⌞ the chain ⌝

⌞ twelve : new era ⌝

"Let's start with a contract."

_

A contract. That was what I was promised... if I could work my way up. Toto was smart, he knew I hadn't been racing anything other than a glorified drag race for the past few months and that was completely different from any formula racing. I understood where he was coming from, after all. I wasn't just going to waltz into F1 or even F2 without experience and working my way up. And that's why I was now sitting in front of Susie Wolff, trying not to twist the skin off my fingers.

"You have... raving letters of recommendation."

I snorted as I looked down at the letters. Hell, almost every member on the current grid submitted one. Lewis had written a goddamn novel on why I deserved a chance, Nico had me write the damn thing and then edit it to sound like him. Seb was short and sweet, and I'm not sure if he threw threats in there after the way he was talking. Jenson decided to handwrite it because it meant more; I don't know how. Dani handed me a packet and hell, even Kimi had written something.

I assumed that Toto wrote a letter as well, but knowing that he wasn't supposed to get involved, I truly didn't know.

"You even got Max Verstappen to write one."

"I'm sorry?"

She looked up, pushing the reading glasses she had been wearing up onto her head. "Max Verstappen has written a letter for you."

"Oh, I'll make sure to thank him."

I had talked with Susie before but at this moment she wasn't a family friend I had dinner with multiple times. She was the Susie Wolff and that was what made me nervous. My hands had to be raw now from how much I had been messing with them. I wasn't a nervous person, or at least I liked to lie to myself and say that, but this. I was scared of losing this. It would prove everyone right, that I didn't deserve the same things as Charlie.

She looked over the letters one more time before closing the folder. "Let's get you in a car."

"Wait, what? For real?"

"I'm not offering you a spot yet, Miss. Bianchi-Leclerc. I want to see how you hold up. You've got ten laps to make me want you."

_

I stood in the dressing room Susie pointed me towards. There was a suit, fireproofs, boots, a helmet. And surprisingly, all of them were perfectly my size. It made me wonder if this had been thought out long before I made this decision. Any of the grid fathers would drop money on this, so I couldn't exactly be sure on who's idea it was. The suit was a soft white, with no sponsors, and no team logo. Just a white suit and some black lining. A blank canvas.

My helmet was different. It was a soft sky blue and there seemed to be little mementos all over it. There was a 17 tucked into the soft lines I knew as Suzuka, a design of a friendship bracelet mirroring the one I had given Nico, a lily of the valley for Lewis, a gold coin for Dani- which I had almost forgotten was something we shared. That silly gold coin he kept in his pocket after
I stole it from an arcade. I smiled at it as I looked at the bit of frost around the edges; Kimi, the Iceman himself. And finally, that silly little bee for Seb.

I ran my fingers over all the little charms that covered the helmet. They were here with me, as they always were. I set the helmet down to make sure I had everything fitting the way it was supposed to before I walked out.

"I see that it fits well."

I nodded. "Like a glove."

"I'll let Toto know." She winked and I raised an eyebrow. Of course, it was Toto.

"Alright. You get ten laps, no more and no less. It's not like a car, which I have told you've been racing. Think of a bigger kart."

I nodded, looking over to the car. It was beautiful. I knew a Formula car like the back of my hand. I figured this would be no different, give myself a few laps to adjust and then drive.

"Are you ready?"

"I don't think there's a time I'm ever going to be ready. But I will push, and that's what I can offer."

She smiled. "Then let's get you in that car."

_

I sat there. The lights would go out at any moment and I could feel my heart racing. I reached up for my necklace but it was tucked into my fireproofs. Something pushed against my lungs and for a second it felt like I couldn't breathe. The sound of wheels, and metal on metal. Screaming and I could feel the rain.

Lily, come on now.

My entire body paused as I heard that voice.

You, my dear, are a racer. Not just a driver. Breathe, find the silence. Show that you deserve to be here, just like you know.

I took a deep breath. "Find the silence."

Everything came back into focus as my eyes locked on the lights. They counted up and like it always did. The world around me slowed. And as the lights went out, my body reacted like it was habit. My foot hit the pedal and I was off.

"First few laps, find the curve. Focus in."

I shifted up as I gained speed, pushing until I came up on the first turn. My hands reacted, shifting down and holding the line I saw in my head. Another straight came up and I pushed.

"Find the limits, Lu."

I pressed until the next curve, all of it coming back as I graced the inside line. My body vibrated as I crossed the line. One lap, nine to go. I thought about what I felt on the first lap. A bit of lockup on the first few turns but I could deal with that if I took them slower. I could make up that time in the straights. And it took a bit longer to get up after the turns but if I pushed toward the middle of it, I would get there faster.

Lap two and I tried those out. It took two seconds off but I felt a loss of traction on a certain turn. I took note of that as I pushed into the third lap. I needed to get a good fast lap before they were up. And each lap was a note of a new thing. By lap seven, I had it memorized and could see the rough spots in my mind. I could almost feel Jules laughing at me, telling me I should have found it sooner but it only pushed me further.

Lap eight; not fast enough.

Lap nine; almost.

Lap ten.

I looked up at the clock as I passed the line, letting the car take a cool down before I stopped it in front of Susie. I prayed that it would be enough as I got out, taking my helmet off. My hands shook and I realized how much I wanted this. To be in that car, to race like that. To find all the little pieces that made the car move and how to move it around the track. They had all been right, this was where I needed to be. I needed this.

"So?"

Susie looked up at me, her stern look spreading into a smile. "I think it's time we found you a team, Miss Bianchi-Leclerc. And with times like that, I doubt it'll be hard."

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a/n: who's that? it's ayesha, bitch. aha, we're so back. it's time. it's timeeeeeee. i am stuck between which team i want to put her on so they most commented team gets to win, as long as i decide it. as always, love it or don't :p