Chapter I

The Nursery

 

 

 

BING-RING  BING-RING     BING-RING  BING-RING

 

‘Eer!’ I groan, struggling to reach the alarm on my computer at twelve A.M. My outstretched arm is still asleep and my eyes are heavy. I give up. It’s too far away.

‘Alarm off.’ I moan to the computer as clearly as I can without yawning.

 

“Request Acknowledged”

 

Finally, it’s quiet again. Wait? Why did I set my alarm for today? I never set alarms, especially not this early.

Hmmm?

‘Computer!’ I say to the device on my bedside desk while rubbing my drowsy eyes, ‘Show calendar.’

A bright screen illuminates my dark room and almost blinds me. I force my eyes to open with a squint and can make out that there are words written on today’s date.

‘Computer, read whatever’s on today.’

 

“The year is five thousand, four hundred and thirty-two. Today is the first of September and is the one-thousandth anniversary of Parida.”

 

Gasp! My eyes open as wide as a planet and I forget how tired I am.

‘It’s Parida Day!’ I gleam, ‘Backrest up!’

Vrrrr – my bed sounds as it shapeshifts into a chair.

‘Window blinds open!’ I cheer, and surly enough the blinds automatically retract to let in the beaming sunlight. I feel so excited! This has always been my favourite time of year! (Except for Christmas, and Easter. But besides those, it’s definitely my favourite time of year.)

 

Parida Day is the anniversary of when our nation was founded and it is such a massive festival. There are games, concerts, feasts, speeches, parades and awesome stuff like that. This year is going to be the biggest festival of all because we’re turning one thousand. We’ve already had some cool stuff happen this year to celebrate, like the history exhibition and the new movie released about our founding, but today, today is going to top it all.

And you’ll see why soon.

 

‘Oy, Zianna! Wake up! It’s Parida Day!’ I shout across the room to my big sister, who’s still asleep. I know what you’re thinking. A boy and his sister share a room during their early teens. Yeah, it’s pretty normal around here.

I see her stir a little, but she doesn’t wake up, even after the alarm and the sunlight.

Hmm, I wonder how I should wake her. I can’t let her sleep in any longer, we need to get ready for my big race. That’s when I notice our bouncy ball on my desk. We sometimes pass it between each other before going to sleep. I aim it carefully towards her and then toss. It sours through the air and PLUNK! It hits her right on the nose and wakes her instantly.

‘Hur?’ she moans, noticing the ball that rolled next to her face.

‘ . . . Zemick!’ she barks my name, ‘Backrest up!’

Oh no, she sounds mad. Her backrest slowly rises to reveal her cross, wide-awake face glaring straight at me.

‘What was that?’ She snaps, holding out the ball in a tight fist.

‘Sorry Zianna, but you missed the alarm. It’s Parida Day. We need to get ready for the race.’

‘Well, you could have just asked Spine to wake me properly!’ She complains, rubbing her red nose. Then she chucks the ball across the room and crosses her arms.

I guess she’s right. I could have gotten Spine to wake her properly, but where’s the fun in that?

 

‘Spine!’ I call.

Then a t-shaped robot detaches itself from the back of my seat and hovers around to meet my face.

‘Good morning, Zemick’ It says.

‘Morning, Spine’ I return.

‘What would you like for breakfast today?’

‘It’s a special occasion, so let's make it pancake cereal, a hash brown on the side and a strawberry milkshake, please.’

‘Compliance.’ It replies, before zooming through the air towards the kitchen.

‘Oh, but wait!’ I shout and it turns to look at me again. ‘Could you fetch our ball and put it on my table, please? It landed on the floor again.’ I point to a spot right next to my seat. The ball is just outside of arm's reach.

After accomplishing my request, my robot presumes its quest to the kitchen. Then Zianna summons her backseat robot so she can order her breakfast. She calls her backseat bot Fetch because it fetches stuff for her. I call my backseat bot Spine because it lives on my backrest.

 

A moment later the robots both return with our orders. We both have bowls of mini pancakes, swimming in maple syrup. Zianna didn’t bother getting a hash brown and chose the chocolate milkshake instead. Now even though this food might have sounded unhealthy in the past, nowadays it has been induced with scientific properties that are incredibly healthy. Most of our food is like that. That’s why we’re all in such great physical condition.

After Zianna leads us in a short morning prayer, I start guzzling up the pancake cereal, crunching my hush brown with an open mouth and slurping down the milkshake.

‘Zemick! Can’t you just eat with your mouth closed for once in your life?’ She complains.

‘No,’ I mumble with a stuffed face and a cheeky smile, ‘I’ve got to eat in a hurry if I’m going to be ready for the race.’

‘But you don’t need to rush. It isn’t until much later.’

‘I know,’ I return, ‘but I want to fit in lots of time to get ready. If I don’t win this year’s Parida Day Drift Seat Race then it will be my third year in a row!’

‘Don’t worry about it. You’ll do fine. No one else has worked as hard as you.’ She finishes the last of her breakfast and asks her backseat bot to take it back to the kitchen for her. ‘I’m gonna have a bath.’

‘No wait!’ I spit, trying to gulp down the last spoonful, ‘Can’t I go first today.’

‘But it’s my turn!’ She retorts.

‘Yeah, but I need to get to the racetrack earlier and you always take forever in the bath. I promise I’ll be fast.’ I protest, licking away the drooling syrup from my dripping chin.

‘Oh, all right.’ She sighs, before reclining her seat back and telling her backseat bot to put her headphones over her ears for her. I think she’s going to continue the audio story she was listening to last night.

