It was finally that time of year again. The beginning of March also marked the beginning of more besides longer days. Car racing would begin again, and I shuddered at the mere thought of hearing the roar of engines again. 

My father Robert Rorat was one of the managers of the "Artimor" stable, despite his position of power he was always the first one to overhaul the cars before sending them to the track. As a former driver he really took the safety of his boys seriously, my brother and I accompanied him to every race and were always there ready to support him.

Our mother Mara was never very happy to see one of us sitting behind a steering wheel but, by then, she had given up hope and stopped telling us anything. The test track was practically our second home. Both my brother and I had learned first to drive and then to talk. Jacob was five years older than me and he had been the first to get me into a go kart without our parents knowing.

Of course, after convincing them with much difficulty, our parents let me train on the track but not participate in actual racing. School had to take top priority, and although I was good at studying, my mind was always lost in the world of motorsports. Eventually I got to compete as well albeit in the championship reserved for girls. 

However, I had to focus on studying as well, the last year of high school was the most important one, I had to take exams and I didn't feel like it.

"I can't do it" I thought on the verge of exhaustion while still on the books. I had headphones in my ears, and the loud music allowed me to completely estrange myself from the outside world. My bedroom window looked right onto the runway, and hearing the roar of the engines all the time was a huge distraction for me.

I found my mother beside me; I had not heard her come in and finding her there made me jump in my chair.

«Mom! - I shouted - At least knock next time!» I continued by taking off my headphones.

«If you kept the music lower you would have heard that I was calling you for quite some time» criticized my mother.

I huffed, it was always like that. Although we were very close we enjoyed bickering, it was our way of showing affection to each other even though in someone else's eyes it might seem that we were always fighting.

«I just wanted to tell you that dinner is ready and your father and Jacob are back from training» my mother said, giving me an affectionate kiss on the head. I stretched my arms above my head to relax a bit and stretched my shoulders, spending too much time over books was more tiring than training with the simulator.

I went to the kitchen in overalls and with my hair tied back, not exactly the best let's say for a girl of almost eighteen. Besides my father and brother, Tony and Oscar, the two top drivers of the stable, were there. 

As I saw them I ran back to the room to change, I was never going to be seen in that condition especially by them. I took off my sweatpants and slipped on a pair of leggings with a maxi shirt over them on the fly, I was more comfortable like that than in women's clothes.

A thin belt at the waist and that was it, I untied my hair and re-did my tail in a slightly neater way. That was the only way to make sense of my long brown hair, I often kept it tied up in various hairstyles even if I had to struggle quite a bit to get it to stay in the helmet.

I went back to the kitchen again and took a seat at the table, and we ate and chatted happily. The topic as usual was racing, our mother didn't know where to go to change the subject and had almost given up on it by now.

«This year we will make it to the top of the standings I am sure» exulted Oscar as he handed Tony his glass to toast. His friend and stablemate responded to the toast by saying:

«Absolutely! We will bring Artimor to success!» 

That mentality was key, we had to aim for success but Nex-Light was not going to let us do it easily. They were our fiercest opponents and the rivalry between my father and Jean Muri was definitely no small thing. They had been practically enemies since they, too, were drivers and every year they competed for the title of champions, first on the track then off.

My dream was to race together with those guys, I wanted to experience the thrill of driving those fantastic machines too but, of course, I was not allowed to. The only meager consolation was to participate in the women's championship, even there the competition was through the roof but the girls who competed with me were only doing it to impress the drivers and not out of passion.

That was the thing that bothered me more than anything else, it's a sport like any other why would you do it just to show off. But unfortunately for me it was not possible to race for Artimor as in the regulation championship, the decrees and regulations prevented women from racing together with men.

The next morning was the first track test of the new vehicles so we all got up bright and early to go to the track. The new cars were already ready on the grid and I was excited to drive my new baby. Matte black with gold and silver trim, it reflected my personality in every way.

Of course Tony and Oscar were the first to start testing; I always came after them. I had already put on the suit and under-helmet but was not allowed to enter the preparation area. I took off my various protective gear and took my helmet under my arm, walked briskly to the stands and stood there watching the two boys for what seemed like an interminable time.

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

Lost in my thoughts I did not hear Nicholas coming up behind me.

«Hey baby doll! Why are you standing here alone?» he said taunting me as usual. He was competing for Nex-Light, our rival. It was not strange that he was also at the track to train, and it was certainly even less strange that he was bothering me.

«Good morning to you too Nicholas» I replied, ignoring his comment. I pretended to be focused on what Tony and Oscar were doing and mentally I was preparing to tackle that track myself.

It was not among the most difficult but certainly having a completely new car was quite a challenge. I had to figure out how to handle it and how to make that track my own, I wanted to prove to everyone that I could do it too.

