wasn't right, and I know that. But I just couldn't let
him get away with dissing me that way, you know?"

"Give me the keys, Ryan," his Dad demanded.

"Dad, please let me drive back to the beach house. I'll be really careful.
You won't know that I am driving a car like this at all. Let me prove to you
how much you've just taught me," Ryan asked.

His Dad stared at him for a moment, then finally smiled. "You better be
really gentle with the clutch going back."

"I will. I promise," Ryan answered.

"Ok.            I guess.            I ought to take this car away from you
for a month for what you just did. I ought to have my head examined to let
you drive now. Get in before I change my mind," he answered.

"Thanks, Dad," Ryan said, as he got back in the driver's seat and buckled
up. Ryan looked at Bruce as he got back in, and Bruce said, "Don't look at
me. I'm not going to say anything after that."

"Thanks bro," Ryan answered.

"Ok, I will. I think that was pretty cool," Bruce said. His Dad gave him a
stern look, and he quickly said, "Sorry Dad. But it was. That guy did have
it coming."

Their Dad finally got a smile on his face and said, "Yeah, I guess he did.
But I don't approve of either of you driving like that."

"Dad, come on. I know you have to say that to us. That's just what fathers
have to say to their sons. They don't want them wrapped around a telephone
pole somewhere. I can understand that. But you handle the clutch too well
to not have done the same thing sometime in your life. You've already told
us about your Z-28 Camaro and your SS-396 Chevelle. Tell us the truth," Ryan
asked, as he sat behind the wheel, hoping his Dad wouldn't make him get out.
He wasn't disappointed. His Dad just stared at him as he walked back to the
passenger's side.

"Yeah Dad, come on. You've never done anything like that?" Bruce asked.

"What I did has nothing to do with what I want you boys to do." He paused
and thought about his words. "Oh God, that's soooo lame," he answered.

Both boys broke up. "We take that as an admission of guilt," Bruce laughed
from the back seat. All three of them laughed heartedly as Ryan drove them
back to the beach house.

                                       *****************

Both boys got a chance to practice on Saturday in the Shelby before going to
the funeral home that night. They didn't return to the same subdivision,
though. They didn't want to take the chance that they would be recognized.
So they toured lots of the area around Hilton Head. The stop and go traffic
was really what both boys needed to practice.

The funeral was over quickly on Sunday. The casket was closed because of the
damage done to Dan during the plane crash. The family stayed around for a
while, accepting the condolences of the many mourners, and then it was
finally over.

Mr. Warner had met with them privately before the funeral and had assured
then that he would have a security firm keep watch on the house. It had been
in Dan's will for them not to sell it, but keep it as a summer home, and
that is what they had decided to do.

They each said a silent prayer for Dan and watched as the casket was lowered
into the ground and the workers started covering it up with dirt. They all
loved the beach house and the new cars, but were still saddened about what
had taken place in order for them to receive them.

They had already packed before the funeral but they went back one more time
to the beach house to change clothes and lock up before they left. Their Mom
had already taken care of throwing out anything perishable from the
refrigerator.

Everyone changed into comfortable clothes for the drive back to Atlanta.
Bruce and Ryan had changed into muscle shirts and shorts. Both of their
parents also had on shorts.

"Let's try and stay together, OK guys? Let me lead the group so I make sure
you don't go too fast on the highway," their Dad said.

"Oh Dad, you know neither of us would ever speed on the highway," Ryan
kidded.

"Yeah. If we're going to go really fast, we do it in uncompleted
subdivisions," Bruce answered, laughing.

"Your father told me about that. We're going to have a long talk when we get
home," their Mom said.

"Thanks for bringing that up, Bruce," Ryan answered, glaring at him. Bruce
just laughed as they headed for their cars after locking the door.

The drive back was a long one, but it was soon over. It was just getting
dark when they finally pulled into their driveway, which was suddenly full
of cars that wouldn't go inside their two car garage.

