"There you are ma'am," I say as I slide out from under a deep blue buzzbike. 

The woman politely thanks me for my services and walks out the door. I smile with the satisfaction of another job well done. The first of three foghorns sounds, signaling the end of the workday. I hurriedly gather my tools and set them on my workbench before locking up the workshop. I check the doorknob to assure myself of its security and then walk next door to the small house my brother and I share. 

Once I'm inside, I dash up the stairs to my room to freshen up before going buzzbiking with my brother Drayk and some of our friends. I check my reflection in the mirror and spot two small grease stains with one on the bottom of my toffee-toned cheek and one located right below one of my hazel eyes. I immediately begin to scrape both of them off with my fingers.

After the stains are mostly obscured, I slick back my dark brown hair with my hands and decide it looks presentable. I glance at the picture of my parents on my desk, smiling at its familiarity. Touching my fingers to my lips and then to to the glass casing on the image, I wish them a silent "See you later". I change into my black bike suit and run out the door to grab my buzzbike. 

I open the garage and gaze proudly at the piece of machinery before me. My self-made buzzbike is a sleek red with chrome exhaust pipes and a seat and grips made of black leather. It can go from 0 to 60 miles per hour in just a few seconds and the brakes are as smooth as butter, making it one of my best creations. 

I grab my battered black helmet, cram it onto my head, and mount my bike. Turning the key in the ignition, my bike roars to life and sits idling. The engine purrs like a Siamese cat, hyping me up. I slowly back out of the garage and into the road, closing the garage door behind me by pushing a button on my bike's dashboard. 

I glide through the streets of the dome at a decent speed; the various businesses and shops are a blur as I pass them. The dome's transparent, protective roof shimmers above me, letting in almost every drop of the sun's glory. Any stress I had been holding quickly disappears at the feeling of the wind whooshing over my helmet and singing in my ears. I feel so carefree on my bike, like nothing can stop me. I welcome the calm confidence, knowing I'll need as much of it as possible for the impending encounter with Natlee. 

Ever since I had turned 17, I had not been able to stop thinking about her. I love her dusty blonde hair, her light skin, and her straight figure. Whenever I our eyes connect, I fear that I can never tear my gaze away from her deep blue irises. She had taken up buzzbiking a few months ago and I made her a special purple bike which she loved. Now she was part of our buzzbiking group. 

I get to see her almost every day and I still have no idea what her feelings are concerning me. Maybe today will be the day that I make a joke and she laughs and acknowledges me for the second time in my life. 

I near the gates and dial back on my speed so I can pass through gate security. I pull up to the nearest window where a gates security worker is sitting. His eyes are closed and he seems to be in some sort of deep stupor. I stifle a laugh at this slacking worker that shockingly resembles an overweight sloth. 

Deciding to have a little fun, I twist the throttle on my bike hard to bring a loud snarl from the engine. The worker jerks back to reality, looking around wildly as if someone had given him an electric shock. He flails around in his disoriented state and I almost explode from containing my guffaws. His eyes finally glance in my direction and focus on me with my bike. 

"Hello, hello!" says the worker in his best I-just-woke-up-but-I'm-still-cheerful voice. "Passing through to bike?" 

I nod and hunch forward on my handlebars, turning my head and rolling my eyes where the worker can't see. The workers ask me this question every time I leave the dome with my buzzbike. Honestly, what do they think I'm going to do with a buzzbike outside the dome? Burn it and perform an ancient tribal ritual?

"Have fun, young man!" chirps the worker, activating the gates with the push of a button.  

They slowly slide open and I waste no time in flying through them. 

Remnants of the great fires, the sand dunes roll out in front of me, spreading for miles and miles. The sun blazes overhead, hotter than ever now that I am out of the protection of the dome. Wind whips in my face and violently sprays grains of sand from the dunes into my face and down my neck. My breathing becomes shallower and comes in short gasps as my lungs adjust to the lower oxygen levels while my heart beats rapidly. 

Taking deep breaths to control my heart rate and breathing, I spot my brother riding in the distance. Twisting the throttle almost to the max, I accelerate to meet him. 

"Hey, what's up, little bro?" he asks me as I come to ride along side him. I shrug, looking nonchalant. 

"Nothing much," I say. Drayk looks over at me skeptically, his messy brownish-black box braids dancing in the wind. 

"Right, so you aren't super excited that Natlee is going to be there?" he teases. 

"And you aren't excited that there will be multiple other females attending? Lotsa girls for you to try your cheesy pickup lines on," I retaliate, rolling my eyes. 

"Yeah, yeah," he says, although he doesn't deny it. 

I laugh with the satisfaction of winning this one. We ride in silence for a moment and my mind wanders to Natlee. What will she be wearing today? I hope it's the bike suit I gave her for her birthday. She looks so beautiful in it. Her blonde hair meshes perfectly with its soft lavender tone and- 

"I can see the gang!" yells Drayk, snapping me out of my thoughts. Shaking my head of the pictures of Natlee implanted there, I squint to see the vague group of bikes in the distance. 

"Race you there!" I shout with a challenging smirk. Drayk smiles deviously and straightens his helmet in an attempt to intimidate me. 

"You're on!" he shouts as we both accelerate towards our friends.