 

 

Bing! Sounds a button I press on my right armrest keypad and the seat suddenly lifts from its charging station and floats in mid-air. Then I use the joystick on my left armrest to drive the drift seat towards the bathroom.

 

‘Why don’t you just use the automatic navigation to get there?’ Zianna asks, looking confused.

I stop to reply, ‘Sometimes I like to steer my drift seat manually, the other way just feels lazy.’

 

 

The seat carries me to the bathroom door, which slides open automatically and then locks behind me. Ours is a simple bathroom, as far as modern lavatories go. It has a bath, a changing mat and a sink with a mirror. The white lights immediately wake up to welcome me before I say, ‘Bath fill.’ Suddenly the bath tap starts flowing and will stop by itself when it knows the tub is full. I order Spine to strip me of my night robe and diaper before – wait? Are you telling me that people in your time period don’t all wear reusable diapers? How else are you supposed to stay dry all day?

 

. . . Anyway, after I’m undressed, Spine carries me to the bathtub. I tell it to lower me in slowly since the water is so hot. Then I remind it to wash my hair, body and teeth extra fast today. I need to get to the race as fast as I can.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter II

The City

 

 

 

So, after Spine washes me, dries me and brushes my hair it applies a fresh diaper and dresses me in a tunic. Now, I’m ready to steer my drift seat out into the world. I say bye to Zianna and my parents as I float towards the door and then I’m outside.

 

From the veranda of our fourth-story apartment, you can see all over the city. A shimmering maze of metal monuments as far as the eye can see. If you look real close you can just glimpse the smooth, distant mountains as they stretch north to south. Rocket ships blast across the sky and through the galaxy, before landing at the nearby spaceports. Just above the buildings, I can hear the rush of flying trains as they slither between stations. Each building is dressed in decorative hologram billboards to celebrate the anniversary. Some of them advertise the different activities that are on, and others depict important moments in our nation's history, like the day the last galactic war ended, or the day all the separate countries decided to become one worldwide nation under a single, global government.

It’s amazing how much effort the council puts into marking this occasion.

I can even see massive skywriting next to the ginormous floating cathedral. I make Spine read it for me and it tells me that it says, ‘Happy Parida Day’.

 

Then I turn my gaze to the ground where a multitude of citizens and tourists from around the world explore the city from the comfort of their drift seats. Millions of people travel here each year to celebrate Parida Day in the world’s capital. The atmosphere is electrifying. I can’t wait to get down there.

 

Drifting through the crowded metal side paths is like steering through a meteor shower. So, I decide to just drive my seat on the shiny, metallic road and turn autopilot on. The chair knows where the racetrack is, so I just sit back and enjoy the ride. Traffic is really rowdy though. I can see long lines of backseat bots all queuing up at shops to collect food and souvenirs for their masters. I would probably want some of that merchandise but I'm in a hurry and can always make Spine get me some later. A tour group drifts past with a robot tour guide. I hear them all speaking languages from the outer states. Their drift seats all look different and some are wearing unusually foreign clothes. Some of them even wear pants instead of tunics. Cool! I mean weird, but still cool. One of the awesome things about Parida Day is seeing so many unique cultures come together.

As I draw deeper into the city I hear patriotic songs from popular artists being played inside shops and on street corners. My seat tries its best to manoeuvre around crowds of people who have stopped to listen to performers. I nearly bump into one tourist who is drifting on the wrong side of the road!

The sound of shocked gasps and then laughter erupts behind me. I swing my seat around to see what the fuss is about. I quickly notice that a man has fallen off his drift seat and the crowd around him are all laughing as he lies on the ground struggling. Poor guy. Nothing is more embarrassing than falling off your drift seat in public. This guy looks absolutely mortified by the crowd's reaction. My parents always taught me never to laugh at other people. Thankfully, his backseat bot promptly lifts him back onto his drift seat and the crowd disperses.

I turn my seat back around and realise that the crowd just gets thicker and thicker as the road progresses. I’ll never get to the race early enough in this mob!

Maybe if I take the other way around the school I’ll get there on time. I snap on my seat’s navigation screen and set a new route, coursing it to pivot sharply right and down a side street. As much as I love the festival, I sigh deeply and slide a little in my seat now that I’m someplace quiet.

 

My seat reaches the far end and turns left to reveal a row of long, glistening, white buildings with wavey roofs, glass fences and artworks in the windows. That’s the city’s school. I graduated there when I was twelve and just haven’t bothered moving on to any further learning like my sister did. My parents say you only really need to study longer if you want to work. Everybody knows that working is old fashioned. For hundreds of years, humans have had robots working for them. And since we don’t use money anymore, hardly anyone wants to work. Besides, the only “work” we do is supervising robots in case they break down. Then our job is to tell other robots to fix them for us. Other than that, we live lives of leisure.

 

This area is literally empty today because school closes for the festival. The surrounding silence is relaxing. I float past the windows and peer into the vacant classrooms from afar. I can see the massive hologram screen up the front and the clear area where all the students would park their seats. I remember the days when I would drift into class every day at three in the afternoon. I would watch the lesson videos and then answer questions on my computer pad. My class supervisor would fall asleep while the computer marked our answers for her and then we’d just have free time until the lunch hour. During lunch, the robots would serve a feast and we’d all eat while playing video games. Then it was time to go back to class. All the while I’d be waiting until we were dismissed at seven o’clock. My friends and I would then go exploring around the city to see what fun things we could get up to.

