Initial S

In response to an Iron Chef posted by The Angst Guy on PPMB.

The challenge was “What kinds of Daria crossovers have not yet been tried that would be worth doing?”

Not so much a crossover with, but inspired by Initial D and one of Stacy's alter ego images. If only because I'm really not that familiar with Initial D...

I'm also taking some liberties with things here, but this is from Stacy's perspective. Yeah, that's it. It's not because I haven't got a clue what I'm talking about half the time. Nope. Uh-uh.

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Stacy was getting used to surprises in her life.

She was surprised when she got accepted in to a decent college.

It certainly wasn't because of her grades. Even though her parents were sure the tutor had paid off, she thought otherwise. She had looked over her application, and she thought her essay had a lot to do with it. It was a bit... rambling, but rather more intense than she had remembered. Even though none of her friends from high school were going there, she clearly wanted to go more than she was willing to admit even to herself.

She was surprised her parents had set up a college fund for her.

Considering the way she had behaved all through high school, she hadn't really expected it. It was good that they did, because she certainly couldn't qualify for any of the academic or sports scholarships. That didn't leave much, and even with the college fund she was probably going to have to get a part time job. Especially since it was out of state.

She was surprised when they gave her a car as a going away present.

It was used, of course, and not that much younger than she was. Neither she nor her parents knew much about cars, but it was in good condition, and she remembered hearing something about Toyotas being good cars. Besides, this one was a cute little two-door with a black and white paint job. She couldn't help but calling it Panda.

She was surprised the first time she tried to pass someone on the freeway.

Suddenly the car had started getting faster. Much faster. Even after she took her foot off the gas. When it had started slowing again, she had to pull over and pry her hands off the steering wheel. She hadn't, oddly enough, been hyperventilating, which she usually did when she had a panic attack. Her heart, though, was racing like crazy.

She was surprised that the person who sold her parents the car obviously didn't know what they were selling.

Worried that something was wrong with it, she asked one of her dates to take a look at it. He said there was nothing wrong with it. It was a Toyota Corolla Trueno GT-S, a good “rally” car. It had been souped-up, a lot. He told her all the things that had been changed or upgraded, and it took a while. She hadn't understood most of it at the time, but wrote it down for later. The main thing was the twin-turbo, which is what caused the acceleration. She was a little upset that, after this, he was more interested in borrowing the car than taking her out for dinner.

She was surprised how much she enjoyed taking care of Panda.

She even had fun washing it. When she did it in a swimsuit or cutoffs and a t-shirt, she had no trouble getting guys to show her how to take care of things. She started with simple things like oil changes, but picked things up quickly. Some of the guys got odd looks on their faces when started talking about wastegates and limited slip differentials. Or told them how cute the latest Ruf intercooler was, or how some Brembo brakes would really set off that paint job.

She was surprised how almost no one ever rode with her more than once.

She knew she liked to drive fast, but it wasn't like she was being reckless. She did stay within 10 mph of the speed limit. Well... she usually did. Okay, maybe 15. But when she was behind the wheel her heart started pounding and she started breathing fast. The sensation was completely different from her panic attacks. Somehow it was really hard to keep from weaving in and out of traffic.

She was surprised when one of her classmates told her she should join the motorsports club.

She hadn't even known there was such a thing, much less that the college had one. She never would have thought of it, especially after all those disparaging things Sandi had said about NASCAR. But she went to check it out anyway and it looked like fun. They even had club cars for competition. Motorcycles, too, but that didn't matter. Not that she was going to be able to drive them without getting a racing license.

She was surprised when the driving instructor told her she cursed under her breath when she drove.

She hadn't even known that she knew most of the words he told her she used. But when she got a recorder later, she found out he was telling the truth. If she wasn't humming, she was saying nasty things about the other drivers, the weather, the road, or the car. The classes were fun, though, especially the one about keeping the ball in the bowl.

She was surprised she got her racing license on the first try.

Tests had never been her strong point, after all. This was different, though. The best part was being able to finally try the club cars, although they wouldn't let her use the best ones from the start. She really wanted to give the souped up Impreza a try, but it would have to wait until she has some more experience.

She was surprised how much fun her first race was.

She didn't win, of course, but she had a good time and placed well for a debut race. Practice laps with the club were fun, too, but this just felt completely different. She was so excited afterwards that she could hardly walk. Skip, or jump, or bound would be more accurate descriptions.

She was surprised when she woke up in the hospital.

She couldn't remember it herself, but once she saw the video it was obvious she had been nudged, on purpose, in the middle of a race. It wasn't anything serious, just some cracked ribs and a concussion. But her parents showed up in the hospital room and tried to forbid her from racing because it was too dangerous. Which was exactly why she hadn't told them about it before.

She was surprised when she stood up to them.

No matter what her parents said, she wasn't going to stop. This was the first time she had found something she really wanted to do.  Racing was even more fun than baking cheesecake.  And she was good at it. She did, however, sign up for some new classes she heard about. They were meant for bodyguards, and despite the huge engines, the cars they trained in handled like a cow. Light cars were much more fun. But they did learn all the dirty tricks you could pull on another driver. And how to counter them. The next race would be fun. Especially if someone tried something on her again.

She was surprised you could actually rent a Porsche.

The trip to Germany for the Nürburgring wiped out her savings, but it was so worth it. Even though she only really got in a single lap, which wasn't enough time to get used to the track, she was able to rent a Porsche GT3. When she got back, she started looking at prices on used Porsche 911s, but the older air-cooled turbos were still out of her price range. She was going to get one as soon as possible, though.

She was surprised when she won her first stock car race.

She had been sure it would have been a rally, not a stock car race, but she had to fill in at the last minute. It was only street stock, and the course wasn't as fun as a good rally course, but winning was still great.

She was surprised when Tiffany called her.

She hadn't spoken to her high school friends much since she started college, after all. But Tiffany had seen her picture in a magazine, and was calling to congratulate her. Not that Stacy ever figured out why Tiffany was looking through racing magazines, but apparently Tiffany was finding it hard to get started in modeling, and was a bit jealous that Stacy got in to a magazine first. Especially with her face all dirty like that. She was just glad she was able to persuade Tiffany that no, mud wrestling probably wouldn't get her in a magazine. At least, not a magazine she'd want to be in.

She was surprised after she graduated.

Not because she graduated. It hadn't taken long to notice that almost anyone who actually paid for all four years could get a degree in something. It was the job offer she was surprised by. NASCAR wouldn't have been her first choice, even without the Shade of Sandi, but it was racing. And speed was her life.