1
Riley
February – Preseason Testing – Philip Island, VIC
It’s the new season, and I am ready. Last season was an intense and fierce battle until the very last race. My best mate, Javi Cordova, walked away with the championship and hand-in-hand with the woman of his dreams. It was all sweet and wonderful, and Sophia has fit in well with the rest of the crew.
Plans of long days spent at the MudPit motocross tracks over the season break were unexpectantly cut when my parents called to tell me the news that my sister, Kiara, had taken her life. This sent a shockwave through my family, and I raced back home to be with them.
I was touched when the whole crew, my team owner, Koby Hartley, and a few other team owners came to pay their respects at Kiara’s funeral. She used to hang out in my pit box through the last few seasons, so they knew her well.
The crew helped by reaching out and keeping me involved in group chats while I was spending time with my parents back on our farm in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales. I was grateful for their regular check ins.
Updates from Fleur revealed she's been happy there's another woman around to dial down the boy hijinks and bottom of the barrel humour. But she can’t stop this happening all together.
I arranged for a late start on the first day back on track. My parents came to spend a few days with me while I geared up for the start of the season, and we wanted to spend as much time together as possible as they get incredibly busy on the farm and live far away from all but one of the tracks. So, I wouldn’t be seeing them for a few months.
We sit around the hotel’s restaurant before they head to the airport.
“Are you sure you have time for breakfast with us, dear? We don’t want to keep you for your first day back on track.” Mum worries as we sit down, looking at the menus.
“It’s ok, Mum. Koby said to take the whole day, if I wanted,” I reassured her. Koby values family and understood our situation. A stand-up team owner.
“As long as you won’t be in trouble for being late,” Mum replies. I feel like she thinks this is like an office job, where I have an unreasonable boss who clock watches and has a mountain of paperwork for me to do. My parents love that I can do something I love and am passionate about, but they don’t completely get it. They have spent minimal time in the pit boxes, only because they don’t understand or want to get in the way. So they support me from afar. They always turned up and were in the crowds when I raced Nationals, but that was the extent of what they could grasp of it. My sister, Kiara, on the otherhand, loved being in the pits with me, parking herself next to me whenever she could. She really enjoyed herself here.
“Do you have an idea on when you’ll have a free weekend to come back home?” Dad interrupts my thoughts.
“Nah, I might know today when we get the racing schedules and if there are any changes. I will let you know as soon as I do, so we can plan,” I reply as a server arrives to take our order.
Breakfast was nice and made me feel sad that my parents don’t live close enough to see on my off-weekends. I’ll have to call them more this season. They give me long hugs as they get into a cab for the airport, refusing my offer to ride with them, saying I was late enough because of them.
Taking the next cab in the cab rank, I head to the track to get this season started.
2
Mabel
Oh, my FUCKING goodness, it’s my firstfuckingday and I am late. Everything is going wrong, and I can’t catch a break. I was staying with my parents before coming here, and it fucked with my entire schedule and rhythm. I shouldn’t have stayed with them, but they guilted me into it, saying because I’ll be away so much this year with this new job, I need to put the time in with them before I went away. Fat load of good that was. They nitpicked and badgered me to no end. I should have just left, but that would have caused a scene. Instead, I am paying the price and running so fucking late. I opted to skip dropping my luggage at the hotel and head straight to meet with my new boss, Rayna Ellsworth, at the track and get the first day going. I’ll check in at the hotel at the end of the day.
The track is in view as the cab drives along the road leading to the entry, and I reach for my luggage by my feet. My phone died as I left the airport and, since I treated myself to some new luggage that had a charging port, I hooked my phone up for the cab ride. Unzipping the section my phone is charging in, I lift it up and…it’s dead. My eyes grow wide as I run the smooth cord through my fingers and notice the zipper of my suitcase has chewed it up.Shit, shit, shit, SHIT!!How am I meant to find Rayna?! I am not familiar with the track, and all my security clearance documents for the track are on my phone.Arrgghhhh, ffuuuccckkkkkk!My head falls backwards, hitting the headrest.
Reaching the track entry gates, I scout around in my carry-on for money to pay the cab driver. I’ll deal with one thing at a time. Pay the driver, done. Getting by track security will be the next task.
I make my way to the entry, and the security guard is already looking at me suspiciously.
“Hello,” I warmly open with. Let’s get my likeable PR side out. “I’m starting with Infraction32 today, and my phone has died. Any chance Rayna Ellsworth can be reached for me, please?” I put on my best smile, resting my hand on the top of my luggage, stopping it from rolling away.
“Name?” the security guard asks gruffly. Like he has heard this all too often.
“Mabel Bowman. I’m the team’s new PR Director.”
“Give me a moment,” he replies. He turns away and puts some distance between us so he can talk in his earpiece, out of my earshot. I don’t care what he says, just get me in there.
Exasperated, I exhale and look around. It’s pretty quiet outside. You wouldn’t think there were people inside the track working. Guess Iamlate. I can't see anyone else outside going through the gates. Another cab pulls up and a cute guy rolls out. Sweeping his blonde hair up and out of his face, hesmiles at me with a wide grin that could melt panties off and walks towards me.
“Hey, Jerome on a break?” he asks as he looks around forJerome, whoever that is. He catches the eyes of the security guard, and they exchange nods as Jerome, as it would seem, is still on his earpiece. Allegedly.
“You’re new?” the cute guy asks, side-eyeing me, trying to work things out.
