Pit Lane Persephone

Chapter 6: Seb (Part 2 of 2)

After crossing the bridge to the mainland, the van travels another few kilometers and pulls up to the entrance of the Victoria Animal Sanctuary and Koala Park before the staff takes us inside. A bunch of other racers and a handful of photographers are already at the kangaroo pen, but I skip the exhibit. It's way too morbid for me to smile for the cameras with the giant marsupials knowing that our racing suits are made from the hides of their dead relatives.

I'm hanging back to watch the others pose for the feel-good pictures the media will run alongside last minute articles ahead of tomorrow's race when Reid Butler and his girlfriend come up to me.

"Sorry again for earlier, mate," Reid says, extending his hand. He'd nearly caused us to collide during qualifiers after going wide. "I thought I had that corner, but it got away from me."

Things happen, so I shake his hand and accept the apology. "It is fine," I say, trying to turn away before any more chit-chat.

"Buonasera, Seb," says the bottle-blonde clinging to the Australian racer's other hand like her life depends on it. Wearing a top with a plunging neckline, a fake tan, and a ton of makeup, she looks no different from the last time we spoke, which was months ago.

It's too late to ignore her, right? But why should I play nice when Nadia hadn't? Sure, she seemed pretty great at first. Hell, she'd even started to learn Italian just for me. But she didn't get much further than simple phrases before I stopped winning races and she'd moved on to someone else. And now she's trying to force me to interact by rubbing my nose in it?

Or maybe she wants a second chance now that I'm doing well again. Like I'll ever make that mistake twice. My contract with Cadmium runs out at the end of this season, so all I care about is finishing the remaining races with the highest rankings I can in order to get a good deal for next year. Nadia is nowhere in that equation.

"Ciao," I reply with a nod. "Enjoy each other today, okay?"

I just want to get away, and wishing them a good time at the park feels like the most civil way to do it. Maybe the words don't come out exactly correct; I don't actually mean for that last part to sound like it did. I smile. It's a pretty spot-on slip, though. Reid is a nice guy and naïve enough to think Nadia chose him for love. I'm sure as hell not going to spoil his fantasy.

I find Nando at an adjacent exhibit, chatting up a keeper with a baby boa constrictor around her shoulders. Nudging him away from the cute brunette, I tell him what just happened.

"The only thing I know about women is that I know nothing about women," Nando says. "But I can smell bullshit a mile away, and there is definitely something going on there." He nods toward the group of girls coming our way. Lauren is in the center, covering her mouth because she's laughing so hard. Nadia is now with her, as are Tobei's wife Junko and Gareth's girlfriend Hadley. They all look equally amused.

I roll my eyes. My teammate was bound to find her circle eventually, and it's not shocking it would be with the most social of the riders' partners. But no one can force me to be happy about it. What are they giggling about, anyway? Is Nadia already filling Lauren in about what happened between us? Why do I even care? Naturally, I don't.

Trying my best to listen to the presentation about Australian reptiles including a frilled lizard that looks straight out of Jurassic Park, my attention keeps wandering to the ladies who have now been joined by Appworld.com rider Luca Danieli's girlfriend Corinne Schwarz. An actual model instead of the usual "aspiring" kind, she's around less often and her rare appearance leads to squeals of delight and a bunch of selfies.