Bittersweet Honey

21. Faster

Toni.

"Faster than a bullet from a gun
He is faster than everyone,
Quicker than the blinking of an eye.
Like a flash you could miss him going by.
No one knows how he does it,
But it's true, they say
He's the master of going faster."

-George Harrison

     I make my way through two gates using my badge. The sun is very bright out here, and they always say it feels hotter on the track than out in the open, I can absolutely feel that. But there's a fresh breeze that makes it bearable. It's not even that hot compared to the heat we will experience in Baku or Singapore.

     There's so many people around the closer I get to the track, plus the sound of the crowd, engines, drills and music is a little overwhelming at first, but like I said before, I've been through these places. It's all muscle memory.

     It's a good thing that Eleanor will be at the office, giving me a little freedom to go look for Daniel. I did tell him I would see him before the race and wish him luck. The race will begin in just a few minutes, and everyone is on the track now, I feel small but somehow I feel like I belong here. I can already see the cars all lined up, this is so exciting! Daniel placed 7th during qualification, so he must be somewhere around the first half of the grid.

     I finally spot the orange car. Daniel's of course, Lando didn't do so well and he's starting on the second half. I take a deep breath and I start to make my way among this sea of people. But all of a sudden I feel a tug at my arm, and I turn around to find my fellow teammate, fellow Mexican, Checo.

     "Toña!" He hollers and pulls me into a hug. "I feel like I haven't seen you in weeks! Have you been avoiding me?"

     "Of course not, Checo. I actually came to find you and wish you a good race!" I need to speak a little louder now since there is so much going on.

     "Ay, si, como no." He answers in Spanish, and he means "yeah, right" in a sarcastic tone.

     "Really! Have a great race! I'm sure you'll do great." I say to him, punching his arm playfully and trying to encourage him. Of course I want him to have a great race, not only he's one of our drivers, but we've become really good friends.

     "Oh, gracias Toñita. I appreciate it. We're off to a good start." He comments as he puts on his helmet.

     "You'll do great, I know it." I tell him.

     "I need to get going." He says as he begins to walk away, but I stop him with a tap on his shoulder.

     "Hey, um...have-have you seen Daniel?" I shyly ask. I can see the shock in his eyes through his open helmet.

     "As in Ricciardo?" He asks raising his eyebrows teasingly.

     "Yeah, don't act all surprised now. You started this." I say, getting a little defensive, but at the same time it's all fun with Checo.

     "I know, but I'm glad my evil plan is working." He jokes. "He was over there with his team." He points to the front and slightly to the right, and I find the cluster of orange.

     "Gracias Checo. I'll see you after the race." We share a quick fist bump and he's off to the beautiful deep green car.

     I make my way through the crowd, a little nervous, but knowing everyone's so busy that they certainly won't pay much attention to us. I spot Daniel already in his car, I know it's him because of the big number 3 on the side. I reach him just in time because an engineer was talking to him but left when I arrived.