TEAM OUTRIDERS
Our team is presently stopped at the gas station.
Blake is presently engaged in a conversation with the Team Moss Boss, Luigi is filling the car, while Zach is somewhat distracted.
Zach: Whoa! Look at that cashier.
Marc: She is pretty, you should say something to her.
Zach: I don’t know.
Marc: Trust me, here’s what you say…
Luigi: Oh hell no! Remember what happened the last time Marc gave you advice on what to say to a girl?
Zach: Oh yeah…
Luigi: This is what you tell her… (whispers his suggestion.)
(Zach walks into the station, speaks to the cashier, and promptly gets slapped.)
Marc: How’d it go?
Zach: How the hell do you think?
Marc: What did you tell him to say?
Zach: His suggestion was as follows and I quote: “Hey baby, once you go white, you know you’ve done right!” (This lovely woman was black.)
Marc: Ha!
Luigi: And thus is a valuable lesson learned.
Zach: What lesson?
Marc: Trust is the biggest liability of all.
Blake: Good lord, we still fueling? That other team finished ages ago.
Luigi: A: This car has a bigger tank, B: This car goes through that tank faster than theirs does. It’s unfortunate but that’s how it is. (click) Ah, here we go.
Blake: Okay, let’s make some tracks!
Marc: Hang on, we should get something to snack on at the station.
Blake: Didn’t Zach do that?
Luigi: Not quite.
Blake: What were you doing in there?
Zach: Don’t ask.
Marc: I’ll be back in five.
(Five minutes later our team is in the car and on the road.)
(The team is currently listening to Motorpsycho Nightmare by Bob Dylan which I could not find a proper version on Youtube.)
Luigi: Think we can overtake that other team?
Blake: I’m certain of it.
Zach: You seem awfully sure of that.
Blake: They’re gonna stop at Fort Snelling for a tour.
Marc: We have any plans for stopping?
Blake: I thought about it, but I think our best bet is to power through.
Marc: Oh by the way, I explained to that cashier what happened and apologized for it.
Zach: Well, that’s a bit late for that, besides, he was the one who gave me that advice.
Marc: Yeah, but he’s Italian, they don’t know how to apologize.
Luigi: Bite me. Besides, it’s good for the kid to learn some humility.
Zach: Every waking moment of my life?
Blake: What can I say? Life’s a bitch.
Zach: Yeah, whatever. Maybe I can start something with Alice back home.
Blake: Who’s Alice?
Zach: Alice Shepard, the receptionist at Petoskey HQ.
Marc: You mean the bosses’ daughter?
Zach: She’s not the bosses’ daughter.
Marc: Yes she is.
Zach: Why doesn’t her last name match?
Luigi: Because she has her father’s last name, Daniel Shepard. At least until their divorce last year.
Blake: Wait a minute, you mean to tell me you’ve been flirting with the daughter of Eleanor Ventnor, owner/CEO of Petoskey Motors ZLC and you didn’t even know it?
Marc: That is rich.
Zach: Oh my God!
Luigi: Just think, if your efforts lead to an acquittal, she’ll be most grateful.
Blake: So that’s your plan, marry into wealth. You’ve got it all figured out.
Zach: I… I… I didn’t know!
Marc: So what?
Zach: So, this changes everything!
Marc: How?
Zach: It… I… um…
Blake: I think he means to say, if you like this girl, her family connection doesn’t mean anything.
Zach: I suppose.
(Our team presses on, with Zach trying to wrap his head around a large revelation)