8 AM. Looked at the clock, looked at the ceiling. Got up.
Showered. Ate whatever was in the cabinet. The house was quiet in that specific Saturday morning way where you feel like the only person on earth who decided to do something about it.
I drove to Best Buy.
* * *
I'd watched enough YouTube to know roughly what I needed. Car content that was actually popping had two things going for it: audio that caught engine sound the way it felt in person, and camera angles that put you inside the drive instead of watching it from the sidewalk.
Two mics, two GoPros, extra mounts, SD cards, cable ties. The dude at the register looked at the pile and didn't say anything. I swiped and left.
Sat in the driveway for an hour figuring out placement. One mic taped to the front bumper, one to the rear. The turbo spool and the exhaust pop on decel were the whole point, so I wanted both covered. One GoPro on the hood pointing back at the windshield, one on the trunk lip angled down toward the exhaust tip.
I'd watch the footage back, see which mic was cleaner, which camera angle hit harder. Or run all four simultaneously and cut between them. That actually sounded cool. Like a real production instead of just a phone propped against the dash.
Started the car and let it idle.
Turbo whispered at low RPM. Exhaust had that low burble. Even sitting still it sounded like something.
I pulled out.
* * *
East Highland gets busier on weekends. More traffic, more corners, more room to work. I started small. Tagged a couple on the way out, just feeling how the rear end wanted to step, how much throttle it took to hold it there. Tires chirped. Turbo spooled. Exhaust cracked on every lift.
The hood GoPro was rolling. I could see it in my peripheral just sitting there.
I found the roundabout near the park.
Came in hot, threw it sideways, fed throttle in a circle. The rear tracked out wide and the car rotated around itself. Smoke off the tires. Exhaust barking every time I modulated the gas. Held it maybe eight seconds, which feels like a long time when you're committed to something like that.
Straightened out and kept going.
That was going to look insane on camera.
* * *
Two blocks later I saw Maddy and Cassie on the sidewalk.
Maddy had sunglasses on and a coffee, talking with her hands. Cassie nodding along. Normal Saturday morning.
I came around the corner, found the gap, and put the car sideways. Full donut right in front of them. Tire smoke, exhaust popping on every throttle blip, the whole thing. Four seconds maybe.
Then I straightened up and drove off without looking back.
Didn't need to. I knew what that looked like.
Nobody out here was calling anybody. Wasn't that kind of place. A car doing donuts was just a car doing donuts. Not anybody's problem.
* * *
I drove for another hour.
The spool. The backfire on decel, that sharp crack that bounced off buildings. The rear stepping out on corner entry and catching itself. Third gear, hard on the throttle, the boost slamming in.
Sober. Full sober. No lean, no weed, nothing.
Most fun I'd had clean since I got here.
Pulled back into the driveway and sat with the engine ticking down. Grabbed both SD cards and went inside.
* * *
The hood GoPro was exactly what I thought it would be. Road rushing under the front bumper. Nose pushing through corners. The donut in front of Maddy and Cassie came through clean. You could see the smoke rising, the road surface spinning underneath, the car rotating around its own center like it was on a string.
Rear mic caught the exhaust better than the front. More crack. More pop. The sound that doesn't translate through a phone speaker but hits right through headphones.
I clipped about four minutes of the best stuff. Title card. No music, just the raw audio from the car. Let it breathe.
4:17 PM
Kat
whatchu doin rn
editing footage
Delivered
Kat
of what lol
the z
did donuts in front of maddy and cassie lmaooo
Read 4:19 PM
Kat
WHAT 😭😭
omg they say anything
nah i just drove off
check boosted jay later
Delivered
Kat
ur so stupid i swear 💀
ok ok ill watch
😂
Read 4:21 PM
I exported it and uploaded it to YouTube. Boosted Jay. Second video. No voiceover, no title cards, just the car.
Put the laptop on the desk and lay back on the bed with the headphones in, listening to the raw audio one more time.
The spool. The boost coming on. The exhaust cracking on decel.
I fell asleep listening to it.
END OF CHAPTER NINE