Chapter 2

The walk to the parade of shops at the end of my street would usually take ten minutes. I was there in five. My adrenaline was still high with what occurred a half-hour ago. I dug my hand into my jeans pocket for my smartphone. Retrieving it, I pushed the quick dial button for Nick’s number; it went to voice mail after several rings. I tried again once I was outside Tony’s chip shop. Nick answered on the second ring.

“Hey, what’s up, buddy,” he cheerfully said.

“Nick, don’t go to my house. I’ll be at the chip shop down my street waiting for you.”

“What’s happened this time?” There was a pause in Nick’s voice. “I’ll be there in a half-hour. Have you eaten yet?” he worriedly said.

“No,” I replied.

“Wait for me inside the shop. We’ll grab something to eat when I get there. Got to go, mate, I just got out of the shower, and I’m dripping all over the carpet.” The line went dead.

Tony’s chip shop was jam-packed with customers. I got in line in the queue and patiently waited for my turn to get served. I could see Tony, the proprietor behind the counter, preparing some fillets of fish with batter. His son next to him was getting them and putting them in the deep-fryer. Tony’s wife Mary was at the till serving the customers. Friday was Tony’s most active day, as most Brits would have ‘Fish and Chips’ at the end of the week.

When Tony observed me, he raised both his eyebrows as a hello gesture and smiled. Once it was my turn to get served, Tony swiftly wiped his hands on his apron, then hurried to the counter to take my order.

He placed his hand on Mary’s shoulder and whispered in her ear, “have a break for five minutes, honey.” Seeing me, she smiled. With a kiss on her husband’s cheek, she disappeared into the back of the restaurant for a break.

“Hey, Mike. What will it be today?” Tony said.

“I’ll have a coffee to takeaway. When my friend comes, we’ll order something to eat.” My eyes wouldn’t meet his eyes, something I would do when I was annoyed. He noticed at once that I was upset.

He pushed some numbers on the cash register before he repeated the order. “That will be one coffee and two large fish and chips to eat here. That will be...” He started scratching the side of his head with his index finger. A moment later, he said, “That will be five quid, Mike.” He asked one of the waitresses to prepare a coffee and take it to an empty table she had just cleaned.

I stood there with a twenty-pound note in my hand. Before I could protest, Tony snatched the money out of my hand, replacing it with a fiver and a tenner. Tony then motioned me towards a table behind me. I sat down. Within a couple of minutes, the waitress brought me my hot beverage.

Tony and my father were best friends. Dad would always come and help Tony after work on a busy day. After my father passed away, mom wasn’t too good; she went into a depression. She didn’t have anybody close, like family. Her parents passed away before I was born, and my father was an orphan. Dad had a brother who lived abroad. Mum contacted him, but he was too busy to be concerned with his brother’s funeral. Tony and Mary were there for mum and me. Tony would always ask me if everything was ok at home or if I needed anything for school. I believe mum spoke with Mary about the problems we had at home. She needed someone to talk to.

I didn’t have to wait too long for Nick. On entering the shop, he spotted me straight away. He came over and slid into the seat opposite me. With a concerned look on his face, he said. “Is everything ok, Mike?”

“Everything is good, Nick.” I tried my best to smile, but I wasn’t fooling him.

“Don’t grin at me and pretend everything is ok.” He responded with an annoyed tone in his voice. He looked at me for a moment before he proceeded. “You know there are places your mother can go for help for abused women.”

Before I could answer back, Tony came over with our meals. “Two large fish and chips for you gentlemen,” he said.

We thanked him before he retreated behind the counter, where he carried on with his work. No more was said about what was happening at home. We both buried our faces in our meals. Like always, I finished eating first. Dad always advised me, “Mike, you have to chew your food properly before you swallow it.” With that memory in my mind, I looked at my best friend eating, and I smiled. Once Nick had finished, we reviewed our strategy for the race we had later on in the evening, or should I say, in the early hours of the morning.

It was a four-mile race between two cars. Alan will be driving his vehicle, and Nick is driving our Beamer. Nick and I flicked coins the previous day on who would drive the Beamer. Nick won. Alan had a newer and more powerful BMW, which he customised with Eddy. Ours was an older model with most of the parts restored or replaced with upgraded components. Plus the mod-chip we installed lately. The race was on the A10 at 02:00hrs. At that time there will be no cars on the road. It will start from Cheshunt and end when the first car drives under the Hoddesdon flyover.

Nick began to go over the race details one more time. “The start of the race is at the crossroads between Church Lane and the A10 Great Cambridge Road. The vehicles will start next to each other at the traffic lights. Further down the A10, there is a speed camera. The race starts once you cross the last camera road marking. If the speed camera gets triggered by us going too fast, the race will be a forfeit. If everything goes as planned from the start, the competition ends four miles down the dual-carriageway. The winner is the first car that goes under the Hoddesdon flyover.” When Nick finished, he waited for my response.

I gave him a light punch on the shoulder and said, “Just make sure you have your headlights on.”

“Why?” he asked, with a bewildered look on his face.

“Because the A10 has no street lights. There won’t be any cars in front of you. You will need your beams to get a better view of the road.” I chuckled. “Alan will be too busy gazing at your tail lights.”

We stayed at Tony’s until closing time, which was well after midnight. We drove around for a while before proceeding onto the A10 towards Cheshunt.

We were going to join the others at the King James pub, in the centre of Cheshunt, near the Old Pond. As we drove by the pub, we noticed Alan standing outside next to his car. He was mingling with some locals. His project partner, Eddy, was seated inside the vehicle. His face, inches away from his smartphone. He was in a world of his own. Nick did a swift U-turn, causing the tyres to screech on the tarmac. He pulled over next to Alan’s vehicle. He got his attention and the perception of a crowd of people who appeared from all directions. It didn’t take the masses long to form a gathering around the two Beamers.