Chapter 107: Auto Festival (1)
[Hyde POV]
"It's finally over."
I couldn't help but crack a huge grin as I saw the bustling festival. There were no fences, except for the concert venue.
The stalls were arranged in a rectangular formation, and there were seats for people to rest in the middle of the park.
On this day, I wore a simple denim jacket and jeans. I also wore my Blue Öyster Cult black T-shirt– official merch that my worker gave me.
"Hey Hyde." Donna called me as she had registered for the festival. She got a purple lanyard which showed she has the ticket for the concert and the autoshow.
"Hyde." Eric also called me. I waved at them and said, "Go have fun. I need to stop by a few places."
"Like the mayor?" Eric teased.
I nodded and replied seriously, "Definitely like the mayor."
"The town council will be pissed off again." Donna jeered.
First, I went to the auto show on the side of the festival, located at the transformed parking lot.
I walked to Tyrell who was holding a clipboard. "Hey there."
"Boss. You're here."
"How is it?" I asked casually, standing beside him.
He grinned and said, "It's only been an hour, but people have bid on almost all of the cars here."
Not only did I set up the autoshow, I also set up a silent bidding for the cars. If they love the car, they could bid on it. The highest bid would win the show car.
Rows of Mustangs stretched across the lot, each one gleaming like it had just rolled off the factory line.
Reinforced chassis. Better braking. New custom paint job. New interior.
"Do you want to catch the exhibition?" Tyrell asked me.
"Sure."
I walked to where the crowd was gathering. One of my employees stood beside a burnt orange custom Mustang made in 1967 and shared the history of the car.
"—and this is where the Mustang stopped being just a car," Georgia said, her fingers brushing lightly along the curve of the hood. "And started becoming a statement."
"Around the mid-sixties, Ford Motor Company wanted something more than just sales."
She glanced up, making eye contact with the crowd. She saw me and brightened up immediately.
"They wanted to win."
A man in the back crossed his arms. "Win what?"
Georgia smiled. "Everything."
A few chuckles.
"Specifically—24 Hours of Le Mans. At the time, Ferrari had been dominating it. Year after year."
She took a step to the side, letting the Shelby come fully into view.
"So Ford brought in one man to change that." She tapped the car lightly. "Carroll Shelby."
Someone near the front nodded immediately. Georgia caught it and continued.
"Shelby didn't just build fast cars. He built cars that could survive the race. And drivers who could push them."
She paused and asked, "Does anyone know who that is?"
"Ken Miles." I replied.
Georgia grinned and showed a photo of Carrol Shelby and Ken Miles which was stuck on the board beside the car.
A few murmurs now. The crowd was hooked.
"What they built went on to beat Ferrari. Not once. But repeatedly."
"And after that… everything changed." She gestured toward the Mustang. "Because suddenly, American cars weren't just big. It's considered a cheap, mass produced car.
"But with that race. They were finally taken seriously."
A guy near the back let out a low whistle. "Damn."
Georgia smiled, just a little.
"This car." she said, resting her hand on the Shelby again, "comes from that era. Now, this is reinforced with new technology. You can check out the new performance on the board there. Today at 3, there will be a real demonstration on what this car can do."
One person raised their hand up. It was Bob.
Georgia pointed at him. He smiled and said, "Hi there. So I heard we can get these cars?"
"Yes. You can bid on them. Just write your name, number and bidding price on these small papers." She showed the forms she picked next to the car. "And give it to the head foreman. The winner will be announced tomorrow before the festival closes."
Bob was excited and said, "Good to know."
I walked to him and asked, "Bob. You just bought a car."
"Oh. Hey. Hyde. No, but this one is patriotic. I didn't know that thing about the Ferrari."
Bob's patriotism was activated with the story. Hopefully, a lot more people would react the same way as Bob, so we could sell more cars.
There were 52 cars being displayed right now. Since it was modified, the base price of each was around 4000 dollars.
Some of it had already reached the high price of seven thousand dollars.
