Not for you (FIN)

>Facts & Trivia:

(This part of the chapters becomes longer and longer, I swear...)

What the hell is a plasma cutter, a weapon from Star Wars? - No! It's a machine that cuts metal just like a hot wire would cut a thin plate of wax - see http://science.howstuffworks.com/plasma-cutter.htm for further explanation. Genius machine, I'm just loving it.

The 'Corsa' cutout design: Not mine. I didn't make it. It reminded me of the possibility of cutout designs with plasma cutters, though; so that when I saw it in a magazine I felt the need to bring it into the story.

Jessie's computer switch: A goof in the movie. Watch it again; the scene where Jessie shows Brian what his Supra could look like. Keep your eyes on the on/off switch when Jessie inserts the floppy disk... and look what it's turned to; I also have a picture of that in this chapter if you don't have the DVD at hand. I merely tried to correct that goof in this story. And why the hell did he need to put that floppy disk into the drive? Couldn't he have saved it to the harddisk? Questions that demanded answers, in my opinion.

(Note: Of course the 'floppy disk slipping in' had a reason: The movie makers tried to avoid to show any kind of actual software or operating system on that Compaq. What we see on the computer screen there is a movie. To show that Jessie is "opening a file", however, without showing what operating system he was running, they used the trick with the floppy disk; that's all.)

The team's cutout design: I've designed it. Mine. If you want it... ask. I could even cut it into your car, if you wanted me to.
The 'Turbo snail' they're referring to actually describes the casing of a car's turbo, which, cut open, looks like a cut-open snail. Looks like this: http://www.dune-buggy.com/turbo/images/tturbo1.gif in a diagram.

Cut scenes: I'm referring to several cut scenes from 'The Fast and the Furious' in this chapter. Whenever I do, I'll post a picture of that cut scene in the text with a short, italic explanation of it. Those explanations are not part of the story; I just put them in so that those of you who don't know these particular scenes can see what I'm referring to. And in case you should ask yourselves: No, I wasn't happy at all that those particular scenes were cut, which is why I'm 'recycling' them for this chapter of my story.




The following days were full of sightseeing, laughing, having parties in the evenings. It was about fun, about seeing the team grow together. Roman and I never stopped flirting, earning ourselves more or less snarky remarks from the others; but I doubt anyone took it serious, especially not Roman or myself.

In the afternoons they would get their cars to a garage nearby; checking and working on them; and I tried to help wherever I could, not knowing too much about the tech involved in rice burners. Being able to pray the stats of them while sleeping was one thing.... but to actually work on that stuff was another. I was so happy that my own car was relatively simply built...

I felt a bit useless - until I discovered that there was a handheld plasma cutter in that garage; my favorite machine- or toy, rather - when it came to bodywork.

I showed them how this thing could be used for more than just cutting thick steel apart by cutting my own car's name into its hood, and underlaid with chrome steel mesh, it looked really cool.

http://www.naergilien.info/NFM/Cutoutclose_small.jpg


When the others saw this, they wanted it too. I suggested that it would be cool if we all had the same cut out designs on our cars, not just the car's name.

"Shit, we could need Jessie now." Vince said when I brought the suggestion up; and they all looked at each other a bit sad.

"What for?" I asked.

"Well, to design such a cut out logo for all of us. Jessie was really great at designing, sometimes he spent the whole night in front of his computer if something had his interest." Brian said.


http://www.naergilien.info/NFM/Jessiecut.jpg

Deleted scene: Jessie telling Brian that he's been up all night working on the Supra design.

This scene would be just after Brian brought the burned Supra to Dom's garage.



"Oh, and do you remember that weird little computer of his? He had turned the cables in the switch, so it was off all the time when it was turned on. That was funny." Dom laughed.


http://www.naergilien.info/NFM/powerswitch.jpg

Goof in the movie: Computer is clearly switched off when Jessie shows Brian what the Supra could look like.



"Yes, and he always carried his files around on floppies, was always afraid they might get lost on the computer." Vince snickered.

They took a moment to remember Jessie, of whom I had only seen a picture on the net.

