Drag Racing
Drag Racing
Charlie Peters
You squeeze the clutch in, all the way, your eyes are glued forward, waiting for the Christmas Tree to light up, for the green light to flash, it seems like you’re waiting forever, just like Christmas Eve night when you’re trying to fall asleep just waiting for the next morning, you can faintly hear your family cheering for you, over the rumble of the motor but the thunderous beating of your heart takes over all the sound as you try to focus on what’s ahead of yourself, you can sense everybodys eyes on you as if you’re the prey, the first yellow light glows, all of the noise around you becomes a distant thought, your eyes faithfully glued forward, another amber colored light shines, as if it is a spotlight, pointed directly at you, you know how quick the next one is going to appear, it’s almost as if everything is now in slow motion, you feel like you’re in the Matrix, the last gold light flashes, it seems as if all of you joints lock into place just like when you first step outside on a frigid winter morning, as you give the clutch a death grip, it seems as if you had began to hold your breath so you don’t miss a single second on your reaction time, you pull down your visor to block out the orange flare from the late evening sunset, your brain recognizes the green that flashes, same color as the shamrock your girlfriend wears around her neck, you can hear your rival gun it over the line, but you’re lightning like, you swiftly catch up to him, it becomes neck to neck, your eyes are centered straight, not giving him any advantages, you shift one more time and you’re gone, almost like Road Runner, less than eight seconds you take home the win, your first win, you ride up the recovery lane, you haven’t felt this exhilarated since high school graduation, flashing of the cameras everywhere as you try and pose for all the photo you can, over the intercoms that are so old that their nailed to the pole, you can hear the announcer yelling your name, almost like he is praising you, you never thought you could make this much commotion, all of this uproar, just for you, you get back to the trailer, it’s almost as if everybody is there, you couldn’t believe that they came all the way here to support you, you can barely move around without bumping into someone constant high fives, fist bumps, hugs and so much more cheering, you sit back,your dad rolls up behind you on his bike, the biggest grin on his face, almost like the day you were born, you stare at him in disbelief, you couldn’t believe you had just one, taking a deep breathe in, gasoline and burnt rubber, miller lite and soda pop fills your nose, you can barely hear anybody, all the motors are just a ringing hum in your ears, right where you are, sitting on your bike, in your leathers, sweating bullets, feels exactly like home.