Hurricane Race

And so it was a race. Which one would win? Which one would make landfall first? The two hurricanes liked racing. They lived for the race. They've raced their whole life. They'll race till the day they die.

"I'll make it to Texas before you get to Florida," Laura said. She was probably right. Marco was stronger than Laura, but she had a head start.

“We’ll see about that,” Marco said. He was probably right, too.

And so they raced. For hours and hours, the two of them raced along the Gulf Coast. Laura was moving slowly, so she could make sure she didn’t leave a single house standing. Marco was moving slowly, too. He didn’t want to lose.

“You’ll never win,” Laura said to Marco. “No one’s ever beaten me in a race.”

Marco didn’t say anything. He just kept racing.

Back in Florida, it was a race to see who would get there first.

“I’m going to make it to Texas first,” Marco said. “I’ll win the race. I’ll outrun Laura. I’ll outrun everyone. I’ll win the race.”

“You’ll never win,” Laura said. “No one’s ever beaten me in a race.”

Marco didn’t say anything. He just kept racing.

“What do you think the weather will be like in Texas?” Laura asked.

“It will be very dry. It will be very hot. There will be lots of dust and dirt. It will be very uncomfortable,” Marco said.

“I’d like that,” Laura said.

“I don’t think you will,” Marco said. “You’re not used to that.”

“I’m used to being uncomfortable,” Laura said. “I’m used to being miserable.”

“You’ll be miserable in Texas,” Marco said.

“I’ll be miserable in Florida, too,” Laura said. “I’m always miserable.”

As they raced, Laura got closer to the beach. She was getting very close. Marco moved up a little. He wanted to make sure he won the race. Laura moved up a little. She wanted to make sure she won.

The two of them raced. It was a race to see who would win.

Back in Texas, people were watching the TV reports. They were watching the TV reporters as they spoke about the hurricane.

“Hurricane Laura is getting closer to the coast,” a reporter said. “We’re expecting Laura to make landfall sometime tonight.”

“The hurricane would have been better if it had been named Marco,” another reporter said. “Hurricane Marco is still a long way off. We don’t expect it to make landfall till tomorrow.”

“But we can’t be sure of that,” the first reporter said. “We don’t know what will happen. We don’t know if Hurricane Laura will turn. We don’t know if she’ll move off to the north. We don’t know if she’ll move off to the south. We don’t know if she’ll move toward the west. We don’t know if she’ll move toward the east. We just don’t know.”

“Hurricane Laura is a very powerful hurricane,” the second reporter said. “She’s carrying a lot of water. She’s carrying a lot of wind. Most of the people in Texas are not used to hurricanes. I don’t think they’re used to the kind of weather Hurricane Laura will bring.”

Laura was picking up the pace. She could hear Marco taunting her. She could hear him telling her that she was too slow. She was moving faster. She was getting closer.

Marco heard her. He moved up a little. He moved up so he could be sure he was going to win the race.

Laura knew that she was moving faster. She knew that she was getting closer.

The two of them raced. It was a race to see who would win.

Back in Florida, the weather was getting bad. It was raining. It was raining hard. It was raining harder than usual.

“The rain is getting worse,” the weatherman said. “The rain is getting harder. The rain is getting harder than it usually does. Are you used to this kind of rain? Are you used to this kind of rain coming down on you? Are you used to getting drenched like this? Are you used to getting wet? Are you used to getting soaking wet? Are you used to getting soaked?”

“No,” said the people in Florida. “We’re not used to this kind of rain. We’re not used to getting soaked.”

As Laura and Marco approached the finish line Laura could hear the people cheering. Was she actually going to win? But it wasn't cheering that she heard. It wasn’t cheering. It was crying.

“What’s going on?” Laura asked. “Why are they crying?”

“They’re crying because they’re afraid of you,” Marco said. “They’re crying because they’re afraid of me. They’re scared of the heavy rain. They’re scared of the hurricane.”

“They’re scared of Hurricane Laura,” Laura said.

“Yes,” Marco said. “They’re scared of Hurricane Laura.”

“They’re scared of me,” Laura said.

“Yes,” Marco said. “They’re scared of you.”

“They’re crying because they’re afraid of me?” Laura asked.

“Yes,” Marco said. “They’re crying because they’re afraid of you.”

“I’m afraid of me,” Laura said.

“Yes,” Marco said. “Everybody’s afraid of you. Everybody’s afraid of me. They’re afraid of us.”

“They should be,” Laura said.

“Yes, they should,” Marco said.

People were running away from the coast. They were running away from the beach. They didn’t want to be anywhere near Laura. They didn’t want to be anywhere near her. They didn’t want to be anywhere near Marco. They didn’t want to be anywhere near him.

“Do you think you’ll win?” Laura asked.

“I’m not sure,” Marco said. “I’m not sure I’ll win.”

“I’m sure I’ll win,” Laura said.

“You shouldn’t be,” Marco said.

“Why not?” Laura asked.

“You’re afraid of me,” Marco said.

“I’m afraid of you,” Laura said. “You’re the most powerful hurricane the world has ever seen.”

“Yes,” Marco said. “I’m the most powerful hurricane the world has ever seen.”

Laura asked if Marco wanted to go for ice cream.

“Yes,” Marco said. “I’d like to go for ice cream.”

“Me, too,” Laura said.

Marco and Laura went for ice cream. They went for ice cream together. They went for ice cream together so they could be friends.