A girl chasing her dream. A boy looking for the light.
When Florence Nyx started her internship at a Formula 1 paddock, she expected a lot. Fast cars. Exclusive impressions most people could only dream of. An entire array of skills she'd acquire...
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It was the day everyone was working towards, the day that mattered in the end.
Sunday, aka grand-prix-day, had arrived, and the entire team moved in a fast but controlled manner to get everything ready for the red lights to go out.
"Florence, do you have a minute?" Salim moved one side of the headset off his ear while waving a hand at me, his glance stern but polite.
I stumbled through the back of the garage, avoiding people left and right until I reached Salim at the command center. "Yeah, sure. What's up?"
"Alright, listen. Quick question that needs a quick answer: Do you want to watch the race with the mechanics?"
My mind froze for a moment; I'd just been about to run into the drivers' rooms to watch the race from behind the scenes. I knew they only allowed a certain number of people into the other rooms to avoid any traffic with the upcoming pit stops, so this question surprised me.
"Wait, what? Am I allowed to?"
"Flo," Salim warned me with a smirk, "Quick answer, please."
"Oh, yes, okay. Fuck, yeah! Of course I do!"
A grind spread on Salim's lips, and he gave me a slap on the shoulder as he said, "Well, good. Because they saved you a spot. Go and grab it."
"Yes! Thank you!" I laughed and embraced him in a swift hug before something else crossed my mind. "But what about Connor and Phoenix? Will they be there too?"
His eyes widened as he crossed his arms in front of his chest, a chuckle rolling from his lips as he exclaimed, "Would you look at that. You're not that bad at this team thing after all, huh?"
For some reason, I felt the blood rush into my cheeks. I surprised myself by even thinking of these two, given I'd wished so often just to get a break from their constant nagging over the past days.
"I mean... I told you I'm an asset." I shrugged, regaining my composure. "And I just did as you asked."
Salim laughed as he put his hands on my shoulders and turned me around, steering me in the direction of the large screen the mechanics will be looking at later. "Well, I'm asking you to not care about them now, okay? Just get in there. You know what they say: If you carry the torch too long, you might just get burned!"
"What? Who says that?" I laughed. "Literally no one says that."
"Michael does. You know those Germans are weird." He gave me a push in toward the screen. "But they also know what they're talking about. Now go!"
Shaking my head, I yelled another "Thank you!" through the garage before I took my place by the side, not wanting to stand in anyone's way. The screen showed how the mechanics left their spot at the starting grid, rushing to get back behind the barriers while the cars started the formation lap.
