Hot Lap! (Pause Spin-Off, Completed)

Chapter 9

Chapter 9

The present

Emma's POV:

Placing both hands on my steering wheel, I smirk to myself and glance out of my side mirrors at the other drivers, trying to intimidate them. 

If I'm nervous, they all have to be too. 

A tapping on my window draws my attention to the person standing just outside of my car. I put down my window to hear what he has to say.

"Just relax and try to keep a clear head throughout," JT advises me, choosing to give me a pep talk just before the race. "Remember to round corners with ease but still at a suitable pace. Use nitrous only when straight-lining. Don't ever get too confident. Keep alert."

"Thanks, JT," I say, already feeling less anxious.

He nods. "Make those wheels spin faster than they've ever spun before." He winks at me in jest, "I want to see smoke."

"Well, she's already smoking," Xavier flirts with me from beside Jay, "so, it should be easy for her."

JT, Grey, and Xave won't be participating in the race today. They've both already made 'Street Championships'. Lan and Dean only race tomorrow, that's if my brother's dumb friend even bothers to show up.

Seeing Xavier before my race gives me a major boost in my confidence. I don't know even know why. All I know is that I really want first place. When you race to win, second place and third place stop being good enough.

"See you guys at the finish line," I say and grin at the two before sliding my window back up, my gaze straying back to the tracks ahead.

I've got this!

Landon, as if reading my mind, grins and flashes me a thumbs-up from the sidelines. "You've got this, Ems!" he hollers loudly.

I love my doofus, temperamental brother. He's the best.

I shake off my surroundings and get into 'race mode'. It's time to focus.

The woman in the short skirt lifts up the checkered flag and then suddenly drops it.

I slide the heel of my boot flat against the accelerator, amping up as much speed as I possibly can, before taking off. I race swiftly ahead, my blood pumping as my nerves kick in again. 

It's time I rely on instinct rather than logic. Seeing as it's just straight streets ahead, I apply nos, boosting me right up into third place. Unfortunately, Joe currently has first place and Geezer, second place.

I frown. Every damn time I try to pass, Geezer shifts to block me. To top it off, I have people behind me busy gaining on me.

Screw it!

When the next turn comes, I prepare myself.

Geezer and Joe stick to the outer rim as they take on the sharp curve, both playing it safe. They both slow down slightly in the process too, leaving a gap open for me. 

I'll admit, going at high speeds along the inner rim of sharp turns is extremely dangerous. One could easily lose control and go skidding off the track completely. However, going along the inside of the curve at a high speed also knocks down a lot of seconds on your lap times.