Melanie's POV
I have been thinking long and hard. I made a mistake shutting Jess out. She was only doing what she thought was best when she left. Even with our father's explanation I felt betrayed. I still think Jess should have stayed but unlike her, I never really got into motorsports despite the fact that Jules and Jess were having fun. That brings me to now. I am currently on my way to Tempelhof airport. Yes, I am going to the Berlin E-Prix. I need to make things right with Jess and the only way I could think of was to watch her do what she does best. Race. Luckily for me, Tom was able to get me in contact with Jess' boyfriend Nyck de Vries. He happens to be her teammate as well. After a conversation, Nyck was able to get me a VIP pass. It doesn't take long for me to reach the car park. After a few minutes of walking, I made it to the entrance of the Mercedes garage. I take a deep breath. This is it. It doesn't take long for Jess' eyes to lock on to mine.
"Give me a minute Molly. I have someone that I need to speak to," Jess excuses herself as she breaks from the woman she was chatting to.
"Salut Mel (Hello Mel)," She greets me. I can feel the tension cut through the air.
Jess' POV
What on earth is she doing here? I thought she despised me. I guess I will find out when I ask.
"Bonjour Jess. Il y a quelque chose que je dois faire (Hello Jess. There is something I need to do)," Melanie responds. Ok. I'll hear her out. It is the least that I can
"Qu'est-ce que c'est (What is it)?" I ask as we enter the garage properly.
"je viens m'excuser. J'ai eu tort de te repousser. Tom m'a dit ce que tu ressentais et c'est pourquoi je suis venu voir si je pouvais arranger les choses. (I've come to apologise. I was wrong to push you away. Tom told me how you felt and because of that I've come to see if I could make things right)," Melanie explains. After glancing around to make sure no one is watching I give Melanie a big hug. Those were the words that I wanted to hear.
"Écoute, ce n'est pas ta faute. Quoi qu'il en soit, j'ai un travail à faire (Look it's not your fault. Anyway, I have a job to do)," I excuse myself as I let go. Thankfully Melanie has decided to put things right. With that out of the way, we parted ways so that I can get to work on getting the car around the track for the first free practice session. I'll have a chance to catch up with Melanie properly tonight. After a few words from Kai, I am given the all-clear to get comfortable in the car. Thankfully it doesn't take long for me to get organised. As soon as I have my gloves on the radio comes to life with Kai's voice.
"Radio check? Are you ready?"
"Loud and clear. Ready when you are," I responded. With that out of the way Kristy sends me out. As soon as I bring the car up to speed I notice just how bumpy the surface is. Even though Nyck, Albert, Kai and I did the track walk I wasn't expecting it to be as bad as it is. Oh well I just have to focus on making sure the tires survive the torture. After a few more laps the time has come for me to see how the car will handle the full power lap.
"Just a heads up I am only going to do one lap in charlie mode 4.The tires are struggling," I use the radio to inform Kai of what I intend to do.
"Copy. Let me know if you encounter any other issues," Kai responds. Of course I will be there if there are any other issues. Just as I hit the start/finish straight I adjust the required settings. The push lap is going to be hard considering the fact that I have to save the tires. As per usual it doesn't take long for me to make it to turn one. Instead of braking heavily like I normally do I gradually get the car slower. After nine more corners of doing that my full power lap has come to an end.
"Kai, I hope you have all of the data that you need today. I Think it would be better if I played it safe with the tires," I say.
"Ok. Box on the next lap," Kai confirms. Luckily for me it doesn't take long for me to reach the garage. It doesn't take long for me to rescue myself from the car. I find myself being a little annoyed that I couldn't get everything done in the first free practice like I normally do. After a few words with Kai I have decided that, since I won't be going out again, I am going to watch the rest of the free practice session with Melaine. Speaking of Melaine I was quick to find her as she was watching from a vantage point in the corner of the garage.
"Y a-t-il quelque chose qui ne va pas (Is there anything wrong)?" Melanie asks.
"Non, nous venons d'obtenir les données dont nous avons besoin (No, we just got the data we need)," I tell her a white lie as I know for a fact that she would be bored by the technical stuff. Unlike Jules, Tom and I, she doesn't appreciate the technical side.
"Ok," Maleine shrugs the thought off. We soon fall into idle chatter as I turn my attention to Nyck's data. It appears that he is having similar issues with the tires. I don't know why I am worried about Nyck's data. After all, it is Albert's job to worry. After fifteen minutes of basically catching up with Melanie, the first free practice session has come to an end. I am quick to excuse myself as I have a debrief to go to.
It is the day after and the only thing that can be said about the second free practice session is the fact that it was a mirror image of the first free practice session. Right now I am getting ready for the qualifying. Well, I say getting ready but I mean that in the loosest possible way. Instead, I am trying to calm Melanie's nerves about the fact that I will be racing in three hours. To be honest I can't blame her given the fact that we already lost one of our family members to motorsports.
"Melanie, Je ne suis pas stupide. Tu sais pertinemment que je ferai attention (I'm not stupid. You know for a fact that I will be careful)," I counter as I double-check that I have everything I need. Nothing I am saying seems to get through to her. That's how much she hates the idea of me racing. Yet for some reason she is still here.
"Toujours. Il y a beaucoup de choses qui peuvent mal tourner. Cependant, je suis prêt à abandonner mes soucis si cela vous rend heureux (Still. There is a lot that can go wrong. However, I am willing to let my worries go if it will make you happy)," Melanie ends the conversation.
