KAIRO'S LIFE HAD NEVER BEEN THE SAME EVER SINCE HE MET HIS ROOMMATE, THEODORE. He wished Theodore had never existed inside his dorm room— because when he did, he had forgotten what peace meant. His pesky grin, his loud beating music, his constantly barking robotic dog named Byte—all combined to ruin his life.
This is what I pay for entering this academy, he frustratedly told himself as he sipped his morning coffee in the breakfast hall. He could only find peace when he was outside his room. Far from annoyance. He felt the strong freshly brewed soothe his soul. What he needed was a cup of coffee to calm himself.
"Hi, roomie!" Kairo would almost spit out the hot coffee when Theodore appeared smiling in front of him. "What the?!" I thought he left earlier this morning.
"Good morning, I guess?" Theodore said with an unsure tone. Nonetheless, he sat on the chair in front of Kairo with his breakfast— an egg sandwich and a probiotic drink. On his shoulder was his dog. Kairo didn't mind him, he just had enough. He didn't want to ruin another morning.
"I'll be in the mechanical room today," Theodore told him.
His eyebrows were furrowed. "And that concerns me because?"
Theodore chuckled. "You're really a comedian, no? Right, my Byte?" Byte, the robotic dog barked as her response.
Kairo shook his head in this belief then continued to sip his coffee before it got cold. "I have something to tell you, Kairo," Theodore told him. Whatever that is, it interests me.
"We are actually going to be so busy in the mechanical room these days," the latter blew a sigh. "So, you won't probably see me again in our room. Sad, right?"
Kairo felt a sudden relief. Thank God.
"That's actually because of the racing competition that will be held soon. There's no official date, okay? So don't tell everyone! It's our secret."
That took Kairo's attention. "Racing competition…"he uttered. "For what?" Theodore placed his index finger on his temple, thinking. "Hmm, allow me to remember it," he said then continued thinking. "Hmmm… I know it, I know… wait… hmm…"
God, Kairo clicked his tongue. I haven't met anyone so naive like him. He remained in his posture, preventing to show his irritation.
"AHA! I remember it now!" an imaginary light bulb appeared above Theodore's head. He lowered his voice, he leaned closer to Kairo. "It's a competition to determine the team to represent the academy in ARLS."
Kairo's eyes widened. He looked at Theodore, asking if what he said was true. The latter slowly nodded. "We are preparing the STRYKER GTs for them," he nodded. "Don't tell anyone, okay? I told it to you because you're my roommate." Kairo stilled for a moment. His heart started pounding hard and slowly.
This might be what their Coach Winston was telling them. A race to determine the best crew among everyone in the academy.
"You can actually sneak a peak in the mechanical room to pick your future car," Theodore grinned, looking idiot enough to Kairo's eyes. "We have a variety of colors: black, blue, red…" His stream of words flowed out of his tongue.
He checked the clock on the corner. My first class is going to start.
He stood up with his empty cup.
"Are you done? I haven't even finished mine," Theodore whined with his lips pointing. It brought a sudden urge of disgust out of Kairo.
"Hey, Kairo! Wait! Wait!" Theodore shouted, but Kairo made his way out of the hall.
"God, the people in this academy are horrendous," Kairo whispered to himself. "They never leave me in peace."
His ears were relaxed for a moment inside the classroom, until Paul and Cooper came with their usual grins. He could only sneer at them. The instructor came and the class began. Today's lesson was about the different ancient civilizations that humanity had before their current time—much to his boredom. He felt like he was listening to a boring long podcast; understanding nothing but the seemingly senseless utterances from the speaker.
He covertly pulled his phone to entertain himself by watching random internet videos. He had to silent the phone for him not to be noticed.
He heard someone giggling.
"Mr. Cooper," the instructor called him. "Is there something funny about Egyptian civilization?" Cooper immediately hid his phone under his notebook.
"N-Nothing, Ma'am," he said with a sweet smile. "I was actually laughing— coughing, Ma'am." The instructor stared at him for a moment.
"Alright, let's proceed…"
Kairo could still hear Cooper's giggles from the corner as the instructor resumed her discussion. What is he laughing about? He just shrugged his head. He must be used to being surrounded by crackheads. He just hoped his sanity wouldn't leave him.