As fun as my school years were, I don’t remember much of the lessons other than history, religion and a bit of geography. But reading and counting can all be done by machines, so I don’t see how I’ll ever need it. Over the past two years, the ability to read has mostly drifted from memory.

 

Wait! Who’s that? I can see the back of another drift seat hovering ahead of me. I speed up my seat to get a better look. ‘Hey, I know that seat!’ I mutter ‘I recognise the backseat bot on it.’ A grin overtakes my face and I speed up even more.

 

‘Oy Zed!’ I shout as I catch up with my best friend.

He stops his chair and turns, ‘Hey Zemick! You ready for the big race?’

‘Heck yeah!’ I cheer, now riding beside him, ‘I was born ready.’

Chapter III

The Simulator

 

 

 

 

We turn a final corner to discover an enormous, dome-shaped, metal stadium and I sense a sudden surge of excitement. The Drift Seat Astrodome is my favourite place in the whole world. It’s almost as tall as the sky cathedral and is twice as wide.

‘How are we gonna get past that massive crowd?’ Zed complains, gesturing to the multitude of people lining up to get in.

 

‘Don’t worry,’ I shrug, ‘The competitors entrance is around the back. So long as no one is watching I can sneak you in with me.’

 

We set our seats to manual and steer around the building. Zed looks relieved that I can get him in with no worries. Or at least I hope I can. The competitor's gate is only for racers like me. Hopefully, no one is there and he can just glide on through, otherwise, he might not even get in to see my race at all.

 

As we pivot around the circumference of the Astrodome the crowd gets smaller and smaller, but my fear grows bigger and bigger. I really want Zed to see me race and It would be devastating if he missed out.

 

By the time we glide to the competitor’s gate, I notice a big, strong-looking man sitting guard at the entrance. Oh no. I was hoping we’d be all alone and that Zed could sneak in unnoticed. But as we float closer to him, he starts to look familiar. He’s got a drift seat race-themed tunic, sunglasses and a cap. Wait! That’s no security guard. That’s my coach! . . . And I think he’s spotted us.

‘Oy Zemick!’ He waves, ‘Over here!’

‘Morning Chase,’ I pull up in front of him with Zed.

‘Ready for the race of your life!’ he grits his teeth and gives me a friendly punch on the shoulder. Chase always shouts everything he says. I’ve been training with him since I was little and I don’t think I’ve ever heard him be quiet.

‘Sure, am sir!’

‘Well, I hope so 'cause you’ll be up against the world’s fastest again and I don’t mean to make you worried but some of the other coaches are bragging about how much everyone has improved! That’s why I thought I’d arrive early and fit in some more training time!’ he shouts.

I’m glad he and I had the same idea.

‘Say, what’s Zed doing here? Ain’t he supposed to be in line with everyone else?’ Chase looks down at me with suspicion.

 

‘Well . . . Umm’ I mutter.

Oh, snap, this is it! Now Zed will never get in!

‘Nay, I’m only kidding ya!’ Chase sniggers, ‘I know what you’re doing! He can come in with us! Just don’t tell nobody!’

‘Gee!’ I grin ‘Thanks, Chase!’

We both sigh in relief as we follow him into the Astrodome.

 

 

The training quarter is a long, white, oval room with lots of race simulator booths lined up on the left. The right is lined with holographic photos that recall some of the most historic moments in past races. None of the other racers have arrived yet, which is great, because it means I get the first pick of the best race simulator. It looks like a racing arcade game with a dark, glass orb around it. Spine lifts me out of my regular drift seat and then lowers me into the simulator’s chair which starts hovering as soon as I turn it on. Then the walls of the glass sphere illuminate with a video projection of the racetrack. The machine fastens my seat belt and applies my helmet. I turn on the built-in headphones so I can hear Chase giving me instructions from outside. Chase parks his drift seat next to the simulator where he can see what I’m doing and he’s even nice enough to let Zed stay and watch.

 

‘You ready, Zemick?’ Chase asks through the headset.

‘Yep, let's go!’ I reply.

 

I slam the go button and the hologram projects the countdown.

 

Three . . .

 

Two . . .

 

One . . .

 

I manoeuvre the control stick on my armrest forward and the seat zooms through the digital racetrack like a videogame. Hidden fans blow on my face to recreate the feel of actually racing, even though I’m staying still. The hologram graphics make it look so authentic; you would think I’m actually on the racetrack. I drift around corners, swerve around obstacles and blast through narrow stretches of road. The better I get with each round the louder and more excited Chase becomes. I eventually turn down the headset’s volume, otherwise he’s going to kill my ears.

Finally, I reach my sixth round and have finally broken my personal record. I chuckle when I see Zed and Chase cheering their heads off outside the glass orb. With the way I’m practising today, that winner's trophy is practically mine. Wiping the sweat from my brow, I realise how drained I’m getting, and then I sense a familiar feeling in my diaper and realise I need to go to the boy’s room. After I get lifted out of the simulator and start my way to the change room, Zed decides to come with me. Turns out he wet himself too while watching all the action.

 

The automatic door slides open to reveal the boy’s changing room. It’s a wide, round room filled with cubicles and washing sinks. I hover into a booth and Zed takes the one next to mine. Inside is a changing bench with a cushioning matte on it, which Spine lays me on. It’s not as soft as the comfy change matte we have at home, but then what do you expect from public restrooms? Then he rolls up my tunic and rips away my used diaper. He chucks it into the recycling bin to be cleaned and re-used and starts cleaning me, as he always does.

 

‘Psst, hey Zemick.’ Zed whispers from behind the metal wall. I can hear his backseat bot cleaning him too.

‘Yeah,’ I answer.

