Spinning Circles

     "Go!  Go!  Go!  Go!"

     I was trying, but there's only so much an under-powered piece of shit car can do and Ted screaming in my ear wasn't going to make us go any faster.  He knew it, I knew it, Mark knew it, but it didn't matter.  We were all doing it, screaming that is.  It was the nature of the game and the spirit of the chase.

     "Right turn!"    Mark was on it.  Beautiful execution.  I called the order, popped into neutral, cranked hard right, and Mark pulled up on the emergency brake.

     We caught water and fish tailed violently before hitting dry.  We were sliding sideways, facing the curb and our speed was wasted.  No good.

     Tires squealed as I dropped into second while counter-steering.  We fish tailed back, swinging inches from the curb, caught traction, and high-balled out of there.

     Ted popped up from the floor of the back seat, whooping like a demon.  Mark had his head back doing his best rebel yell while banging on the dash with both fists.  I was laughing like a maniac.  That recovery was a miracle.

     I checked my rear view.  The guys in the falcon lost a lot of speed in the turn, but they were making up time quick.  That's the game; power or control.  I had control.

#

     About a half hour before, we were bored out of our skulls.  Up until then, the night had been rather uneventful and we had been wasting time spinning circles in a park.  The grass was wet from the rains earlier in the evening.  That made spinning easier.

     I'd choose a direction, turn the wheel all the way, and hit the gas.  This would send us spinning tightly around the axis of the inner front tire until we spun out and went wide.  Then I'd crank the wheel the other way and start over.  A sure cure for a boring night.

     The only problem was, we could only do it for about ten minutes tops.  After that, it was time to get out of there.  We'd never been caught before and we weren't planning on it any time soon.  We knew some fools who would fuck around too long.  We were too smart for that.  Ten minutes and we were out of there before Johnny Law had a chance to bust us. 

     In the meantime, it was great fun.  Three guys and one car testing the limits of physics and volume as we all grabbed our balls and screamed like idiots.

     When it was time to go, we'd hunt out another subdivision or sneak behind a strip mall.  You could almost always find one with a pool of water where you could do one-eighties, and after the rains, water was guaranteed.  Sometimes we'd find a real deep puddle and go car diving.  Yeah, real thrills, but it kept us out of trouble.

#

waiting for Ted

     "What do you want to do?"

     "Don't know.  You?"

     "Not sure.  Where's Ted?"

     "He's on his way?"

     "Well, we could do some gaming."

     "I don't know.  Do you got anything set up?"

     "Not really.  I could think of something though."

     "We'll see.  Let's wait 'til Ted gets here.  We can't do it at my place though."

     "Why not?"

     "My grandparents are down."

     "Yeah, my dad's got his church group over."

     "That's two down.  Well, let's check with Ted."

     "What about Mickey?"

     "Maybe he'll join in.  If not, we can try and talk him into getting us some beer."

     "Got any money?"

     "Five bucks."

     "I got about twelve."

     "We're set, if Mickey's cool."

     "We're going to have to stop by my place for the stuff."

#

     We'd gone about three miles after the last park without hitting on a new idea.  Sprawled cities are great for that.  You could drive and drive without ever coming upon anything really interesting.  Everything was the same and nothing ever changed.  On every corner you could always find four strip malls with apartment complexes behind them.  And if you came upon a corner that didn't have a strip mall, you could lay money on somebody breaking ground within a week.

     It was at a four-way, main street crossroads when the falcon pulled up beside us.  Inside the falcon were four carbons of us; middle class, industrial waste punks looking for something to do.

     Ted instigated the whole thing.  He always did.  They pulled up next to us at the red, looked at us, we looked at them, and Ted gave them the finger.  Angry glares and fingers answered.  I knew the score; bail balls fast. 

     The challenge was given, the challenge accepted.  Time to fly.  Time to chase.  Both cars knew it and answered with tires spinning and rubber burning as the light changed from red to green.

     "Fuck you!" chased us as we sped off the line.

     I knew the score and I knew how to respond.  The falcon could out distance us in a heartbeat.  Our only chance was to lose them in a turn.  '75 Corollas were never fast.

     Halfway through the intersection, I pulled left.  Highly illegal but the way was clear.  Figured I'd lose them strait off.  Tough luck for them.

