Racing Devil

Chapter 13 (100%)

The fatigue and discomfort were explained by her period that had arrived on the next day. Not only was she relieved to find the reasons for her physical symptoms, she also breathed easier, knowing that the emotional turmoil she had felt last night must have come from the same cause.

After a good rest, Niksa woke up feeling refreshed. She checked the schedule for today and the text messages on the phone. She planned to wake Myles up in 10 minutes, but was surprised when the man she had expected to be in bed walked in.

"Oh."

The thin fabric of his t-shirt had a circle of moisture in the back which told her that he had just come back from an exercise.

"Have you been up for a while?"

"Since 6 o'clock. I went to the gym with Henry," he explained, looking and sounding cheerful. "I'm taking a shower. Wait for me so we can get breakfast together."

"Okay."

Myles didn't take long to get ready. He reappeared in a polo shirt with the team and sponsors' logo, a pair of sporty sunglasses tugged on his collar. He had the cap and mask in his hand. Niksa could already tell that they were going straight to the circuit after breakfast.

"After the testing session, you have a signing event," Niksa reported dutifully as they were going down in a lift to have breakfast at the hotel's restaurant.

"And a meeting with the engineers," he finished her sentence knowingly.

"Can you just let me do my job in full capacity?" the manager asked, half joking, half annoyed.

Myles shrugged. He put the cap and mask back on as the door opened, but they were joined by none other than Henry.

"Hey," the coach did a fist bump with Myles and extended that to Niksa.

"Good morning, Henry," she greeted as their hands met. "I thought you two had come back late last night."

"Not really. I don't drink during the race, even if it's just a testing week," Myles explained.

She smiled, very pleased to hear that. She remembered what Henry had said about Myles, that he knew what to do to become a world F1 champion.

"Somebody is not enjoying his life as he used to, Nicky," the coach added.

"Oh, shut up."

Niksa looked at Henry, confused, but he offered no further explanation beside his sparkling eyes. He clearly didn't mind being told to shut up by the athlete in his care.

The hotel accommodated him by arranging their breakfast table in a more secluded corner. Later that morning, Henry went back to being the driver as Myles was studying the information about the track on his tablet.

Even though the real race wasn't until the second week of next month, everything that was going on was being done with conviction. It felt so real to Niksa who had just entered the world of speed.

There were ten F1 teams participating in the pre-season testing. The tests were done in two rounds-four hours in the morning and four hours in the afternoon.

Niksa folded her arms, holding herself as she tried to calm down. Myles was in his race suit, wearing a balaclava with the helmet on top. He slid into the cockpit and Edward waved for the car to leave the garage. The engine was roaring as it moved.

She turned back to look at the LED screen on the wall. Everyone around her were the mechanics, as well as Henry whose duty was to care for the driver during the practice and the race. The technicians, the race engineer and the team principal were all sitting on the stools around the stationery table that was placed between two race cars. They had a computer screen that analysed and reported information to the drivers on the grid.