All That We Could Be

Chapter Seventeen

“Okay boys, this is Fallon. She’s is going to be helping us fix this thing up.” Phil introduced her to the rest of the guys. They all seemed to be around her age. In fact she had even seen some of them on the track before.

“Do we need her help that badly? Phil.” One of the boys snickered. Fallon could understand the sarcasm. She was a girl and she was on their territory. “Believe me, Alex. You haven’t seen her have a go. She tears up the track like there’s no tomorrow.” Phil told the blond boy named Alex.

“Okay, so Fallon let me introduce you to the rest of these boys. This is obviously Alex.” Phil gestured to the blond guy who had spoken, he also had brown eyes. “This is Christopher.” Phil told her, as he moved on to the one with brown hair. He had green eyes. Next came two brothers: Aidan and Adam. They were both with auburn hair and ice blue eyes. The last of the boys were Lucas, Samuel, and Taylor. They each had different shades of brown hair, but al three of them had different eyes. Lucas had blue, Samuel had green, and Taylor had brown.

“Okay men and woman. Here is the layout for the track with the extension. We are going to be fixing the cushioned safety boards around the extension. The metal frames are already in place. After that we’ll take a run through the course and then we can get to work on the additions. Already I’ve set in some bumps along a portion of the extension, and there is a water spray being set up along another, so you guys and girl can decide on either pylons or really uneven terrain for the last portion.” Phil instructed them. For Fallon that was an easy choice. She wanted the uneven terrain. Luckily Phil had gone with the other ideas everyone had been asking him for.

They all headed to the extension; there was a buzz of excitement in the air. For Fallon this was a new experience. She hadn’t ever worked on a project like this before. Her mind was whirring with anticipation, so much so that all her worries dissipated in the light spring breeze. All of them chattered about what they thought was more interesting. As they reached the extension, they divided into groups and got to work putting the boards in place.

It was at long last lunch time. They had finally finished placing the boards and tightening the screws. Fallon had gotten off lightly. The group of guys she was with hadn’t let her near the tools save one time. Mostly she had held the board in place while the two brothers, Aidan and Adam, screwed it in. She wasn’t complaining. The time she had been allowed to screw the board, her hand had slipped and the ratchet had gone flying. Aidan had laughed before telling Fallon that it would be better if she just held the board, so that no one would get hurt. The three of them had gotten along fine, the boys making sure that Fallon didn’t feel too left out. They had entertained her with jokes and other stories about when they had been racing.

Phil had asked Fallon to grab the food. Fallon had gone to get the cooler of food for lunch. Phil had given her the keys to his car. It was a Mustang Shelby GT. The type you could see and immediately think of ‘Knight Rider’. Phil had kept it in good condition, although he was getting older. Phil must have been in his early fifties, but all his cars looked brand new.

Fallon opened the trunk. She didn’t think it would be hard to carry the cooler back to where everyone was. As she picked up the cooler, her feet lost balance. She could feel her feet give out underneath her.

“Oh!” Fallon exclaimed as she landed with a light thud on the ground. Her legs were underneath the car, while the cooler was in her lap.

“Are you alright?” One of the guys had come running. “Yea, I’m fine…just bad balance.” Fallon said. It was the guy with brown hair and green eyes. “Here let me get this.” He took the cooler from off of Fallon, and set it on the ground. He then pulled Fallon up. “There you go.” He said as he let go of her hand. “Thanks. You’re Christopher? Right?” Fallon asked, hoping to get the name right. “Yea, you’re Fallon. You’ve got a nice car.” He told her. “Thanks.” Fallon said.

“Is this all?” Christopher asked. Fallon looked and saw that there were still two packages of drinks to get. “Nope, there are the drinks.” She told him. “Okay, well hold on.” He told her, apparently not wanting her to fall again. “Aidan! Come here!” He shouted. Aidan came to them. “Grab the drinks, will you please?” Christopher asked him. “Yea sure. Is there anything else?” Aidan asked. “Nope.” Christopher responded. Aidan got the two packages of rinks, refusing to give them to Fallon. “Don’t worry I’m okay.” He told her. He walked off in speed.

That left Fallon and Christopher to walk back together. “So how do you know Phil?” Fallon asked him. He was one of the guys she hadn’t seen before. “He’s my father.” Christopher replied. “Really? He has a son?” Fallon was shocked to learn this. “Yes he does, he has three of them. I live here while my two older brothers are in Australia, and Germany.” “Oh, I see.” Muttered Fallon, lamely.

“So how do you know Phil?” asked Christopher. “He helped Craig with my first album. He found out about my need for speed…and the rest is history.” Fallon told him. “Ahh, so you’re one of his and Craig’s protégé’s?” Christopher asked, knowingly. “I don’t think they’d call me that. I guess I’m just the one who is least liked with reviewers.” Fallon laughed it off. “So how come I never see you on the track?” She asked him. “I usually go on after everyone’s gone, but I’ve seen you. You’re here late sometimes.” Christopher said, he was laughing at that. Fallon felt slightly embarrassed. “I can’t help it…once I get on…sometimes I really don’t want to go home.” She told him. “Believe me, I know what you mean.” He told her, really understanding what she meant.

They reached the rest of the group. They had found a spot under the shade of one of the many trees on the greenery of Phil’s property. It was a little farther from the track, but from it you could see the beautifully built house. They all sat down in the shade and passed around the food and drinks. Now that the boards were in place, they were arguing about who would get the first run. Fallon wasn’t going to back down to any one of the guys. They all argued heatedly while Phil watched with amusement.

