The Secret of Ella and Micha

“Just sit around and watch them work on cars all day? God, that must have been nice.”
    I slurp on my Icee, my eyes fastened on Micha and Ethan working on the car on the opposite side of the garage. They’re trying to work too fast and it’s making me nervous. “No, I used to work on the cars with them.”
    She dumps a bag of M&M’s into her hand. “Do you want to go help them right now?”
    “I can hang out here with you,” I say and stick out my hand. “Besides, I’m kind of enjoying myself.”
    She dumps some candy into my hand and I pour the chocolate into my mouth.
    “I know you are.” She sets the candy on the floor and picks up her soda. “You’re practically glowing.”
    I rest my face in my hand to hide the alleged glowing. “This makes me nervous.”
    “What does?”
    “Racing when the car’s not running good.”
    Lila pulls her hair out of the ponytail and tousles it with her fingers. “Why? Can something go wrong?”
    “With racing, anything can go wrong,” I say, mad at myself for getting Micha into this mess.

    Micha
    I kick a tool box out of the way and step up onto the bumper, staring down at the engine. “So what do you think?”
    Ethan wipes his hands on a rag as he shakes his head. “I have no clue if this quick fix is going to hold up or not and we don’t have time to check the tie rods. If you got hit hard enough, they’re probably bent and your whole steering is going to be fucked up.”
    “I guess we’ll find out when we get it going.” I glance over at Ella and Lila, laughing in the corner of the garage.
    “You’re not going to take her with you when you race, are you?” Ethan rounds the back of the car and starts checking the tire pressure.
    “Not with the car running like it is.”
    “And what if she gives you a hard time.”
    “She won’t.” I check the oil. “At least I think she won’t.”
    Ethan wipes his hands on his jeans. “I think that all depends on which Ella you’re dealing with. The nice, polite one or the one who got you into this mess.”
    I look over at Ella again as she bends over to get a soda from the cooler behind the chairs. Her short shorts ride up and the bottom of her ass peeks out. After getting a drink, she drops back in her chair and opens it up, laughing at something Lila said. I adjust myself and slam the hood of the car down. “I think she might be a little of both.”
    ***
    “Why are there so many more people tonight?” Lila asks from the backseat, gaping at the cars parked up and down the road. “It wasn’t this bad the last time we were here.”
    The girl is scared shitless and I kind of feel bad for her. “Mikey likes to draw a crowd.”
    “To watch him lose?” she asks, prodding Ella with her elbow.
    “Maybe,” I say with a heavy sigh, psyching myself out as I climb out of the car.
    The three of them follow me out and Ella takes my hand as we hike through the crowd where Mikey’s talking smack to some skater dude who drives a Honda in the middle of the crowd, showing off for everyone. There’s a bonfire burning over near The Hitch and people sitting on tailgates, drinking beers, waiting for the race to start.
    I push my way through the crowd, keeping a hold of Ella’s hand. When we step out into the open, everyone looks at us and gossip starts flowing.
    Mikey stops talking and claps his hands loudly. “Holy crap, I didn’t think you’d actually show up.”
    “Do I ever not show up?” I say. “You’re the one that backed out the last time we tried to race.”
    He spits on the ground and crosses his arms. “So which one of you’s racing? The little one with the big mouth that got you into this mess? Or are you gonna race me yourself?”
    Ella starts to move forward. “I’m—”
    “I am.” I squeeze her hand, pulling her behind me.
    “Micha,” she hisses. “This is my thing. I can handle it.”
    I shake my head, not looking at her. “Let’s line up and get this over with.”
    Mikey grins, rubbing his hands together. “What? You eager to get your ass kicked?”
    “No, I’m eager for you shut up.” With that I turn away and head back to the car with Ella in tow.
    “Micha Scott,” she says, tugging on my arm and planting her feet in the dirt, trying to get me to stop walking.
    Ethan and Lila are a ways back and Ethan’s trying to explain to Lila the rules of racing. I keep walking forward, dragging her along with me, refusing to let her have her way this time—not with this.
    “Stop