“Look! There they are!” Loderse exclaimed. She could see the Jocks’ ’57 Chevy, a little blue dot on the horizon, growing bigger and bigger in her windshield. They were closing in on them quickly.
Moiraine turned around in her seat. “The Geeks are still right behind us but I don’t think they’ll be able to catch us!” she cried happily.
“We only have 10 miles to go, Loderse,” notMiceElf reminded her.
“Don’t worry, we’re going to win this thing,” Loderse replied, determined to catch the Jocks and pressing the gas pedal to the floor.
Right in front of them…
Inari was turned around in her seat. “Um, CH…” she started. CrestHawk and SmoothCriminal were busy talking sports. “Hey, SC…” she said urgently. Again she was ignored. Using her loudest Cheer Captain voice she yelled, “THEY’RE RIGHT BEHIND US!” This time she was not ignored.
“What the…” CrestHawk started. Inari was right. He could see the Greasers in his rearview mirror.
“Looks like your plan backfired, Hawk,” SmoothCriminal said. “They seem more determined than ever! And look! Right behind them are the Geeks! Where the heck did they come from?”
“I dunno,” CrestHawk said, “but they sure aren’t going to pass us!”
Within moments, even with CrestHawk pushing their car as far as it could go, the Greasers caught and passed the Jocks.
A few moments later…
A cry of celebration erupted from the crowd that had gathered outside the Blue Plate Special Diner as the GREASERS little black and red roadster was the first to pull into the parking lot. Word of the race had spread and a large group of people came to greet the winners. Loderse, notMiceElf, and Moiraine jumped out of the car, high-fiving and hugging each other. Right on their heels, the Jocks’ car swerved and squealed into the lot. They saw the Greasers celebrating and CrestHawk slammed his fists on the dashboard while SmoothCriminal put his head in his hands and Inari pouted, her arms crossed.
While the Jocks sulked in their car, the little green Plymouth carrying the Geeks pulled in. Jandelee, squib, and CrashCarson ran out of their car and over to the Greasers to congratulate them.
“We saw you beat them in the last two miles!” Jandelee said excitedly.
“Yeah, that was a great move, Loderse,” squib added.
“Congrats, guys!” CrashCarson said as they all congratulated for each other.
“Thanks but why are you so excited?” notMiceElf wondered. “You still came in last.”
“But we were only behind you by a few minutes! For us that’s a win!” Jandelee replied.
They all laughed together enjoying the Greaser victory until they saw a few familiar faces making their way through the crowd. CrestHawk appeared with SmoothCriminal and Inari following closely behind. They stopped, CrestHawk right in front of Loderse. There was a tense moment until CrestHawk put his hand out for a handshake. Loderse took his hand reluctantly.
“You know, that was a pretty dirty trick you pulled out there,” Loderse said.
“Yeah, I know,” CrestHawk answered. “And we just wanted to say we’re really sorry. But I guess the best team won. Even with our little, er, obstacle we gave you guys, you still had the best car. No hard feelings?”
“None!” Moiraine answered for her teammates. Loderse and notMiceElf both looked at her questioningly. “What? Oh, c’mon, we still have to go back to work with these guys!” she said. Everyone laughed and agreed.
“Hey, let’s all go inside and see what’s so great about this diner!” Inari said.
“Yeah,” CrestHawk agreed, “let’s go in and celebrate! Malts and fries on me!”
And with that, the Greasers, Geeks, and Jocks – and their pets – made their way into the diner. The Great Diner Race was over.
