Chapter 1: Morning Outrun

When Kate Westmaster padded in her tattered brown bedroom slippers into the sun-flooded kitchen, she wasn’t prepared for the ungodly sight. The refrigerator doors were wide open and a carton of orange juice gaped at her, all the juice dripping slowly and lazily out. On the kitchen counter was a mess of beer bottles and an ashtray over-heaped with cigarette butts. And fast asleep on the floor, she found out when she rounded the kitchen counter, were three men, one of them was her father.

“Oh no,” she shut her eyes in exasperation. But when she opened them again, nothing had changed.

“Not again,” said a male voice from behind her.

“Oh yes,” she said and made a move to close the refrigerator door. “Let’s just leave them where they are.”

“Let’s,” said her brother, Kieran as he went into the pantry to fetch a mop. She cleared out the empty food boxes from the fridge and dumped them into the small trash can that stood near the stove. Then Kieran stuffed the beer bottles into it and in no time at all it was full. She picked it up and carried it out of the house and chucked it into a larger trash can outside. When she got back into the kitchen, Kieran had already gotten started on a pile of toast. The sleeping people on the floor were duly ignored.

“Are you going to do something about them?” she asked.

“They’ll take care of themselves.”

“Wasn’t Dad supposed to be with Kay?”

“He was. But then again, he loves her brothers as much as he loves her.”

Kate snorted. “Slut.”

“Hey,” said Kieran gently, “at least he’s out 90 of the time.”

“Only a slut can love someone who beats up his own kids,” she said sarcastically as she took a bite out of her toast. A groan sounded from the floor. She was tempted to give it a good kick.

“Let bygones be bygones, Kate.”

“I can’t. And I won’t.”

“It does not do to live in hatred.”

“Don’t you try to be a saint, Kie. It disgusts me.”

He laughed. “It does feel awkward.”

Kate finished her toast and took a quick look at her watch. “Oh God, I’m going to be late. See ya, Kie.” She got up from her seat and pecked her brother lightly on the cheek.

“Drive safe, Kate.”

She grinned back at him. “You know I won’t.”

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Since Kate lived in a farmhouse some miles outside of a little town in Westchester County called Midfeld, the drive to school was a bit of an adventure. She drove a pitiful Daihatsu Charade CX, but strangely she loved it to bits. It wasn’t just the quirky shape and the fact that it was a pretty rare car, it drove unusually well too, even if it wobbled when she turned at a corner at high speed. But after years driving such an unstable car, somehow she had come to terms with the flaw and learnt to adapt to it.

It used to belong to Kieran when he was in high school. Now that he was in to college, he had worked and saved enough money to graduate to a Nissan Silvia S14. The Charade was left to his little sister to help her get through her last years in school. The Charade had been a gift from their parents before they divorced six years ago and Mom moved to Oregon to be as far away as possible from their violent father. At first, Kate and Kieran were delighted that they were divorcing. That would mean that they would be free from their father forever. However, Mom did the most surprising thing: she relinquished her maternal rights on her own children. Ever since then, Kate and Kieran had decided that the only ones who are able to take care of them were themselves.

It was with these thoughts that Kate drove along the Midfeld-Gosford road, lost and dazed yet somehow still connected to the world. She carelessly spun the steering wheel and shifted between the gas and the brake whenever a corner came up. The speed limit was graciously ignored. Minding the meter would mean being late. Besides, this road was a road that was loathed by rational, God-fearing drivers. Only the truly crazy and desperate, like Kate would think of using the ill-maintained road. The sane drivers preferred to take the new Midfeld-Gosford road that had been built last year. Since then, the route that Kate was currently traveling along regularly was christened as the Old Road.

The main reason why people hated the Old Road was the multitude of hairpins and unexpected turns found at all angles, it being a mountain road since Midfeld and Gosford were separated by hilly country. Kate didn’t hate them, yet she didn’t think she liked them either. She just didn’t have a choice.