‘Are you nervous?’

‘No.’ I snigger.

‘Really?’ he sounds sceptical.

‘No,’ I sigh, ‘I’m terrified. After last year’s failure, I’ve got to win this one. Otherwise, everyone is going to think I’m still a loser.’

‘You’re not a loser.’ He retorts.

I bet Zed’s just saying that to make me feel better. That’s just what a friend would say. The truth is, I know I’m a loser. Drift seat racing is the only sport I’m good at. If I’m not the best at it I can’t help but feel like I’m nothing. At least I’ve improved a lot since last year and many of last year's best racers won't be in it this year. So, my chances are better this time around.

 

. . . I hope.

 

 

 

Spine finally adds the powder and wraps me in a fresh diaper from my chair’s storage compartment. After we get back to Chase I get right back into the simulator. Zed decides it’s time for him to find his spot in the audience. So, he wishes me good luck and then floats off.

I practice a few more rounds and then before I know it . . .

 

 

‘ATTENTION! ALL RACERS, PLEASE ASSEMBLE IN THE BUNKER AND GET READY TO RACE!’

 

 

​

​

​

​

​

​

Chapter III

The Simulator

 

 

 

 

We turn a final corner to discover an enormous, dome-shaped, metal stadium and I sense a sudden surge of excitement. The Drift Seat Astrodome is my favourite place in the whole world. It’s almost as tall as the sky cathedral and is twice as wide.

‘How are we gonna get past that massive crowd?’ Zed complains, gesturing to the multitude of people lining up to get in.

 

‘Don’t worry,’ I shrug, ‘The competitors entrance is around the back. So long as no one is watching I can sneak you in with me.’

 

We set our seats to manual and steer around the building. Zed looks relieved that I can get him in with no worries. Or at least I hope I can. The competitor's gate is only for racers like me. Hopefully, no one is there and he can just glide on through, otherwise, he might not even get in to see my race at all.

 

As we pivot around the circumference of the Astrodome the crowd gets smaller and smaller, but my fear grows bigger and bigger. I really want Zed to see me race and It would be devastating if he missed out.

 

By the time we glide to the competitor’s gate, I notice a big, strong-looking man sitting guard at the entrance. Oh no. I was hoping we’d be all alone and that Zed could sneak in unnoticed. But as we float closer to him, he starts to look familiar. He’s got a drift seat race-themed tunic, sunglasses and a cap. Wait! That’s no security guard. That’s my coach! . . . And I think he’s spotted us.

‘Oy Zemick!’ He waves, ‘Over here!’

‘Morning Chase,’ I pull up in front of him with Zed.

‘Ready for the race of your life!’ he grits his teeth and gives me a friendly punch on the shoulder. Chase always shouts everything he says. I’ve been training with him since I was little and I don’t think I’ve ever heard him be quiet.

‘Sure, am sir!’

‘Well, I hope so 'cause you’ll be up against the world’s fastest again and I don’t mean to make you worried but some of the other coaches are bragging about how much everyone has improved! That’s why I thought I’d arrive early and fit in some more training time!’ he shouts.

I’m glad he and I had the same idea.

‘Say, what’s Zed doing here? Ain’t he supposed to be in line with everyone else?’ Chase looks down at me with suspicion.

 

‘Well . . . Umm’ I mutter.

Oh, snap, this is it! Now Zed will never get in!

‘Nay, I’m only kidding ya!’ Chase sniggers, ‘I know what you’re doing! He can come in with us! Just don’t tell nobody!’

‘Gee!’ I grin ‘Thanks, Chase!’

We both sigh in relief as we follow him into the Astrodome.

 

 

The training quarter is a long, white, oval room with lots of race simulator booths lined up on the left. The right is lined with holographic photos that recall some of the most historic moments in past races. None of the other racers have arrived yet, which is great, because it means I get the first pick of the best race simulator. It looks like a racing arcade game with a dark, glass orb around it. Spine lifts me out of my regular drift seat and then lowers me into the simulator’s chair which starts hovering as soon as I turn it on. Then the walls of the glass sphere illuminate with a video projection of the racetrack. The machine fastens my seat belt and applies my helmet. I turn on the built-in headphones so I can hear Chase giving me instructions from outside. Chase parks his drift seat next to the simulator where he can see what I’m doing and he’s even nice enough to let Zed stay and watch.

 

‘You ready, Zemick?’ Chase asks through the headset.

‘Yep, let's go!’ I reply.

 

I slam the go button and the hologram projects the countdown.

 

Three . . .

 

Two . . .

 

One . . .

 

I manoeuvre the control stick on my armrest forward and the seat zooms through the digital racetrack like a videogame. Hidden fans blow on my face to recreate the feel of actually racing, even though I’m staying still. The hologram graphics make it look so authentic; you would think I’m actually on the racetrack. I drift around corners, swerve around obstacles and blast through narrow stretches of road. The better I get with each round the louder and more excited Chase becomes. I eventually turn down the headset’s volume, otherwise he’s going to kill my ears.

Finally, I reach my sixth round and have finally broken my personal record. I chuckle when I see Zed and Chase cheering their heads off outside the glass orb. With the way I’m practising today, that winner's trophy is practically mine. Wiping the sweat from my brow, I realise how drained I’m getting, and then I sense a familiar feeling in my diaper and realise I need to go to the boy’s room. After I get lifted out of the simulator and start my way to the change room, Zed decides to come with me. Turns out he wet himself too while watching all the action.

