Driver (Sebastian Vettel) - ON HOLD

2.0 - Charles

MEGAN MOORE

Climbing into the car on the test track my nerves fluttered. It felt like it had been so long since I had been in charge of an F1 vehicle. Charles handed me his helmet, I pushed my hair back and pulled it over my blonde hair making sure it felt good as I leaned back in the seat. Out of the corner of the eye, I saw the three guys move away from the car as I took a deep breath. I knew I needed to impress here right now, I reached my hands forward and on the wheel, as I figured I had to start sooner or later, I just wish that I hadn't volunteered to go last. 

Using my thumb I pressed on the wheel to start the engine before I moved the car away from my starting spot. My hands shook as I control the car swiftly and smoothly around the first few corners before I finally felt like confident enough to kick it up a notch, I took the car at some speeds through the next few turns and twists before the last corner came up a little too quickly. Panic set in as I overshot it, the car spun out of control and when I braked the car I found myself racing the opposite direction to where I should have been going. 

I slammed my hands on the sides of the dashboard, anger setting in as I realised I could have made that if I had been focused more on the road and not the thoughts in my mind about impressing people. Reaching up for the helmet I yanked it off my head before I leaned my head back on the chair and let out a growl in frustration. 

Footsteps were approaching, I turned my head slightly to see Charles walking over to me, I wanted nothing more than to bury my head right now but it was too late as he stood at the side of the car and gave me a pitiful smile. "I'm sure you'll get it next time," he tried to make me feel better but I didn't think any of his words would make me feel anything but shame regarding that performance. 

"Easy for you to say," I mumbled as I pulled out the steering wheel and climbed out the large red car before handing him the steering wheel and helmet. 

He smiled at me, "It took me a few times before I got around this track. It was the same corner that caught me out too."

I wanted to believe his words but I wondered if he was just saying it to comfort me, however, I was not comforted in any way. I unzipped my overalls and held the bridge of my nose annoyed with my failure. "Do you know how many female drivers there are in F1? There are less than a handful in the industry as a whole, as of this moment there are only two other females that drive these cars as test drivers, there is not a single female driver on that track." I shrugged my shoulders before crossed my arms over my chest, "Failure isn't an option for me."

Charles pushed his helmet back to me, "Then finish this lap."

My eyes looked down at his helmet before I shook my head, "No point now." I glanced over briefly at Sebastian and Mark before looking at Charles, "Those two over there have already formed their opinion on my driving."

He pulled his helmet back to himself, "I didn't have you down as a quitter." He pulled his helmet on before he got into the car himself, I trudged again, disappointment filling my body as I walked back towards the starting point. 

"What happened out there, Megan?" Mark asked as I got closer to him and Sebastian. I didn't want to answer the question mainly because I didn't have a proper answer. 

I shrugged my shoulders as I looked down at the ground and headed past them. "Where you going?" Sebastian called after me.

"To get my stuff," I answered that question. I was sure that since he originally wanted to chose who worked for him that I would now be out of the question. 

He laughed, it was a little chilling to hear. I hadn't stopped walking and I guessed he was following me when he spoke again his voice was close to me, footsteps close to me. "You can go ahead and get your stuff right now, quit if you like, but I know Maurizio didn't bring you here thinking that you were a quitter. He certainly wouldn't have offered you a job if he didn't think you couldn't do it."

I stopped walking and turned to look at him, "It's not him who has to work with me though."

Sebastian sighed, "If Maurizio thinks you should be here then what can I do."

His reply was not satisfactory, I wanted to work with someone who wanted me to be there. I'd done the battling with other drivers before, I wanted to come to work, enjoy what I did before going home to where the real stress was. "Would you be happy working with me?"

The silence that filled the air answered my question. I didn't need to just be here because the boss wanted me here, at the end of the day he might be paying my wages but the man in charge of me would always be who I drive with, if you can't get on then there is no point.

Returning to the changing room I slipped out of the overalls hanging them on the peg before pulling my work clothes back on, I dumped everything in my bag before straightening my outfit then leaving the changing room. At the door stood Charles, "Quitting already?"

"What can I say?" I shrugged my shoulders.

"You take yourself too seriously. It's your first day, you have nerves. Don't just give up on a whim."

I looked over at Mark and Sebastian before thinking carefully about how to phrase my next words. "How did you know Mark was the right person for you to work with?"

He looked towards his test driver, "Because he's not afraid to speak out and show me something new. He will tell me if I am doing something wrong, I know that every piece of advice given to me is for my best interests." His attention returned to me, "And he's human just like everyone else. I make just as many mistakes as him and vice versa. We're not looking for perfect, we're looking for real."

"And what happened on the track?"

Charles laughed at me, "Nothing that I haven't seen a million times. I promise if you leave now you'll regret it."

"Thank you," I smiled as I reached forward and hugged him. I was stupid, I just needed that quick reality check because I knew if I walked away then I would have a lot of explaining to do to all the people in my life. I had worked too hard to throw it all away over nothing.