What gives people a sense of pride grows as a person matures and goes from being self-centered to considerate of others.The more considerate a person becomes, the bigger the circle of people becomes who increases that person's pride. How much you like them as a person is not as big of a factor if you take pride for being associated with them. Having pride in those who are close to you comes from people finding out the truth that one does not need to like a person to love them. Lori was about to take pride in her brother for the first time in her life.

After Lori got her all the books on her summer reading list, she and her dad went straight to the beach. She wanted to give Luke that VIP experience to the Boyz+1 concert right away. She figured that the approach of doing something which hurt as quickly as possible to get the action over with and move on with her life was best. Fred was more than happy to delay a little Lori starting her punishment to read because he wanted her to make amends for the wrongdoing she did. The punishment was important to Lori’s growth and would still happen, but it could be delayed because doing the right thing on her own accord was more important to her growth. Wanting to make things right with her brother was a positive sign that Lori was going from being self-centered to considerate.

When walking towards the cove Alice saw her husband and daughter and waved them over. Before the Nostalgia queen could awaken the Brat Princess, a surfer caught Lori’s eye. She was amazed at how fluid the surfer was moving on the wave. It seemed effortless for him to make it to the end of the tube before the wave crashed. This excellent example of expertise, which was way beyond Lori, made her stop to admire the beauty and skill of the stranger.

Fred saw his daughter looking on in awe and joined in watching Luke in admiration. He put his arm around Lori’s shoulder to have a physical connection as those two shared this connecting moment. Lori also wanted to be closer to her dad so she put her arm around his torso. She then made the comment “That surfer is amazing.”

In a matter of fact manner Fred said “Yeah, your brother is a natural.”

Lori's amazement and excitement peaked as high as the wave which Luke rode in hearing who the mystery surfer was. Having admiration for her brother covered her like a wave and it had the same effect as a real wave. It felt refreshing, cool, and invigorated her.

Alice joined her husband and daughter. She knew exactly why they did not come over to see her. Her daughter was amazed at what she saw. People tend to stop in their tracks when they see something amazing and how good Luke was on that board had to be shocking to Lori. Learning that about her son elicited the same response from her.

Alice did not want to wait until Lori was done watching Luke to see her daughter. There was an important question which the mother needed to ask the daughter. If giving the VIP treatment to Luke and Mary was fine. The question was not asking for permission. Alice was going to give the gift to her son and his girlfriend no matter what. Forming the information as a question was a way to make the situation more cordial.

Lori actually got excited when her mom started to mention the concert. Luke’s sister's eyebrow raised like a crest of a wave. The color came rushing back to the youngest Zahn’s face like a wave to the beach. How much her daughter came to life before hearing the question was a concern to Alice. The cuddling mother was concerned that Lori was assuming that somehow the punishment was overturned.

Lori’s excitement overtook her and she interrupted her mom. Having to disappoint her daughter again about the concert felt like a huge wave coming to hit Alice. She braced herself to withstand the urge to not bring up the question. Those tickets needed to be given to Luke and Mary.

Then Lori started to speak. What was said did not contain the undertow of the unfounded assumption that Lori was going to the concert. Instead, they had a strong current which took the conversation exactly where Alice was steering it. “Mom, the concert. I have a great idea. Give the tickets to Luke and Mary. She also loves Boyz+1. It would be a shame to waste them. Aunt Bridgett had to pull many strings to get those backstage passes.”

Alice swelled up with pride. “That is a great idea, you tell them when Luke comes back to the beach.”

**************

Matt Thayil was the opposite of most teenagers. Instead of dreading hearing his alarm on Saturday morning he wanted to be woken up at god-awful in the morning. Waking up early meant it was race day for his girlfriend, Renee Walha. Having to rise before the sun on Saturn’s day meant that Matt was going to be doing many things he enjoyed. The young man was going to spend the day with his girlfriend, support her on her endeavors, go to a new bike park and work on her bike.