     We'd gone a full quarter mile at legal speed before I saw their headlights in the rear view.  Our victory cheers turned to battle cries when I told Ted and Mark.  This game wasn't done.  They must have flipped a quick bitch because they were pulling fast.  The chase was on!

     I hit the first right.  I knew the area well so I figured I could pull an alley job and lose them quick.  Dream big is what my old man always said.

#

Mickey's an asshole

     "Fuck Mickey!  He's being an asshole.  He's got a bunch of his friends over and he told me to get out."

     "So he's having a party?"

     "For his friends, Mark.  We're not invited."

     "Think he would get us some beer?"

     "No.  I already tried.  Like I said, he's being an asshole."

     "Shit.  Well Darren, there goes that plan."

     "What plan was this?"

     "Me and Darren were thinking about gaming but our places are burned."

     "Why?  What's wrong with your places?"

     "My grandparents are down and Darren's dad has his church group over."

     "Oh."

     "Yeah, exactly.  So, what are we going to do?"

#

     The alley was bullshit.  The rains had turned it into a trap.  Mud can be fun, sometimes.  Right then, it was a pain in the ass.  We were only two houses in and bogged down.  We'd lost all traction and the tires were tossing mud. 

     The falcon had pulled in behind us and was crawling up slowly.  They had us.  It was time to put up, shut up, or pray for a little miracle.

     It was the miracle that we got.  I'm not sure what it was, but there must have been something solid under all that mud because just as the guys in the falcon were opening their doors, I gave it one more shot and we hit something solid.  Good timing too.  Ted and Mark had been arguing over whether or not to get out of the car and fight these guys. 

     With whoops, cheers, and a rooster tail of mud, we flew out of there.  Six more houses of slipping around and we hit the street.  Dangerous, but the odds were with me that the road was clear. 

     Three blocks down and I saw the falcon in the rear view break the alley without stopping.  The chase was definitely live.  No more alleys though.

#

the ghost

     "So, who's car are we going to take?"

     "We got three choices.  The ghost, my truck, or your mama's car, Ted."

     "Eat me, Mark.  I gets us around, doesn't it?"

     "Yeah, but do you ever expect to pick up a girl in that thing?"

     "I have about as good a chance as you guys do in yours."

     "Bull shit, my truck is bitching.  It's a babe magnet."

     "Hasn't worked yet."

     "That's cause I've got you guys with me all the time."

     "That's not the reason, trust me.  Besides, I don't want to be crammed in the front of your truck like a bunch of fags."

     "Okay, we'll take Darren's car.  So Darren, is the ghost working tonight?"

     "I did a dance and burned some incense.  It should run."

#

     The road was clear and my speed was picking up.  That was the best we could hope for in the ghost.  As it was, the falcon had regained whatever speed it had lost and was once again pulling fast.  Our only hope was that we were in a sub-division.  Lots of opportunity to turn.  I took advantage of the first opportunity I had. 

     I cut it tight and almost hit the curb.  Didn't want to spin out again.  The turn swung us wide though I shifted into fourth without the clutch and used the turn as a sling shot.

     The falcon didn't do as good.  They hit the turn too wide and over corrected.  In the rear view, I saw their taillights flash me as they spun a one-eighty and stopped.  Time for another turn. 

#

beer

     "So Darren, what's up with Sean?  Why isn't he here?"

     "Don't know.  I called him but he was out."

     "Want to call him again?  Maybe his place is good to go."

     "Maybe.  Let's see what Mark wants to do."

     "If Mark scores, then Sean's place is definitely out."

     "Yeah, but that's if he scores.  Where the hell is he?"

     "There he is.  He's getting it now."

     "Where?"

     "By the cooler behind the cereal."

     "Okay, I see him.  He sure is taking his time."

     "There he goes.  He's at the counter.  Come on Mark, don't fuck it up."

     "Budweiser!  Aw shit!  He already did."

     "How's that?"

     "Shitty beer."

     "Beer's beer.  What's the difference?"

     "Taste.  Besides, Mark's giving himself away with that.  He should grab something good so he looks like he knows what he's doing.  He's going to get carded.  Yup, see what I mean."

