~ Outside The Speedway ~ (Lightning McQueen x OC)

Chapter 42

The next hour and a half consisted of multiple things, ranging from talking to dancing to walking around the school to snacking to sitting outside under the cover of a roof while it rained. I'm glad to say I did it all with Alex and Mari.

As I predicted, the second we started talking after that big hug, it was like we were again in middle school again.

Marigold Petrolski. Tan, a natural, frizzy redhead. She's short, sure, but her personality makes up for it. Bubbly and very optimistic, a legitimate heart of gold. A refreshing Southern accent. She has heterochromia, one eye being brown and the other green, but she still looks beautiful as ever.

Coincidently, I race with her father, Slider Petrolski, every now and again at competitions. He was one of the many influential people I had the pleasure to know as I was growing up, sometimes teaching me techniques in his own car when I would come over to hang out with Mari.

Mari owns and runs her family's ranch with her brother Junior when their dad is away. They never knew their mom, Mari told me she left suddenly just after Junior was born, when she was two years old. Slider explained to them early on that their mother became distressed with the responsibility of taking care of two young children, so she fled.

But that didn't stop Mari from anything. She was optimistic. Funny, witty and never let anyone bother her, even as a kid. She explained that she found happiness on the ranch and with the animals. She adored working hard, said it gave her a sense of being complete, and always kept her distracted and busy. I admired her so much for that and seeing her now, I could tell she never lost that spark.

Alexandria Ferrari. The girl from that seventh grade motorcycle set design picture Blondie and I found on the internet back at my house. She was even more stunning than I remember, and as I had guessed when I laid eyes on her again, she was an actress. Up and coming to be specific, but a successful one no less. She was currently shooting a small film in Brooklyn, New York, her old hometown, but flew out for a few days to reunite with everyone one more time.

Her black hair was straight this time around, not a strand out of place. Dark eyes, bold lips, and a stunning lavender dress that makes her height well-known. Her accessories perfectly match her complexion. She's the epiphany of elegance.

But under the stylish and composed exterior is the same energetic excitement and ambition she had back in middle school. In all honesty, that's probably what connected us all; passion and energy. We knew what we wanted to do, and we did it.

I met Alex before I met Mari, somewhere in early elementary school. She stood up for me when these two boys teased me for liking cars instead of dolls. Alex would have beat them to a pulp, or as close as a 9-year-old could get if they hadn't run in fear. She was my hero, I was one of her first friends, and we became inseparable. I couldn't get enough of her parent's cooking, since they co-owned a restaurant, so you better believe I was over at her house almost every day.

Eventually, we met Mari and the rest is history.

We've been through a lot in the past couple of years, and it's crazy to think that for the last 3 or 4, we haven't spoken at all.

Scratch that, I  haven't spoken at all. They've kept in contact and talked nearly every day from what I heard. But it's all come full circle now. All that matters is that we're here now, and nothing has changed.

Mari elbows my arm and wiggles her eyebrows. "So, Alex and I talked, and we wanted to know the deets between you and Mr. McQueen."

Yup, nothing's changed.

I glanced at Alex and she tipped her head in agreement. I sighed and glanced forward. We were back in the gym, sitting at a small table in the back with fruit in front of us. Everything was in full swing, old classmates and teachers were dancing and enjoying their company. It brought a smile to my face.