Victory Over The Sun

Chapter 5- Only The Truth

Locke had just finished unpacking some of their clothes and toiletries in their hotel room when their phone rang. They had arrived in Bahrain for pre-season testing that day, so they were expecting calls from team members looking for some last minute information. They walked over to the desk where they had left their phone and a glance at the caller ID revealed that Georgia was ringing them.

"Hi, Georgia," greeted Locke as they answered the video call.

"Hi. Do you have time to go through your schedule for the next few days?" asked Georgia, the sound of rustling paper coming through from her end of the line.

"Yes, I do. Let me just get my calendar open," said Locke, reaching for their laptop in their bag. They opened up Google calendar and told Georgia that they were ready for her to begin.

"Tomorrow you have a couple of media obligations. Hitech would like to get some quotes from you ahead of the test. Just the typical stuff about looking forward to getting in the car and learning as much as you can," said Georgia. "You'll be around the team for most of the day, so it will happen during that time."

Locke rolled their eyes. "Have they not given you a more specific time? I asked them to make sure that everything is pretty strictly scheduled."

"I know, but they didn't give me anything more definitive. If I can, I'll ask them for an actual time, but there are no guarantees."

"I'm sure it'll be fine as long as they don't interrupt me while I'm doing something else. It's still less than ideal though," said Locke, reconciling with the lack of structure of the next day."The other thing you have to do is an interview with Formula Two. It's going to be a driver profile, so it will just be a few questions so fans can get to know you better," said Georgia. "It will be in the paddock at 3 tomorrow afternoon and you will be required to wear your race suit."

"OK. That sounds like it could be fun," said Locke, inputting the event into their calendar.

"Also, on the actual test days, the team would like some more generic comments on how everything is going," informed Georgia.

"OK. Nothing out of the ordinary then," said Locke. "Is there anything else?"

"There's your debrief with Delilah tomorrow evening, but you know about that already. Other than that, there's nothing else." Locke thanked Georgia and the pair both signed off from the call. Locke went back to arranging their belongings.

***********

Locke and Georgia wandered through the paddock looking for the spot where the Formula Two media team had set up for filming. They were set up in the shade of a building to protect from the intense heat of the sun. Once they arrived their, Locke pulled their race suit up and did up the zip so that all of their sponsors' logos could be seen. Georgia undid the Velcro at the throat and redid it, ensuring that the suit wasn't creased.

The interviewer greeted Locke and shook their hand. "Please take a seat, Locke. We're just going to ask you a few questions, so just answer them candidly and truthfully so the fans can see the real you." Locke sat down and nodded as the interviewer explained the premise. The cameras started running, framing Locke with the palm trees that lined the paddock dancing gently in the afternoon breeze.

"Firstly, introduce yourself," instructed the interviewer.

"I'm Locke Reid, from the United Kingdom and I drive for Hitech Grand Prix."

"When did you start racing?"

"I started racing when I was 8 years old when I first did karting. I instantly fell in love with it." Locke smiled as a wave of nostalgia hit them for those simpler times.