*************************************
Sam wanders into the kitchen later that day, a few hours before the race was to begin.
Rikki was there, doing something on the laptop. Rikki looked up at Sam for
just a minute.
"Hey. Getting ready for the race?" He asked.
"Um...yes. But I'm going to out for a while." Sam said as he backed away.
Rikki waves at him.
"Just be back in time for the race." Sam doesn't reply as he strolls
down the open ramp. He walks away from the clearing Big Air landed on
and just headed in a random direction. He hope Al would appear again and give him
some help.
After twenty minutes of walking aimlessly, he walks into a convience
store. There was only one or two other people in the place, including
the clerk. Heading straight to the back, he picked a 20 ounce cup
and poured some coffee into it. He paid and headed back outside.
He paused for a minute, realizing he had no idea where he was. He didn't even
remember which direction he had come in. Making a decision, he chose
the street to his right, cursing himself for not paying attention to where
he was going.
Ten minutes of walking in the direction he had chosen didn't bring any closer
to the plane or any familer buildings. He tried backtracking to the
convience store he entered earlier.
***********************************
Rikki paced around the conference room. Alex was already getting changed
for the race, but he hadn't seen Brandon anywhere. Alex come out and watched
Rikki for minute. ,br>
"Um...anything wrong, Rik?" Rikki stoped pacing at glared at Alex.
"Yes! It's ten minutes before the race and Brandon is nowhere to be found!"
Alex blinked.
"You don't know where he is?"
"He went for a walk a while ago, but I thought he would be back by now!
I swear, if he..." Alex put a hand on Rikki's shoulder.
"Calm down. If he's not in this race, it's not the end of the world. I just hope
he's allright" Rikki sighs and nods.
"You better get out there or Masters will get pissed." Rikki said.
Alex smiles and tries to lightnen Rikki's mood.
"Masters would get pissed if his shoelances were untied." Rikki grimanced
and shook his head.
"Just get out there..." Alex grinned and stuck his tongue out at Rikki
before leaving for the track.
Rikki stood still for a minute, thinking about what to do. Just then
his cell phone rang. He quickly picked it up off the table and answered
it.
"This is Rikki Syngh-Baines."
Sam hesitated, then spoke.
"Um...it's me."
"Brandon!" Rikki screamed into the phone. "Where are you? Why aren't you
here?!" Sam winced.
"Sorry. I'm sort of...lost."
Rikki stares blankly at the wall ahead.
"Lost." He repeated.
"Yes?"
"In the town you grew up in."
"Yes....."
"Brandon?"
Sam waited for a minute before replying, almost afraid of
what Rikki would say next.
"Yes?"
"You're an idiot."
***********************************
Alex leaned against his pillow and took a break form answering fanmail.
He could hear Rikki even through the door of his quarters. He shook
his head, grateful that he wasn't in Brandon's shoes right now. Right
now Brandon was banned from even leaving the plane for the next two weeks.
And it sounded like Rikki wasn't even close to finishing. He sighs and
turns on his laptop. Now was a good time as ever to respond to fanmail.
He opened the first message in the mailbox. After reading half of it,
he realized it wasn't from a fan. He stared at the screen, unable to
believe his eyes. Making a decision, he turned off the computer and walked
out to the kitchen. He noticed Grinder sitting at the table.
"Hey, Grinder." Alex greeted him. Grinder nodded back.
"A-man." Alex glanced at the door of Brandon's room, where Rikki was still
yelling.
"So, anything new?" Alex said as he gestured to the door. Grinder simpley
shook his head.
"I stopped listening half an hour ago."
Alex shrugs.
"Anyway, I'm going out. Tell Rikki I'll be back later tonight. And I won't
get lost." Grinder chuckles a bit and waves.
"I will. Have fun."