They unpacked everything and then both boys ran to their rooms to call Rob
and Neal respectively and tell them what had happened. Their parents had
asked them not to call from Hilton Head until after the funeral was over,
but both boys had missed their boyfriends and were also anxious to tell them
about their new cars.

                                    *****************

Ever since the first Monday morning that they had to go into the school
together after the fight on the previous Friday, all ten original members of
the group had met in the back corner of the parking lot before school to
talk about everything that was going on in their lives. They would also meet
immediately after school. This just made them feel lots closer.

Bruce and Ryan planed on being a little late to make sure all the others had
already gotten there. Then Bruce drove in with Neal in the front seat,
followed by Ryan and Rob, the convertible top down, and the music blaring.

"Wow! Look at what Bruce and Ryan are driving," exclaimed Jim.

All the boys immediately crowded around both cars as soon as both boys had
parked. Neal and Rob had told everyone about their Uncle passing away, but
no one knew anything about their new cars. For a few minutes, questions were
coming from all directions.

"Both of these look pretty fast. Want to find out how fast?" Josh kidded.

"I think both are fast enough so that you'd get a real good look at our tail
lights," Ryan kidded back.

"Oh, you think so, do you? Are you man enough to find out?" Josh challenged.

"I'm not going to risk getting a drag racing ticket, guys," Bruce said
quickly. "You can count me out."

"Oh, I know a place that is all but impossible to get caught," Josh
answered. "Especially if you have four cars, like we do."

"You remember who my father is, don't you? Do you have any idea what he
would do to me if he found out I was drag racing?" Jim asked.

"I didn't say anything about you drag racing. Just let me explain," Josh
answered.

"No way. Don't even start. I'm not going to do it," Jim said.

"Just let him explain. What harm could that do?" Brian asked.

"No! I'm not going to be a part of this," Jim said, as he tried to walk off.

Brian just playfully picked him up off the ground from behind and walked
with him in his arms back to where Josh was standing. "Go ahead, Josh. Jim
is what you would call a `captive audience'," Brian giggled.

Everyone laughed and then Josh continued. "The best place to drag race is on
the highway. You know that long straightaway on I-575 at Highway 5?"

"You mean just after it turns at the big curve?" Ryan asked.

"Yeah. You first drive past the exits, looking for State Patrol cars. Then
one car parks under the bridge. He can see both ways a long distance. The
other two wait at the end of the entrance ramp, off to the side. When he
sees that cars aren't coming, he blinks his head lights. The fourth car is a
quarter of a mile up the highway from where we start. When we see the
blinking headlights, we line up, count to three, and take off. As soon as
you pass the quarter mile marker, you slow down to the speed limit and
continue to where you have agreed for everyone to meet. Simple!" Josh said.

"What if a police car or State Patrol car come by while you are pulled off
the road?" Jim asked, still held in the air by Brian. "And put me down, Paul
Bunyan," Jim said loudly. Brian gently put him on his feet as the others
howled.

"You just say one of the cars was running hot and you pulled over to let it
cool off. He can't give you a ticket for using the emergency lane for an
emergency. That's what it's for," Josh explained.

"That sounds like a good plan to me. But the highway has lots of cars on it
all the time. When would there ever be a big break in traffic like that? It
would take us nearly a minute to get lined up side by side at a dead stop
and then count down," Ryan said.

"More like 20 or 30 seconds. We'd both be where all we have to do is pull
forward twenty or thirty feet. I've done it lots of times. But I can tell
you're a little scared to do it," Josh kidded.

"Oh, I'm going to love seeing your face when I blow your ass off the
highway," Ryan giggled.

"You might blow me, but you won't beat my Trans Am," Josh kidded back.

"Hey, you're mine! Sorry, Ryan. If anyone is going to blow him, it's going
to be me!" Jimmy giggled. Everyone laughed heartily at that.

"But what about the highway traffic? We might all be sitting along the side
of the highway for an hour," Bruce reasoned.