Renee Wahla’s boyfriend was a little selfish. Working on the bike was the part which he was looking forward to the most. Being the head of Renee’s pit crew combined Matt’s newfound love of mechanical engineering with helping the girl he loved win her race. Matt loved figuring out how to make Renee’s bike the most efficient one in the race. Helping her win made him feel like part of Team Pink Streak.

Helping her win the race had the added benefit of honoring Luke. Matt and Renee might have lost contact with Luke, but they wanted to make sure he had a place in their heart. Them not forgetting him or having bad feelings towards him was the least they could do. If not for Luke Renee would have never found her love for BMX racing. Luke also gave Matt the support he needed to embrace his inner geek. Most importantly if not for Luke those two would have never become friends and then a couple. The time Luke spent in their life helped bring out the best in them and that fact needed to be remembered. A win for team Pink Streak was a way to keep the essence of the Saturday Morning Bike Club alive.

In the past 2 racing seasons, Renee had traveled enough to events around the tri-state area that people in the BMX community gave her the nickname the Pink Streak. The fitting moniker came from her speed and her outfit. Seeing someone in all pink going past her fellow competitors as fast as Renee did made her nickname come natural. Some people wouldn’t say that girl was the best female BMX racer they have seen. Those people were not paying attention. If they had actively been conscious of the races they were watching then they would say that Renee was one of the best if not the best BMX racer they have seen. Her being a female would be as important as if Han Solo shot first to a James Bond fan, not at all.

After grabbing a healthy to-go breakfast burrito which his mom made, Matt was out of the door. He wanted to make sure that Renee and her parents did not have to wait for him. After being picked up Matt listened to Renee talking about doing her best and the layout of today's racetrack. The supportive young man let her do all the talking. The information she was giving helped him in planning the right modification to do to Renee’s bike to ensure it was at its optimal performance level.

After coming on with his strategy to help Renee be her best Matt shared the plan with her. Hearing the joy in Matt’s voice explaining his plan reaffirmed to Renee that those two were right for each other. Him helping to bring out the best in her was not a chore to Matt. Her boyfriend actually saw him helping her was also helping himself. Renee knew she had the same joy in helping Matt and it came from the same place. That they were both becoming better people.

***********

It was a well-known fact that Shy’s nickname was ironic. Her acting like a wave at the shore and crashing the Zahn’s conversation was just going to reassert this to them. Shy had to be Shy and speak her mind. The difference is this time speaking her peace was going to be giving a huge amount of credit to Alice and Lori.

As she approached the Zahn she overheard the conversation they were having. Lori was telling her mom about giving Luke and Mary her VIP package to the Boyz+1 concert. Shy was already warming up to Alice from the walk to lunch. Luke’s mom brought up that she was going to give Luke and Mary those tickets as a way to make amends. It looked good on Lori’s behalf that she had the same thought. Then Alice raised Shy’s opinion by not trying to steal Lori’s thunder. Alice made sure to give positive feedback about doing this kind gesture. More importantly Alice made it a point to say it was a great way to start to mend the relationship between Luke and Lori.

Shy being her normal self greeted the Zhan’s and without a pause gave her opinion “Hey there Mr, Ms Z and Lori. That is a great idea and so nice of you Lori. I know Mary and Luke will enjoy the concert.”

Lori felt the muscles in her body start tightening up with Shy so close. Just last night this girl wanted to introduce Lori to things she did not want to know. These things were Shy’s fists, legs and how a forced nap on the ground was good. Then Shy making a total 180 towards Lori made her give a pensive answer. “Mary will but why do you think Luke would?”

Since Lori thought only about herself,she thought everyone was the same. Luke would like the tickets for giving them to Mary will help him score points with her. She did not understand yet that people could enjoy being around someone they care deeply about having a good time at an event they would not normally like.

Shy laughed a little. “Lori, Eck will get a kick out of seeing Lil’ at the concert.”

Lori’s tense and cautious feeling was now being joined by another one, confusion. Hearing what Shy said did not compute to her, yet Lori knew Shy fully believed those words. Being so off-kilter made Luke’s sister wanting an out and she saw one. Luke was getting out of the water. Lori was an opportunist so used this as an escape from the girl and the ideas which she did not understand. “Good, good I am happy Luke will like it also. I am going to tell him now. Mom and dad come with me.”

