Chequered Flag | FORMULA ONE (COMPLETED)

CHAPTER ONE

I gently knocked on the door.

"Come in, Mick!" Guenther ordered.

As I went into the room I noticed everyone was already here, sitting around the long, oval table. God, why is everyone so early? With a small, muffled groan, I approached one of the two vacant seats and sat down.

Guenther proceeded to start his laptop. He opened a PowerPoint presentation entitled 'Post Mazepin Accident Meeting'.

He cleared his throat. "So, you probably know that Mazepin kid got wrecked in a crash last week."

People nodded their heads.

"He got hurt, some fractures in his left arm and leg. That's it. He isn't going to die," he continued.

I nodded in acknowledgement.

"But, he can't race anymore, obviously," Guenther announced. "At least not this year."

There was a huge commotion going on in the room. But it soon died down as Guenther whistled, and in came a girl. Everyone stared at her, including me. I thought she was pretty, and I felt a sense of attraction towards her. She had a dark shade of turquoise eyes; and long, straight, brunette hair. Her facial features were near perfect. And the way she was dressed made her stand out, the kind where you could instantly recognize her in a party room full of different people.

Guenther introduced this girl. "Everyone, meet Ember Williams. She'll be our replacement driver for the rest of the season."

Her? Replacement driver?

Ember's lips twitched up slightly, giving a subtle smile. She waved at all of us and said, "Hi, I'm Ember!" I noticed her thick British accent.

"I never really liked that Mazepin kid, I tell you," Guenther told us. "That's why I signed her. Look at her, she's different, isn't she?"

Guenther invited Ember to say a few words about herself. She first thanked the team for giving her this opportunity. She then briefly explained about her journey to F1. She told us her father helped her start her racing career. And apparently, she was a rookie in F2, currently first in the standings. She wanted to promote equality and diversity in motorsport. Combine that with her passion for driving, and she was motivated to work hard to achieve her goals in life. It was a simple yet powerful speech by her. I enjoyed that.

After the speech, Ember went to sit on the only available seat left, which happened to be the one beside me.

"Hi, I'm Mick. Nice to meet you, Miss Williams." I introduced myself.

"Call me Ember, please. So Mick, I suppose you're Michael Schumacher's son?" Ember asked.

I nodded in confirmation.

Her face lit up in excitement. "Oh my god, I have always been a fan of your dad!" she exclaimed, and everyone came looking in our direction. "Sorry!" she quickly yelled and turned to me. "And you, of course," she added.

***

Ding dong...

Ember opened the door. And immediately I noticed her unique fashion sense. She's wearing an oversized crop top with a huge '28' printed on it, paired with skinny jeans. Her makeup was minimal, except for the slightly smudged but very thick eyeliner. Almost half of the right side of her face was covered by her long, straight hair, and she didn't even bother to push the strands behind her ear. I assumed that's her fashion statement then.

I didn't even know I was staring at her for an extended period of time until she greeted me. "Where are we going, Mick?"

"Oh, uh, th-there's a ramen shop nearby. My dad used to go there whenever he raced here." I stuttered, slightly embarrassed by my less-than-ideal reaction upon seeing her.