 

The automatic door slides open to reveal the boy’s changing room. It’s a wide, round room filled with cubicles and washing sinks. I hover into a booth and Zed takes the one next to mine. Inside is a changing bench with a cushioning matte on it, which Spine lays me on. It’s not as soft as the comfy change matte we have at home, but then what do you expect from public restrooms? Then he rolls up my tunic and rips away my used diaper. He chucks it into the recycling bin to be cleaned and re-used and starts cleaning me, as he always does.

 

‘Psst, hey Zemick.’ Zed whispers from behind the metal wall. I can hear his backseat bot cleaning him too.

‘Yeah,’ I answer.

‘Are you nervous?’

‘No.’ I snigger.

‘Really?’ he sounds sceptical.

‘No,’ I sigh, ‘I’m terrified. After last year’s failure, I’ve got to win this one. Otherwise, everyone is going to think I’m still a loser.’

‘You’re not a loser.’ He retorts.

I bet Zed’s just saying that to make me feel better. That’s just what a friend would say. The truth is, I know I’m a loser. Drift seat racing is the only sport I’m good at. If I’m not the best at it I can’t help but feel like I’m nothing. At least I’ve improved a lot since last year and many of last year's best racers won't be in it this year. So, my chances are better this time around.

 

. . . I hope.

 

 

 

Spine finally adds the powder and wraps me in a fresh diaper from my chair’s storage compartment. After we get back to Chase I get right back into the simulator. Zed decides it’s time for him to find his spot in the audience. So, he wishes me good luck and then floats off.

I practice a few more rounds and then before I know it . . .

 

 

‘ATTENTION! ALL RACERS, PLEASE ASSEMBLE IN THE BUNKER AND GET READY TO RACE!’

 

 

​

​

​

​

 

​

Chapter IV

The Bunker

 

 

 

 

Chase and I hover through the long, straight corridors towards the competitor’s bunker, passing robot cleaners and maintenance bots as we flout through. I grow quiet and begin fidgeting with the hem of my tunic nervously.

‘You’ll do fine, Zemick!’ Chase says, ‘I don’t want to worry!’

 

We nearly arrive at the bunker when we pass another corridor. It leads to the foyer, where the last of the audience members are arriving. I only briefly glance down that path but suddenly notice someone floating through the entrance. It’s Tiffany! I’ve been crushing on her since first grade.

‘Hey, Chase!’ I stop and turn my seat with no hesitation, ‘I’ll be right back.’

I pressure my chair to go as fast as it can towards the foyer and call ‘Tiffany! Tiffany!’

 

She stops and notices me with a sunny smile ‘Oh, hi Zemick.’

We drift our seats close enough to give each other a hug. I love her hugs. She’s always so warm and her long hair smells entrancing.

 

‘I wasn’t sure if you were able to come.’ I say, trying to hide how excited I am to see her, ‘I heard you were going to the Tyler Drift concert.’

 

‘Oh, nah,’ She answers, ‘I’ve been to plenty of those and I didn’t want to miss out on your race.’

 

‘Zemick!’ Barks Chase’s loud voice from behind, ‘What are you doing? We need to get to the bunker! You can flirt with fans later!’

I blush red as Mars when he says that I’m flirting and Tiffany giggles. Before I go she quickly gives me a pin with our state’s flag on it for good luck and then I follow Chase to the competitor's bunker.

 

Now I really need to win. Maybe If I can impress her I’ll finally have the guts to ask her out.

 

 

The door to the bunker is sealed by a facial recognition system, so Chase and I scan our faces and then the door slides open to reveal a bright, white room full of other racers around my age with their trainers. Each racer is here to represent their state and is dressed in racing suits that reflect their background. One side of the room has the two change rooms where back-seat bots dress their masters into their racing gear. On the room’s far end, I can see all of our racing drift seats lined up like soldier bots ready for battle. I can see my one already there. It’s a blue and white painted DSR-99 with three sixty-degree force-field protection, three rocket boosters, all-manual steering and a cup holder. I call him Zing.

I send Spine to fetch my racing suit from my locker while I start making my way to a boy’s changing room. Along the way, I over-hear bundles of racers chatting, gossiping and wishing each other good luck, even though they all want the other person to lose. It’s always the same story in the bunker.

 

‘Hey Zemick!’ A familiar, but unexpected voice calls. Suddenly a small, scrawny-looking boy with an over-bite hovers up to me- ‘Long time no see!’

‘Hector!’ I react in confusion, ‘Your back.’

‘Yeah, they decided to let me race again. How have you been?’ He asks.

 

‘Uh, yeah. I’m fine.’ I reply . . awkwardly, ‘Last time I saw you, you tried to hack all of our racing seats so you could win?’

‘Oh yeah, that.’ He scratches the back of his neck and tries to grin. ‘It was just a joke, really. But I’m not going to do that again. Don’t worry. So, are you ready for this year's race?’

 

He sounds desperate to change the subject and I’m desperate to get away from him.

‘Yeah, I should probably get changed into my gear now. So, I’ll see you around.’ I grin falsely before drifting away as fast as I can. As I drive away I hear him shout ‘Yeah! You’ll see me on the racetrack! Can’t wait!’

 

Oh my gosh! He’s so annoying! I can’t believe they're letting him race again after what he did two years ago. Let’s all just hope that computer geek doesn’t try anything shifty this year.

 

Spine and I go into the changeroom and I come out in a blue and white, latex onesie with my state’s flag on it. I’m also wearing my helmet with the headset radio in it so I can hear Chase during the race. Spine even attached the pin that Tiffany gave me.

I’ve never found this suit comfortable to wear. Wearing it just makes me feel like I have everybody in the state counting on me. Like I don’t feel enough pressure already.