“Alright, enough already.” Phil spoke, at long last. “Since I don’t want the test run to take all day, you will be paired up.” He told them. There were a few groans. “Don’t worry once this is finished we’ll have a real competition.” At this they all seemed to perk up. “Good. So Chris, you can ride with Fallon. Adam and Aidan. Sam can go with Lucas. Alex you can go with Taylor.” He said, making sure they all had a partner. “Four cars, two of you in each. So it shouldn’t be so bad. Just watch out for the bumps. Oh, and please don’t argue over who drives. Remember the real fun will be coming up as soon as we’re finished this thing.” He told them with a grin.

As they all finished with lunch, Phil took the cooler and put it away. He then walked to the start and end point of the track and waited for them. The rest of them walked to their cars. Taylor and Alex could be heard arguing over whose car they would use and who would drive.

“So do you want to drive, or can I?” Christopher asked. Fallon wanted to drive, since they were already going to be using her car, but hesitated since she knew that he wanted to go as much as she did. “How about rock, paper, scissors? Who ever gets best out of three gets to drive.” She told him. “But you can’t go easy.” She added. This had to be fair. Christopher nodded. They were standing by the Charger. “Okay one, two, three.” Christopher had chosen rock, while Fallon had chosen paper. “One, two, three.” Fallon had chosen rock, while Christopher had chosen scissor. “Okay last time, one, two, three.” Christopher had chosen scissor, while Fallon had chosen paper. Fallon cheered.

Fallon unlocked her car door happily. She won fair and square. Christopher took his seat with dignity. “You’re going to have to tell me when the bumps in the road are about to begin.” She told him, as she buckled her belt. She was trying to soften the blow. “Don’t worry, I’m not the sore loser type. But next turn I get to drive.” He told her, with a grin. “Alright.” She agreed.

Fallon started the engine and drove to the starting point. There was only Phil standing with a flag, and Aidan and Adam’s car. Soon enough, Samuel and Lucas arrived. Last to meet them were Alex and Taylor. Apparently Taylor had won the argument, as he was the one to be driving. Phil went on a round between all the cars, checking to make sure they all had their seat belts in place. He made sure they were all a safe distance apart, although the track was wide enough to hold all of them in a row, and told them where to expect the bumps, and telling them not to worry about the water. He reminded the lot, that this wasn’t a real race and to go safely. As soon as he had talked to all of them, he stood in the corner again. He took a whistle from his pocket.

Fallon waited anxiously. Her foot lingering over the accelerator. Phil had put the whistle in his mouth, and as soon as he blew it, Fallon took off. Christopher had yelped in surprise. Fallon had glanced at him through the rear view mirror, to check if he was alright. “Take it easy, will you?” Christopher had joked. “This part is the easy part.” She told him. They were still on the original part of the track. She had memorized this part of the track since she had done it so many times. The turns were almost perfect.

“How come your car hasn’t died yet?” Christopher asked in curiosity. “I take care of it.” Fallon replied. “At this moment, I find that hard to believe.” Christopher retorted. “I’ve heard that before. Okay, when are the bumps going to be coming into play?” Fallon asked. “Right around that corner, you have to slow down and then speed up.” He advised her.

Fallon started to slow down. As soon as she got over the first few bumps, she accelerated again. The turns around the newer portion of the track would take Fallon some time to get familiar with, she thought as she turned. She checked her rearview mirror to see where everyone else was. They were right behind her. The thrill of it all pushed at her. It was a little while before she could see where Phil was standing with the flag. As she neared the finishing point she started to slow down. She crossed it right before Lucas and Samuel could.

Christopher cheered, but could be heard slowing down his breath. Fallon hoped she hadn’t scared him too much. As the Charger came to a halt on the grassy area, Christopher turned to her.

“You and I are going to have to battle it out, one on one, next time.” He smiled at her. “Are you sure you can take it?” questioned Fallon, with a grin. “After a few practices, I’m sure I can.” He retorted.

The two of them got out of the car, and walked to where Phil was. Phil was n a right mood, snickering at the other guys. As soon as everyone was assembled, Phil told them that they were to come back tomorrow to help with the other parts of the track. “Same time, same place.” He told them. “Oh, and if any of you want to work on your cars for a few hours, I can open up the garage.” Phil said. A few of the guys agreed. Fallon decided that she would have to go. It was around 3:30 in the afternoon and she still needed to get something to eat with Cheryl, and maybe a movie or two.

“If you want, I can tune up your car.” Christopher told her. “No I think it’s alright, Christopher, but thanks anyway.” She said hesitantly. “You can just call me Chris, it’s easier. I’ll drop you off and then tomorrow I can pick you up. That way you can give your Charger a little break.” He told her. He was right about giving the Charger a break, and Christopher was offering her a ride home. She gave in. “Alright, but you better not kill her.” She warned him. Christopher laughed.

Fallon said good bye to the rest of the guys and got her jacket and some food from her car. Christopher led her to his car and opened the door. His car was another story. What she saw made her jaw drop. Standing in front of her was a black Mercedes-Benz CLK DTM cabriolet. As Christopher turned to see why Fallon hadn’t gotten into the passenger seat, the look on Fallon’s face made him laugh. “What?” He asked. “Why on earth would you ever want to willingly befoul this beauty with the dirt on that track?” Fallon spoke, her words all came out in a rush. “I wouldn’t actually. So you see I would use my father’s car for messy jobs like those.” He told her. “Good, so you understand the sacredness of it…” She said, slowly walking to the passenger side. “Yes I do. Now why don’t you sit so we can get you home.” He told her, he still had a grin plastered on his face. “Yea, but I need to grab a few things before going home.” She told him, intensely observing the interior of the car. “Sure, just let me know where.” He said, as he started the engine and they left the track.