Chapter 2
1194 Words
Zephyrine was wearing a plain, fitted black t-shirt and a pair of worn-in, dark charcoal-gray jeans held up by a sturdy work belt, combined with a pair of scuffed, heavy black leather combat boots with thick rubber soles
She had changed from her racing suit before going to the garage, where she was greeted by Gideon, who was patiently waiting for her at the entrance.
Gideon Cross was the owner and manager of the team. He had helped her win her court case against Vanguard Racing before recruiting her to join the Apex Alpha Racing team.
“Congratulations.” He gave her a gentle pat on the shoulder.
“Thanks,” Zephyrine responded as they both walked into the garage, where other team members were waiting for them.
Everyone was cheering as they walked in.
Zephyrine understood that winning this race meant a lot to not only Gideon but the entire Apex Alpha team, because this was the first race they had won in over two years.
This was why, when Gideon had heard about the feud between Zephyrine and her former team, Vanguard, Gideon had done everything in his power to make sure Zephyrine was cleared of all charges.
He had helped her revoke the ban FIA had placed on her because he knew she was their only shot at winning a championship or getting a place at international competitions.
Gideon patiently waited for everyone to greet Zephyrine before trying to get the crew’s attention.
“Everyone, let me formally introduce the newest member of the Apex Alpha Racing Team, Zephyrine Vance, the queen of the track.”
An applause filled the room.
One of the racers who had also competed and had won in seventh place spoke up next.
“Now that we have Zephyrine on our team, I can already imagine the better days we have ahead of us. Even though I didn't win, I'm so happy right now.”
“Yeah, yeah,”
The room was suddenly filled with murmuring as everyone seemed to agree with his words.
Gideon had on a bright smile; he couldn't agree more. He chipped in excitedly, “So you guys better take care of Zephyrine from now on because she is our good luck charm.”
“What good luck charm? More like a trouble maker,” An high pitched male voice resounded in the already noisy garage.
The room suddenly became quiet as everyone turned to look at the person who had just spoken up.
It was a young guy, probably in his late twenties, Zephyrine couldn't exactly tell. He had a scowl, and it was obvious he was unhappy with everyone.
He was lazily seated on one of the couches in the garage, legs crossed on the table in front of him.
“What do you mean?” Gideon's stern and angry voice could be heard next.
“Winning today's race doesn't take away the fact that her records are not clean. If you hadn't helped her win the court case, she would still be banned by the FIA. Plus, she's now an enemy of Vanguard, thereby making us their target.”
“That's so unfair of you to say.” A loud voice could be heard from the entrance of the garage.
Zephyrine turned to find out who had just spoken up in her defence.
It was another Apex Alpha racer who had raced in today's competition as well and had won fourth place.
He had already changed out of his suit.
Towering above her with a staggering height of about 6 '2 inches, a thick, messy mop of golden-blond wavy hair, a wide-shouldered frame of a casual sports player, and warm, friendly golden-brown eyes, stood twenty-year-old Cassian Sterling.
Zephyrine immediately thought of a golden retriever when she glanced at him.
Even though they had met yesterday, she had avoided talking to this rich heir of the Sterling Group, and St. Jude Campus Healthrobe.
In an Ivy League University like St. Jude, more than half of the population of students were from wealthy homes.
And they were mostly rude, annoying, and entitled, so Zephyrine did not have a good impression of this golden retriever racer.
“Since nobody's going to say the truth, then I won't keep quiet.”
“And what truth are you talking about?” Cassian continued to defend as he walked past her and towards the instigator of the argument. “If you don't know what to say, why don't you just shut up?”
“Why are you defending her?”
“Because she's now part of this team!”
“Am I not?”
“Are you?”
“Alright, that's enough.” Gideon stepped in quickly before the argument would escalate.
“Please don’t let his words get to you,” Gideon tried to reassure Zephyrine, who hadn't said a word to anyone since she stepped into the garage.
“It's fine,” Zephyrine replied coldly.
These past few months, she was already used to people bullying her and calling her a thief, even though the court had declared her innocent of everything Vanguard Racing blamed her for.
The room was currently tense, and even though it was because of her, Zephyrine did not want to be part of the argument.
She turned to Gideon,“ Call me when you need me. I'm out of here.”
She did not wait for him to respond before walking out of the garage.
She made her way to her own car, parked a few distances away from the garage.
She drove away in a heavily modified, sporty, modern Toyota GR Supra featuring a low-slung wide-body kit, a sharp carbon-fiber rear wing, and lightweight gloss-black racing rims, wrapped in a sleek Matte Satin Black with sharp, thin pinstripes of neon-blue along the bottom edges.
This was a car she had modified herself so she could easily race with it.
Finally, she stopped in front of a popular shopping centre, where she had planned to buy some gifts for someone important in her life.
She drove slowly into the garage and parked before making her way into the mall.
Since she wanted to buy a gift, she made her way into the most popular gift shop in the mall.
“Good day, ma'am, what would you like to buy?” A shop assistant quickly came to her aid.
“I'll look around first,” Zephyrine dismissed her immediately. She scanned the shelves slowly, wondering what sort of gift she could buy for her benefactor.
“Well, well, if it isn't the queen of the track. Oops, I meant the queen of thieves.”
Standing in front of her were two of her former team members from Vanguard.
Zephyrine's piercing ice-blue eyes barely glanced at them before returning to the shelf.
“Hey, we're talking to you, are you deaf?” Sam heavily nudged Zephyrine, who was ignoring them.
Zephyrine almost stumbled from the push, if not for her boots' firm grip on the shop’s floor.
She threw Sam a threatening glare.
“Touch me one more time, and I'll punch you in the f*****g face. Wanna bet?”
- Writer
