Chapter 2: The Offer

October 5, 2020. Saturday

It was a crisp sunny day and John was motivated. It was his birthday and he was looking forward to spending time with his friends at school. He got up from his bed and made his way to the kitchen, where his mother was cooking something.

"Hey mum." John said.

"Happy birthday John." His mother said.

He had some pancakes for breakfast and got up. But he was stopped before he could.

"Everyone in our family has sent presents. They are in the living room. You might want to take a look" His mother said.

John got up and made his way to the living room. There were a lot of presents on the coffee table. He sat on the sofa and started looking whose presents were there, then he noticed a small box with a note tied to it, "from Jacqui". John opened it and saw a letter, which read.

/Hey John! Happy birthsday. I hope you're doing well. I know we haven't had our best relationship this year, but I hope that can change. How about you come over after school. I have another suprise for you. P.S. Take a look at the keys. The present is bigger than it looks./

John put the letter aside and took a key out of the box, it had a Lancia keychain on it. John packed his bag, went outside and found a Red Lancia Fulvia Coupe parked near their doorway. He remembered his younger years when he adored italian classics, especially that little red Lancia! When he got in it, it felt like swimming in the dreams of 9-year-old children. It is a Lancia, it ought to be brilliant... and it was. It was everything John expected it to be, pops, bangs, lumpy petrol, an essentially italian dashboard dominated by the very well made wood trim. When he drove it to school, everybody was suprised. Nobody expected him to arrive in a Lancia. Many didn't even know it was a Lancia. He parked it and went inside the school building. Everybody have been chattering about the top tier JDM fan, driving an Italian sports car from the pesky 50s. He met up with his friend Frank Clint, near the lockers.

"Everybody's talking about your akward choice of car, Scottish soldier." Frank said.

"Not like your choice of car is perfect, Pedestrian." John said.

John and Frank handshaked as a greeting and immediately went to their class. Along the way they talked about his Lancia.

"That Lancia...a birthday present?" Frank asked.

"Yep." John answered.

"Girls are already discussing, whats good dating you. They haven't decided yet wheather to-" Frank was interupted by 3 girls passing by.

"Hey John." They gigled.

Frank looked at John with an unamused face.

The Math classes were boring as James May's victorian poetry, t0he Physics lesson was as brilliant as talking about Richard Hammonds incompetence, the History lesson was about a really angry man with a silly mustache being spanked by an austrian goverment official and then a fat English bloke who smokes 8 cigars a day and drinks whiskey in the morning. The Chemistry class was as ordinary as Jeremy Clarkson's cunning genius.

The classes were over and most of the students were on the way to their homes. John wanted to go home from the exhausting school day but then he remembered he had to visit his brilliant cousin. He remembered that her address was written on the note in his present and set his phone's satnav for that address. He arrived at what looked like a gate leading to a mansion. He rang the bell, after a few seconds the gates opened and he drove in. The road was yellow gravel, surrounded by grass. He stopped near the building doors and got out. A butler came and led him to a small terrace with his cousin sitting behind a table sipping tea.

"Hey!" She greeted exitingly.

"Hey. Haven't met in a while." John greeted back.

"Sure haven't. By the way how's your little Fulvia." Jacqui asked.

"Brilliant. How did you know I liked Lancias???" John asked.

"I think you were five and I was about 9-years-old. I remember you had Lancia posters all over the wall in your room." Jacqui answered.

John didn't say anything, looking suprised that his cousin, who has rarely seen him, faintly remembered that her five-year-old cousin had posters of various italian vehicles. They continiued their lovely having some tea and custards, while talking about Vintage cars and JDMs.

"...Anyway, seeing you is not the only reason I called you. You have some skills behind the wheel. Goodwood festival is coming to Detroit next month. There are gonna be a lot of classics, including a lot of Americans. They are readying their muscle cars for the Waterford Hill Circuit. I want to show that the European style sports legends are more than a match for those muscle cars. Whaddya say?" Jacqui said.

Nobody was expecting The Goodwood festival coming to America, and it's not just a showcase of old cars on a stretch of road, it's a event consisting of many races across the country. Cars from across the time will participate.

"What cars are we racing?" John asked. Jacqui was much pleased.

"C'mon, I'll show." Jacqui said.

They got up from the table and walked to a garage as wide as America itself. The gates opened and they walked in. John had never seen so many classics in one place. There were Aston Martins, Bentleys, MG's, Lotuses etc.

"How long have you been collecting these?" John asked.

"3 bloody years of oily hands and a bit of money." Jacqui answered.

"And... what's this?" John asked.

He walked to a car with a familliar silhouette, covered up in a white black car cover. John noticed a Bugatti logo on it. He reached to take it off.

"Nah-uh-uh. Not now boogie. You may be fast, but you aint ready for this." Jacqui reached for his hand. John stopped.

"The first car we are taking to Waterford is this 1965 Ford Mustang GT350. Next week on Saturday." Jaqcui informed.

"I'll be there." John said.

"OK, let's see what can you do with this on my circuit." Jacqui said, signaling John to follow.

~~~