Tuesday, May 17, 2005

Zip Racer - Episode 1
Kiki rolled over in her bed and tried to block out the sound of shouting and zip engines from the track below. Those machines were fun to ride, but murder to listen to when you live next to the main racing ground. Kiki loved to race, but she also loved to sleep, so her choice of apartment may not have been the wisest.
Eventually, she gave in to the inevitable, and stumbled out of bed and into the shower. The water was cold, as usual, but she was used to it by now. After a quick wash, she climbed out and towelled herself dry. Leaving her chestnut hair to dry of its own accord, she pulled on her jeans, t-shirt and, most importantly, Dax's racing jacket. He had given it to her on their third date. That was almost two years ago. The jacket was her most prised possession, just as it had been to Dax.
She threw on her trainers and grabbed her zip board from the corner. In its compact state, it was about the size of a small plate. When fully extended it would be about as big as the box for an extra large pizza. Zip boards are pure scientific engineering, combining a skateboard and a hovercraft to form a truly incredible vehicle. The design was perfected years ago, and any modern modifications do nothing to improve the performance of the boards. Kiki’s board was a Zipper 900, the best model ever built, and the most valuable.
With the jacket and her vintage board, she was a legend on the track. Krashin’ Kiki, that’s what they called her. She had built up a reputation on the track after her very first race. She had always been a natural with a board, and that race showed it. The odds of newcomers winning on their first try were 100 to 1, and the one person that bet on her became a very rich man.
Kiki’s board had been a real clunker back then. She had had to repair it herself five minutes before the race, because she couldn’t afford a mechanic. The result was literally explosive. In the final lap of the race, it was just her and Corin Shanks, the greatest racer ever to grace the Santa Liza racing ground. The last lap of the race is always the most intense, as there will always be some kind of solid objects, whether it’s trees or rocky mountains, to obstruct the racers and cause them to crash. It is also the only part of the race where the contestants are allowed to purposely bump into each other. Kiki’s clunker took one hit too many under the onslaught of Corin’s titanium board, and buckled as she approached the finish line. Realizing the inevitable, she had jumped from the board and over the white line, looking up just in time to see the sparking board set fire to its fuel tank and explode in a shower of steel and engine fuel.
Despite the loss of her board, Kiki won the race. There is nothing in the rules of the sport that states that the racer must be on the board when crossing the line, only that both board and racer must cross before their opponents in order to win. Grand-standers in the pro races would often leap from their board and over the line when they were assured victory. Kiki’s win earned her a place in the Santa Liza Hall Of Fame, under “most impressive first race”.
Kiki took the stairs to the ground floor two at a time, wanting to get into the next race. Nina and Jinx would be waiting for her. The track was just a patch of desert just outside the town of Santa Liza, and Kiki could watch every race from her window. She walked through the crowds of people surrounding the various souvenir and snack stands. Zip races always attracted crowds, especially tourists. Even the unofficial races of this small town brought in hundreds of spectators.
Kiki found Nina and Jinx sitting in the shade of the mech shed, watching the young, shirtless mechanics repairing damaged boards. “I didn’t know guy watching was on the agenda for this morning.” She laughed. The girls stood up, batting the dust from their jeans. “We know.” Replied Jinx. “Just thought we’d get a look in while we were waiting for you.” Nina smiled and nodded in agreement. “Well, come on, you can look at hot mechanics all day. I have a race to win.” She took each of their arms and they walked together towards the race co-ordination office, where the contestants put their names down for their races. Nina looked up at the huge contestant board above them. “Of course, Jackson Heart is back!”
Jackson Heart was the only person to ever beat Kiki in a zip race, and she had been wanting a rematch ever since. “I presume that’s why you’re so eager to race this morning.” Said Jinx, even though she already knew the answer to her question. Kiki nodded, took her racer slip from the man at the office window and took up her position at the starting line. There he was, right beside her. Jackson Heart, surrounded as usual by his crowd of female admirers. Kiki couldn’t exactly blame them. He was gorgeous, and a great racer. But this time, she was going to beat him. She didn’t care how hot he was, he was going down.
The blue light on the signal board over the starting line flickered on, signalling the contestants to mount their boards. At once, fourteen compact boards were flung forwards to hover in the air in front of their owners. With a loud shiic each board expanded, making plenty of room for the racers to stand on. The fourteen contestants hopped onto their boards and watched the timer on the board go through the fifteen-second countdown to the start of the race. “Well,” she thought, as the timer hit one, “here goes nothing.”


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