"Hm, I never knew Jessie; but I could have a try? I have some graphics software on my computer which does a relatively good job..." I finally said when I felt that they were finished.

"Show us." Dom said.

That evening I found myself crammed together with the whole team in front of the small space of the computer in my trailer. I doubt they could all see what I was doing, let alone understand it.

"Alright, this is Corel Draw. Let's open a new file.... there."

I never stopped explaining what I did, because these boys certainly knew their way around cars, but not around computers.

"So... what should we do?"

"Letters would be nice. I had a 'DT' logo for my garage back then." Dom said.

"Yes, but 'DT' wouldn't exactly do, right? We're 'Team Toretto' not 'Dudes Toretto'..."

They laughed, Dom nodded. "TT it is."

"Okay, let me just... there. A big T. Let's copy that, paste... another T. Now we have to look for a font... Let's scroll that through, there..." I pointed at the screen, "you have a preview what the 'T' would look like in different fonts." I just kept scrolling slowly until finally everyone thought that this was the font they wanted - one from the Arial family.

"Okay - let me see... we should put this in italics so it looks as if it's moving forward - like this..."

"Looks good to me. Woman, you're good!" Vince grinned.

"I'm not, I just know my way through this freaking software. Now - maybe we should put the other T into a different font, just to distinguish both from each other. Let me see... this one looks pretty cool? A bit geometric, metallic?" I chose a font of the 'Futura' family.

"That's good, really good." Brian nodded.

"Alright, let's see how we align them... perhaps like this...?" I was pushing the letters around on the screen.

"No, bring that down a little... there, that's good." Roman suggested, and we all liked it.

"Houston, we have a problem." Dom said still studying the screen and we all looked at him. "See, we've been Team Toretto many years ago, and we're not the same any more. I vote for another letter."

"Like...?" I asked.

"R for reformed."

"Hmmm, good idea, but that's a bit difficult to make as a cutout." I said.

"Why?" Leon asked.

"Well, see, cutouts are cutouts because each letter is 'cut out'. This means that the metal around each letter has to carry all elements of the letter. Not difficult for a 'T', but in the 'R' you have this space up above..." I pointed at the screen, "that little 'D' up there in the 'R' would fall out with a cutout design, because it's held by nothing."

"Isn't there a fancy font that would provide us with something that's not having the 'D' in the 'R'?"

Gods, I thought, if anyone could hear us here. 'D in the R' sounds like some kind of freaking code... "Hmmm, let me see. Oh, this looks neat - Victorian LET."

"I like the little snail there. Reminds me of a turbo." Dom said.

"Yes, and we all have turbos, so it should fit." I said.

"Put that right under the first T..." Dom said. "There. Looks great, doesn't it?"

We all took a look at the screen. It perhaps wasn't the coolest design ever, but it was acceptable. The fact that we all had worked on it together, however, made it a unique, genius work.


http://www.naergilien.info/NFM/TTR.jpg

"Okay, that's our new logo! Dana, you start cutting tomorrow. I want that thing on all our cars at the next race." Dom said.

"Brilliant." I said. "And what will you all do when I'm working?"

"Watching, of course." Vince grinned, evading the keyboard I was swinging.

The next morning we all headed for the garage. I knew it wouldn't take too long, but I wanted to do a good job; so I was a little nervous. They would let me cut into the steel of their cars; the cars I had so long admired. That was something to be proud of.

When I started cutting the first design into my own door, right beneath the side mirror, they all stood around me and watched. Which unnerved me to no end, so after the second 'T' I chased them out of the garage.

"Do something useful, but don't watch me. I don't like it. Better get your cars here, so I can work on them as soon as I'm finished with mine. One of you could get me some matching paint for each car so I can seal the cut edges afterwards, and I would be extremely thankful if someone could provide me with cut out rectangles of steel mesh a bit bigger than this logo. Plus, I need you to strip the covers from the insides of your doors so I can attach the mesh from the inside. You have jobs, go to work, dammit!" I shouted and they fled in different directions.

Around noon it was hot in that freaking garage. Too hot.

