No Going Back (Nyck de Vries X OC)

The break is over

A/N This chapter went longer than planned but I needed to get some things introduced in case I decide to do a time skip (I haven't made up my mind yet). Please don't forget to vote and/or comment if you are still enjoying the story. 

It has been a couple of days since we arrived in Spain. Again it is the day that I dread. Media day. At least that means we will have free practice in the afternoon. Right now I am getting ready for the main Formula E press conference. It should be the last one before the first free practice. For some reason, I have been teamed up with Sebastien Buemi, Robin Frijns and Max Guenther. It seems like the PR people are determined to keep Nyck and I apart. Oh well, there is nothing that I can do about it. I just need to answer the questions truthfully. I reckon the questions will be put to the veterans as they have had more experience than me. Sure I am somehow still on the top of the standings but I am still largely inexperienced.

"How are you all feeling coming into the race at Valencia given that you will be racing on a dedicated track?" Here comes the questions. The good thing is I have had my answer to that question for a while. I realise that the others are glancing at me. The glances are telling me that they want me to go first. That makes sense.

"Despite the crash during the last race, I am feeling hopeful that my team can recover some lost points. As for it being a dedicated track, it doesn't matter since we did pre-season testing here," I answer the question. Hopefully, my response is good enough. It doesn't take long for the others to answer the question. I put it down to the fact that they agree with me about the track is easy as we have had experience with it beforehand. As the press conference goes on I find myself impressed at the types of questions. It still bothers me that we have to do this.

"One last question. Jess, do you think you could win the championship?" The reporter asks.

"It is too early to call but I am hopeful," I reply. I mean we have only had three races so far. Oh well, there is not much that I can do about stupid questions. With that, we are allowed to leave. Hopefully, the others didn't notice that I was annoyed. It doesn't take long for me to be proven wrong.

"Jess, you don't have to worry about the press. They always ask stupid stuff," Sebastien remarks as he catches up to me.

"Sorry, Seb. I have always taken certain questions personally. It is the way I think," I respond. I can feel the curious look on Sebastien's face. He soon shrugs it off as he probably realises that it is none of his business. I mean I wouldn't mind telling him but only if he asks and something tells me he is not going to. With that, we part ways so we can prepare for the first round of free practice. For some reason, I am feeling a little apprehensive. I put it down to the fact that this is my first race back after a major incident. It doesn't take me long to be intercepted by my trainer for the warm-ups. At least it would ve a good time for me to get my annoyance out.

"Molly, can I ask you a question?" I get to work on seeing if I take things personally while I do my warm-ups.

"Sure," Molly replies.

"Do you think I take things personally when I don't need to?" I ask. The thing is I feel like most of the questions that are asked are meant to be a little too personal.

"Look Jess, The thing is you have come to Formula E with rubbish circumstances. You are bound to take things personally. That is why you have people like Nyck and I," Molly responds with a wink as well. She is right. I just need to keep my eyes forward. After ten minutes of prep, I am finally ready to go. I just need the go-ahead from my lead engineer. I get the feeling that he is being a little hesitant as he will want to make sure that everything is good to go. He exchanges a few words with my lead mechanic. After that, she gestures for me to go. It doesn't take long for me to get to work on getting the data for the team. The thing is I feel a little slow. This time I am not worried as the display isn't giving me any indication that there is an issue. It is just me recovering from a nasty crash.