"Finally... Work is done. And it's Friday. And we don't work on Monday. TIME TO PARTY LIKE IT'S 1994", I say this to myself realizing that I have forgotten my umbrella and that it was a rainy day and that I will go back home soaking wet. But that didn't bother me, since my mind was focused on the weekend and me being a lazy piece of shit doing nothing productive. Saved my work, prepared my briefcase, parted ways with some fellow colleagues, who also had the same plans for the weekend, and went to the super market to get prepared. Bought a lot of good stuff. Mainly tortillas and soda. Oh and some food. Can't forget that. Went to the checkout to purchase my items from the cart and I heard two guys talking:
-"Yeah. Max trained this track like crazy bro. I don't know how is he still playing it?"
-"Well, the usual suspects of finishers would be Jay, Cole, Rip, Sylvester and Max. Me and Lloyd take up the next 4 slots."
-"Woah! That's rad! I wish I could do it, but it's just so damn hard. Agostini is a really hard track."
Agostini... That name sounded familiar when he said that. But fuck it. A weekend is waiting for me.
Walking back home on a rainy day sure feels great, especially since the rain itself wasn't heavy. It felt nice honestly. Some people were running to avoid getting soaked, some were enjoying it like me, and some were cardio training with hoodies and whatnot. I kept thinking to myself "Whackos... All of them. Even those that are enjoying the rain." As I was heading towards home, I passed through a game center that used to hold Pocket Circuit Races all the time back in the day. Days were spent buying cars and upgrading them and trying to compete in various tournaments. While I wasn't the best of the best, I was well respected by many. I even held the crown for the longest endurance racer, with 2 hours and 15 minutes on the track, without having to stop and getting my battery changed every 15 minutes. That tournament, rightfully called "Most Wanted" and was a race n' chase tournament, where I was being the chased one, put me on the spot for being a guy that was good at racing, but was an even better out-runner, I got a huge discount on parts for that win.
AND I slept like a baby and woke up feeling refreshed. But the revived Pocket Circuit Racing center was on my mind since yesterday, even throughout my whole slacking off, so I ate my cereal and headed out to find out what this was all about.
I went to the center and it was open. Entering the facility was like walking back in time. Place hasn't change a bit since the last time we were there, saying our goodbyes, whilst holding back our tears. I looked around for the entrance booth to ask what this was all about. I got there and there was a line of people. "Fuck me!", I thought to myself. Thankfully, the line disappeared quickly and it was my turn:
-"Welcome! What can I do for you today?"
-"Hello! I was wondering about this place. Didn't it shut down 6 years ago?"
-"Oh yeah it did. The original owners ran into some financial issues and couldn't keep the business going. Fortunately, not long after, a couple of dedicated racers decided to have talks with the previous owners to get it reopened again. Of course, ran by the same people that planned on reviving the whole Pocket Racing scene."
-"Really? I swear I never saw anyone come here before."
-"Well, the talks were held in a different neighborhood, where it was eventually reopened. Then the places got changed around, but not too much. This is the third location actually. We decided to bring it back to its original place. And it was a good move too. Plus, it's accessible for everyone from all over the city."
-"That's... Some epic shit right there, dude."
-"Indeed it is."
-"I see you still have the leaderboards for all those years ago."
I slowly approached the now called "legacy" leaderboards and found my name on the "Most Wanted" tournament board.
-"Ah yes. The "Most Wanted" tournament. It was quite the showdown. I still remember the day when I almost caught the racer on top, but his battery game was on point."
I quickly realized that the person I was talking to was an old rival from back in the day. He was on my ass throughout the chase, but he had to stop and change his batteries whenever he reached me. But, this time however, I was the one that had to recharge my batteries.
-"Heh. It seems that this time around, I am the one behind it all."
The organizer gave me a confused look.
-"I remember how close you were back then. Almost lost my balance trying to shake you off, Devil Killer"
And now the organizer was in disbelief... "YOU'RE... OH MY GOD!!!". He then quickly went to the back room and left me there standing and absorbing the confused stares of people that focused on me. Why did he have to shout? Oh well. I waited for a good minute and when he came back, he gave me a gift.
-"Open it!"
I opened it and I could not believe it yet again. It was my old car. I shed down some tears.
-"Go on, DRAG-ON. Show me you still got it."
I can't be bothered to explain in further detail, so I'll shorten it up. Basically. I kept winning races for 6 hours straight. People were confused about my skill. I was confused about my skill.
But that did not matter, since the thrill of racing with people never left, even during the whole slaying session. Afterwards, I was given a veteran role and a VIP pass for a bunch of cool new stuff, like new cars and upgrades, made by old school and new school players alike. Spent the whole weekend racing and having fun.
Truly, this was a Reunion I did not expect to experience.
Lord Slayer
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