Racing Royalty

Chapter 1

Metal clinked against metal in an old repair shop at the edge of town. At the back end of the garage a man stood in front of a car, his head bent over the engine, hands disappearing in the hood. The name tag on his overalls said 'Scott'.

Scott's face had grease filled wrinkles around his eyes and mouth and smudges of oil were on his nose and in the creases of his forehead. His dark black hair was dotted with silver and his jaw was covered in thick black hair.

The radio was on the music stopped as an announcer came on and began talking at the speed of lightning.

"I'll tell ya folks, if you ever wished you had been at the National street races then today would have been the day! In the last lap Thor, who was the shoe-in as victor, made a bad move and lost his chance at the upcoming Finals in two weeks. Royal created another lucky victory for herself after her horrifying accident earlier this year."

Scott rose from the engine and wiped his forehead with his sleeve, sighing heavily before bending back over the car again.

"We were all pretty worried when Thor's car had crashed into hers during the race, but she came out of it totally unscathed. That's our Royal for you! Don't forget to tune in later tonight for the full recount of the race as we head towards the last two weeks of the National competition. Time and place will be by word of mouth as always, don't let the red and blue shut us down!"

A dark car pulled up to the garage, the engine loud and powerful, causing Scott to rise again from what he was working on. He took one glance at the car and heaved another sigh, dropping the tools and wiping his hands on his overalls. He walked over to the radio and turned it off.

The dark car went silent and Scott walked towards it as the driver emerged slowly, a very sorry look on her face. He circled the car staring at the dust and dirt that covered it until his eyes found the dent in the door.

"I'm sorry." Royal apologized.

Scott knelt down next to the car and pressed his hands on the dent for a moment before rising again, his face stoic.

"You're mad aren't you? I know it was stupid of me to go out there." Scott glared at Royal and she went silent, looking down at her shoes.

"Are you determined to kill yourself Raquel? Or would you rather be arrested?" He asked, pointing to the radio that he had turned off before. Raquel didn't look up at him as she shook her head, she gripped her left arm gently, and readied herself for the yelling she knew was to come.

"You get in a wreck that could have killed you, causing street racing to become illegal, spend three weeks in recovery and then jump behind the wheel again as soon as you get the chance?" Scott's voice rose and Raquel shifted away from him.

"What were you thinking? If this accident today had been just as bad as the last-" He trailed off, and rubbed his hands over his face, leaving streaks of oil across his cheekbones.

"Dad, I'm sorry." Raquel sniffed, a tear falling off her chin. "I know I shouldn't have an excuse but I just..."she sniffled again, "I just wanted one more race before I never had the chance again."

Raquel's dad shook his head and pointed towards a small room off the side of the garage. "Go clean up yourself and set your arm, I'll finish up here and take you home."

Raquel nodded solemnly and shuffled towards the open door, slowly unbuttoning her thick racing jumpsuit with her right hand along the way.

Inside, she slides her left arm out of the sleeve, revealing a thick white cast. She slid her tank top strap off of her bandage wrapped shoulder and began to gingerly unwrap the gauze. With a bit of difficulty, she cleaned the fresh blood from her stitches and applied a new dressing from the first aid kit under the sink.