"Merci. Maintenant, me laisserais-tu partir (Thank you. Now would you let me go)?" I joke. "Bien sûr (Of course)," Melanie responded. I can tell that she doesn't sound convinced but it was her idea to come. At least it has given us the chance to make amends. With that out of the way, I make a beeline for the garage. After a few words from Kai, I am given the go-ahead to get comfortable in the car. With a few swift movements, I have my balaclava, helmet and HANS device on. With Kristy's help, I get comfortable in the car. After a minute of waiting, I am sent out. I take a deep breath as I get to work on the out lap. Even though it is the second last race of the season I am treating it like it is the season finale. Time seems to slow down as I make the required adjustments for charlie mode 4. I just hope the tires can hold on. I can feel my confidence grow as I get through the lap. The good thing is I haven't encountered too much traffic. As soon as I get across the line Kai jumps on the radio with some good news.
"You are on provisional pole. We'll see what happens when the other groups go out," He informs me.
"So I don't need to do another push lap?" I ask.
"No you don't," Kai confirms. After the cool-down lap, I bring the car to the pits. It doesn't take long for me to rescue myself from the car. Instead of jumping out of the car entirely, I perch myself on the Halo as I take my balaclava, Helmet and HANS device off.
"I can put those somewhere safe for you. There's nothing that my team can do at the moment," Kristy is referring to my safety gear.
"Thank you. I just need you to hang on to my HANS device," I say as I pass the HANS device.
"No worries," Kristy responds. I find myself leaning on my helmet which has my balaclava in it as I watch the broadcast. After what feels like an eternity the group qualifying has come to an end. Remarkably my name has not budged from the top of the timing screen.
"Well you are in the Superpole shootout," Kristy remarks as she passes me my HANS device back.
"And I hope to stay on pole," I say as I get to work on getting my balaclava and helmet on. Thankfully I am quick. With a few swift movements, I have my HANS device on. After a few awkward shuffles, I am comfortably in the car. After a thirty-second wait, I am sent out. Since I got pole position I will be going out first. I just need to repeat the lap that got me pole position in the group qualifying session. I soon crossed the line to begin my full power lap. I take a deep breath. After what feels like an eternity I have completed my full power lap. I won't know if I was successful until the others have gone. The good thing is the lap felt just as good as the last full power lap. It doesn't take long for me to bring the car back to the garage. As soon as I rescue myself from the car I am joined by Kai.
"I just wanted to give you a heads up about something I found in the data," Kai announces as I get my helmet off.
"Ok. Just so long as it doesn't affect the races," I say as I pull my balaclava off.
"During the group qualifying I noticed a few drivers locking up into turn nine," Kai announces. Ok, that can't be good.
"Thank you for the heads up. At least it should be slightly easier as Kristy and her team will be putting the fresh tires on," I get to work on reassuring Kai. Unfortunately, he doesn't look too convinced. That's just normal at this point.
Melanie's POV
It has been a couple of hours since Jess completed the Superpole shootout. With what looked to be the perfect lap around an interesting track Jess managed to get pole. I will have to ask her whether or not it was perfect. For some reason, I am still on edge about this race. The thing is I told myself that I'd make things right with Jess regardless of what I needed to do. Right now I am watching the cars being prepared from the VIP area. I am paying close attention to the number five car.
"You know she'll be fine," I am pulled out of my thoughts by Jess' trainer Molly. She has been a big help.
"I know but this is the first race that I have been to since Jess left. I just want to be there to protect her," I tell the truth. I am aware of the fact that the team has everything under control but still. I am her sister. Sure I shut Jess out but that is now in the past.
"We all do, to be honest, but Jess knows what she is doing," Molly counters. She is right.
"There is a minute left," Molly points to the wave of people that are leaving the track. Well, it is the moment of truth.
"Bonne chance, Jess (Good Luck)," I find myself uttering. After the longest minute of my life, I notice that a single red light comes on. With a puff of smoke, the drivers slip into the right grid slot. Luckily for me, Molly is quick to explain why they did that. As soon as the last car slips into place the five lights come on. For some reason I find myself holding my breath as the race gets underway. As the race goes on I am starting to understand why Jess is in love with Formula E. As soon as the clock hits five minutes, disaster strikes. I am about to ask what happened but Molly beats me to it.
"Jess has locked up. When she's out of the car I'll check on her," Molly informs me of the plans.
"No. I'll make sure she is ok," just like in old times. Whenever Jess and Jules came home from their respective races and they were upset I would give them the biggest hug known to mankind. It should also serve as the last thing to get Jess to forgive me.
"Ok," Molly basically gives me permission to follow through with my plan. After a minute and a half sprint, I made it back to the garage. It is there that I find Jess. She is clearly annoyed. After a quick conversation with who I assume to be her lead engineer, she spots me. I gesture for her to follow me to somewhere a little more private. As soon as we reach our destination I pull her into a hug. Even though Jess is a little confused, her annoyance seems to melt away.
"Je pensais qu'un câlin te ferait te sentir mieux. Comme au bon vieux temps (I thought a hug would make you feel better. Just like old times)," I explain as I let go.
"Eh bien ça a marché (Well it worked)," Jess responds.Of course, there is still a lot of healing that needs to be done between us but we have made a start. That is the part that matters. In fact, I think I might even be starting to understand what drew Jules and Jess to the crazy world of motorsports. Sure I might not have the talent to be a driver however I think I will be a VIP a little more often. The thought brings a smile to my face as I follow Jess back to the garage.