Adventures in The 6ix

by Wiz Ahmad

Chapter 23: Shoppin' for Bikes and Playin' a Banger

ZACK POV

EASTERN VAUGHAN

“This area seems a little more high-end than Toronto – in fact, much more,” Skystar noted. “The housing and the cars, to name two.”

“I recognize this building,” Zack noted, pointing to the highway below as they drove over a bridge. “We’re getting pretty close.”

“How about we visit Big Al afterwards?” Patricia suggested, still holding in a squee at Skystar’s big beautiful eyes gazing back at her from the backseat.

“Sounds great. Just… don’t go diving into any tanks,” Zack chimed in with a chuckle. “They’re too small anyways.”

Skystar let out a hearty chuckle of her own. “I know, I’ve learned my lesson. But I’d still love to see the fish there – and oooh, those clams and other shells!”

“Are there any bubblefish there?!” Pinkie asked eagerly, leaning so far forward she almost fell out of her seat.

Zack nodded with a half-grin. “But they’re not that big – no bigger than my thumb – and also quite delicate. Puffer fish are displayed there too.”

“Hey look kids, we’re here now!” Patricia exclaimed, pulling up in front of the shop. “You all head inside, I’ll go park.”

“Thanks, Mom,” Zack replied, giving her a quick kiss before stepping out and opening the back doors for Pinkie and Skystar.

The three strode up to the shop. Zack opened the door and his friends stepped inside.

“Whoa!” Pinkie exclaimed, taking in the sights and smells. The walls were lined with parts of all kinds – saddles, rims, tires, forks, frames, and more. Skystar soon had her eyes on a bright sea-blue frame.

“That’s a 17” frame,” Zack said, gently coaxing her to the back counter. “Let me ask if they got a larger one in stock, ‘cause you’re even taller than me when upright.”

“Well, if it isn’t Vaughan’s biggest street rider, Zack!” the salesman mused. “And he’s got a pack!”

“Ah, Mason. Nice to see you again, bud,” Zack replied with a smile and a firm handshake. Mason was the second-in-command to the store’s manager. A few owners had come in with dogs before, so Pinkie and Skystar didn’t seem to be much of a problem for him. He was a really nice guy.

“What can I help you with today?”

“I’m going to build two new bikes,” Zack stated clearly. “I’d like to know if you have any large frames – 20-22-inches should be ideal from my estimate.”

“Hmmm, let’s see…” Mason scrolled through his database list. “Ah, yes! I’ve got two 20-inch, one 21-inch, and four 22-inch MafiaBikes frames in sea blue. What size?”

“Size? Oh…” Zack quickly realized what was being hinted. “Got a tape measure?”

Mason pulled a small yellow coil from his pocket, and Zack held it up. “Phew! 6’2.”

“You’re a big girl,” Mason cooed, stroking her soft mane. “What’s your name?”

“Skystar.”

“Alright, Skystar, I think a 21.5” frame should fit you well. And some 8.5-inch bars.”

“I think I can pick out the forks and saddle,” Zack offered. “Rims are up to her choice as well.”

After some scouring and fussing, Skystar eventually had finalized her build:

• Stranger 21.5-inch frame
• Chrome Wethepeople forks
• Blue Demolition rims
• White-wall Momentum tires
• Federal Camo saddle
• Animal seat post
• United Supreme Pedals
• Odyssey cranks
• Odyssey brake kit
• Shadow Interlock chain
• G-Sport pegs
• Primo hub guard
• Shadow sprocket
• BSD stem
• BSD headset
• Jet BMX gyro kit
• ODI grips
• UNITED handlebars

After being measured when standing bipedal, Pinkie then picked out the parts for her build:

• Pink Sunday 17-inch frame
• Navy blue Odyssey rims
• Momentum white-wall tires
• Black Sunday fork
• Chrome Stranger handlebars
• Pink Cult grips
• Sunday pink-and-purple camo saddle
• Stranger seat post
• Primo chain
• BSD cranks
• Black Demolition Trooper pedals
• Total BMX stem
• Odyssey Gyro kit
• Odyssey brake kit
• Primo hub guard
• Primo headset
• Odyssey sprocket

Zack’s life literally flashed before his eyes at the sight of the total bill, but sighed and smiled. He knew what he was doing this for, and for whom.

