Chapter 30: First race planned!
Riding the train to their home town Jayden could not stop talking about his Day that's hoe exited hè was. Damian listened attentively and even asked questions here and there about some of the technical details. He seemed really interested in learning more about the karting world and Jayden loved talking about it so the journey went by quickly. What surprised Jayden was Damian's genuine interest in the subject. He had always supported Jayden but that was it never involving himself with the karting itself. For Jayden, this was a welcome change so he would not complain! They had a fun time on their way home and by the time they came in, they were joking and laughing with each other.
When they got in a surprise was waiting for them. Uncle Anthony was sitting meekly in the living room with their mother standing in front of him with her arms folded in front of her chest. She had a furious look about her. When she noticed her sons had arrived she started pointing at them and she almost barked at him "Start apologizing to them. You bombarded yourself to Jayden's manager and secured yourself a nice payment along the way but you don't want to do anything?!!!!!! You better make sure this never happens again! I don't care if you break both your legs you better make sure you're there to pick up my son whenever he's ready. You wanted this so you better take responsibility!" She had been hammering him verbally as soon as she heard he called to say he couldn't pick Jayden up. Leaving work early she went to his house and found him relaxing in front of the television. Needless to say, this set her off and she practically forced Anthony to get to her house and wait for Jayden to apologize. "I should have picked you up today Jayden. I'm messed up today and I'm sorry. It won't happen again" he said like a child feeling wronged.
Mom was clearly not satisfied but still chose to leave it at that. She showed Anthony the door and he left with his shoulders slumped and his head almost down to his chin. It had been a while since they had seen their mom this angry so her kids left her alone to calm herself down. After she had eventually calmed down she went to Jayden. "I'm going to get you a phone to use for if a situation like this occurs again! If your uncle wants to be your manager he has to act the part. Now how did your day go?" She ended with a mild tone. Jayden started explaining everything that happened today and his mother nodded and smiled while listening to him explain enthusiastically about his day. She congratulated him on passing his exam and went over to Damian to thank him for picking up Jayden.
After this unusual situation ended the rest of the week went by peacefully. Jayden went to school bragging to Simon about acquiring his license and how good his new kart was driving. Lyssa was still practicing and recording songs while Damian studied like a mad man. He looked so tired that mom had to step in and limit his time studying each day. It looked like he chose to listen and studied a bit less but it wasn't really noticeable as he looked almost as tired as before. It was during this time that Jayden received his phone. It was a simple smartphone but he was still happy. Most of his classmates had phones and now he felt like he would be a bit closer to them now. Uncle Anthony also contacted him. Kevin had signed him up for his first race which would be held this Sunday. Jayden was nervous because of this. Looking up the track online as soon as he got home he found out it was a short and tricky track that had been in use for close to 30 years. The track surface was rough and it seemed hard to pass others on. The start-finish straight was short and most corners were too fast to make an overtaking move on. Looking at the track layout there was only one real passing opportunity he could find and that was at the final corner that leads to the start-finish straight. He would have to ask Kevin to help him come up with a way to pass if needed.
The week went by with everyone in the household working on their own projects and when it was Sunday Jayden had prepared as much as he could by himself. When his uncle arrived to pick him up he was still subdued. He greeted everyone but stayed in the hallway not entering the living room. Before they left mom reminded him to be careful. She hugged him and Jayden and his uncle left for Den Haag. The car ride over there was silent and the mood was pretty strange. Jayden was happy he could get out and meet up with Kevin. He said goodbye too his uncle and entered the garage. He found Kevin was already impatiently waiting for him.
"You're finally here!" He said motioning for Jayden to sit down. "We have a lot to talk about. James put me in charge of you for this period so I have set a few targets for the upcoming races. Now for the first race, we are going to keep it simple. I'm sure you have looked up information about the track but if you haven't let me tell you a few things. First and foremost is you have to finish! Don't try to go for the win or a risky overtaking move. Finishing is number one. You won't learn much if you crash out 2 laps into the race! Second is overtaking. This track is notoriously difficult to overtake on. There is really only one place you can realistically try this and that's the final corner. I won't tell you not to do it but think about your first priority. If it risky don't force it. The third is the track surface itself. It's old and very harsh on tire life. This might be a good opportunity for you. If you're able to drive with your usual smooth style while keeping up your pace you might be in a good position by the end of the race. Try and see if you can go for a result if you have to chance to do so. Lastly is qualifying. A good lap is really important here since passing is difficult but I think it's better not to push here. I want you to ease into your first race. If you start in the middle of the pack there's a big chance you could get in an accident. If you're feeling confident you can try to push for a higher starting position but my advice would be to take it easy!"
Being bombarded with this information Jayden was quiet for a minute. He wanted to finish the race of course but he also did not want to start his first race from the back. He had always wanted to be the fastest so doing something like that would go against his instincts. He would have to think about this further when they got there. Would he play it safe or push for a result?
Kevin could almost see the conflict raging in Jayden's mind. He smiled and asked him to help load the van. The would talk about it further while on the road.
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