Life Changes » Marcus Armstrong

Fifteen.

Jane followed a train of karts back into the pits and looked around her. They had three sessions and the last one just finished. Jane had no idea what to expect; only that the boys would race her out like it was a piece of cake, and that was exactly what happened. At first, Jane was careful with accelerating and braking, but at the third session, she was comfortable and went fully for it.

When she parked the kart, Jane unbuckled herself and got out of the kart. She looked behind her and noticed she wasn't the last one.

Cate put off her helmet and balaclava and looked at Jane; she was the last person to finish. "That was a vibe in the back," she said.

Jane put off her helmet as well and pulled off the white balaclava from her head. She put it in her helmet. "The back is just the vibe," she assured Cate and smirked hopelessly.

They both started to walk to the clubhouse, where everyone was standing or sitting, waiting for the last persons to arrive. It was not a huge surprise to have the girls in the back of the race.

"I was so scared at one point, Jane," Cate dramatically said. "They kept coming in the turns, and I was this close on losing my control."

"I knew this would be a challenge, because of the professional drivers and karting..." Jane breathed. "At the end, when they lapped us for the fifth time, I was like: what am I doing here? The saddest thing is that they all waved." She was portraying the situation with her hands.

A laugh rolled over Cate's lips. "This was chaos," she laughed. "But finishing last at the same race as Seb... I'm honoured, but this is embarrassing," she said and put up her thumb sarcastically. "However, this was fun," she came to a conclusion.

Jane nodded. "At least he will remember you are the last, people always remember the losers."

"You are amazing," Cate smirked and looked at the woman next to her, she liked Jane's spirit. "The semi-positive side of this story. At least I can say I lost from legends, not everybody can say that."

Now it was Jane's turn to laugh. "True," she giggled and opened her suit. The sun was getting warmer and warmer, and karting was intense. She left Cate and walked over to Marcus, who was waiting for Jane to arrive. "Hey," she smiled and placed the helmet on the ground when standing in front of Marcus.

"Hello," he widely smiled and scanned her face; there was joy in her eyes. Jane's cheeks were red, probably from the intense activity. "How was it?" He raised his hand, waiting for a high-five.

"It was fun," she replied, satisfied and gave him a high-five. "I had no idea it was this intense, I still have to process it," she amusingly smiled. Jane pulled her out of her sleeves and tied the sleeves around her waist.

Marcus nodded, satisfied. "I could see you improve, but there is a long way to go..." he teasingly mentioned. "Baby steps."

"Oh, fuck off, Marcus," she shot back and straightened her face. "Like you won."

He laughed and placed his hand on Jane's lower back when the group was asked to walk to the podium. "No, but I didn't end up at second last," Marcus cheekily smiled.

"I was just vibing in the back, nothing too serious," she replied in the same tone. "No sweat."

It made Marcus somewhat proud to see how Jane got more comfortable around everyone. At first, she was silent and really observing things, but now, at the end of the afternoon, she started to talk more, and her attitude was more relaxed.

"Ey yo, love birds! Done talking?! I want my podium ceremony to begin."

Both Jane and Marcus looked up, both being curious who was called out by Daniel Ricciardo. They looked around, but quickly found out it was meant for them. Most of the people were looking at them with grins on their faces. It gave Jane soft blushes on her face. She looked at Marcus, trying to hide per laugh by pressing her lips into a thin line.