«Well what's the matter with you? They kicked you out again» laughed Nicholas again interrupting my thoughts and concentration.

«Don't you have anything better to do?» I asked him in reply without even turning to look at him. His response was only a hearty laugh. He enjoyed teasing me even though he knew that my greatest desire was to race against him, I knew I was a better driver and would surely beat him.

When Oliver and Tony finished their session I was called in, it was finally my turn. The suit and helmet were in perfect harmony with the car and I felt ready, I knew that this was going to be my year, if I triumphed in my championship maybe I would have some chance to compete in the real races.

I walked past Nicholas moving a lock of hair behind my ear. I went to the prep area and arranged my hair in the under-helmet as best I could; it was not as simple an operation as one might think. I wasted no time though, slipped my helmet on and got into the car.

The stable boys handed me the steering wheel to mount and the gloves, I slipped them on and started the engine. That roar was a sweet melody in my ears. I closed my eyes for a few moments bringing back images of the track, all the turns and straights were printed in my memory.

I approached the pit exit and, as soon as the light turned green, I set off as if I were already in the race. The car drove divinely, all the improvements that had been made during the winter had been crucial. I did a few laps communicating by radio with my father. He was not the type to praise you if you did something well but you could tell by his tone of voice.

«Rosie be careful at turn seventeen, the asphalt is not the best» he informed me.

«Copy» I simply replied, I was too focused to be distracted at that moment.

I took the curve almost at full speed, it was a sector that allowed it without problems usually. But not that day, I lost control of the car for a moment and the rear end wagged slightly. By the time I got it back in position I had lost precious seconds and as a result they asked me to come back in.

I arrived at the pit and was loaded together with the car onto the special cart to be put back in the pit, helped down and took off my helmet. I immediately went to the computer to look at the monitors, there were all the statistics and videos of my performance and I wanted to analyze them carefully.

I was studying those monitors more than the school books, performance statistics, acceleration, braking and times. I could see all the data clearly in my head and from there I could also understand why I had made a mistake in the corners.

"'Damn! That's why I lost the rear end," I thought as I huffed and sent the video of turn seventeen back to watch it again.

«Wild Rose can you tell me why the hell didn't you listen to me?» my father asked behind my back. His tone was not angry but I could tell he had not been very happy with how I had done.

«I was simply convinced I could do it» I admitted, «Apparently I was wrong, if nothing else now I understand why» I specified.

I should have slowed down a little before entering the curve and then accelerated halfway through it; I should not have gotten caught up in the heat of the moment and overdone it. Mistakes can happen to anyone, but I, for myself, would never have accepted it. It was not contemplated for me to make mistakes.

«Rosie you need to pay more attention to the directions you are given» criticized my father in a soft tone. He often called me "Rosie" in front of others; it was his way of showing his affection and love for me. 

«I know I know, but this car makes you push yourself to the max» I replied, smiling. I was really excited about my new baby and couldn't wait to race.

After we finished viewing the footage one last time, we began to put our things away to leave the track clear for those who would be training after us. We weren't all that thrilled that it was the Nex-Light people, but there was little we could do about it. The track was owned by the federation and it was up to them to decide who could and when they could use it.

«Baby doll I was hoping to see you race for a while longer, you know it was really good fun» Nicholas said blocking my way as I exited the pits.

«It was really a good day you know? Then you opened your mouth» I answered him sarcastically. I passed on and continued on my way as I heard him mumbling something although I didn't understand what exactly.

We went home and all evening all I did was think about the mistakes I had made on the track. My father and Jacob were sitting on the couch watching old races, a little tradition, while Mom was in the kitchen finishing clearing the dinner table.

I was sitting on the floor in front of the TV but without paying attention, in my mind I was still going over the track trying to find a way to improve.

The rest of the week passed quickly between track tests and school checks, I was wiped out but I had to recover if I wanted to compete that weekend.

Finally Friday.

Practice the day before had yielded excellent results and I was ready to hit the track for qualifying. Positioning that day would decide the starting order for the next day's race. I wasn't sure if I would be able to place first, but I certainly needed to be in the top ten.

My skills far exceeded the expectations of the stable I was racing for; I managed to place third for the start the next day. I was thrilled, the first race of the season was coming up and I had just brought home a fantastic finish.

I went to sleep satisfied knowing that the next day would be tough but there would be a lot of fun. Saturday morning came quickly and in no time we were all lined up and ready for the race.

Only one formation lap separated us from the start, I tried to clear my mind as much as possible while I got the tires warmed up on the asphalt, I had to get them to the right temperature and there was not much time. In no time we were all lined up on the starting grid again.

The green flag at the end of the grid signaled that we could proceed to the start.

One, two, three, four and five.

The traffic lights were all on and in a second they went out.

The roar of the engines resounded through the circuit and the race began.