It was a normal day like any other, really. I was on the way back home from work when I heard a humming sound of some sorts that sounded like it was moving around. At first, I thought somebody was running their lawn mower or something like that, but as I kept listening, it started getting a bit louder, and I could recognize it as a car engine. Quite the impressive car engine, too, this was something that had some serious power behind it. But nobody in town has a car like that, so who could be driving their race car through this small town? As I kept listening, I also heard something else—blaring police sirens. Was there some sort of chase going on? And as if to answer that question of mine, the sounds were getting louder and louder, seemingly getting closer.
And then, accompanied by a squeal of tires screeching along asphalt, a blue race car screamed around a nearby curve, going what must be at least four times the speed limit. At this point, I'm wondering if I have to jump out of its way because it's going to end up going on the sidewalk or something. But to my surprise, not only did the car stay on the road, but it also screeched to a halt right next to me and the door opened up. So there I was, looking inside this car, and of course, I saw a small girl with a shark tail. Of course. It only made sense. Wait, no, it didn't make sense, at all. Why the fuck was a small girl driving a race car around town at breakneck speeds, and how the fuck was she not dead yet from crashing it?
But I didn't have time to think about that, because for some reason, the girl looked at me and yelled "Get in, loser! We're going drifting!". And for some fucking reason that I still can't come up with, I got inside, closed the door, and barely managed to get my seat belt on before she gave the car a kick start, peeling out of there with a big burnout. Turns out that wasn't a second too early, as I could see the police cars coming up behind us in the mirror. I would've said that I could hear the sirens, except I couldn't because the car's sound system was blasting intense music at an incredible volume, and the shark girl was loudly singing along to it as well, and that combined with the car motor's sound meant I wasn't hearing much of anything.
Thankfully, she did turn the music down a bit after a moment, and turned towards me, smiling a smile that showed off some very sharp teeth, but again, I didn't really have time to think about the implications of that. She then asked "What's your name, huh? I'm Gura, the fastest shark there is!". So I introduced myself and Gura filled me in on what exactly was going on here. Apparently, she was taking part in a race of some kind—an illegal one, of course, given the fact that cops are trailing her at all times—with some of her friends. The goal seems to be across the entire country, and the reward is purely bragging rights. This girl must be incredibly competitive to race across the entire country for nothing but being able to say that you won, but, well, I was stuck along for the ride now. At least she promised she'd drop me off back home after the race, which might be in about a week or so. Oh well.
As we exited the town and started racing along the interstate—which meant a whole lot of nothing but empty land and a straight line of asphalt—I've come to realize that roads are just a suggestion to this girl, as she frequently swerves out and goes off road for no apparent reason. Like, she'd be driving on straight road and just swerve into the dirt, then swerve back, overshoot the road and veer into the other side of the dirt, then eventually correct back onto the road, all while she was screaming madly and yelling "It's fine! I'm a good driver!". I had all the reason to disbelieve that notion, and in fact believed her wild drifting was completely accidental, even if she tried to play it off as intentional. And eventually, her wild driving style would catch up with her. We were driving close to a canyon, cops on our tail, and I expressed worry about being so close to the canyon. Of course, she said "It's fine! We're not going in the canyon, look!" and then turned the steering wheel towards the canyon. She might've intended to show off that she can drive close to the canyon safely. Instead, she oversteered and sent the car flying straight off the canyon.
My life flashed before my eyes, and we were both screaming. The car was just plummeting down, as cars that were just sent right off the edge of a canyon tend to do, and it seemed like my life would find an unwelcome and early end. But then, the strangest thing happened. The car crashed into the ground, but inside, I couldn't feel that that had just happened. For all I knew, it was like we had just driven over a bump in the road. I wasn't sent flying through the car, I wasn't dead, the car just... took it. This car just flew into a canyon and did it without a scratch. And as if that were the most common thing in the world, Gura just turned towards me and said "See? It's fine! We didn't flip the car, everything's fine!". And as if to knock me out of this weird dreamlike haze I found myself in, just behind us, a cop car crashes into the ground, crumpling up and setting on fire like one would expect a car to do when crashing into a canyon.
And so there I am. I'm sitting in a race car that's being driven by a small shark girl called Gura, and that girl seems incredibly confident in her ability to drive while not actually having any real ability to drive, but that's OK because the car she's driving is somehow indestructible and has godlike suspension. I'm just along for the ride now, and I'm going to be along for it for about a week. And while I come to terms with that, Gura breaks me out of my thoughts by punching me in the shoulder and saying "Wake up, nerd. We got work to do. We're about to hit Vegas, and we've got to make some money.". I demand a bit more detail on just what she was talking about, and she explains that in addition to the race, the competitors also have to stop at certain cities along the route and achieve certain goals. And Gura's first goal is in Las Vegas, where she has to make 10 grand at the casinos somehow.
Gura pulls into the parking lot for a rather dingy looking casino at the outskirts of town, stopping the car and turning the motor off. Thanks to our canyon stunt, we have mostly shaken the cops, and it seemed that the Nevada state police wasn't on to us yet, which was good for several reasons. She pulled out a piece of paper and handed it to me, and as I read it, it was a list of challenges she would have to do before she could win the race. And sure enough, the first item on the list is "Las Vegas, NV - make 10.000$ at the casinos of the city".
She looks at me with that cocky grin of hers and asks "So, any ideas, smart guy?".
"How the hell would I know? Do you even have any money to gamble with? I have like fifty bucks in my wallet right now, and somehow I don't think that's going to be enough!" I reply, confused as to why exactly she expects me to have the answer to a challenge I learned about five minutes ago.
She just laughs and punches me in the shoulder again. "Ah, c'mon, don't get so mad! I got a plan, 'cause I'm a shark, and I know my way around gambling! It's easy! Just follow me, and I'll show you how a card shark wins!"
She then hops out of the car, and I follow her inside the rather run-down looking casino.