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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I was still trying to process Connor's return. Not only was he back; he was back in a top team.
It felt weird knowing he was here when I hadn't even seen him yet. Not that I made any effort to.
My attention was valuable, and at the moment it was focused on one thing and one thing and one thing only:
My team.
Right now, my heart was thundering as I watched Phoenix pull out of the garage for the first practice session, nervous anticipation filling my veins. I couldn't even remember the last time I was this excited, afraid, and insecure at the same time. Neither of those emotions were traits I'd recognize within myself, but leading a team with a car as catastrophic as this one had notched my arrogance.
I wasn't used to failing, because I never did.
"Alright Phoenix, strat eight, brake balance position five please, and let me know what she feels like today." Chris eyed the screen just as intensely as I did, voicing his engineering commands to Phoenix whenever needed.
Drivers sometimes had to change settings on their steering wheels, which sounded ridiculous considering they had to do it while driving the fastest racecar in the world, but that's how it worked. All those orders sounded like gibberish to anyone outside of the racing world, but to drivers, they made complete sense.
We watched how Phoenix tapped on his steering wheel, which looked more like a game controller than anything, before he floored the gas pedal. "So far so good," his voice vibrated in my ears as he drove the first corner.
Outwardly, the car looked good. The rear seemed more stable and Phoenix had no issues taking the hairpin corner of the track, decelerating and then getting back on the gas easily.
Picking my black-polished nails behind my back, I waited for further comments or complaints.
"First two laps look good from here," Chris said into the radio. "What do you say, Phoenix?"
He didn't respond, though. Instead, Phoenix drove lap after lap, not once responding to his engineer's requests.
"Phoenix?"
Silence.
I rolled my eyes. Count on Phoenix to put on a show.
"Phoenix, let me know you can copy. We need to hear the radio work."
More silence. And more nail-picking behind my back.
"Copy," Phoenix's voice rang through the headphones while he was on his fifth lap, flying around the track like Superman himself.
His times were incredible, though none of the other top teams were out on track yet, meaning we couldn't compare.
"We need a report, stat." Chris rolled his eyes, watching the different screens on the pit wall. "And go easy on the brakes. Temperatures are high."