For a second-hand car, the prices were quite extreme. That's why I prepared the exhibition, the history and the lectures.
Turning it into a game, tapping into people's patriotism, and making it a spectacle all pushed people to bid more on these cars than necessary.
"Good job Tyrell." I slapped his shoulder slightly. "We can survive for two more months with the profit today."
Tyrell sighed and said, "Being in the red line every month, is really messing with my blood pressure."
He turned to me and said seriously, "A normal boss would've lay off maybe half of the people in the company. But you expanded instead."
I laughed and said, "Debt can be good. Also, just leave the budgeting to me. You need to take care of your health. Otherwise, I'd have to marry your widow and take care of your children."
He glared at me instantly.
"What? Anne is really hot." I teased.
He scoffed, slipping out a laugh.
"I'll leave this place to you then." I said and walked to the other side of the festival.
As I walked past the tents, some of the store owners called to me.
"Mr Hyde! Thank you for the set up. It's really comfortable here."
"Mr Hyde! Do you want a hotdog? Free of charge!"
"You want some beer, Mr Hyde?"
"Can I take a picture with you?"
I took the pictures and the free stuff. Finally, I saw a familiar face in the tents.
"Hey Amy."
"Hey.." She smirked teasingly, "... The incredibly popular Mister Hyde."
She tied her hair into a ponytail, wearing a floral top and three quarter jeans as she sold the wooden necklaces.
"So, which is selling more? Your necklace or the hand lotion?" I asked, sitting on top of her table.
She grinned and took out the skin coloured lotion. "It's my necklace, but the lotion is also selling really well. Smell it." She put some on her hand and moved it to my face.
I laughed and sniffed it slightly. "It smells good."
"It makes my hand become baby soft too." She said with admiration. "I'm going to buy 10 of these for myself."
"Pfft– I can get you more if you want. You don't have to do that."
"Really! That's great!" Amy smiled excitedly. Suddenly, she saw something and frowned.
"Heads up. My sister and Chad are coming here."
I turned to take a look at the girl who seduced Amy's ex-boyfriend and got pregnant. My eyes widened slightly as I saw her.
"Oh shit."
It was the girl from the bar last night– Janine.
Chad and Janine stopped by Amy's tent with serious frown on their
faces.
"Hey Ames." Janine greeted Amy before turning to me. Her eyes were
intense, and slightly promiscuous.
Chad frowned and said, "So you fucked my wife last night?"
"Yup. She loved it too." I replied casually.
"You bastard–" Chad clenched his fist and gritted his teeth.
Amy gasped and turned to me, "You slept with my sister?!"
"I have no idea she's your sister. Or that she's married." I replied to Amy.
Janine snorted mischievously and said, "I did tell you, after you finished."
"You whore–" Chad shouted at Janine, but she snapped at him back.
"If you don't want to sleep with another man, maybe you shouldn't have slept with my aunt!"
"Aunt Rudy?!" Amy stood up, shocked as she heard the news.
Chad's face turned red. He stomped away with frustration.
Janine sighed and turned to me again. "So Steven. Are you calling me tonight?"
"No. Mostly because I feel kinda weird doing it with a pregnant lady." I replied.
She snorted and said, "I'm not pregnant. That's over like two months ago."
Amy grabbed her arm and asked whisperingly, "Did you get an abortion?"
"Of course I did. Do you think I want to carry that bastard's child?" Janine snapped at Amy. "This is all your fault. If you didn't bring him back home, I wouldn't have been forced to marry him!"
Amy was taken aback.
I got pissed off and cut in, my voice laced with sarcasm, "Maybe if you had kept your legs shut and.. not slept with your sister's boyfriend, this wouldn't have happened in the first place?"
Janine gasped, fully offended. She glared at me and then she walked away. "Don't call me, ever." She gnashed her teeth at me.
Amy sighed in relief.
"Wow, your family's a mess." I chuckled. "Not on my family's level of mess, but it's getting there. Your family is slowly becoming white trash."
