Pit Lane Persephone

Chapter 28: Lauren (Part 2 of 2)

All the questions at today's media debrief have been more or less the same: how does it feel to be back on home turf (like saving the sweetest strawberry until all the others are gone, but then having to fight two-dozen hungry bears for it), will there be a repeat of my grid eye-candy from Italy (nope, Dad is doing the shade-holding honors this time), and when will I be announcing my plans for next season (you'll be the first to know, Karen.) There haven't been any direct references to my teammate, but that could be because since Mugello he's gone on an Instagram bender of selfies with hot-chicks. Or maybe because he's standing right next to me.

With the way things have been over the last week and a half, though, Seb may as well be on the other side of the planet. Irrespective of where we were before, we've gone all Stranger Things and ended up in the Upside Down.

Actually, this applies to everything in my life right now. Shane and I still aren't talking, but I intend to eventually get that sorted when I don't have a million other fires to put out. I think Tanner may also be trying to get with me again, and I'm going to bye Felicia his ass at some point if he continues with this nonsense. And—as if the motorsport angels themselves came down from heaven—there was finally a somewhat complimentary article written about me. I still have it bookmarked on my phone. Hopefully it won't be the last time I get mentioned in conjunction with WRRF.

This weekend's run of the World Road Racing Federation's last race of the season at the Laguna Seca Raceway in northern California could prove to be an historic event. As the first woman in WRRF 3Prix, Lauren Dimas—who will be riding on her home circuit—has a good chance to finally finish in a points-earning position. Dimas, who started riding motorcycles when she was five, debuted in international competition in August of this year when she stepped in as a replacement rider for Cadmium Racing Team's Austin Harris. Riding a 250cc Ducati, she has improved in qualifiers with every race, starting as high as twentieth among a field that usually tops out over thirty. Technical problems plagued the eighteen-year-old American's weekend in Cataluna where she was unable to start the race in an unlucky turn of events, while an unfortunate bout with the flu cut her race short in Mugello. But with a sixteenth place finish on Germany's Sachsenring in a wet race that saw championship leaders like Diego Martin and Tobei Kojima retire early, Lauren Dimas has shown that she could have what it takes to succeed in world 3Prix. Her performance during this race may decide whether we will see more of this up-and-coming star—who has shaken up the series in more ways than just stunts like using Mr. Florence 2018 Sergio Gastoni to serve as her "umbrella girl" on the Italian grid (picture, right)—in future world events.

I wish this could now solve all my problems, but the most it can do is convince a couple of more people to come out to the race this weekend. It'll do nothing to solve this wedge between me and Seb.

Still, I don't think it's totally my fault. After our disastrous conversation in the med center, I thought about contacting him. It was all a misunderstanding. I didn't mean what he thought I meant. But every time I started the text—sorry for . . .—I couldn't finish. What was I sorry for? For him misunderstanding? For him jumping to conclusions as soon as he heard me say another guy's name? For him not realizing that I was not in the best frame of mind right about then?

Or should I have been sorry for me not wanting to get all kissy-faced when I felt like hell? Or for me having other friends in the paddock besides him?

Nah. More like sorry, not sorry. He always says I apologize too much, anyway.

By the time I'd decided to abandon the apology and just point out where we got our signals crossed, he'd moved on. I mean, what else would you call a former social media recluse suddenly posting dozens of pics almost exclusively with female fans? It's like he was trying to rub it in or something.