That night, “ridin’ nerdy” changed meaning. It wasn’t an insult anymore. It was a warning to anyone who thought brains couldn’t beat brawn.
The county’s unofficial street race — The Ghost Run — was in three days. No one had ever invited Leo. This year, he showed up anyway. ridin nerdy
The race started. Kyle’s Camaro roared ahead, all muscle and noise. But Leo’s little Civic stuck to him like a shadow. On the first hairpin turn, Kyle braked hard. Leo’s car didn’t brake — it calculated . The AI adjusted torque to each wheel 200 times per second. He drifted through the corner like a physics equation come to life. That night, “ridin’ nerdy” changed meaning
Leo crossed the finish line first. Silence. Then, someone laughed — not mean, but amazed. “Did the nerdy kid just…?” The county’s unofficial street race — The Ghost
The Civic didn’t just accelerate. It solved the road. Predictive algorithms read the asphalt texture, wind resistance, even the temperature drop ahead. The little car shot past the Camaro like a graphing calculator beating a typewriter at chess.
“No,” Leo said, buckling his seatbelt. “I’m exactly where I belong.”
© 2025 Mick Fleetwood. All rights reserved. Photo © Amanda Demme 2018