Race Your Heart Away by Amanda Ashwood

She’s racing. She’s speeding. Ladies and gentlemen Sam Dodger is one lap away from winning the Yellow County Piston Cup. Driving at 200 miles per hour, Sam Dodger crosses the finish line in first place. Congratulations, you’ve won the Cup. And the crowd goes wild – screaming, cheering for Sam. “Sam! Sam! Sam!” “Saammm! Wake up! You have chores to do!” Sam was ragingly woken up from an amazing dream by Mama. Sam’s dream is to win the Yellow County Piston Cup in the huge car racing event. Yellow County is where she lives, and there they have these huge racing events. It’s a huge deal and Sam was so disappointed that her winning the Cup was only a dream. I guess you could say Sam Dodger wasn’t like most girls. She didn’t like to shop, didn’t care about boys or prom. The only thing that mattered to her was racing. Sam went out back to get started on her chores and noticed her older brother, Ty, changing the wheels on his race car. Ty likes racing cars too. He taught her everything she knows. But as she’s getting older, Ty doesn’t really think car racing is an appropriate pastime for her. He thinks it’s too dangerous for her too be playing. “Aren’t you supposed to be at work?” Sam asked. “Shouldn’t you be doing chores?” Sam and Ty had the greatest relationship any brother and sister could have. Ty wasn’t at work however because he was fired at his job at the local market. He kept showing up late for his shifts and apparently his boss just didn’t like that he always smelled of car gas and wax. Of course Ty was more interested in racing than his job so he really didn’t give a hoot that he was fired. But he felt sorry for Mama though. The only reason he got that job at the market was to help Mama around the house, pay the bills and such. “What’s Mama ‘gon say when she find out you got fired?” Sam asked. Ty just looked up at her and stared with his piercing eyes as if he knew that Sam already knew the answer to her question. Sam figured that Mama already knew just based on how angry her mother was when she woke her up. “Everything’s gonna be alright Ty” Sam says as she hugs her brother. She jumps in her racecar and starts up the engine. “Race ya up Mulberry Hill” Ty drops his tools finishing his wheel exchange. “Sam, we have chores to do. Mama’s gonna be really angry.” Sam looks at him with a daring look, pushing her foot on the gas, tempting him to get in his car. Ty jumps in his car “See ya there!” He pulls off with Sam right behind on his tail. They rode on the dirt side of the road to stay out of traffic, not that there was much on a Sunday morning. Ty plunged his speed at high and went straight up Mulberry Hill. He made a sudden break and Sam swerved to the left so she wouldn’t hit him.  “Beat ya!” Ty boasted. They both laugh and are really just glad that they got to ride just for a little. Then suddenly, both Sam and Ty notice a huge flyer at the hill. It announced the huge racing event for the Yellow County Piston Cup emerging the following week – Winner wins ten thousand dollars. Ty’s heart was filled with joy and excitement and so was Sam’s but it wasn’t very visible because she knew Ty would have a heart attack if he knew Sam wanted to race. Sam turned to Ty steadily and took a deep breath and said, “Ty, I want to race.” Ty didn’t take a second to think about it. “No. No way I’m gonna let you race with those other guys on that track. It’s dangerous. No!” Tears started to weld up in Sam’s eyes but she held them back. “You let me race with you all the time. What’s the difference?” “The difference is that I’m your brother and I’m not them. They’re dangerous drivers; you could get hurt … badly. And what would Mama say? Huh? She’s already going through it.” Sam wiped the tears that fell from her eye and jumped in her car and drove back down to the yard. Ty stayed on the hill. He didn’t mean to make his sister cry and for that he was angry with himself. He only wants the best for her and doesn’t want to see her get hurt. Sam storms into the house to see Mama with her head down at the table. “What’s wrong Mama?” Sam asked. Mama lifts her head up as tears fall down her face. “I can’t do it. Not all by myself, I can’t. I have to take care of you and Ty ... and the house.” Sam hugs Mama in comfort. Sam stands up straight in realization of what she has to do so that Mama is okay. Ty walks in the kitchen shortly after, feeling like he just interrupted an emotional conversation. “What’s going on?” Sam quickly blocked Ty’s view of Mama and put her hands on her shoulder. “Everything is gonna work out fine Mama.” Sam leaves Mama at the table pulling Ty by the arm forcefully to her room. “Ty, I know you don’t want to hear this and quite frankly I don’t really care. I’m going to join that race!” Ty tries to interrupt her but Sam continues. “Mama is struggling right now and if I race I could win her that ten thousand dollar prize, I know I can.” Ty stares at Sam in denial. But deep down he knows that Sam is right. “Let’s do it… for Mama!” Sam’s smile widened from ear to ear. She jumps to hug Ty in excitement. “We’re gonna be in the race!” Sam and Ty practice and train nonstop during the day up until the day of the race came. People came from all over the county to participate in this race; it was huge. Sam and Ty get suited up to head to the start line along with all the other racers. They both positioned their cars right beside each other as the host starts making announcements getting closer to the start of the race. They both check their engines and wheels to make sure they’re all set. They both look at each other in confidence. “Ready little sis?” “As ready as I’ll ever be.” The host loudly yells, “THE RACE IS ABOUT TO BEGIN. RACERS IN YOUR CARS!” Sam and Ty jump in their racecars, still looking out to one another. The host starts up again after explaining their three laps and finish, “On your mark...” “All for mom” Ty whispers to Sam. “Get set!” “For mom...” Sam responds. GOOOO! All the racers take off, Sam right behind Ty. They were both driving at full speed, making every turn, blocking every pass. They were good, real good. By the second lap, Sam made it to second place with Ty right behind her in third. The racer in front of her was driving a yellow racecar with different advertising stickers on it, but the only thing Sam could think about was beating him in this race. They were on their third and final lap now. The yellow racecar was at full speed just as Sam was but when they got to the turn right before the finish line, he lost control of the car and sped way over right out of the tracks and he was done for- out of the race. That left Sam in first and Ty in second and in a matter of seconds; Sam was going to be crowned winner. The host jumps on the mic. “She’s racing. She’s speeding. Ladies and gentlemen Sam Dodger is seconds away from winning the Yellow County Piston Cup. Driving at 200 miles per hour, Sam Dodger crosses the finish line in first place. Congratulations! You’ve won the Yellow County Piston Cup!” Ty crosses the finish line right behind her. The crowd goes crazy cheering for Sam. Sam’s heart is beating with excitement and accomplishment. She did it! She won the Yellow County Piston Cup. Her dream actually came true. Sam gets out of her racecar and smiles at the crowd, waving alongside her brother. She was presented with a huge check for ten thousand dollars and a gold metal. This was the happiest day of Sam’s life. And of course, there were interviews and news reporters and photographers. But after all that was over, Sam and Ty raced their cars back to their yard and surprised their Mama with the check. She was overwhelmed, shocked. “Ten thousand dollars?” Mama was speechless… in a good way. “I won Mama. I won the Yellow County Piston Cup and we won the money. It’s all yours.” “Well ours” Ty jumped in. Mama exploded with tears of happiness and hugged her children. “Did I ever tell you how much I love you guys?” They all laughed and enjoyed Mama’s happiness. Everything worked out in the end, just as it should’ve. Sam finally made a name for herself and was one of the first female racers to win the Yellow County Piston Cup and she and Ty were able to proudly give their mother back for all the things she has ever given them.

THE END