"I wish you wouldn't do it. I worry about you every time you get in that formula one." Leena could understand what the attraction was. Out there on the track, with speed and passion, straining the limits of machine and man. It was a way to blow off a lot of stress, she knew. But it always made her heart beat faster in worry to think of her friend crashing.

  "Silly girl, what could happen? Don't you trust my skills?" Patricia said with a pretentious smile. She was one of the top three racers in the competition although she didn't get the grand prize. It was a good score, and definitely something to be proud of.

  "It's not about trust. Accidents happen. I just worry about you." Patricia was her BFF and she didn't want anything bad to happen to her.

  "This race is international. I don't want to give it up. It could mean big things," Patricia said with a bitter smile. She was fairly rich, and her family was well-educated. The world was her oyster, so why do something so dangerous? But she was the only one who understood why. Her life was boring. Her family was boring. She caught the rebellion bug, as bored teens often did, and started racing. Small-time at first, but she was hooked on the rush. Now, she was after bigger prizes.

  "But, your family will figure it out sooner or later," Leena said anxiously, frowning.

  "What about yours?" Patricia asked. "Does your family know what you did?" Patricia shot a meaningful glance at Leena. From the bottom of her heart, she wanted to be like Leena, carefree, able to pursue her dreams. But that was denied for her, so she chose t

  t any drama," Leena said and looked around awkwardly. She lowered her head when she found people were looking at them like that. The last thing she wanted was to be the center of awkward attention.

  "What is drama? Can you eat it, or sell it? No, you can't. So why should I give a rat's ass?"

  Patricia said in a reckless tone, rolling her eyes. She raised her eyebrow and thought, 'what a hypocrite.'

  "Hey, enough with the language. We're in a public place. Please stop saying 'ass' so much," Leena said, frowning. She must be nuts to agree to meet here. If she knew Patricia was going to fly off the handle like this, she would have selected a place they never went to.

  "You think 'ass' is a rude word? Then don't fart," Patricia said, and looked at Leena, daring her to say something. Patricia acted all high and mighty, so it was like the loser won the game. Leena felt very depressed at this exchange, but she could do nothing. The only thing she could do was to swallow her anger and bleed inside. Her friend was browbeating her into submission.