5. Race

LARA'S POV

Race day and the day of the week I liked the most. We had managed to get the car fixed and when I picked it up this morning, it looked like it hadn't been in an accident, so that was cool. 

At this time, I was doing a couple of laps around the circuit to see how I was doing. I could feel the heat coming up from the asphalt, which would be good for my wheels and not so good for everyone else. 

Once I finished going around the circuit, I left the car at the back of the grid and waited for the mechanics to come for the car as the grid was full of mechanics. 

When we reached my position, I unbuckled the seatbelt, the steering wheel, the headrest and got out of the car. Once out of the car I took out the gloves, the helmet, the balaclava and Bianca was already there beside me waiting for me. 

"They say the track is hotter than they expected, and they think the degradation will be higher than it has been all weekend." said my sister watching as the mechanics covered the car's wheels so it would have a temperature "I know." 

"You were right." she replied with a smile on her face "I know that too, but don't tell the others." I said, returning the smile, "How did you know?" she asked "Let's say we both know in a way when the weather is going to change, if it will rain soon, a normal day, hot, with dry air… I just use what I know. It helps us to be Galician" I assured, and she nodded "Great strategy and good intuition." 

"It's not strange. All countries are different, which means the chances of being wrong are high. This time I was lucky." I assured, because although it could be in this case, I had been right, it wasn't always like that "How do you take away merit huh..." 

"It's not detracting, it's the truth." I replied, rolling my eyes. I was about to sit down on the grass when I noticed Amelia. She kept moving her leg, a sign she was nervous, and I don't blame her, her first F1 race is something important for her, so I go to where she is, and at the same time Eric arrives. 

"Amelia, you need to calm down." Eric said, placing his hand on her shoulder. "I know, how can you two be so cool?" Amelia asked and we both laughed, because it wasn't like that for most people, and not for Eric. 

"Who says we are calm?" He answered "We can't all be Lara and not be nervous about getting in the car, but the rest are" Eric assured and I rolled my eyes "What?" Amelia asked confused. 

"What Eric is referring to, is everyone is nervous on the grid, it's best not to show it to others… you'll make them see you as easy prey." I replied "But that has nothing to do with it." Eric and I nodded, because we knew it's true. "We know, so we have to find something to distract you enough you don't show it to the rest of the world." 

"And how will we do that?" she asked "As the races went by. We just must find it." Eric replied "Okay." Amelia said, nodding. "What you have to focus on in the first lap is Lara doesn't pass you." Eric continued. "As much as that affects me, it's true, you don't have to let either of us pass you." 

"It's clear I will do what is necessary so they don't pass you, but only for this race, then I will be like the others." Eric assured, and I couldn't help but laugh, because that wasn't entirely true. "You also must try to pass Cameron if you can. You have the advantage of being on the side that goes around the first corner, so you must keep an eye out for traffic lights." Amelia nodded. 

"Wow, making conspiracies against me, Gallego?" I heard Cameron's voice behind me. "You'll tell me Edwards." I said with a smile on my face "I think so. You don't want me on the podium even a little." 

"I told you I'd be happy, but I prefer these two by my side." I assured and he put his hand to his chest "You keep breaking this poor heart, Gallego." he answered and I couldn't help but laugh "So you'll know what it feels like." 

"Are you saying I break hearts? Have I broken yours Gallego?" he said with a smug smile. "Do I look like you broke my heart, Edwards?" I asked raising an eyebrow "I don't know, but I think so." he confirmed "In your dreams." 

"I think so." I laughed, because the truth is this man did it more times than anyone, but Eric, Bianca or back home does, and I have no idea if he did it on purpose or unknowingly. At that moment, Bianca approached me looking in the direction of the car. 

"Leaving your flirtations aside, new hard or the one you have?" She moves away from me with a smile on her face and I gesture for them to be new, to which she nods and goes to where the other mechanics are. We continue for a couple of minutes talking and trying to calm Amelia down until it's time to get into the car. Before I do, I text my mom to thank them for the luck, that I'll be careful, and I love them. 

During the warm-up lap, I do my best to warm up the tires, but without overheating them so they last longer. What's more than clear to me is I will lose a couple of positions at the start. 