 

I notice a slightly older and bigger racer across the room. He’s in a black and red race suit, is on a big, heavy-looking drift seat and is a lot rounder than me. Oh no! It’s last year’s winner. I thought he was done with racing. I pretend not to notice him but he sees me and comes over.

‘Oy look!’ he says, spitting a mouth full of popcorn, ‘It’s last year's loser!’

‘Bugger off Thane.’ I retort, turning to leave.

‘What, is the loser back this year because his loser state wants to see him fail again?’ he snorts.

I know he’s just trying to cause trouble, but I can’t help but feel fired up when around him.

 

‘Oy, Thane!’ Grunts Chase, who arrives just in time, ‘What did I say about picking on my student?’

Thane hovers back in fear.

‘I . . . I was just saying good luck.’ He lies.

‘Yeah, well you can save it for the starting line! NOW BEAT IT!’ Chase roars as Thane drifts away as fast as he can.

 

‘You okay, Zemick?’ Chase yells, resting his hand on my shoulder.

 

‘Yeah, I’m fine.’ I sigh, overflowing with ice-cold resentment. I need to beat Thane this time. Otherwise, it will mean another year of listening to him boast.

 

‘I’ll have a word with his trainer! But just you remember, you don’t listen to him! You listen to me! And I say you're going to do us proud out there!’

He gives me a supportive pat on the back and then goes to join the other coaches in the coach’s box. As for me, now is the time we all get lowered into our racing seats and enter the stadium.

 

 

 

​

 

 

 

Chapter V

The Race

 

 

 

 

We all ride out into the racetrack with millions of screaming fans in the audience. You can see them all dressed in different state colours and waving flags. I even spot my family in the front. Mum is holding a sign saying, ‘GO ZEMICK’. Then I can see Zed and Tiffany are both next to them, cheering me on as well.

Only when inside the stadium can you feel the full majesty of the Astrodome. The ceiling is sky-high with seats all around the walls and a round window at the top of the roof, creating a heavenly spotlight effect. The music and chanting does get me excited, but I’m glad my headphones drown out some of their excessive volume. Moving lights flash and dance around the dim arena, with a spotlight on each of the racers.

Since our race chairs are designed to also move upside down and vertically, the racetrack is a crazy mess full of twists, turns, loop-de-loops and spirals. From the outside, it looks like a colossal, three-dimensional knot. The road is made of coloured glass so that the audience can always see us clearly.

 

We all line up at the starting line for the World’s National Anthem, as well as a prayer led by the local bishop on the loudspeaker. After everyone finished praying, I just kept my eyes closed and my hands together, begging God to let me finally win for once.

 

A robot flies in front of us all with a checkered flag and the countdown begins. The whole audience chants-

 

3

 

2

 

1 - And we're off! I shoot over the line like a lazar and get straight into the lead. I sustain my position at the front for the first few corners and then up the first vertical angle.

 

The mob of racers swarm together for most of the race, swerving over, under and around each other like asteroids. Even if you are in front one minute, chances are someone will overtake you in the next. Our shock-absorbing force fields shield us from falling off and our seatbelts keep us in our seats whenever we’re driving upside-down or sideways. The occasional bump or crash would happen but I’m great at avoiding those. Sometimes you’ll see a racer have to pull over for quick repairs and get left behind. That’s why I have to be careful to not get hit. The laps role by and Chase keeps me in check the whole way. So long as I stay with the top five, my chances remain good.

***

 

It’s the final lap.

We’re on the final stretch.

The race is tight. All the racers are neck and neck.

Right now, I’m coming in second but am so close to the racer in front.

I think I can go faster than her but every time I try she cuts me off.

Chase shouts on the headset, ‘Time to use that trick we practised!’

I speed up to the left.

She tries to cut me off again.

I angle my turbo boosters down to shoot up incredibly fast. I fly over her in a majestic summersault, while swerving to the right, leaving her behind me and snatching the lead.

I’m meters away from the finish line. I’m going to win!

I can just imagine how proud everyone will be! The moment I receive that trophy will be the most glorious moment of my life. My name will finally be on the plaque! I’ll finally ask Tiffany on a date! I’ll finally feel important!

 

Wait! An alert arrives on my controls. It says my protective forcefield is down.

How could that have happened? Well, no matter. I’m about to win anyway. But then my seatbelt comes clean off! What is happening to my drift seat?

Then Thane suddenly appears on my radar. He’s right behind me and is pulling to the left.

I try to cut him off but he’s too fast. He’s right next to me.

I push my controller harder than ever to stay in front but Thane nocks my seat so hard I fall off. The momentum sends me rolling across the track until I finally stop on my belly, facing the finish line.

Thane crosses it first.

Everybody else zooms over my head to cross the finish line too.

I lose.

The massive screens all repeat the playback video of him winning. The digital banners all say in bold letters ‘THANE WINS!’

I can hear Chase in my headphones shouting threats and swear words about Thane.

I shriek and shake helplessly on the floor. The whole stadium is laughing at me.

As I violently pound the ground screaming my eyes begin to water. It was going to be all mine. I could feel it. But now it’s all gone.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter VI

The Festival

 

 

 

 

The emergency bots finally arrive and lift me back onto my seat. It feels like I was stuck on the floor for ages.

All the other racers are celebrating at the winner's podium, but I can’t bear to watch. Instead, I just hover away with the little dignity I have left.

As soon as I’m off the racetrack, Chase shows up with his face full of sympathy. He pats me on the back saying things like ‘You did us proud out there! It wasn’t your fault! That no good Thane doesn’t deserve to win! You’re the real winner today!’