One day, she thought as she shifted the gear, stepped on the accelerator and steered her car into a particularly nasty bend with gritted teeth, I’ll get the bloody heck out of here. The sound of her tires screeching and grinding against vegetation was music to her ears.

Suddenly came a loud, obnoxious squeal of tires and the rev of an engine ten times the power of her own. She looked at her rearview mirror. A metallic blue Toyota Supra performed a hang time behind her and bumped on the road, nearly kissing the bumper of her Charade. A little intimidated by this even more fearless driver, she turned on the emergency lights and slowed down for him to pass.

Big mistake. The Supra deliberately shoved its nose into her back, spurring her forwards most ungracefully. Agitated, she whipped her head around and swore silently under her breath. The heck?

The Supra crashed into her again and that did it. She turned off her emergency lights with a vengeance and floored the gas. The race was on.

Kate was not even remotely aware of the speed she was going at; all that mattered was showing this meathead that she was no easy picking. Just because she drove a Charade . . . the Supra came up to her side and she jerked the steering wheel, slamming into its side. Probably caught of guard, the other car spun from the impact and Kate zoomed past; but the victory was not for long. Her opponent came back for more, edging her bumper and dangerously close to pushing her off the road and into the trees to nevermore.

That’s not about to happen, she thought furiously. Ahead came a hairpin, and she smiled. She was good at this. She stepped on the gas and, reaching that invisible braking and turning point, she braked and spun the steering wheel to its limit, hoping that the length of her car was enough to make a clean cut.

It was enough. She accelerated and checked the rearview mirror. The Supra was still struggling with the hairpin. Somewhat relieved, a laugh escaped her lips.

Ah, the sweet joy of victory.

---

“Kaaaate . . . hello, you still on earth?”

“Hmm?” The bell had just only rung; but her win over the Supra was still fresh in her mind: her good-for-nothing Charade had taken over a high-flying, turbo-powered Supra! Whew, what a blowout! Right now, everything else might just as well be Aramaic.

“I repeated that question three times already; and if you keep on not bothering to look at the steps in front of you, you’ll fall, I swear.”

Kate laughed. “Oh, come on Jill; ease up.”

Jill Keller rolled her eyes and flipped her neat, blonde hair over her shoulder. Sometimes, Kate wished she was as pretty as Jill; all she had was plain brown hair. Jill had tried to ease her dissatisfaction by pointing out that she had lovely curls and her hair was a nice, chocolate brown, but Kate didn’t buy it.

“Give me ten good reasons why I should.”

“Goodness, Jill, will you just ask the bloody question?”

“All right, all right, I was asking if you’d be up for a cuppa at Smokehouse after this?”

“I can’t; I’ve got work,” shrugged Kate, adjusting the strap of her backpack. “Why don’t you ask that – I can’t remember his name – the one you’re currently dating, you know, that blondie whose hair looks as if he just got out of bed?”

“His name is Seth,” huffed Jill, but that didn’t deter the smile on her face.

“Ah ha, Seth,” Kate couldn’t help but grin. “Get him to accompany you.”

“You think I haven’t tried? He’s got football practice immediately after school,” Jill looked back at the school building, “that’s now.”

“I thought football and cheerleading start together?”

“The Griffins are up against the Gosford Blackbirds in two weeks’ time,” said Jill patiently, hugging her books more tightly to her chest.

“So they need more practice. Okay, I totally get it,” said Kate, twisting her grin to be as sadistic as possible. Jill slapped her shoulder. “Hey!”

“Okay, okay, I’m sorry! Didn’t mean to insult your dearly beloved. Hey hey let me go all right, I said I was sorry! I’m running late for work.’

“I will let you go if you tell me – where the heck do you work at?”

Kate stuck out her tongue as they neared her charade. “Can’t tell ya.”

“What? Kate – I’m your best friend!”

“Nope! Jill, let me go!”

“Kate!”

Kate snatched Jill’s books out of her hands and ran a distance, setting it on the ground, and then hurriedly jog back to her car, unlocked it, and got into the Charade.

“Kate!” yelled Jill as she laughed.

She waved and winked and exited the school carpark.

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