Wildly Driven

Chapter 5

"How can you say it's a base?" Lily, my academic guru, asked pushing her purple spectacles up her nose. She didn't have any eye problem, but she only wore it to look nerdy when we studied together.

I was having a hard time to say if I was breathing properly, let alone that stupid base. I was still pondering if the message what Nick sent yesterday meant something.

He had come to pick me up the next morning, acting as if last night didn't exist. He smiled at me, the same one that made me swoon. He turned on the radio, as he always did with some random song playing to keep from the awkward silence.

Did he feel the tension just as much as I did?

"So how was the race track?" He had asked, just as I was checking if the message he sent was all my dream. My phone surely said that he did send it.

"Robert is a prick." I said, pocketing my phone. "He thinks he is superior or something."

"Sounds like a Jerk with a capital J." He smiled, as her turned the car towards the school.

He stopped the engine at our regular spot. I got down the car, plopping my bag onto my shoulder as he locked the car securely and took my hand in his as he always did.

"May be I could teach you to race?" He said, looking straight. "You know at least the basics."

I squeezed his hand in return. The mere thought that he volunteered to teach me, just so that I can avoid the jerk, make my heart thump a little louder. I looked at him if he was being serious.

"Yeah, seriously." He said, stopping in his track. "I know I sound crazy, but if it makes you feel better, I would be there."

"I would actually love that." I said, with a genuine smile. "But its professional racing. It's like dead or alive there. Remember if Dad was few inches bent towards the engine, it would have been his head, instead of his leg, right?"

"Yeah." He said, scratching his head. "May be I could stay with you while you learn then."

I laughed as I kissed his cheeks not wanting to think much about it. "I hope they will let you in."

Even after we had spent the whole day together, we had never once gone back to that text message at all. The butterflies in my stomach twisted and turned each time I thought about it.

"You don't know?" Lily shook me out from my daze.

"I think it has to do something with hydroxyl ions." I said, hitting my head with a pencil.

"That's right." Lily beamed. "The presence of OH- ions makes the compound basic, although there are many other factors that the professor hasn't done it yet. Well, we completed it."

"But you know it?" I asked, perplexed. I had just made a quizzical guess as I had remembered our teacher Mrs. McNally talk something about them.

Lily's face turned beat red. "I had some time yesterday, so I did some studying."

How much did I wish to have to some time? Last night when I had sat down to study, I had to wash my face seven freaking times to make sure that I was awake. The tracks were giving me a rough time and it became difficult for me to get adjusted to it.

I knew I had to learn about the races, but the final race was still six months away. What more could it be than a few twists and turns. I had seen my Dad's races and I knew exactly how they worked. As long as I knew how to drive, I knew I was fine.

"Hey, you okay?" Lily asked. She was kind and we shared most of the classes together. We were paired for most of the assignments too. "Did something happen with Everest?"