With a confident smile, he pulled out his debit card. Just as he was about to slide it in, a woman burst through the front door.

“Hi! So sorry I didn’t come sooner, I got caught up with a phone call…” Patricia huffed as she sprinted up to the counter. “Sweetie, I know you’ve got a lot to buy, but it’s only fair if I pay for half of it. After all, I drove you and your friends here, right?”

“You certainly did, Mom,” Zack replied with a smile, tapping her shoulder. “Go ahead. We’ll split it 50/50.”

Patricia paid first, then Zack topped off the rest – a grand total of almost a grand. While Patricia brought the car over, Zack pulled out a marker and quickly labelled all the boxes, so as to avoid confusion as to what parts were for which bike. With Skystar and Pinkie’s help, he carried the parts out the door. Together, they all loaded the parts into the trunk, until it was pretty much full.

“So, what’s the plan, Zackie?” Pinkie cooed, clicking her seat belt in place.

“Um…” Zack began, blushing slightly. Zackie – it sounded seriously feminine, but cute all at the same time. “Since when have I been a girl?”

“You certainly are fearless enough to dress like one,” Patricia teased. “I mean, those legs were smoother and shinier than any forks I’ve seen in the shop.”

“Hey!” Zack snapped, suddenly feeling uncomfortable. “Never mind my clothing, focus on the plan. How about you drop me off home and take Pinkie and Skystar to Big Al’s? In the meantime I can assemble the bikes.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Patricia replied.

XAVIER POV

HOME

PARKDALE, TORONTO

“Now that I’ve covered all of you, let’s take a look at some of my previous work,” I said, pulling up a few LPP files as my friends all gathered closely around.

“for_da_club.lpp. Let’s try this one.”

I opened up the file and let all the plugins load, then hit play.

A tight sequence of ambient background vocal chops played before a deep bass pluck and a finger snap clap took over. Immediately I recognized the beat.

“That clap you hear is a sample. I actually recorded that right here in the basement,” I noted proudly, before hitting play again. The beat continued with an epic white noise riser transitioning into the main beat with a thumpy 808 kick and intricate hi-hats, the background ambient vocal chops and piano still present in their tight fluctuation. Before I knew it, Pinkie was shuffling her feet, swinging her arms, and jumping. Then a familiar voice came.

“You still got that party beat?”

“Mom!” I exclaimed, hitting pause and leaping out of the seat to help her with her shopping bags. “How’ve you been?”

“Away from you for too long,” she confided, squeezing me in a tight hug. “Do you have any plans?”

“Absolutely. We’re all going to stay home today and do some fun, creative stuff together. I have my music, and you have your sewing and beading.”

After helping her put away the groceries she bought, I brought Joyce to sit down and gave her a glass of juice, while I slid into my chair and continued playing the beat, warning Pinkie not to get carried away.

“When did you make this? Joyce asked as the beat ended. “I know I heard it before, but I can’t recall when.”

“About two years back,” I replied. “It was one of my first beats. I actually made it for a frat party, and the host gave me $200 in cash for the full rights to it. But it got leaked and some underground rapper claimed it as their own, which I found out just a few weeks later through a SoundCloud recommendation. I just wanted to keep making more music, so I just shrugged it off.”

“Ah wouldn’t do that if I were you,” Applejack said in a serious voice. “You made that beat, you should own it. It’s your right. Gather your evidence and bring this to the court.”

“It’s just a dance-worthy rap beat,” I shrugged.

“Who knows how much money that loon is making,” Rainbow Dash added defiantly. “And all of it illegally!”

I took a long gaze at Joyce, Twilight, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash, and let out a long sigh. My friends had the winning baton on this one. I knew of the truth and was letting it slip by, with the foolish thought of dismissing it as insignificant.

“I dunno, maybe I can add it to the court case coming in three weeks,” I finally spoke. “Or simply file a DMCA claim. The thing is, I didn’t have any copyright on the beat. No producer tags. So it’s not going to be easy.”

Author's Note:

Xavier's track is based on this one:

A SNEAK PEEK AT THE NEW WHIP:

Comments

[Captain Morgan]

Just listened to the song, love it!

[Movingtarget Productions]

Oh jeez those are some serious looking rims