"Hey!" Amy snapped at me. "Don't say that! That's like a prophecy. A bad prophecy."
I laughed and jumped down from the desk. "Damn, I really thought I had found someone to mess around with." I grumbled slightly.
Amy was taken aback. "Don't you dare call my sister!"
"What can I do? I'm just a horny teenage boy. And your sister is quite crazy in bed." I joked.
She grimaced and said, "If you're horny, jerk off. Use your hand! You crazy bitch."
I laughed and waved goodbye to her before walking to the other tents.
…
"Hey Megan." I greeted as I walked to the largest tent in the festival. The goodies tent.
Rev It Up merchandise – sunglasses, shirt, cap, pen, were all being sold here. Megan had just finished up a shirt sale before she turned to me.
"Steven. You're here." She greeted me happily. Megan wore a light blue Rev It Up shirt, while the other people there wore a peach colored 'Point Place AutoShow '77'.
"How's the sales going? Did I invest in the shirts for nothing?" I asked her cheekily.
Megan sighed and said, "It's been going great. We've sold around one-fifth of all the stocks. The peak time isn't here yet, so hopefully we can sell everything this weekend."
I nodded and said, "How's the shirt?"
"It's really great." She ran her hand on her shirt slightly. "It's thick, soft, but it's quite airy. So it's very comfortable to wear, even in the summer."
Smiling in satisfaction, I said, "That's great. What about the tie-dye shirt?"
"Oh, that's been selling like crazy." Megan looked annoyed and she glared at the tent beside her. "I even bought a few of those too. You must be happy Steven. Both of your stalls are successful."
"Bold of you to assume I just have two stalls." I snickered.
I have a beer stall– imported beers from all over the world. Candy stall, instant noodle stall, spray on deodorant and sunscreen stall, and a photobooth.
The workers were my employees from all over my businesses that wanted to make extra money at the festival.
Since the stage and the sound system alone took almost a quarter million dollars– which was around 50 thousand in 1977 money– I have to make sure to recover the cost in this festival.
"Hey, the command center told me to give you this." Megan gave me a walkie-talkie.
"Oh. Great. I'm actually going to stop by after this, but I don't have to now." I took the walkie-talkie from her hand and asked, "How's Talia? Is she still sick?"
"Her fever's gone down. I think she's coming to the festival this evening." Megan replied with a smirk. "So, can I have a paid day off whenever she's sick from now on?" She teased.
I grimaced and said, "Yeah sure. But you're making it up for it by working overtime for free."
"Oh damn it." She cursed.
The walkie-talkie suddenly crackled and the command center staff– Jeff, began speaking.
"Head's up. Burkhart and his family are going around the festival, greeting the stall owners and taking credit for stuff he didn't actually do.-- Over," Jeff said with annoyance.
Megan's face turned angry instantly. "What exactly is he doing? Why aren't you stopping him?-- Over."
I interjected and said, "Yeah. So, just let him do whatever he wants."
"What?" Megan was shocked.
I explained, "Make sure he won't be resentful that he's trying to make trouble or anything. So if he's trying to claim some small credit, just let him do that."
Jeff went silent for a bit and he said, "He's saying you're dating his daughter—and that you take advice from him like a son-in-law. That's how you made this possible."
"Fuck that!" I cursed instantly. "Where is he?"
"He's near the stage. At the beer stall." Jeff replied.
Megan laughed and teased, "So, you're going to go meet your father-in-law huh? It's that Jackie chick, right? That's who you're marrying?"
I grimaced and said to her, "Just for that, you're going to be working on sales next week."
Megan flinched slightly and shouted, "You know I have no people skills! BOSS!"
It took me a good half mile to find the Burkharts.
Town Councilman Jack Burkhart stood near the beer stall, dressed in a full three-piece suit despite the summer heat.
He dabbed his forehead with a handkerchief, forcing a smile as he greeted Randall.