Fred desired nothing more at that moment than to be as supportive as possible to his daughter’s journey so his answer of yes was as predictable as the sun coming up from the East. Alice wanted a moment alone with Shy. She wanted to also be supportive but needed to know why the sudden change in Shy. Wanting to be able to do both, Alice made the suggestion of those two getting Mary before telling Luke and she would be joining them when they got to Luke.

“Shy what is going on?”

“What are you talking about Ms Z.”

“You calling me Ms Z and being nice to Lori.”

“Ms Z, you deserve my respect. How you are handling Luke and Lori now is great. You came up with a way to start making up for treating Eck bad. Then when Lori had the same idea you did not tried to take credit for it.

“You better get going, you want to see the smile on your son and Lil’s face when Lori gives them those tickets.”

The simple explanation explained to Alice why the Crew put up with Shy’s outspokenness. What people who did not pay attention thought was bluntness was actually the girl wearing her heart in her sleeve. She called people out loudly when they were wrong, but at the same time belted at the top of her lungs her praise of them when they did the right thing. Alice felt closer to Shy from this better understanding. She smiled as she went to her family and said “Thank you Shy.”

**********

A light steady rain had settled for the day in Columbus, Ohio. This meant the Buckeye BMX course which was hosting the Heartland Invitation was going to be muddy. The races were going to be a slogfest for a couple of reasons. Getting speed was going to be hard and maintaining it even more so. This hindrance on speed made control paramount.

The regulars at the BMX circuit thought the unfavorable conditions lessened the chance of the odds on the favorite in the girl division to win. They were not taking into account all the factors. She had Matt to work on her bike. He knew the adjustments which needed to be made so Renee could have better control of her bike. Better control would mean more precise turning and breaking. Renee would neither be fishtailing nor losing as much momentum from vectors displacement.

To get this better control Matt knew he would have to sacrifice some acceleration. The exchange should work because once Renee hit full speed she would not be losing as much as the others when she had to decelerate. Then she would gain ground on her competitors and also not have to exert as much energy. This saving of energy would allow her to have a higher top speed at the end of the course than the rest of the racers.

The modifications were simple. The biggest one was replacing her carbon rims with her aluminum ones. This meant exchanging the cork breaks with rubber ones. This change would add weight but give much better control to Renee when breaking during the turns. The second big adjustment was putting in new brake lines. The tighter brake lines would give Renee the ability to have more subtle changes in the amount of pressure needed to use the brakes. The less pressure to slow momentum meant being able to do smaller increments of change.

After Matt explained the changes Renee was ready to race. She had full faith in what Matt told her so the girl who had no fear in showing her emotions also had no fear on the track. She was going to be able to put her all in her races. The other racers did not have the confidence in their bikes so they had to hold back from going as fast as they could.

Renee’s first heat made all those people who had doubt lose it as quick as the other seven finishers that race. They saw that the Pink Streak was not just a one-trick pony. She has the technical skills to go along with her physical superiority. Today Renne let her fellow competitors know she was more than just raw speed.

The next race Renee was in, was the quarterfinals. The win which improved her record to 2-0 was even more impressive. Her fellow racers felt defeated before the start of the race. This lack of confidence held them back from giving their all. People tend not to go all out to try to get second place. Renee kept on upping the ante on her opponents in the semifinals. Wanting to win was a factor in the expansion in the margin of victory. Another one was wanting to show Matt how good his modifications to her bike was. Him seeing the fruits of his hard labor in action was an added reward. The best reward was knowing he helped Renee win and be her best.

The finals were as anticlimactic as the ending of a movie someone was watching for the hundredth time. The only part which added excitement was Renee’s insistence that Matt also stand on the victory podium with her. Matt deserved to be on that podium as much as her.
Renee might have been the racer which crossed the finish line first, but she knew that all of the members of Team Pink Streak were the true victors.

