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...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
I knew I was overreacting with Phoenix.
Yeah, he'd acted like a dickhead. Yeah, he'd been late to work.
I still didn't need to lay it on so hard, though. He just caused a turmoil of emotions when he looked at me, his gaze so self-assured and obstinate that it was hard not to lose myself in it.
But all of that didn't matter. It couldn't.
What mattered was that everywhere I looked, I was judged based on my last name. People whispered behind my back already, and it was only Saturday evening. It felt like school all over again, only that not everyone in school even knew what Formula 1 was. It's not as big a hype in the U.S. as it is in Europe, which is also why Dad didn't want us to move there.
Our American hometown gave us a flicker of peace in a world as fast and stormy as Dad's, and I wouldn't change it for the world.
"Flo, can you hand me that tape over there?" Jin's question startled me out of my thoughts, and it took me a second to realize I was still in the garage, helping Jin and his team fix up Lucien's car; The one he crashed during Qualifying today.
"Yeah. Sorry. Here." I grabbed the tape from the drawer behind me and threw it at Jin, who thanked me with a wink.
Walking over to him, I got back to the notepad in my hands, taking notes on everything I saw they worked on. The interns were under strict orders not to interrupt the repair process, simply because the car needed to be ready for race day tomorrow. But I had so many questions.
My dad had always said Formula 1 cars were more like space ships than actual cars, and even though I'd believed him before, I definitely saw what he meant now. I didn't understand half of what they were saying, partly because I didn't know the technical jargon yet, and partly because I simply didn't know how these things were built.
With furrowed brows, I watched how Jin put some tape on multiple spots on the car. Yet another thing I had to learn about...
"It's to cover the brake ducts," Phoenix whispered, and I almost jumped out of my stance when I found him standing right behind me.
He glanced over my shoulder, reading more of the notes I took until now. Pressing the notepad against my chest, I spun around to face him.
"What?"
A smirk played on his lips as he leaned back a bit, crossing his arms in front of his chest. "The tape. It's to cover the brake ducts and any other minor openings. Seal them so no particles get in there before they start the car tomorrow morning."
I furrowed my brows at him, wondering where the hell this hospitality was coming from, suddenly. He'd been quiet ever since we had lunch with the drivers, even though we'd spent almost every waking minute together. I almost thought I forgot what he sounded like, his baritone voice still startling me.