     "That's not the beer.  That's the zits."

     "He has the zits because of the beer.  Well, that's it.  They're making him sign the book.  One of us has got to get a better ID."

#

     It had been ten minutes since we lost the falcon and boredom had returned.   Our options for the evening were running out.  None of us wanted to spend money on a movie, we couldn't score any beer, and we had nowhere to go.  Our choices were down to two options:  Jacuzzi hopping at an apartment complex, or stuffing M80s into flour bags and blowing them up in mail boxes of people we hated. 

     I wasn't up to buying a few bags of flour though and Ted complained that the detergent we would pour into the Jacuzzis made him itch.  That left us back where we were; ten-thirty on a Saturday night with nothing to do.  When in doubt, drive.

#

the phone call

     "Hello?"

     "Hello Mrs. Mckenzie, is Sean there?"

     "No Darren, he's out right now."

     "Oh.  Is he going to be back anytime soon?"

     "I don't think so.  He's out on a date."

     "A date?  Oh, well thanks."

     "Should I have him call you when he gets in?"

     "Oh, no.  I'm not going to be in.  Thanks anyway.  Bye."

     "Good-bye."

#

     When I got my car, I thought my weekends sitting around doing nothing were through.  Instead, I just spread my boredom around a few city block instead of sitting at home.  At least I had company though.  Mark and Ted were in the same boat, or car for that matter.  The start of our senior year, Big Men On Campus, and we were tooling around doing nothing.

     Everything was going against us.  All of our places were burned to hang, Sean was supposedly out with a girl, no beer, no money, and ultimately, no lives.  Sounds kind of depressing but at least I wasn't stuck at home.  Besides, having friends around beats being alone, even if you're all bored together.

     We ended up at a red light on a major street with cars to either side and none behind.  We had been talking about how to waste time without time wasting us.  More ideas were tossed around and all abandoned.  We had nowhere to go and nothing to do when we got there. 

     I didn't even pay attention to the headlights pull up behind us until the high beams flashed on.

#

girls

     "What do you mean he's out with a girl?"

     "That's what his mom said."

     "That takes guts."

     "What's that?"

     "Having your mom lie for you."

     "How do you know she's lying?"

     "Because Hell is going to freeze over before Sean gets a date."

     "I don't see you out with a girl, Mark."

     "That's cause his face is so darn pimply."

     "Shut up, Ted.  You're not much better.  So Darren, who's he supposed to be out with?  His mystery girl from Central?"

     "How the hell would I know?  I didn't ask?"

     "Well, it's bull shit.  There's no way Sean's got a girlfriend.  It's just not possible."

     "You sure know how to stick by your friends, Mark."

     "Look Darren, it's not that I don't like Sean or anything, but it just doesn't fit.  I mean, I'd expect you to have a date before Sean."

     "What about you, Mark?"

     "What about me, Ted?"

     "Why aren't you out with a girl?"

     "Cause I'm out with you guys."

     "Wrong.  You're not out with a girl cause you can't get one."

     "I haven't asked anyone.  If I'd asked someone, I'd be out right now."

     "Yeah, right."

     "Screw you, Ted.  Since when did you start defending Sean?"

     "Because he's out with a girl and you're not, so you're ragging on him."

     "What?  You believe in this girl from Central?"

     "No, but I know I don't have a girlfriend so I don't have any room to talk."

     "So you don't believe she exists?"

     "No, but even if she does, and even if she's ugly as a mud fence, he's out with a girl and we aren't."

#

     "Who the fuck is that?"  Mark was turned around in his seat looking out the back window.

     "It's the falcon.  How'd they find us?  Nail it, Darren!"

     "It's a red light, Ted.  And don't flip them off again.  Aw, shit!"  It was too late.  Ted had both hands raising the bird in the rear window.

     "Green light!  Go!"

     "I'm on it, Mark.  Ted, sit down."  I hit the gas and took off as fast as the ghost would let me, which wasn't very fast.  The old folks in the Taurus to the right had me beat.  Still, the falcon couldn't pull up beside us. 

     It was a straight chase with the falcon right on my ass for almost half a mile before I was able to pull ahead of the Taurus and hang a right.  Back to the subs and back to the chase.

