A girl chasing her dream. A boy looking for the light.
When Florence Nyx started her internship at a Formula 1 paddock, she expected a lot. Fast cars. Exclusive impressions most people could only dream of. An entire array of skills she'd acquire...
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Salim said Phoenix and I would meet in the foyer this morning. One of the managers was supposed to pick us up and show us the entrance to the garage.
Not much to my surprise, Phoenix didn't show up. After waiting for fifteen minutes, the manager and I left, heading straight for the garage. I didn't know why exactly Phoenix thought everyone should lay at his feet, but I knew I wouldn't let myself be bothered by it.
Let him be an asshole. I'd take care of my career.
"Hey, Jin!" I waved into the garage, fixing up the team overalls I got first thing this morning.
"Hey, Florence. Please, come in." Jin shot me a polite smile and put away the electric drill in his hands.
Walking up next to him, I stared at the space in front of me. Every inch of this place looked scrubbed clean, the white and blue on the walls showing off the shiny Azure Racing logo. Drawers were installed all around the garage, basically circling the one thing everyone seemed to be working on: The car.
In the middle of the garage, parked in a rectangular box with the number 45 peeking out at the front. The car itself was covered in a blue drape, probably hiding away the most precious piece of the garage for any intruders.
"Wow, the garage looks much smaller on TV... But also much shinier," I muttered.
"I thought you might know them already?" Jin asked. I could tell he didn't mean to bring up the relationship with my father but that it was genuine interest in my knowledge about this place. And I couldn't blame him, really, knowing my last name would come with a set of expectations as well.
"No. I mean... yes, I've spent a lot of time out here, but you know as much as I do, the garage is the holy grail of a paddock." I laughed, knowing just how secretive the teams are about their cars. I remember once running into here and being shooed out by a very angry race engineer. "I spent most of my time in the background, watching from the screens in the staff rooms. Dad never wanted me to be too close to the danger."
"Looks like that didn't work out, huh?" he quipped with a nod to the car in front of us.
I couldn't help but laugh. "Oh, yeah. My mother always hoped I wouldn't follow in his footsteps, but Dad gave up pretty early on. Probably when I started sneaking out of the house in the middle of the night to sniff around his garage."
Jin's smile broadened, and he ran a hand through his thick black hair as he responded, "He must be very proud of you."
"Well, he better be. I know I am." I shrugged.
We shared another amused glance, and I came to the conclusion that I already liked Jin Tanaki. He seemed like a good guy, one that made it very far at a very young age and still managed to keep his integrity.
"Are we done soulsearching?" The dark voice startled my thoughts, and without having to look, I just knew whose presence would disrupt my morning already.
