Part 30 (1/2)

THE INTERNATIONAL RACE SCHOOL HOBART, TASMANIA.

Jason returned to Race School to find that during his short absence, the world certainly hadn't stopped.

Lessons were still happening in cla.s.srooms; the pits rippled with practice sessions; cars darted every which way, shooming up the inland highways or whizzing around Storm Bay.

Since he was still barred from racing for a further two days, Jason was restricted to cla.s.sroom work only.

At his first lunchtime back, Ariel Piper sat down beside him.

'Hey! Look who's back!' she exclaimed, clapping him on the shoulder. 'The only racer in the world crazy enough to eject downward! How're you feeling?'

'Better every day,' Jason said. 'Can't wait to get back out on the track.'

Ariel said, 'Hey, thanks again for letting me take on Fabian in that exhibition race. That was very cool of you.'

'I thought you deserved the chance to take him down.'

Ariel smiled. 'Jase. You can't imagine the impact that race has had on me...and on a lot of girls around the world. You should see the fan mail I've been receiving. Lot of chicks wanting to be racers. Lot of girls who were thrilled to see Fabian go down. It made an impact. Thanks for the opportunity.'

'No problem. I was happy just to get some peace and quiet to practise,' Jason said. 'Looks like you've been racing well back here, too. What are you on the Ladder now? 5th?'

'Yuh-huh.' Ariel grinned. 'One win, one second, and one seventh. 23 points in three races. That race against Fabian gave me my fire back. My desire. I'm coming 5th now, and the Top 4 beckons. I wanna go to New York.'

Jason nodded, saw the fire in her eyes. The old Ariel was back.

'Good for you,' he said.

As he spoke, he looked around the lunch hall, and noticed that a few new friends.h.i.+ps seemed to have formed in his absence: Horatio Wong was sitting at Barnaby Becker's and Xavier Xonora's table. So was the young Mexican driver, Joaquin Cortez. At the moment, Xavier's mentor, Zoroastro, was talking to Wong and Cortez and the two lesser drivers were listening to him intently, occasionally nodding.

Ariel saw them, too. 'Yes, hmmm. Zoroastro and Barnaby Becker have been doing a lot of networking while you've been away. A lot. They had lunch with Wong and Cortez every day last week. I once even saw Zoroastro having dinner with your buddy, Isaiah Was.h.i.+ngton, one night.'

'What do you think it means?' Jason asked.

Ariel was silent for a moment.

Then she said seriously: 'We're coming to the business end of the season. Everything is up for grabs. The Champions.h.i.+p is on the line. Four places in the New York Challenger Race are there to be won. Races are gonna get harder, too - longer, more challenging, more demanding. And don't forget that the last ten races are run under Pro Rules - demag strips everywhere, Dead Zones, driver-over-the-line finishes.

'We're entering a whole new world of racing, Jason, and I think Zoroastro and his boys are creating a few strategic alliances. I get the feeling Race School is about to get very, very serious.'

Ariel couldn't have been more right.

The next day, Jason sat in the stands with Sally and the Bug and watched Race 41. It was so frustrating, just watching, but fortunately this would be the last race they'd have to sit out. The doctors had given Jason the all-clear to race in Race 42.

Sitting with them was one other person: Dido. It turned out that the last few weeks of the Race School season coincided with her school holidays in Europe, so (at her parents' expense) she had come to Tasmania to support Team Argonaut.

True to Ariel's prophecy, Race 41 was a fiercely contested race - Race School had acquired a new level of intensity.

It was also Xavier Xonora's first School race since his impressive fourth placing in the Italian Run.

He didn't disappoint.

He won Race 41 convincingly, prompting many to say that racing at the pro level had steeled him, made him an even better racer than he already was - if that were at all possible.

After the race was over, Sally and the Bug headed off to get some dinner, discreetly leaving Jason and Dido alone in the grandstand.

'So,' Dido said, 'you must be busting to get back out there.'

'Yeah, I guess so,' Jason said.

Dido turned, surprised. 'You're not busting to get out there?'

'You wanna know something funny,' Jason said. 'I've never been afraid of getting inside a hover car in my life...until now.'

Dido frowned, but didn't speak.

Jason looked away, biting his lip, as if he was deciding whether or not to reveal more.

He took the plunge.

'Everyone a.s.sumes that I'm fearless, Dido. That I'm not afraid of the high speeds, and that I just can't wait to get back out on the racetrack. But I'm not fearless. I never was. It's fear that creates adrenalin and it's adrenalin that makes me a good racer. But right now, I'm scared. Dead scared of getting back in the Argonaut.'

'What do you mean?'

'Every night I have nightmares, nightmares about my tailfin exploding or some other racer swiping it off during a race, causing me to lose control and crash. Now, I've crashed before, lots of times, but every time I crashed in the past, I knew why. But in Italy, I lost my tailfin for no reason that I can figure out. I lost control and I don't know why.

'I used to love the speed, love racing. But now...now I'm not so sure. I'm terrified of getting in that car again, and even more terrified that I'll fail and let my family and my team-mates down.' He turned to her. 'Dido, what happened in Italy changed me. I'm not sure I can be the racer I was before Italy.'

Dido looked at him closely.

Then she gently grabbed his hand. 'You know, my uncle once told me something about heroes: a hero is not a person who doesn't get afraid. No. A hero is a person who takes action even when they are afraid. Don't put too much pressure on yourself, Jason. Take it slowly; one step at a time. And know this. I think you can do it.'

And with that, she leaned forward quickly and kissed him on the cheek.

Then she dashed off, dancing down the stairs of the grandstand, leaving Jason delightfully stunned by her kiss.

CHAPTER FIVE.

RACE 42 (SUPERSPRINT).