There hadn't been a woman in formula 1 for as long as most drivers could remember and it seemed that there was a lack of women in the virtual sport too. When McLaren Shadow, an F1 e-sports team took a chance on a young female streamer, no one knew t...
"Mira, if you win, Lando will forever hold it over me."
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Esme Cole was there for Mira Atkinson whenever she needed it.
In fact, now she was needed less than before, and she felt a little lost. While she saw Mira just as much because they were best friends, the amount of advice Esme offered was a little less because Mira had more of a network of people.
Esme trusted Lando to keep Mira's emotions and physical well-being safe. She worried how Mira would be with him constantly away but she adapted to it quickly as it wasn't like she was alone.
"I'm glad you're happy with Lando, Mira," Esme commented.
"Me too," Mira smiled sheepishly.
They sat on Esme's living room floor Esme braided Mira's hair so it wouldn't annoy her in the wind when she went outside.
"I think Mike needs to learn his place though," Esme added sternly. "You shouldn't let him treat you like that."
"I know but I don't want to cause any arguments," Mira shrugged.
"I don't agree with your decisions but whatever," Esme pursed her lips."
"I know you don't and neither does Lando...but it's still my brother," Mira bit her lip. "If I fall out with him, so does Luke. I don't want to break the only family I have."
"You wouldn't but I get where you are coming from," Esme agreed.
Mira shifted in her place as Esme finished her hair. Mira didn't often bother with hairstyles but she didn't need her hair annoying her the entire time she was trying to socialise with her (hopefully) new friends.
"You should visit the group with me!" Mira insisted. "Come on, they're nice."
"I swear, you better not be trying to set me up with your gamer buddies, Mira..."
"I'm not! Not like that. I just think you'd be friends," Mira replied. "You and I don't have a good track record of making friends."
"I don't need to steal your friends Mira," Esme frowned.
"You're not! Uh— I don't know! I just need your opinion on them," Mira pouted. "I'm your only friend outside of work."
"I'm perfectly happy with that."
"Okay, sure," Mira whistled. "Well, there's free cookies and doughnuts on offer, that's all I'm saying..."
"Fine, I'll come."
Mira let out a small 'yay' before jogging to grab her back from where she left it in the hall of Esme's house.
Esme had designed her house in a very comforting way, with clutter in a range of places but still correlating with the style of the room (unlike Mira, who was a very cluttered person). Esme was also a plant guru and had all sorts of nature around her house, from hanging plants to a mini potted palm tree in her dining room.
Mira adored it.
Loki also adored scratching at the palm tree when they weren't looking.
For someone who didn't like drawing attention to herself, Esme found it hilarious that Mira drove around in a bright red McLaren when she didn't like getting noticed. Then again, Mira didn't think of her car as particularly noticeable.
Lando had left for Turkey that morning. There was a two-week gap after Turkey but then he had a triple header so Mira wouldn't see him until the Pro-championship final on December 17th. She had grown used to it but she still missed him.
"Hey guys, this is Esme," Mira introduced.
The group went around introducing themselves as politely as possible. Mira hoped Esme would become part of their group, even if she didn't want to involve herself in the company itself.
"We're going karting," Mira finally told Esme. "You don't have to."
"No, I will," Esme mumbled. "I don't want to be a blood kill."
"Okay," Mira grinned. "Let's go!"
"This is unfair because you're going to win," Esme aruged.
"If anyone's likely to win, it's Max," Mira disagreed. "He was an actual racer."
Esme couldn't disagree with Mira because she didn't really know the group. Esme just wanted to spent time with Mira...and get the free cookies on offer as well.
Besides, Mira tried to help Esme by trying to show her which corners to break out and the line to take. Esme didn't a lot of it in but she was glad Mira enjoyed herself by being able to ramble about it.
"Mira, you should get a custom helmet," Max commented as he handed her one.
"Why?" Mira raised an eyebrow.
"So whenever we go karting, you look cool," Max replied in an 'it's obvious' tone.
"Plus it's for decorating!" Niran added.
"What colour would you have it?" Ria questioned as she got into her go-kart.
"I feel obligated for it to be orange...but I also love dark blue," Mira replied. "I would have dark blue and black I think."
"Get it," Niran clapped. "It would cool for your gaming shelf."
"True," Mira grinned. "Fine. I am persuaded way too easily—"
Mira got into her go-kart and made sure everything was secure. She'd been go-karting before but it wasn't something she did on the regular now she was living alone. She'd mainly gone with the other McLaren Shadow members for socials.
"Place your bets now people," Aarav declared.
"Mira, if you win, Lando will forever hold it over me," Max warned.
"Most likely."
Mira was too busy trying to focus on the track.
Mira's mind could do amazing things at times, including memorising things within a couple of minutes if she had the correct level of concentration. So as she looked around at the track, her brain began to calculate the line to take, when to break and who would be coming from behind.
They calculated who would start on the grid by picking out of a hat just for fun. Ironically, Esme was on pole while Mira sat in P4. It would be entertaining with Max at the very back.
Safe to say, Mira won the race by a meet 1.3 seconds.
Lando was never going to let Max forget it.
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