"My good man," Jack said, extending a hand with practiced confidence, "...you've done a remarkable job here. Truly. The whole town is talking about it."
Randall stared at him flatly. Being one of my important staff members, he knew that Jack had nothing to do with this festival. But because of my order, he had to play nice.
Jack's smile tightened slightly. He realized that people had been whispering and looking at him with annoyed eyes as he's trying to talk to people.
"Now then—would you be so kind as to angle that fan in my direction? Just for a moment." He leaned in slightly, lowering his voice. "I'm roasting alive out here." He laughed self-deprecatingly.
"Sorry. These fans are just for the staff members only." Randall replied callously.
"Maybe you shouldn't be wearing a three-piece suit to a summer festival," Pam said dryly, arms crossed as she turned to him.
Jack didn't even turn to her.
"Presentation, Pamela," he said smoothly. "People expect a certain standard from their public officials."
Jackie batted her eyes nervously. She saw Donna waving at her from afar. "Dad, can I go meet my friends now?"
Jack waved absently at a passing couple, his smile instantly switching back on. "In a moment, sweetheart."
He leaned slightly toward her without breaking his grin. "We're making appearances. So that the poor people know that we're supporting them."
Jackie nodded, fully supportive of her dad. "Okay. I'll wait for a while longer."
Pam grimaced and said, "Jack, I want to go to the stage."
"In a second hun. It's important we show support for local enterprises."
"You can go once we've made our rounds," Jack continued, lowering his voice again. "These people vote. It's important for them to see us if I want to be Mayor next year."
"Daddy! You're finally going to the elections?" Jackie clasped her hand, excited.
Jackie looked at her with affection and said, "If everything goes well, I will stay in this town for a year or two. Then, I'll have enough footing to start my career in Chicago."
I finally caught up with the Burkharts. "Councilman." I called from behind.
Jack turned to me with a genial smile on his face. "Oh. Steven Hyde. My daughter's future husband."
"Daddy!" Jackie whined. She blushed and said, "We're not even dating yet."
"You're not? I can finally be at ease when you tell me you're no longer dating that kettlehead Micheal Kelso." Jack grimaced slightly. "You're not still hanging out with that boy, are you?"
"Um. No?" Jackie replied hesitantly.
"She hung out with him everyday. That's also why I'm not dating her. She's really hung up on that kettlehead." I interjected.
"Jackie." Jackie threw his head backwards, his blood pressure rising.
Jackie gasped and said, "NO! Daddy! It's not like that!"
Pam Burkhart greeted me and said, "Hello Steven."
I froze slightly as I saw her. The actress playing Jackie's mom was Brooke Shields.
She has perfectly tanned skin, beautiful blown out hair, and no brassiere even with the loose silk top. Most men in the crowd would stare at her for as long as they could to admire her beauty.
"Mrs Burkhart. It's the first time you remember my name." I shook her hand slightly.
She laughed and said, "I remember everyone's name– as long as they were on TV." She touched my arm and said, "Are you still working on the TV program?"
"Pam." Jack called her firmly and said, "Don't bother that boy. He must've been so busy already."
Jackie ran towards me and grabbed my arm, hugging it tightly. "Mom, dad. I think it's better for me to walk around with Steven, right? It'll look good for all of us if I do that."
"Oh. Honey, but mommy wants to see the stage." Mrs. Burkhart said pitifully.
Jackie turned to me and asked, "Steven. Can my mom see the stage?"
"Hey, as long as you stop introducing me as your future son-in-law, I can do that as a favor to you."
"Really?! Great!" Pam agreed instantly.
"I think I'm going to go back home and change. It's a really bad decision for me to come here wearing this suit." Jack said begrudgingly. "I think a blazer is already enough. Steven. I'll leave my wife and daughter in your hands."
He shook my hand and left.
I sighed in exasperation as I turned at the two bright eyes, narcissistic women who's staring intensely at me.
"Alright. Let's take a look at the stage."
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