Once we are all on the grid, the traffic lights start to come on and after a couple of seconds, it turns green, thus starting the grand prix. On the first lap I lose five positions, but once the tires are warm again, I pass four of the drivers who overtook me in five laps. 

For a few laps I have clear air as the top three were ten seconds ahead of me, but I don't know exactly in how many laps I'll catch up with them, and they seem to be close behind, which will be an advantage in a certain sense. 

"Okay Lara, we're on lap fifteen and some are already starting to come in. It would be nice if you could at least overtake Eric on the track." said Rebbe "High degradation?" I asked " More than expected. How do you feel the tires?" 

"I don't feel any vibrations and from what I can see they are fine. Anything unusual with the car or tires?" I inquired in case the data was different " All good. We continue with plan C. Do you think you could stay 6 more laps outside of what was agreed?" 

"I think I can." I said looking at the data on the flyer " Okay, you know, if you notice anything, let us know." she said and I nodded "I'll do it" After a couple of laps, I managed to overtake Eric, not without a fight, because if Eric was good at anything it was defending himself from overtakes, and in a couple more laps, I also managed to overtake Amelia, which was great. 

"You only have Cameron in front of you." Rebbe said from the wall "Which turn are we in?" I asked since I had lost count of the turns "Twenty-seven." she replied "I think we can expand those six laps to ten." 

"Are you sure about that?" asked Rebbe surprised "Almost sure, but at least two more laps we can do." I assured "That would be great." she answered, and from her voice, I knew she was glad. "I'll try." I replied, " Cameron will be in shortly, if you can we want you to make a twenty-eight second mattress." 

"Perfect, if you see mattress is about to fall, call me to the pits." I said, " We will." A couple of laps later, Cameron pits and I take the lead. From what I thought I could see, he was on a hard tire, which meant he wouldn't be behind my car for a couple of laps. 

We were on lap forty and they called me to box. At the pit lane I put the limiter to eighty km/h, but the pit stop doesn't go the way we'd like, so when I come out, I'm behind Amelia and Cameron. 

"Sorry about the pit, but you will be able to overtake them, you have more speed than them. Just take care of wheels for a couple of laps and then you can go all out." she said, and even though I wasn't happy with the pit we'd done, we're not always going to make them great. "Okay, now just talk to me if there's something weird about the car." 

"Good luck Lara. There are only seventeen laps left." she said and cut the communication. I focused on the race. With those laps the tire would arrive, so after three laps, I start to pull making me behind Amelia in no time and it takes a couple of laps to overtake her. 

My luck is Cameron wasn't too far from Amelia, which in a couple of turns and was practically glued to the gearbox of his car. 

It was clear to me that overtaking Cameron would be much more difficult, but with two laps to go, I manage to overtake him. I must admit I loved our battle, and I'm sure it would more than once this season. 

On the last lap I see Cameron start to approach slowly, but I accelerate a bit to avoid him being able to catch me and I manage to win the race. We go around the circuit one more time and enter the pits. 

Once I arrived, I leave the car in the one in the middle and start to take out the things off. When I get out of the car I put the steering wheel back in its place, I go to where Bianca was, and we hugged. 

"Good race, Lara." she said with a big smile on her face "Yeah, and funny." I replied, "It seemed so to me. Was the car, okay?" she asked, and I nodded "If it didn't go well, I wouldn't be first." 

"You're right, I just wanted to make sure." she replied laughing "Don't worry about the car Bianca" I said with a smile on my face "Okay, by the way, Eric is third." she said, and I frowned, because as far as I knew, it was Amelia who was third. "And Amelia?" I asked, "No tires." 

"Wow, let's see if I can find her later." I replied. At that moment, I feel an arm around my shoulders, and I turn to see Cameron with a big smile. "Good race, Gallego." He said with a big smile on his face "Same to you Edwards." I replied "I always do them. But you gave me an entertainment in our battle, that position was mine." 

"See if you can get it next time." I answered laughing, because it was going to be difficult for him "Is it a challenge, Gallego?" he asked raising an eyebrow "Always. But I'd like to see you get ahead of me." 

"Oh, you'll see I can handle you, I'm not at my full potential yet." he answered, and I nodded, because it could be true "I'm glad to know, because otherwise I would wonder where the guy, they say will be my rival this year is." 

