Not"I hope you die so I look cool"?
They shake hands and even the handshake feels hostile. Great. I hate him already. The race hasn’t even started yet and everyone around me transforms into animals.
They are shouting. They are screaming. They are jumping. Gio’s circle is fun, chaotic, but some of the randoms here look like they stab innocent people for entertainment I swear.
Not gonna lie though, watching him in gear,thatfocused?
Holy shit.
Two young guys go first, barely nineteen. They race hard to the point they almost crash, but they hug each other after the race.
Now it’s Gio’s turn. I’m sweating bullets. Not because I think he’ll lose, hell no.
Because Escobar looks like a feral street goblin who wants Gio dead. He’s giving murder energy. Zero softness. Just "I have anger issues and drive expensive things."
They honk horns. Crowd goes wild.
Lorenzo is perched on his bike in the corner. "WHOOP HIS ASS, GIOVANNI," he screams.
The crowd yells back.
Gio spots me. He waves.
My heart does a back flip.
Then he shuts his visor.
The girl in front raises the flags. Everyone goes dead quiet.
Three. Two. One.
Flags drop. They explode forward. The whole crowd lurches with them as if we’re all tied to invisible ropes.
I grip the metal barrier in front of me just so I don’t start ripping my own hair out from the stress. Gio takes the lead for exactly half a second, then Escobar swerves way too close, forcing Gio to pull back unless he wants to lose a leg immediately.
"HEY!" I yell out loud. "HE DID THAT ON PURPOSE!"
The guy next to me laughs. "Yeah, man. It’s underground. Anything goes."
"Anything?!"
I’m offended.
Escobar cuts Gio off again, this time almost pushing him onto the sideline. I jab the elbow of the dude on my other side.
"Is THAT allowed?!"
"Yep." He shrugs. "Dirty racing is normal. If you complain, they’ll hit harder."
Great. Wonderful. Let me just go vomit in a bush.
The Ferrari sends a burst of acceleration and gains distance. My heart sinks. Gio stays on him though, with zero panic.
Every time Escobar tries something shady, Gio moves with this impossible precision, slipping away.
He’s not shook at all. I’m dying. He’s having the time of his life. The first tight turn comes fast. Escobar brakes late, tries to slide the back of the car out to block the road, but Gio does exactly what he told me earlier.
He leans in and cuts the angle so sharply I gasp out loud. He hugs the inside line and for the first time he actually fucking gets ahead.
