A One-Act Play by Byron W.
Performance: February, 2003
Youth Guidance Center, San Francisco
TIME: Summer, 2003
PLACE: THE DETROIT AUTO SHOW
A big museum with over 500 cars. You can see Benzes, BMW’s, Bentley Rolls Royces, Aston Martins, to old school muscle cars from the early 1900’s including a 1950 Chrysler 300B push rod. They’re on a showroom floor with 300 of the best cars. King, the ’69 KOR Mustang and Wildcat, the ’69 Mercury Cougar happen to be two of them. Daily it’s filled with tourists, admirers, and companies that want to show what they are planning on introducing in the future. There’s an auto body in the back. In the showroom it smells like when you have a new car, a new leather scent. But when you go the racetrack, all you see and hear is high performance car and smell burnt gas. Most of the cars cost a quarter of a million or more. When you walk inside the Detroit Auto Show, you feel good, like ownin’ a new car.
AT RISE: King, the ’69 KOR Mustang is just sittin’ there letting the admirers take pictures of him, eyeballing Wildcat, the ’69 Mercury Cougar at the same time.
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| King: |
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Why you keep sabotaging my car?
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| Wildcat: |
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I don’t know what you’re talking about Mr. Indy 500. Why don’t you go to Mo’s and get another detail?!?
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| King: |
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Man, I don’t even want anymore beef. I’m just trying to make it. You’re my best friend. You shouldn’t be trying to bring me down. You should be trying to bring me up. |
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| Wildcat: |
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What have you done for me? You haven’t done anything but brag about how fast you are, how clean your engine is, and how nice you sound. Let me ask you something. Everytime you put in a form to race at the Indy 500, or every time you ask a 1939 Push Rod Ford about it, did you mention my name?
(silence)
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| King: |
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Man, I’m not trying to brag, I’m just happy that I made it. I known you for 34 years. It’s not like we can’t be friends when I go to the Indy 500 tomorrow. It doesn’t make any sense to bring you any racing forms when you’re too slow to race. I’m not saying that in a disrespectful manner, but let’s look at the facts: you accelerate too slow, you basically just take too long to catch speed and when you do catch speed, it’s only 130 mph max. You’re dealing with cats at 160 to 200 mph. You just have to practice more but I also need your support. Sabotage me if you want to but you will live with it for the rest of your life and then I will break the friendship. So if you want to lose 34 years at a low expense, do it ‘cause no matter what you say, I’m gonna race. But I will bring you to the top with me if we could just call this off. I’ll mentor you in your racing. Just please support me. I just want to complete my greatest wish which is to win the Indy 500 so I can gain the experience and the wisdom the average car doesn’t have.
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| Wildcat: |
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(Although he feels crushed, he doesn’t show it)
Yeah, whatever. Go to you race. When you wake up, wit your bolts and spark plugs missin’ you’ll know who it is ‘cause I ain’t going out like that. You either get me in racing or take your chances racing. |
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| King: |
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Oh it’s like that now? |
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| Wildcat: |
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Oh it just like that. What you don’t understand is that’s my greatest wish which is to race in the Indy 500. Since we was young, you’d always been selfish. You’ve just been dealt a bad hand ‘cause it’s my turn now. Watch your tires when you drive. That’s all I gotta say.
(By the time the conversation is ended, the museum closes so wildcat starts himself up and whips out of the lot. After staying up half the night, King falls asleep, wakes up later on finding his hood up. He notices that his nitrous system is gone three hours before the cargo plane comes to pick him up. He closes his hood, starts his engine, and spots Wildcat at the strip).
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| King: |
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(while chasing Wildcat)
Why the hell you take my nitrous system? And why can’t I catch you? |
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| Wildcat: |
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I’ve hooked your nitrous system up to my engine. Looks like you wont’ be racing today ‘cause the only way getting it is if you catch me. |
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| King: |
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Man I swear this whole situation’s made you crazy. Why you actin’ so jealous?!? |
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| Wildcat: |
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I wouldn’t call it jealous. Revenge is a better word. You’re nothing but scrap metal to me. |
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| King: |
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What can I do for you to stop sabotaging me and discouraging me? You’re making a really big deal outta this. |
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| Wildcat: |
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That’s easy. Just don’t race. What’s so hard for you to understand? |
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| King: |
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Whaddya mean “What’s so hard for me to understand”? It’s my greatest wish. I’m not going to throw my life away because of you. Friend or no friend, I’m gonna race. If you wanna let this one day ruin 34 years, it’s up to you but I’m leaving. I don’t need nitrous to race. I’ll race stock if I have to.
(King drives back to the museum) |
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| Wildcat: |
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(mumbles to himself)
You’re not just going to get away with this.
(rattles his engine and it hits King’s backend) |
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| King: |
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What the…? What’s wrong wit you bru? You got serious mental health issues. |
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| Wildcat: |
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Yeah, we’ll see.
(chases King through the racing track, makes a hard turn and ends up flippin’ on his back) |
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| King: |
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(runs up to see if Wildcat’s hurt)
You alright? |
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| Wildcat: |
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Man, don’t talk to me. I don’t care if I’m on my roof or whatever. You’re not getting this nitrous system.
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| King: |
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So that’s how you feel?
(silence. King notices the sun rising.)
I’ll race without the nitrous, but I’m gonna do what I dreamed my whole life. My plane should be here in 30 minutes or so and by the end of the day, I’m gonna have you feelin’ worse ‘cause I’m gonna win the Indy 500 without the nitrous.
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| Wildcat: |
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So help me god, “I”ll kill you”. I will not be made a fool of by you. |
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| King: |
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Get ready, ‘cause you’re about ready to be made one.
(the plane lands)
When I come back from my race, I might consider being friends but ‘til then you gotta go.
(King opens Wildcat’s hood, takes apart his coil, shutting off his engine. He drives to the plane and gets ready to be loaded.)
I’m gonna win this race. |
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The End. |
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