Maybe he’s right, but what does it matter? Nobody cares about the loser. They only care about that bully sitting on the winner's podium with the Mayor handing him a trophy. I wish they’d all stop chanting his name!

 

But I can’t help but wonder . . . how did my seatbelt and forcefield break? That’s when I notice Hector hovering away on the far end of the track! All the other racers have gathered around the winner’s podium except him. He looks suspiciously awkward. Could he have hacked my seat like he did two years ago? It does sound like the obvious answer but why didn’t he hack the other seats? If he was cheating, wouldn’t he have made himself win?

The only other suspect would be Thane, but he couldn’t have hacked my seat. He’s too dumb.

 

My parents are the next to arrive with Zianna. Mum reaches over her seat to give me a long, squeezing hug and showers me with compassionate kisses. Dad hugs me too. He looks half heartbroken for me and half furious about Thane. Then Zianna just rests her hand on my shoulder and says, ‘That trophy is overrated anyway.’

 

Zed and Tiffany both show up alongside a few of my other school friends. They all try to cheer me up as well, but nothing helps. Thane is over there, surrounded by thousands of screaming fans and all I have are my friends and family who are only here because they feel sorry for me.

 

My friends all suggest that I go to check out the carnival rides with them. They say it would cheer me up and my parents agree. At first, I would rather hide on the dark side of the moon for the rest of my life but they eventually talk me into it. So, after I get back onto my regular drift seat and have Spine change me back into my tunic, the guys and I hit the theme park.

 

We make our way to the theme park area of the Parida Day Festival and spend hours trying out the different rides, games and amusements.

Zed’s favourite part is winning prizes at the arcades and street games. There was one game where you enter a zero-gravity chamber with an opponent and you have a limited time to grab more tokens than the other player. He got a mountain of prizes by the end of the day.

Then there’s another friend of ours named Jonello. He liked looking at the exotic animals in the petting zoo. Some beasts were visiting from other planets, like the Octasorus from Quantimo or the Felinibians from Spero.

As for me, I prefer fast-paced roller coasters and thrill rides. There was this one ride that drops you to the centre of the Earth in only a few minutes! Three of my friends needed new diapers after that one.

The hours go by and day slowly turns to night. So, we order our backseat bots to fetch us lunch and we eat in the park. Our bots lay us on the grassy hillside and we watch the sunset behind the sparkling metropolis. As sad as I am about the race, they eventually get me laughing about memories and gags. As the stars begin to emerge we get back onto our drift seats and throw a frisbee to each other which Zed won at one of the games.

 

We eventually get back to the rides. Now that the sun is down the theme park has lit up with its colourful array of carnival lights.

 

‘Is that the Lightspeed Coaster!’ I gasp in astonishment at the sight of an enormous roller coaster. ‘I thought they had to shut that thing down for good after last year’s accident!’

I never got to go on it because my parents always said it was too dangerous. Luckily they’re not here right now. My friends and I all wait for our turn and then they all sprint passed me so the robots can strap them in. I’m glad we’re getting on now. The rides will be closing after this last session but as I float through the gate I hear the little boy behind me.

‘But Mummy! I always-always wanted to go on this ride!’ he cries.

I’m sorry honey but there are no more seats. We will just have to try again next year’ She replies, trying desperately to calm him down in vain.

I suddenly stop to look at his little, sad face and then turn my glance to that last seat on the ride.

‘Hey, Zemick!’ Zed calls ‘You coming or what bro?’

 

I take another second to think it over and decide to let the kid on instead. I may not get onto that ride until next year, if at all, but seeing that little boy happy makes it feel worth it.

 

With all my friends on the ride, I take this moment of solitude to go to the men’s room.

By now most of the crowd is assembling in the concert stadium for the big, end-of-day performances, so I have the men’s room all to myself.

After Spine changes me I come out of the cubical with a fresh diaper on and feeling a lot better.

Suddenly I hear a familiar, annoying voice.

‘Hey, loser! Is this where you come to cry after losing?’

 

Oh no. It’s Thane!

Chapter VII

The Rescue

 

 

 

 

‘What do you want?’ I scold.

‘Only to ask if you’re stupid enough to try again next year.’ He says, looking sly and malicious. ‘I need to know ahead of time so bribe Hector to “fix your seat” again.’

 

That’s when I finally realise! I should have known all along! It’s so obvious! You probably realised before I did!

‘You made Hector hack my seat, didn’t you?’ I loudly accuse, ‘You made him disable my shield and seat belt! You too had it all planned to begin with!’

 

‘Yeah, we did!’ he laughs, ‘And It was so much fun, watching you go crying to your Mummy!’

 

‘Well, at least my Mum showed up!’ I retort furiously, ‘Where was your family?’

 

Suddenly Thane stops laughing and for a split second, he looks stumped with sadness . . . but quickly hides it with anger.

‘None of your business, twerp!’ He retaliates.

Then he summons his backseat bot with the click of a finger. His one looks like a black, three-pointed star with a red eye in the centre. He commands it to do the unspeakable. He tells it to pick me up and throw me on the floor!

As it rushes towards me I order Spine to fight it off but his backseat bot demolishes mine and leaves it busted on the ground, leaking sparks and wires. Then it picks me up out of my drift seat and drops me on the hard tiles! As if that’s not enough, it proceeds to rip away my tunic and throws it across the room.

Thane laughs maliciously as he floats out the door, leaving me helplessly stranded on the floor of an empty changeroom!