#

no money

     "Want to catch a movie?"

     "No."

     "Why not?"

     "I only got five bucks."

     "What about you, Darren?"

     "No."

     "God, what's with you guys?"

     "Ted, there's nothing good playing right now and I don't have much money either."

     "How much do you have?"

     "I think about twelve."

     "That blows that."

     "What?"

     "I was going to bum off you guys, but you're broke."

     "Yeah, and you still owe me from last week."

     "No I don't, Mark.  What are you talking about?"

     "The pizza."

     "Hey, that's an idea.  You guys want to go get some pizza?"

     "You don't have any money."

     "I'll pay you back."

     "When?  Besides, I'm not hungry."

     "Me either."

     "You guys are boring."

#

     I couldn't shake them.  They slowed down on the turns this time and stayed with us, catching up in the stretches.  I also didn't know this neighborhood very well and didn't want to end up screwed.  As it was, we were anyway.

     I had taken a quick left down what I thought was a through street and found myself in a cul-de-sac.  I was jacked cause the road turned slightly before it ended.  I had to slam on the brakes so as to not end up in someone's driveway.

     "Turn around!  Turn around!"

     "I'm trying, Mark.  Shut up!"  I locked it into reverse, turned the wheel, and backed up.

     "They're stopping.  They're blocking the road."  Ted had the clearest view of what was going on.  He was turned completely around in his seat looking out the back window. 

     I tossed a glance over my shoulder as I counter steered and dropped it into first.  Ted was right.  The falcon was side ways, blocking the center of the road and the doors were opening.

     "Go around."

     "You can do it." 

     "Go on the side walk." 

     "Come on!  Come on!"

     "I'm trying!  Stop yelling in my ear!"  I didn't have anything to do with it, but they shut up.  Things were getting tense.  I was creeping up slowly, angling the ghost to get on the curb.  The three passengers in the falcon were standing by their open doors with their hands behind their backs.  The falcon itself was creeping slowly toward the curb to make sure I had no room on the street.  We'd never been caught before.

     As I neared the falcon, I rolled onto the sidewalk.  The falcon reacted by edging just close enough to the sidewalk so that I would have to cut through a yard to make it past them.  That was a last resort and I didn't think we were there yet. 

     So I stopped and we all three looked out the windows like idiots as the guys from the falcon pulled their hands from behind their backs and sent a half dozen eggs straight at us.

     "Eggs!"  We all yelled at the same time as we tried to duck.  I caught one on the top of my head as I saw another one splatter across the dash.  Ted yelled behind me and I knew he had gotten it too. 

     As one, we all opened our doors and jumped out.  Just what they wanted us to do.  As we rushed them, they jumped back in the falcon, backed up, spun their wheel, and took off.  All I could see was them laughing as their tail lights took the turn.

     We were all three cursing and yelling.  Mark scooped up a rock and tried to hit them, but they were gone.  That left us standing like idiots in the middle of the street with egg on our faces.

     "That's it, revenge time.  Get back in the car."  Mark and Ted followed as I turned and walked back to my now egg covered, mud covered, primer gray car.  I was going to have to get it washed.  Not that the eggs or the mud was going to hurt it, but it was kind of a point of pride.  I didn't want to be reminded that I'd been tagged.  With that thought, I pulled my shirt off and started wiping the mess out of my hair.

#

circles

     "It's closing in on nine-thirty."

     "Yeah?  So?"

     "So, we got to find something to do.  I don't want to drive around all night doing nothing again."

     "You think of something and we'll do it."

     "You think of something too, Mark.  It's not your gas we're wasting."

     "Hey guys, there's a park."

     Ted's announcement was like a light bulb flashing above each of our heads.  I slowed down and we all took a look around.  Not seeing any sharks, or anybody else for that matter, I edged the gray ghost over the curb and onto the wet, slippery grass.

     A little way in, I cranked hard left and hit the gas.  Inertia tugged the yells out of our throats as our bodies leaned with the first revolution. 

#

     We spent the night spinning circles, if not in my car, then in the endless monotony in trying to find something to do.  The circles widened from there to consume and define every weekend, every Saturday night, and ultimately, our teenage years.  We were punks with nothing to do and a great desire to do it, with nowhere to go.