One For The Road - Chapter 12: Chapter 12

With only a light on the two robots, the rest of the arena was cold, dark, and quiet, but as soon as I flipped the do not touch switch, everything would change. I wouldn't be a racer anymore. That world didn't want me, but maybe I had a shot in this new, unknown robot-fighting one.
But there was only one way to find out.
"You got this, Katie," Annie mumbled, and I could barely hear her over the heartbeat in my ears.
As soon as they gave me the signal, I only had one goal: destroy as much shit as I possibly could in three minutes. It didn't take long to learn how the fights worked since the main restriction was the time limit, but I never minded a good fight to the death.
My heart wasn't going to last a full three minutes, though, and I sent a quick prayer to help me knock SBSP the fuck out sooner than that. Dear God, you giveth and taketh away. Stop taketh-ing all my shit—er, stuff—for once and let me win. Love, Katie.
On the other side of the arena, there stood the opposite team, but they weren't nearly as coordinated as us. None of them matched in any way, but the driver wore a bright yellow shirt to match their robot. I couldn't make out any other features on him, but none of that mattered anyway. Hopefully, he'd just be dirt under my shoes after I was through with him.
I was pretty sure that I would start sweating straight through our team t-shirt if we didn't get this show on the road, and someone began to shout a countdown.
Oh, shit. Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit.
"Go!"
I took in a quick breath and flipped the switch of death. The horizontal blade spun to life, and with each millisecond that passed, it roared louder and louder. It didn't compare to a seven hundred fifty horsepower racecar engine, but the sound sent a jolt through my veins. I lived for the loud, daring, and destructive. I lived for the moment, and this moment was my bitch.
I rushed Sacrilege out to the center of the arena, but the bot drove differently when it had the spinner going. The robot didn't respond to the controls as well as it did in practice from the added momentum of the spinner. SBSP flew out to meet me, and even though I had the deadlier weapon on my side, I couldn't let that flipping spatula get underneath Sacrilege. It would toss me, and though the damage would be slight compared to what Sacrilege could do, I couldn't fight upside down.
The robots clanged into each other, and a piece of yellow armor flew across the arena. Sacrilege took some of the force of the hit, and the wheels came off the ground for a second.
I laughed. "Fuck it up, Peanut."
No one told me that it'd be fun to kick the shit out of other robots. I could wreck them and blow shit up, and no one got hurt. Was this heaven?
After I got Sacrilege back comfortably on the ground, I chased after the flipper bot, and smack! The robot that lived in a pineapple under the sea flung across the arena and into the wall. No pieces came off the robot, but it hit the wall hard. I knew all about that. It hurt, and a lot of the damage from a hit like that was internal.
Smoke stalked SBSP as it tried to get behind me, but our spinner couldn't reach all the way behind. I twirled the robot around in a circle, and one last hit knocked the spatula off of their robot and forced it to a stop.
Was that it? Had I really given them all they could handle?
More smoke came from the motor of the bot and began to fill the arena, and I took that as a yes.
"Did I just—" I laughed. "Oh my god, I did that."
There was a trail of destruction that followed me everywhere I went. Everything I touched crumbled to pieces or burst into flame: my career, my friends, my family, myself. But it seemed I had finally found a place where my disastrous nature was an advantage.
"You just got a knockout in your first fight. How?" Josiah asked.
I wasn't quite sure how the fuck I pulled it off either, but I was baptized in gasoline and had oil flowing through my veins. Maybe that had something to do with it.
"That was incredible. I knew sticking with you was the right decision," Drake said, and before I could even respond, he pulled me in for a hug.
"I, uh—" I began, but there wasn't anything to say. I just hugged him back.
And I knew that sticking with this team was the right decision.
"Looks like these are our lucky t-shirts, huh?" Annie said, and I pulled away from Drake.
Drake laughed. "I think you're on to something, Annie."
When I was young, my mother always taught me that there were no personal victories when it came to teamwork. I assumed that was to keep me humble (and that certainly worked out well), but I couldn't help but feel like this win was all mine. Not in the robot fight, but overall.
It was nice being in the win column again. I hadn't felt that kind of a rush in a while, and though I sometimes claimed Griffin's wins as half-wins for myself, nothing compared to fighting in the trenches and somehow finding a way to make everything work out. Winning was the medicine that cured all ailments.
As Josiah and Drake got Sacrilege back to our team base, I stood beside Annie.
"I don't even think you took much damage at all. I think we're going to have a good shot in our fight tomorrow," she said.
I nodded. "Hope so. You don't get anything unless you win the whole damn tournament, and I've gotten a taste of it now. I want it."
"Well, Megha won her fight, so we'll be up against her for our next fight. This is the best chance we've ever had against her. She doesn't know what you're doing, because you don't know what you're doing." Annie laughed and rested her hand on my shoulder. "I'm just messing with you."
Her smile was like the cool air outside the car after a long, hot race.
She had a boyfriend, of course, but I had a five-step plan and the ability to get what I wanted. I couldn't treat her the way she deserved to be worshipped, but I could sure as hell treat her better than Josiah ever did.
Although I didn't speak any Spanish whatsoever, I listened intently to the sportscaster on the television about some soccer upset somewhere in Europe. I also didn't really care about soccer, but most of the world did, apparently.
There was essentially no damage to our robot, so that meant we got to treat ourselves to a stress-free, relaxing evening in the hotel.