 

‘HELP! HELP!’ I cry in despair.

I lie there with my bare back on the ice-cold tiles, in tears. No one is going to hear me. They’re all heading to the concert. Thane was right. I really am a loser.

 

 

 

‘Zemick!’ I hear a female voice through the door. ‘Is that you?’

‘Zianna?’ I shout. How did she find me here? ‘Zianna, help me!’

‘I’ve been trying to find you all over the place! What’s wrong?’ She calls.

‘Just come in!’ I cry.

She nervously tells the door to open. She’s never been inside the boy’s room before.

 

She gasps with shock at the sight of me lying almost naked on the tiles with a broken backseat bot and my tunic thrown across the room.

 

‘Thane did this! Just get your backseat bot to help me up.’ I beg.

 

Zianna is about to tell her backseat bot to help me but then hesitates.

She takes a long, compassionate look at me and then starts to slide forward on her seat.

I don’t understand. It looks like she’s going to push herself off her drift seat. But as she slowly slides off, her soft, bare feet catch her.

 

She’s standing!

 

I gasp in astonishment! I’ve never seen a real person stand before. No one has done it in over eight hundred years.

 

She quakes and wobbles a lot. I think she’s trying to . . . balance?

I see her lift one foot and place it in front of herself. I think she’s trying to . . . walk! But I can’t be sure, I’ve never seen anybody walk before.

 

She leans her body forward and nearly falls over but then her other foot comes forward and catches her.

Then she does that again, and again, and again. It looks like she’s moving her feet in a left and right pattern. Maybe that’s what walking is?

 

I watch with wide-eyed bewilderment and can barely breathe!

 

She walks towards where I lie and leans over, nearly losing her balance and falling on me.

She lifts me up . . . rests me on my chair . . . and then trembles back to her own drift seat where she relieves her tired legs with a sigh.

 

We stare silently at each other for a moment. I had never seen anyone do something so majestic in all my life!

 

‘How did you do that!’ I finally manage to say.

 

‘Oh, umm . . .’ She looks apprehensive and a little embarrassed.

‘It kind of just started as a hobby. I heard that walking apparently has some health benefits and used to be considered fun, a long time ago. Please don’t tell anyone. They’ll all think I’m weird, or something.’

‘Weird? I think it’s AWESOME!’ I yell, ‘I’m the first guy in eight hundred years with a walking sister!’

‘You can’t tell anybody, okay!’ she snaps, trying to sound strong, even though she’s obviously scared.

‘Don’t worry, I promise. . . But if it was such a secret, why didn’t you just get your backseat bot to help me?’

 

‘. . . Because . . . I wanted to help you.’ She smiles warmly.

 

After that, she tells her backseat bot to fetch my tunic and to dress me. Then it picks up Spine and carries it away to the robot repair station. Hopefully, Spine will be fixed soon. Until then I’ll just have to do a few things for myself.

​

​

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter VIII

The Concert

 

 

 

 

Zianna and I glide over to the big, oval-shaped concert stadium.

As we hover through the doors we discover a jam-packed arena with the band already blasting it’s opening hit on stage. There are laser lights, smoke effects, and hologram videos on every wall. We can see backseat bots sprinting left, right and centre to deliver food and drinks to their masters who are all either chatting, singing or dancing in the zero-gravity dance zone.

 

We finally find our family and friends in the crowd. They’re all incredibly relieved when we arrive and ask what took us so long.

Zianna and I decide to keep the men’s room story to ourselves and just say we were delayed by technical issues.

I can’t help but notice that Thane isn’t anywhere to be seen, but I don’t pay him much mind. He probably doesn’t have anyone to come with.

 

That’s when Tiffany arrives, wearing the most beautiful dress and make-up. She sheepishly asks me if I want to go dancing with her. I hesitate and stutter until my Mum gives me an encouraging nudge on the shoulder.

‘Uur, okay.’ I blush.

I can’t take my eyes off her as we drift towards the dance zone. Then we park our drift seats on the edge of the zero-gravity barrier. It only takes a few seconds for us to lose all weight and before you know it we’re flying amongst the sound waves.

We have fun up in the air for a while until a slow song plays and everyone else starts holding their partners closely.

She and I gaze bashfully at each other until she finally raises the courage to take my hand.

We hold each other close and sway to the tune, slowly getting comfortable with being this close.

Gold and blue lights swim around the arena, colourful bubbles wobble playfully in the air, but all I’m looking at is her.

Before long, we begin to feel a strange, peaceful happiness in each other’s arms, floating weightlessly between the Earth and the Heavens until a fear crosses her eyes like a shadow.

 

‘What’s wrong?’ I inquire with concern.

 

‘Nothing, it’s just . . . umm . . . I . . . I was wondering if you wanted to go out sometime.’ She asks, sounding shy.

 

At first, I look speechless, but my face quickly lights up with excitement.

‘Yeah!’ I exclaim, ‘Sure, I would love to. I’ve been trying to ask you out for years!’

 

‘Years?’ She reacts, ‘What took you so long?’

 

‘Well, I guess I wanted to ask you after I won a race. Then maybe you would like me.’

That probably sounded less stupid in my head.

 

Then her eyes start to glisten with a sympathetic smile and she says, ‘But . . . I’ve always liked you.’

 

And that’s when I finally realise. It doesn’t matter if I win a silly race or even if I’m a famous winner. So long as I have family and friends who truly love me, I’m not a loser after all.

​

​

​

​

​

'Remember, no man is a failure who has friends.'

                                                                  - ‘t’s a Wonderful Life’ 1946

​

​

​

​