"We have to do it late at night after most of the traffic has stopped. 10
o'clock or later," Josh answered.

"Well, we can't stay out that late on a school night," Bruce answered.

"How about Friday night after the football game," Josh asked, grinning.

"Yeah. We don't have to be in until midnight then," Ryan exclaimed.

"Ryan, I really don't think you should do this," Bruce answered. "If you get
caught, Dad's going to be so pissed he might sell your car."

"You heard Josh. There's no way we can get caught. If you're so worried, you
can go down to the next exit and check for police there first, then come sit
under the bridge. Your car's so old, no one would question it breaking
down," Ryan answered.

"Thanks a lot," Bruce said quickly.

"You know I'm kidding. But it is old. It's a great car and Dan did a great
job restoring it, but 1968!! It's hard to believe they even had cool cars
like that back then," Ryan continued to kid.

"Yeah! Just think what it must have been like to be our age back in 1968,"
Jimmy answered. "Anyone our age back then would be really old by now."

"Yeah, like in a wheelchair or in a nursing home," Jim added. Everyone
agreed as they laughed together, but then they went back to talking about
the race.

(The writer doesn't agree, since I graduated from high school in 1968. But
my guys seem to think I'm ancient, so I had to put this in. hehehe And this
is exactly how I learned to drag race. My SS-396/375 horsepower Chevelle has
long been in the junk heap, though.)

"So, everyone agrees? Bruce will be under the bridge, Tim and Jim can drive
to where the quarter mile is and can be the judges. We can all meet at the
McDonalds two exits down when we're finished. We can all leave together
after the football game is over," Josh said.

"Fine with me," Ryan answered.

"So what are we going to bet?" Josh asked.

"Bet? Who said anything about a bet?" Ryan asked.

"I did. Just now. We have to bet something, just so the winner gets to
gloat. Me, that is," Josh laughed.

"I don't have a lot of money," Ryan answered.

"I don't want your money. I want it to be lots more personal. How about the
loser details the winner's car? Wash, wax, leather cleaner on the seats,
shampoo the carpets, change the oil, full service. The winner has to provide
all the products. But he does get to inspect the work of the loser and make
sure he does it right," Josh laughed.

"You have a deal. My car is already pretty clean, but I would love to watch
you wax it," Ryan added, smiling.

                                        ****************

And so the race was set for Friday night. They already had five cars going,
two to race and three to watch. Jim and Brian were taking Rob and Tim and
Kevin were taking Jimmy so there would'nt be any extra weight in either car.

Five cars were already a lot so that they wouldn't attract attention. But
some things never change.

The boys just couldn't keep from talking about it. It was already widely
known that Josh had the fastest car at school. All the guys constantly
drooled over it. There's nothing that a teen male would rather have, other
than sex, than a fast car. And sometimes, they both would be neck and neck.
Sex lasts a short time. A fast car is there forever. Or so it seems. Lots
longer than sex, anyway!

News about Bruce and Ryan's cars spread like wildfire throughout the school.
So did the news about the race.

If anything, this was the defining moment that made the gay kids completely
accepted to the whole student body. People that had previously been
reluctant to talk to them after they came out as gay, even if they had been
friends before, were now wanting to talk to all ten of them all week about
the race. Even Matt and Mike approached Josh and Ryan, asking if they could
wait until they had showered after the game so they could watch it.

As they realized how many people were planning to watch the race, they knew
they had to change their plans. Someone told them about a country road 20
miles away from the school that was level and had a long straight away.
There was also a field at the end of the quarter mile marker that everyone
could park in.

So, it was set. 10 o'clock on Friday night, unless it rained. They even had
contingency plans for the following Friday if weather made it unsafe to
race.

There were only two problems.

The street was narrow and didn't have emergency lanes on either side, like
the highway did.

And one of the student's Dads was on the local police force. And his Dad
overheard his son talking about it on the phone.

And made his own plans.

                                       To Be Continued

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