He was back. The city of Bayview gleamed under virtual rain. Rachel was waiting in the online lobby, her purple 240SX idling. Caleb’s Eclipse was already revving.
His phone buzzed. Rachel’s name lit up.
He stared at the error message. Then at his reflection in the dark monitor. Then at his wallet—eleven dollars and some change.
Leo slammed his palm on the desk. The CD case rattled. He’d been one race away—one single neon-lit sprint across Coal Harbor’s docks—from unlocking the final sponsor. Now the game had frozen, mocking him with that ancient, dreaded message. He was back
Leo groaned. Rachel didn’t need a CD. Her older brother had bought the legit copy from Electronics Boutique. She’d been taunting him for weeks about his “burned loser disc.”
Here’s a short story inspired by Need for Speed: Underground 2 , built around the nostalgic phrase “Please insert the correct CD-ROM.”
He reached behind his desk and pulled out the original—the one he’d borrowed from Rachel last week when she wasn’t looking, promising to return it “tomorrow.” He’d been keeping it as an emergency key. Caleb’s Eclipse was already revving
Leo typed into the chat: “Sorry. Had to insert the correct CD-ROM.”
He rebooted the game.
He didn’t lose. He won the outer loop by 0.4 seconds, his Nissan Skyline’s underglow turning the wet asphalt into a ribbon of pink and blue. And when he finally ejected the disc that night, he traced his finger over the real CD’s surface—silver, flawless, authentic. He stared at the error message
Please insert the correct CD-ROM.
No. Not tonight.
“Doors… NFS edition…”
“You coming online or what? Me and Caleb are running the outer loop. He thinks his Eclipse can take my 240SX.”
He grabbed his jacket, biked six blocks to the all-night gas station, and bought a spindle of blank CDs. Not for burning—for art . He printed a fake CD label using his dad’s inkjet: glossy blue flame, the word “BAYVIEW” in aggressive italics. Then he carefully cut out the center ring, slid the paper into an empty jewel case, and placed it next to his PC.