Being the daughter of the once most dominant street racer in town, Alystabella Cassidy was a force to be reckoned with, winning street race after street race in her beloved car, Obsidian. But when her driving talents were recognised, she was offered...
Since Richard no longer needed Logan for anything, he returned home. By the time Lyst and Richard left the police station, it was past midnight. Despite the lack of sleep, she still felt energetic from all the adrenaline pumping through her, courtesy of the action during the night. Under the moon and the stars, Richard drove Lyst back to her place to find Ashley.
Lyst unlocked the door with her keys and pushed it open. She stepped in, only to find the lights still on and no one in sight.
Seems like Ashley's still awake, she noted. But normally, she would've slept by now.
Considering Ashley was never a night owl, the lack of 'Ashleyness' in the house was slightly alarming, like something was wrong, but she shook the feeling off. Lyst moved further inward into the house, peering through doorways into the kitchen, living room, even the storeroom, but there was no sign of Ashley on the bottom floor of the house.
And so Lyst ascended the stairs to the second floor. Looking around, she noticed light coming from Ashley's room, and concluded that her friend would be inside. She approached the door and gave a gentle knock.
A few seconds later, Ashley opened the door, eyes unfocused and curly black hair in a mess. But upon seeing who it was, she straightened up, and wrapped her arms tightly around Lyst for a hug.
"Oh my god, Lyst! You came back!"
Lyst gave her a quizzical look. "Umm... Did you kick me out or something? Am I not supposed to come back?"
Ashley straightened up and looked away. "I- I uhh... heard about yesterday... How the police arrested those at the street race." She took Lyst's palm and squeezed it. "I thought you were sent to jail and I would never see you-"
"Ashley," Lyst interrupted. "Look at me. I'm here, I'm fine. I know things between us have been rough lately. I'm sorry for not listening to your advice, and I kind of messed up."
Ashley frowned. "Lyst!"
"I'm really sorry!" Lyst raised her hands as a gesture to hopefully calm Ashley down a little. "I'll explain everything, I swear."
Both girls proceeded into Ashley's room and sat on her bed. Lyst told Ashley everything, from the tales of Logan the annoying cheater, to her adventures of almost outrunning the police. But when Lyst mentioned Richard's offer, Ashley practically jumped on her in excitement.
"You mean you finally got a job?" asked Ashley.
"Yes," said Lyst with a smile. "And I got you one, too."
Ashley's expression was a mix of astonishment and gratitude. "Thank you, Lyst! I finally have my first job!" Ashley squealed in excitement, which according to Lyst, was quite an unusual behaviour for her, and it made her cringe a bit.
But all is well, so she led Ashley downstairs to meet up with Richard, who had grown bored to death after Lyst left him alone in the doorway for so long. "Took you long enough..." he muttered to himself as he spotted the two girls approaching the doorway.
"Richard, meet Ashley," said Lyst. "Ashley, this is Richard."
"Pleasure to meet you, Ashley." Richard held out his hand to shake hers.
She shook her hand too. "You too, Richard."
Richard pointed towards his car parked in the driveway, and gestured for the girls to follow. After the trio sank into their comfortable car seats, with Richard up front as the driver and the two friends at the back seats, they headed to the Powers headquarters.
***
Richard led Lyst and Ashley along a hallway. The girls gazed at the pictures of various cars, racing drivers and tracks that were hung on the wall, along with cabinets upon cabinets of trophies displayed like they were mere decorations. To say that Lyst and Ashley were utterly in awe was an understatement.
"Are these yours?" asked Ashley.
Richard turned his head to face her. "Not mine per se, but the achievements of the team as a whole throughout the years." He stopped walking and grabbed a big trophy from one of the cabinets, handing it to Ashley. "Like this one. It's the constructor's championship trophy that we won in 2010. We had a close battle that year with another team. All of us were so happy when we emerged victorious."
After relishing the feel of the trophy in her hands, Ashley returned it to Richard, and continued walking.
It wasn't long before the trio reached their destination. It was a small office, with a table in the middle surrounded by some chairs. A water dispenser sat beside a cupboard against the back wall. A few pictures hung on the four walls, and there was a small potted plant hiding in the corner.
Richard invited the girls to take their seats. He then sauntered over to the cupboard and shuffled the documents inside. Finally finding what he was looking for, he pulled out two pieces of paper. He placed one in front of Lyst, and another one in front of Ashley.
"These are your contracts for your jobs respectively." Richard pointed out. "Please take a look at them and then sign at the bottom. If you have any queries, don't hesitate to ask me."
Lyst read through the contracts in great detail, careful not to miss out any details. There didn't seem to be anything fishy going on. Everything that Richard had promised was written clearly in the contract. 30,000 pounds of yearly salary... check; travel and accommodation... check; other miscellaneous benefits... check. Lyst went through the contract the second, third, even the fourth time just to be extra careful that she wasn't being scammed into some forced labour or anything.
Finally, her hand hovered over the box where she was supposed to sign, and with one swift motion, signed the contract.
Lyst was now officially a driver for the Powers Formula 3 Team for the 2017 season.
She handed her signed contract back to Richard, who accepted it with a smile on his face. "Welcome to the team, Miss Cassidy."
"Just call me Lyst."
Richard let out a breath. "Now you finally open up to me, eh?"
She grinned at him. "Of course, we're a team now."
Lyst peered to her side to see Ashley signing her contract. After she returned her contract to Richard, she rushed to Lyst's side and embraced her.
"I cannot thank you enough for this opportunity, Lyst!" she exclaimed. "I'll be your manager. Can you believe it? We're gonna be together in this!"
Lyst hugged Ashley tighter. "I'm so proud of you, Ashley."
Ashley's gonna excel at this, the thought brought a smile to Lyst's face.
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It's so heartwarming to see friends reconciling after an argument :)
Questions:
1. Are you excited to see Lyst racing in Formula 3?
2. Do you prefer stories taking part in a fully fictional world or in the real world we live in? Why?