Suddenly, his phone vibrated. There was a notification. His forehead creased. What is this? He opened the notification to find out that he was added to a group chat channel by Cooper. Kairo knew his account was private, how did this idiot find his way to add him?
The group chat had the other four members, it was named after their crew. I'll just leave right now… he was about to press the leave icon when a message popped up. Paul sent a message that caught his attention.
Race later, @everyone?
He added another message.
Ofc. only in the simulator.
Their eyes gazed at one another with a mischievous grin on their lips. They agreed, and it was immediately settled.
After the class was dismissed, the crew went to the training room. Their coach gave them an early advisory of his absence– much to their joy. They could do anything in the training room. They were tired of Coach Winston's lecture on aerodynamics.
"Okay, listen up!" Samantha called their attention. Cooper and Paul couldn't contain their excitement by her side. "Think of this as our training as a team," she added. "3 lap race–"
Kairo cut him off by raising his left hand. "What will the winner take?" That irked Sam. He was so sure of himself. Boastful.
"Are you sure you're going to win?" She asked with a grin on her face, that didn't falter Kairo. "Yes," the man said, final and definite.
"Ah, I know!" Olivia exclaimed. "The winner can pick who will do his or her laundry for a week." There was a general laundry hall where trainees could clean their clothes.
"I'm fine with that," Sam was the first to answer without breaking his glance at Kairo. That man child knows how to boil my blood without doing anything!
"How about you, Cooper and Paul?"
"Sounds good," the boys responded.
"And you, Kairo?" Olivia asked Kairo. The boy nodded. He just wanted to know the prize of the winner. Seems fair. He saw how Sam rolled her eyes at him.
Once the query was settled, they positioned themselves to the simulation machine. They wore the AR helmet and prepared themselves for the race. Kairo laid his back on the cushion of his seat. They gave themselves a minute to prepare their virtual vehicles: wheels, engine, and the likes. Kairo had already grasped how racing simulation worked, he now knew how to deal with the buttons and digital elements in front of him. Their grid position was determined randomly— Kairo was at fourth.
"Is everyone ready?" Paul asked.
"Ready!" everyone said, all attention in their virtual racing field.
The countdown began to appear in front of them. Kairo held his breath as he counted.
3… 2… 1…
"GO!"
They immediately stepped the throttle and made their way into the asphalt road with their roaring engines!
***
A PHONE RING DISTURBED HIM WHILE HE WAS SIPPING HIS RED WINE WITH HIS BODY SOAKED ON WARM WATER ON THE TUB. He specifically told them not to disturb him while he was on his relaxation.
The man groaned. "Damn it! Answer!"
"Hello, Darwin," said the voice from the other line. " I know you're busy, but—"
"For goodness' sake, Peter! How many times I told you not to fucking disturb me!" His voice thundered across his bathroom. "What the hell is it?"
"It's about ARLS," Peter said. "They are going to release the schedule soon."
"So?"
"So?" Peter seemed frustrated. "Darwin, you're not training your team! How are we going to—"
Darwin beamed his smirk, he relaxed his body submerged in the water. He took a sip of his wine. "Win? You're really asking me that question?"
"Of course! You are their mentor, I am the manager!" Peter demanded, Darwin could hear him scoff in dismay.
"Have we lost any race?"
"Well… we haven't, but that doesn't imply that—"
"Then, fuck off," Darwin had enough. "My team doesn't need training anymore. I made them become winners. Have faith, Peter. The trophy has been secured this season."
"But, Darwin. I feel there will be a twist in this season," Peter heaved a sigh for a moment. "Raceworth Academy is going to participate this season. Although their team doesn't have any official line up."
Raceworth Academy. Darwin had heard of that place before. "What about them?" He was sure they were just there to add to the number. A team to devour in the race.
"Haven't you heard? Kiro Rosales' son, Kairo Rosales has been training them for a long time now. He can be a part of the line up."
Hearing his deceased foe made his ears twitch. "Kairo Rosales… huh," it piqued his interest. "He is going to be nothing, like his dead father."