Standing there being covered by the light rain and the heavy accolades of the crowd, Matt and Renee were holding each other’s hands. Turning to congratulate each other they both had huge grins on their faces. Winning felt great, but the smiles were from something else. The smile came from both of them knowing this accomplishment was in honor of the Saturday Morning Bike Club. Luke did not know this win was for him, but they knew he would be proud of who they were becoming.

*************

When Eck got out of the water he got some helpful pointers from Silk. Him greeting Eck as he came out of the water was not unusual. The de facto leader of the Cove Crew was always eager to help. This time the advice did not come from unintentionally paying attention to Eck’s rides. Silk made it a point to watch Eck riding the waves. He wanted to reinforce the bonds between him and his fellow Crew members. The best way was to have a natural conversation with Luke.

Last night the entire Crew made a mistake of not listening to Eck. Their pure intentions did not override that not hearing Eck could be taken as them not trusting him. The Crew had already apologized, showed they understand what they did wrong and made amends by stating they learned their lesson. Silk was now just taking the step of showing Luke those words would have actions behind them.

The little pep talk about how good Eck was and how he could become better worked out exactly as Silk planned. This was because the conversation was natural. So after reaffirming the Crew were Eck’s pillars of support, the conversation organically went into other directions. That is what happens when friends talk.

Those two were goofing off and laughing as the rest of Eck’s family and Lil’ came over. When Luke made eye contact with Lori he got tense. His sister had a huge smile on her face. Lori being happy seeing Luke was always a bad sign of things to come. Then she should not be in a good mood for she was busted in her plans to hurt luke. Lori being in a good mood cannot be. Luke knew somehow Lori was happy and was showing it. This improbable smile made Luke become cautious. Something had to be up, his sister had to be able to do something which she wanted to do. This usually meant hurting Luke.

Luke’s dad, mom and girlfriend only gave a quick hi. Then Silk excused himself, he knew those five had something to talk about which was none of his business. After one of his surfing mentors left, Luke gave a pensive hi back. The small greeting was so they would get to the last person who was going to talk, Lori. Lori said “Luke I am sorry about last night. You were right in calling me out when you got home.

“I am not going to the Boyz+1 concert tonight. I want you and Mary to go instead.”

Luke was now confused. Her doing something nice for him did not compute. At the same time Luke did not know Lori’s endgame. Not wanting to step into a trap and help Lori’s newest attack on him Luke said “I do not know what to say.”

Those words hurt Lori. The natural response was saying thank you.

Before Lori’s pain could grew and awaken the Brat Princess Fred said “Luke thank you is all you have to say. Lori knows she messed up and is trying to make it right. You are right to be leery, but Lori is trying to change. Isn’t that right Sweet Pickle?”

“Yes Luke. Mom and dad have shown me the results of my actions. I see how people get hurt by how I was treating you. I am sorry.”

Luke believed Lori’s words. This trust came from the highly regarded recommendation from his dad. After all, his dad did what was best for Luke when he found out the degree to which Lori and his mom were making his life miserable.

A big smile came to Luke’s face. The familiarity of this smile came from it being a twin of the one on Lori’s face. Luke’s sister seeing that smile took away any of the little resentment she had from him showing his appreciation right away. That smile shared made Lori feel a connection to Luke.

Luke then said “Thank you so much Lori. I will get you a shirt.”

Mary joined in thanking Lori. Those two being grateful made Lori feel good inside. Right then she understood what Shy said why Luke will enjoy the concert, she felt the same way. Lori’s happiness came from seeing her brother being happy. That smile sparked the connection siblings had and forced any thought of the unreal expectations her mom forced on Lori from her mind for now.

Alice spoke up. “Luke and Mary go get your stuff. You two need to start getting ready for the concert.”

On those words Eck and Lil’ went to pack up. Fred gave the rental car keys to Alice and walked towards Aunt Bridget’s home with Lori. On their way to where they were staying the father made sure to reinforce the fact Lori did the right thing and he was proud and happy with her progress. Alice then dropped Lil’ off at her home. Then on the way back to her sister’s told Luke she was proud of how he handled his sister’s apology.