With the differences in time zones, I wasn't quite sure what time it was back in Louisiana, but hopefully, I could squeeze in a conversation with Griffin. I never ended up listening to what he wanted to tell me the last time he called, and my heart ached at the thought of it. He was all I had, and although it seemed like I had a place among the nerds of Team Sacrilege, they didn't understand me and where I came from. Griffin was the only person who came close.
I sent him a text to ask if we could talk, and almost immediately, I got a call from him. I headed for the lobby and sat down in a chair there to have a semi-private conversation with my best friend.
"So you never told me what insane shit happened when you last called," I said.
"No, I just wanted to tell you that I got a call from Roger a few nights ago, and I'm pretty sure that he was drunk—"
"Because he has no wife, kids, or life," I interrupted.
Griffin laughed. "Neither do you, Kate. You should probably get on that. Your biological clock is ticking, you know."
I rolled my eyes. "Trust me, Truscott told me all about it when he first signed me. One day, you're gonna get pregnant and ruin this whole thing. He thought it was ridiculous when I told him that I was twenty-three and didn't want kids."
"Well, what are you going to do? He's a douche," Griffin said. "But like I was saying, he called me at, like, midnight, and I guess he completely forgot that you don't drive for him anymore. He was going on and on about how the ninety-five car will never end up in victory lane while you're driving it, until I just hung up on him. But it was really weird, because normally he tells me that Elizabeth is way better for RTR than you, but he didn't this time."
I laughed. "Was he having a stroke? Jesus."
"I don't know, maybe. But you're living in his mind rent-free. I figured that'd make you feel a little better."
I perked up in my seat. "It kind of does. I hope he has nightmares about firing me."
"You deserve better than him. How's your robot team?"
"It's good. We won our fight today, so I might treat myself to some ice cream. I think I deserve it," I said.
Griffin laughed. "You do. Anyway, we have the Richmond race this weekend. Can you get away from your nerd friends and come watch?"
I hesitated. "Griffin, you know I'd love to, but I can't."
"That's cool. I know you're busy now, and we've got separate lives." Griffin paused. "I just miss standing by you during the national anthem."
"It's been one week," I said, but I was sure that I missed it more than he did.
As much as I wanted to be there for him, I couldn't. Roger Truscott dragged my name through the mud, and although I hadn't paid attention to my reputation, I knew damn well it was shattered. They didn't want me there. They wanted sweet, classy, southern belle Elizabeth Tonkin.
"Okay, well, go get your ice cream. And get an extra scoop for me," Griffin said.
"I will," I said, and we ended our call.
I sat in silence for a moment. I was hoping that the conversation would add to my energy, but it hurt. Every cell in my heart missed him.
"You're quite the young hot shot in the sport, aren't you, love?" a man with an accent said from behind me.
I turned around, and I recognized the bright yellow look right away. "Never thought a Brit would make a SpongeBob SquarePants robot. Good for you for embracing other cultures."
Of course, I never even knew that people fought robots until a couple weeks ago, so that didn't say much.
He laughed. "And you as well. You're the American racer who can't keep her mouth closed, but you've found yourself on a Canadian robot team."
"It's funny how everyone seems to know me like that. Personally, I don't think I talk enough."
"Well, I believe we're more receptive to strong women in this sport, but what would I know about it? I'm not a strong woman," he said.
Well, that was a nice change from "Katie Moore: the world's worst feminist and female role model."
"But it takes a strong man to approach the strong woman who kicked his ass just hours ago. Now, do you have a name, or am I just going to have to keep calling you loser in my mind?" I smiled.
"Why don't we discuss that over a drink or two?" he suggested, which was fine with me. I was never one for saying names during sex. It always made it weirdly personal.
"Sure. Just let me go get my shoes and purse, okay?" My pumpkin socks were a little early for Halloween, but I had a limited supply of clothes with me, both in Madrid for the tournament and Ontario for my new job.
"Alright, love. I'll be waiting here," the unnamed loser said, but I supposed sleeping with me would be a damn good consolation prize.
It probably would have been more appropriate to call me lust, but it was one of the bigger emotional connections I'd had in a while.
I let myself back into the room, and the TV was still on the channel I left it. Josiah and Annie laid next to each other in bed, and they seemed calmer and gentler than usual.
I picked up my shoes. "I'm gonna go get a drink with the nice British guy who I kicked the shit out of earlier. And don't wait up for me. I probably won't be back anytime soon."
"I'd really prefer it if you didn't. We have another fight tomorrow, and Megha is easily the most difficult opponent in the competition. It's going to be tough to get past her, but if we do, we could win this whole tournament and that money," Drake said.
Josiah nodded. "Look, I didn't think we had a chance, but there's nothing conventional to the way you drove Sacrilege today. We need you at one hundred percent, so you can make more shit up to the best of your ability."
"Really? Please explain to me how this will make me less than one hundred percent." I crossed my arms.
"Hungover," Drake said.
"Feelings of false infatuation," Josiah said.
"Tired and sore, if you're lucky," Annie said.
I rolled my eyes. "Don't be fucking ridiculous. If you think that any of those would stop me from driving the hell out of a car, then you're stupid. And it's way easier to drive a robot than a car."
"Okay," Drake said, then he went back to the TV.
I wasn't stupid enough to believe that he actually meant that it was okay, but he gave me enough of a green light to go ahead.
I had just won them a fight, and they thought that they could keep me from celebrating it? Who the hell did these nerds think they were?
I headed for the door. I still had my shoes in my hands, and I hadn't even bothered to put them on before leaving. "Okay."