Page 59 of Crash Course

When I’m upright again, I glance past him to see Jameson out of the car, one of the girls from Test Track wrapped around him. She’s practically climbing him and for once, he looks like he might be enjoying it.

My chest aches as if he physically stomped on my rib cage. Not because of the girl, though when he slings an arm around her narrow hips I feel like I’m chewing glass. Because I spent the entire weekend working on this, enlisted my friends too, and there’s not so much as an “I like it, Townie.”

But Theo’s already dragging me toward the doors, talking about some movie he watched on the weekend.

We’re going around the class discussing telemetry and aerodynamics. Normally I’m interested, but today, I can’t bring myself to care.

It all feels pointless.

What if Megan’s right and we don’t matter? At all?

I lift a hand in the middle of Professor Vogel’s remarks, and she trails off to call on me.

“Yes, Miss MacDonald.”

“I want to work on the Challenger series car.”

A hush quiets the class. Even Megan’s staring as if I’ve lost it.

“There is no improving an F2 car. It’s standard,” Vogel says slowly.

“But the whole focus of this academy is preparing drivers for F1,” I point out. “Everyone thinks the cars can’t be customized. They can, within limits. We can give drivers a chance to tailor their cars and give engineers a chance to shine.”

I’ve been circling the idea for a while, talking with Theo, with Megan, turning it over while I was working at the garage. But making the custom mode for the Porsche is what made it finally click.

A driver’s car should feel like it’s theirs.

“There are three races in this series. The first is a week away,” Vogel reminds me.

“All the more reason.” I shift forward in my seat, gripping the edge of my desk. “On the F1 grid, ARI is facing increased competition from Ignite and other teams. Whichever driver wins will be dropped into a pressure cooker. The stakes have never been higher.”

Jameson’s future and Theo’s are on the line.

If you play your cards right, you could be on the same team.

Her eyes narrow. “So you work on one driver’s setup and everyone else races standard gear?”

“No.” This is the heart of the idea. “Every engineer could join a driver team, working on the cars and strategy in real time.” I nod to Megan, who’s wary but intrigued. If anyone deserves to work on these cars, it’s her. She’s smart and competitive and has had my back since day one.

“No driver will let you touch their car,” Knox snorts. A few laughs go up.

I turn to look at Theo, expectant. This is what we talked about during our picnic. But there’s no vote of confidence, no “maybe it could work.” He doesn’t even meet my eyes.

Every second of silence adds to my humiliation and despair. My nails dig into my palms, hard enough to draw blood.

“I’m sorry, Shay, but unless you have a driver to support this idea…”

I shut my eyes in frustration.

“I will.”

My head snaps toward Jameson.

He coolly surveys the room, tapping his pen on his desk as if every individual in class is personally wasting his time.

“ARI has a history of developing drivers and engineers. There’s no reason students can’t work in a real racing situation under senior staff.”

Hope fills my lungs. That spot between my ribs is glowing again, the possibility of showing what I can do closer than it’s ever been.