I stripped from my shirt, leaving me with shorts and bra when I was cutting the designs from their doors. A bit of paint to seal the cut edges, which almost dried on the brush due to the heat, a bit of glue to fix the steel meshes, and I had finished each of the designs in under thirty minutes. Of course the others had been finished much earlier, and since I had started to cut out the third I had seen none of them.

Slowly but surely I found myself wondering where the boys were; but a short look out of the garage door told me. From the backyard I heard laughter.

Ohhh, I thought. I'm working in this hot dirty garage and they're having fun in the sun. I stormed outside towards the sound behind the garage and peered around the corner.

What I saw there blew me away.


http://www.naergilien.info/NFM/suprachassis.jpg

Deleted scene: Dom, Brian, Jessie and Leon sitting on the Supra's chassis, telling stories about how they drove cars for the first time.


Five guys, stripped from their shirts, deliciously covered with dirt and sweat, were draped on the in- and outside of an old convertible's chassis, drinking beer and having fun.

My five guys. My team, as I reminded myself.

My God...

Sweat, muscles, dirt, sun. What the hell was I staring at? That's not fair, I thought, not fair. The little devil on my shoulder popped up. 'You're right, that's not fair.' It chuckled. 'You're too far away to really enjoy this. Get closer...' That freaking little devil was right, and before the angel popped up, too, I had shrugged them both off.

I tried to make an unimpressed face and walked around the corner. "You lazy asses, you're having all the fun without me? Where's my Coke?" I said, coming to a halt just a few yards away from them, propping my arms into the sides of my waist.

Just to find them all staring at me - and that kind of stare I knew; it wasn't too different from the way I had stared at them just seconds earlier.

"What?" I said, looking down at me. I was covered in sweat, dirt and paint as well, and I was still just wearing the bra and shorts. Oh...

"You could, uhm - should, you know, put something on." Dom coughed.

"Why, it's hot. Besides, I'm still wearing more clothes than you." I grinned, draping myself stomach down on the hood next to Roman, for a short moment enjoying the feeling of hot metal against my skin until it was gone.

"Yeah, but you're a woman." Brian managed.

"So? You're having problems with that or what?"

"Isn't a bit hot there on the hood? Doesn't that hurt?" Dom said.

"Not much, and just for a moment; cools down pretty fast. A bit of pain is good to remind me that I'm still alive, you know?" I said, still enjoying the burning sensation on my skin. "Dom, give me a Coke, please?"

He walked over to the refrigerator, picked up a can and came over, but instead of handing it out to me, he rolled the cold can with his hand over my back.

"Oah!" When the can touched the skin on my back it was shocking cold at first, but then it just felt wonderful. The can was rolled back up... and I found myself lying purring on the hood.

"Hmmm... give me more of that." I said, looking up forward and found Vince staring at me over the window frame.

"I'd say anything more would include something that's not so cold." He laughed, reminding me what situation I had gotten myself into.

"Boys, you're all far too good to take advantage of the situation. We're a team, and what's wrong about a team having fun in the sun together?" I reminded them as well as myself.

The can was lifted up and pressed into my hand, Dom slid down the bumper and sat on the ground next to me, leaning to the front wheel.

For a while, we just sat or lay around in, on and against the chassis.

"Boys, I must say I'm enjoying this time immensely." I sighed. "I doubt that anyone back in Germany will believe me if I told them about this, but I still enjoy it."

"I'm also enjoying it, but it's too damn hot." Brian said.

"Not just because there are scarcely clad women around." Roman grinned.

"No, of course also because there are scarcely clad men around." I winked to him over my shoulder.

"Not to forget that large bright disk in the sky; I think it's called a sun." Dom murmured.

"You know what I could make good use of? Cold water, lots of it, all around me." Leon said.

"Me too." Brian sighed. "It's too fucking hot."

"Well, I doubt we'd all fit into the shower, but what about the beach?" Vince suggested.

Each of us looked at all the others, then everyone stared at Vince, as if he had just given the answer to all questions in the Universe.

I think I never saw a whole group of people simultaneously jump up that fast to run to their cars at temperatures so high without any apparent reason...