"You have it here in front of you, my queen." he answered and winked at me, which I'm beginning to think is something he likes to do. I laugh, and he ends up approaching me. "Congratulations on the podium, seriously Lara. It was a great race and it's been a while since I had such a good time on the track." 

"Same here. I'm sure we'll meet more times on the track." I answered with a smile "Don't hesitate, and you won't always win." he replied, returning my smile "I have it more than clear." 

"Just in case you didn't." I smiled at him, and it doesn't take long for Eric to come up to me to congratulate me. After an hour or so, I finally made it to the hotel and could get some rest before the interview later, so I lay in bed for a while to get some sleep at least. 

I don't know how much time has really passed, but I woke up because someone is banging on the door, and it seems it's interested because it kept insisting, so I reluctantly got up to see who was at the door. 

"I thought I'd have to go get someone to open the door." Cameron said with a big smile on his face. "Cameron?" I asked confused for a moment "Do you have another man with my style knocking at your door?" 

"What are you doing at this hour knocking on my door?" I asked even more confused and without understanding what he was doing here "What time do you think it is? Luckily, I came or else we would be late." 

"What time is it?" I asked, it hadn't crossed my mind to look at the time "Half past five, and walking can take us about fifteen minutes calmly." he said, and it was at the moment I woke up from everything "Shit." 

With that, I walked back into the room and started changing into basically the first thing I saw. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Cameron sitting on the bed looking at me, and I shook my head, because I had to focus on finishing getting decent. 

After a couple more minutes, I came out of the bathroom already with my hair combed and ready to go. I took the room keys and walked out of the room, but Cameron was still sitting on bed. "Have you never seen a woman in her underwear in your life, Edwards?" I said joking "To someone as beautiful as you? No… I think not." 

"Stop saying stupid things and let's go, because I don't want to be late for the interview." I replied, rolling my eyes "Look who's in a hurry now! The sleepy head." He replied "I'm not in a hurry, but I don't like being late, so if you don't get up, I'll have to take the bike, and right now I don't feel like it. Besides, I don't have a helmet for you." 

"I use the one in the car, I wouldn't mind the truth." he said with a shrug. "Let's go, I feel like walking." I replied, "As the sleepy head wishes." With that, he got up from the bed and left the room, closing the door. Along the way we talked about the race and cars. We also talk about our pets. Apparently, his dog was named Beyoncé because he loves the singer. I don't know why Beyoncé seemed to fit him. 

Twenty minutes later we arrived at the circuit, and Elisabeth was waiting for us at the entrance with a girl who I must assume was her friend. "At least you arrived on time without anyone telling you anything, you surprise me Cam." Elizabeth said with a laugh. 

"If it wasn't for me, we wouldn't be here until tomorrow. Apparently Gallego wanted to sleep forever." he replied laughing, and I rolled my eyes "If you're tired, we can postpone it for another day." 

"Nah, it's just when I fall asleep it's hard to wake me up. I'm Lara." I said stretching out my hand in her direction "It's a great pleasure to meet you Lara, I'm Zara." she responded with a big smile on her face "Wow, our names look alike." 

"Yes, where do you want me to interview you?" Zara asked, "Since there are no more competitions, we can take a walk on the track." Cam replied. "I probably have the scooter in the pit. You could use Bianca's bike." I replied, "And what about me?" 

"You have the scooter and the bike in the pit." Elisabeth said to Cameron, which made me laugh, "Oh, that's right." He said as if he didn't know, "I don't have that many cameras." said the girl "We have our phones. We will be able to record with them." 

"That would be great." She replied, "Well, let's go to the pits." We started walking towards the pits, and when we got to mine, Cameron and Elisabeth went to his to get the bike and scooter. 

As soon as I enter the box, I see Bianca with her arms crossed looking at me as if she wants to kill me, which was strange because the car was fine, and I hadn't done anything to make her look at me that way. 

"Have I done something I shouldn't?" I asked confused for a moment and thinking what I had done now "Leave your phone behind, that's what you did. Mom and grandma called, I answered them and told them you would call them as soon as you came to get your phone. 

