The New Generation of Racers - Carol Weathers

5 - High School Drama

I didn't get any help until a truck that held the familiar No. 20 appeared on the interstate.
"Why is Storm helping me?" I watched the truck pull over into the rest stop.
"Isn't Storm your rival?" Sheriff asked.
"Exactly." I answered, frowning. Something wasn't right.
"Yo, Weathers. What happened to you?" Jackson backed out of the trailer and turned to face me, a all-too familiar smirk on his face.
"I have no idea." I answered honestly. "All I remember was waking up on the freeway."
"And then she broke down here and Lightning noticed her and sent me after her." Sheriff added.
"Well, lucky you, I have to do everything for my biggest rival--literally everything." He sighed. "First, I get to Thomasville only to see you're not there and the press bugging me with questions like 'Have you kidnapped Miss Weathers to gain an advantage' and 'Are you and Weathers in a relationship we don't know about?' Gosh, that's stupid." Jackson rolled his eyes. "You're welcome by the way. I stopped all the rumors."
"Why are you being so nice to me?" I asked.
He pulled into his trailer and looked at me, his eyes for once very serious. "Maybe it's because of what happened in high school."
I fell silent as Sheriff pushed me into the trailer. Jackson looked back at me in an awkward silence. What would the press think when we showed up together in the same trailer?

Two hours passed by. Sheriff drove alongside the trailer, being our police escort.
Finally, I broke the silence. "I'm sorry." I said quietly, not meeting Jackson's eyes. "For what happened in our past."
"I am as well. It was my fault. I Shouldn't have done that, really. It was...selfish of me." he mumbled, also not looking at me.

"Jackson and Carol are rounding turn four of the final lap! They're neck to neck--who's going to win this? Will it be Storm? Or will it be Weathers?" Bob Cutlass was announcing our scrimmage. It was only 140 laps on the Dinocos' personal racing track.
"I'm not planning on losing to you again, Carol." Jackson hissed, purposefully bumping my bumper and I spun out of control.
One flip in the air made the oil rush to my head. Two flips made me pass out. The third landed me into rolls before I landed in the infield, unconscious.

"Oh no." Aunt Lynda gasped, following Uncle Strip onto the grass.
Jackson paused just at the finish line and looked behind him. His eyes widened. "Carol!" He clearly didn't mean for the crash to happen. He had just meant for me to spin into the infield, not crash completely.
"Stay away from her." Cal drove in front of him, glaring at him. "Stay away from my little sister--haven't you done enough cheating and scheming against her?"
"Cal--" Jackson looked pained. "Please--she's my girlfriend-"
"No. From now on you are banned from this track and facility." Strip interrupted calmly. "And from seeing my niece."
"I'm sorry." He said quietly. "I didn't mean for her to crash."
"Just go." Cal snarled. "You don't deserve her."
Jackson didn't say anything else. He did a 180 degree turn and sped off, tears in his eyes.
"Jackson..." I said weakly when I had woken up a little, seeing the purple and black car drive away. Faster than 200 mph.

"I didn't mean for you to crash like your uncle did." Present day Jackson said quietly.
I was about to say it wasn't your fault but it was his fault. I had been afraid of racing since then, denying my uncle's request to race for Team Dinoco.
"It's alright." I replied softly. "You didn't know."
"Friends?" He asked shyly, looking at me hopefully.
"Friends." I agreed, bumping tires with him.
"Just so you know, I am so beating you for the tiebreaker race." He smirked.
"We shall see. We shall see." I answered.