McQueen's Kid

ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ᴏɴᴇ

Chapter One
"Go, McQueen! Woo-hoo!" Mater shouted as he swung his tow cable around. The group cheered as Dad passed another car as he zoomed around the race track. Today was going to be a great race!

"Look at your daddy out there, sugar!" Flo cheered as she lightly tapped my side.

"Yeah, he's doing really well today." I smiled, looking up at the big screen, watching my father move up to first place. I had adored him since I was manufactured.

"Are we's gonna come here and watch you's race someday?" Mater grinned, looking down at me. Immediately I shook my head, smiling.

"Sorry, Mater. Not fast enough. Those cars are going about 196 miles an hour. No way I could top that." I said as the yellow flag was waved, bringing most of the racers in for a pit stop.

Luigi and Guido began shouting in Italian as Dad entered the pit. He lifted his wheels, a wide smile on his face. Fillmore filled his tank quickly as everyone gave Dad encouragement. This was what he loved doing, he didn't need encouragement. As quickly as he entered, he was leaving. "Getting a car wash, too, Cal?" He teased as he drove by.

"No. You're getting a car wash, McQueen." Cal mumbled back, frowning as he looked at the ground.

"Nice comeback, Cal." The King chuckled as Cal drove off to chase after Dad. I giggled as I looked back at the track. Ever since I was little, I had been coming here to watch my father race. I would give anything to be out there racing just like him.

Dad zoomed across the finish line, a huge smile plastered on his face. He looked so happy. The crowds cheered as he went to go talk to his racing buddies. "Stel, you comin' or what?" Mom asked, pulling me away from the pit.

"Sorry, just got my head up in the clouds." I smiled as I drove up beside her. She smiled and rolled her eyes. I'm always in my own world.

"Yeah, yeah. Now let's go greet your dad after his interview." Mom smiled, lightly tapping my side. I nodded my head followed behind her, seeing my dad come into view.

"Yeah, I think the thing is is that we all respect each other and-" Dad stated as a group of his friends drove by, spraying him in giant soap bubbles and tossing confetti into the air.

"Good win, Cupcake!" They shouted as the drove away laughing, leaving my dad covered in their mess.

He spit the soap bubbles out of his mouth, his voice changing. "Oh, they're gonna pay." He stated.

xxx

Dad had another race across the country, but I decided to stay home with one of my few friends. Many people come and visit Radiator Springs, but hardly anyone stays for long. "Hey, Ethan." I greeted as I drove up to the black pickup truck.

"Hey, Stel. What? Did they leave you behind again?" He teased as he drove out of his parents' shop. They had taken over what used to be Doc's job. Ethan's dad is now the the town judge while his mother is the doctor.

"Har, har. No. I stayed behind this time." I smiled, rolling my blue eyes. He chuckled and followed me towards the Cozy Cone. Ethan and I have been best friends since I was eight years old, when he moved to town. Since then, we've been inseparable.

"I'm surprised. You love going to your old man's races." He replied as we entered the main office. The place hadn't changed much, beside the pictures hanging up everywhere. I looked around, my favorite one still in its usual place.

"He's not old." I scoffed, driving behind the counter. Since Mom and Dad were gone, I was in charge of watching over the motel.

"Well, he's getting up there. He's been racing for, what? Eighteen years plus?" Ethan argued, making me scrunch my face. I didn't like the thought of my father retiring. It just didn't feel right.

"So? He loves it and I couldn't picture him doing anything other than racing." I defended. Ethan shrugged his tires, giving me his look.

"Stella, I don't like the idea either, but sooner or later his racing days will be over. Somehow everyone will have to deal with it. Old man McQueen can't race forever." He fired back. I looked to the ground, knowing he was right.

"Can't we just talk about something else?" I mumbled. I didn't want to talk about this, I didn't even want to think about it. My dad loved racing. If he stopped racing, he wouldn't be the same.

I turned on the tv, wanting to watch the race. What? Just because I don't want to travel across the country doesn't mean I don't want to watch the race. "I'll go get us both a quart of oil from Flo's." Ethan chuckled, driving towards the Café.

I flipped through the channels, listening to all of the news reporters talk about my dad's winning percentage this year. As usual, it was higher than the rest. My dad was the fastest car in the world after all. "Here's your oil, Miss Stella." Ethan smiled, passing my drink.

"Thank you." I grinned, happily taking his offer. This was how we always watched the races together. We always huddled around my mother's little tv as we laughed at lame commercials and cheered on my father.

"In the lead, we have Cal Weathers with Bobby Swift close behind," Bob stated as the camera zoomed in on the track.

"And slowly making his way into second, we have Lightning McQueen!" Darrell cheered as we watched my father move forward on the track.

"Woo! Go old man McQueen!" Ethan cheered beside me, making me laugh.

"Stop calling him that! When he gets back you'll accidentally call him it and he'll have your engine!" I laughed, hitting his tire with mine. He rolled his brown eyes and smiled at me.

"I think I can take him. What's a race car gonna do to me?" He questioned, a slight smirk present on his face.

"What? Haven't you ever heard of the story of the time old man McQueen paved these roads?" I teased, trying to sound serious but failing miserably. Ethan shook his head, laughing.

"No way he did that. He does not have the towing capacity." He smiled, looking down at me.

"But it's true! And he since he was so terrible at it, Doc made him scrape it off and start all over." I laughed, making Ethan cock his eyebrow (or what would be his eyebrow) at me.

"Really? And who told you this?" He smirked.

"Well, everyone of course. They thought it was the best thing to ever happen to the town." I smiled, showing off my perfect white teeth. He scoffed and pushed my face away.

"Don't smile like that! You look too much like your dad! That face just reminds me of one of his terrible commercials." He scrunched, making me laugh. My father and I could be twins. Same blue eyes and same cheery red paint. The only difference was that I was a Porsche and he was a race car.

"Hey, it's not his fault he can't be an actor and a racer." I grinned.

"And winning the race is Cal Weathers!" Bob cheered, interrupting us. We turned back to the tv, seeing Dad come in second. Oh well, Dad couldn't win every time. We watched as Cal's pit crew tossed him in the air, chanting about his win.

"Come on, I just want to see his interview." Ethan mumbled as he stared at the tv. Cal's team put him on the ground, letting him drive over for his interview.

"Nice win today, Mr. Weathers. How did you do it?" Kori asked, leaning in close.

"Well, it was really simple, all I had to do was- hey!" He shouted as his tires filled up to their highest capacity. He struggled to turn. "Guido!" He shouted, looking at my dad and Guido, who was smirking.

"Nice win, Cal!" Dad laughed as he drove away. Cal furrowed his eyebrows as his trunk flew open and tiny little balloons of my dad flew up into the air, tied to the back of him. He didn't have to say anything. We all knew that was his payback.

Ethan turned off the tv, slightly laughing. "Old man McQueen has done it again."

~~~~~~~~~~