"Shit, it's true. Do you think I can call my mother before we start the interview?" I asked Zara "Sure, we have time." she assured me "Well, Zara, this is Bianca, my chief mechanic and lifelong friend…" I said, but Bianca was quick to interrupt me "Best friend and sister." 

"True. Can you show her around the box a bit? Now you don't have much to see, but she can answer any question about what's going on in here." I said looking in Zara's direction "Great, thanks Lara." She thanked me "You're welcome. Where did you leave the phone? 

She took my cell phone out of her pocket and passed it to me. I thanked her and left the box so there would be less noise. I went to the fences at the edge of the main straight and supported myself. "I'm sorry I didn't answer you sooner, but I forgot my cell phone." I said before they could say anything else. 

"Don't worry, Bianca told us you had gone to sleep, which you needed." assured my mother "Yeah." I confirmed, and especially if we consider that in the last couple of nights I hadn't slept very well there "We wanted to congratulate you on the race. You were impressive, Lariña." 

"Thanks mom, but I wish you were here more." I practically pouted, " You know I have to work." My mother answered, and if I didn't know she wouldn't accept the money I gave her "I know, what if you worked with me?" 

"And what I was going to work with you, I don't know anything about cars." She replied, "A manager doesn't have to know about cars." I answered crossing my fingers, even though I'm more than clear she won't accept "And what will you do with Sam?" 

"Sam's helper?" I insisted " No baby, you know I like my job." she said, and I nodded, because I knew "I know, but I miss you." I replied, "And we miss you too." mom replied "When do you have the month of vacation?" I asked "The Fourth of July." 

"Great, how about you and Grandma hang out with me?" I asked again and trying to convince her "Lara, you are competing for those dates." she answered "I know, but the furthest you have to go is to Hungary, and I wish you were here." 

"I don't know Lara…" she began, and I could hear how my grandmother was walking nearby "Abueliña querida, ¿verdade que a ti che gustaría pasar un mes ca túa neta favorita? Poderás ver lugares que nunca viches. (Dear grandma, would you really like to spend a month with your favourite net cat? You will be able to see places you never saw)" 

"You convince me, and your daughter is right, traveling would be good for us. A change of scenery before returning work would be great for you." grandma said and I had to contain my laughter "Okay, but you know I'll keep this one for you, Lara." 

"I love you too, now I let you know I have another interview." I said " Aren't you done for today?" my mother asked confused, and I denied "I had, but a colleague and I are going to help a girl with her blog." 

"A blog?" asked grandma "Yes, it won't be one of those pain in the ass, it will be more interesting than any other." I replied. They both knew I didn't like doing interviews. " Later I want to see that interview, Lara." 

"You will. As soon as the girl uploads the video, I will send it to you." I replied "You better. And we have to talk about something important too." I couldn't help but frown, because now I didn't have the slightest idea that he was talking about "About what?" I asked, "About what happened the night of the gala." 

"What happened the night of the gala?" I asked even more confused "Don't play dumb Lara. Bianca told us." I snorted, half annoyed with my sister and her habit of not keeping her mouth shut on certain topics "Bianca could be quiet on some things." 

"Bianca did well to tell us about it, but now since you are going to interview, we leave you and we talk tonight." replied my mother, and I know I wasn't going to escape from this "Alright. I love you." 

"We love you too." I blew them a kiss and hung up. I closed my eyes, because sometimes Bianca told too many things, but I would make sure in case it happened again I wouldn't tell her. 

"Everything's alright?" As soon as I opened my eyes, I saw Cameron looking in my direction and looking worried, which surprised me a little, but I smiled at him to let him know I'm okay. "Yeah, just sometimes I wish Bianca wouldn't tell my mother and grandmother certain things." 

"About before the gala?" he asked sensing where I'm referring "I understand, Eli does the same. My mother ends up finding out everything when I don't tell her, so she doesn't worry." 

"Sometimes they get too into our stuff." I protested "They do, but because they love us and care about us." even though I know he was right, it didn't imply at all I liked my sister doing it "I know. Are we going to do the interview?" 

"After you, Miss Sleepyhead." I laughed and we went to my box where Bianca and Elisabeth were telling Zara things, I guess from what we did around here, but at least the girl would know more things than anyone who had F1 blogs.