| Fan Fiction |
by SeventhStar
I heard Ella’s voice. “Don’t maximize your speed yet. Wait for my instruction”
I pressed the Gear 2 button. I didn’t want to reject my race engineer’s instruction. I knew her purpose. She wanted me to warm the engine up first and made me feel and remember every single side of the circuit. I just realized one thing. This car is really hard to be driven. The Formula One Car is just too heavy but also so sensitive. Sensitive here means you have to break in the turning as soft as you can. Because if you didn’t do that, this car will going to be wild and crush into anything.
When I thought about that, I couldn’t help but thinking. Formula One Car just like a woman. You had to know how to take care of it carefully, if you made a wrong move, your woman will be go away from you. Uncontrolled. I smiled and giggled a little. I lost my concentration for about one second and it made me almost missed the Turn 1 in my tenth lap.
“Focus. Stay focus.”. A same sound that always accompany me during this ten laps. My first ten laps in my Formula One Career.
Then I felt something wrong happened in my car. The feeling like the temperature surround me is heating up and unbalanced in my left car side. The fuel tank’s side. I thought perhaps that’s just my phobia or something. I decided to not tell her. I’m afraid if I told her, she will think I couldn’t handle unbalanced car condition. A great driver is a driver that could drive in any condition. I ever experienced this in my previous car competition like European Formula BMW.
I kept drive my car. Until the Turn 1 is in front of me. After the “S” turn, there will be a straight line that had to be through with maximum speed. But at the time I took a break in turn “S” suddenly I felt my car shaken and didn’t go to the direction that what it had to be. I tried so hard to handle it but this car just like a wild horse. Definitely different with usual Formula car. Then, I didn’t feel anything. What I knew my car slide into the gravel and I hit the barrier.
I felt I almost unconscious, I almost completely unconscious. Before I closed my eyes, I heard her sound. She seemed so worried when she asked am I okay. Definitely I’m okay, I wanted to prove I’m a capable driver. But my head just too hurt until I closed my eyes and didn’t remember anything after that.
I woke after hearing a loud sound from the television in the waiting room of this room I think. Firstly, I didn’t aware where am I, until I completely opened my eyes and felt familiar with the room. This is a mobile clinic. A clinic that always preserved in every circuit. Then I realized I must be unconscious after that incident.
I stepped down from the bed and went to the living room. The doctor saw me and said if I felt I could stand properly then he will allow me to get up from the bed.
“I’m okay sir. Thank you.”
“Basically, you just get a little shock in your head when you hit the barrier. The rest of it, it’s perfectly fine.”
I sat on the sofa in the waiting room and there is a crew of Petronas-Honda team that waited for me.
“Chun, are you okay?”
“Doctor said nothing serious with it.”
“That’s very good.”
I saw him focused on the television. The television showed an interview with Ella Chen, my race engineer. She looked so calm and professional there.
“What happened with Wu Ji Zun?”
“I have to wait until he woke from his unconscious. But for sure doctor assured me that nothing serious with it.”
“Is it just a pure human error?”
“No it is not. There is something wrong with the pressure of the fuel tank, but we have to check furthermore to find out the real technical problem.”
“Another accident for Asian driver below your leading as the race engineer.”
“I thought that’s a good sign since the other driver that we talk about, we know where he ended? The biggest team in F1.”
Then the interview was over. How fast the news was spreading. I could understand because the media in Malaysia really wanted to know how this new Asian driver that means me, through his first day. And I thought it didn’t end up good.
Then my crew asked me to stay rest for 2 hours before I back to the garage. I almost rejected his suggestion before he said. “That’s the order from Ella Chen.”
I didn’t want to make her angry anymore. I already made enough problems for her today. I stayed sat on the sofa and took a deep breath.
I heard a small tip toes sound came approaching me. Then I realized the little girl that I met on the gate this morning in front of me.
“Are you okay Sir?”. She asked with a very soft voice. Almost like a whisper.
I just wanted to play with her so I followed her little game and answered with a whisper too. “I’m in a perfect shape dearie.”
She giggled when she realized I followed her game. She handed over a cold juice for me. “It’s for my prince.”
I take a look surround me and said. “I didn’t see any prince with a horse like a fairy tale here.”
“You stupid.”
She is truly resembled her mom. Even the harsh word came out from his innocent mouth. I’ve been called as “stupid” from two Chen today.
“My prince didn’t ride the horse. He drove car but I thought he is not capable enough.”
She said again.
“But even though I felt he is not as good as my king, I still want him to drink this juice so he could recover soon.”
I pretended didn’t understand what she was talked about. “So, you also have a king?”
“I called him as my king. Because mom doesn’t want me call him with what I used to be.”
“So you actually want to call him with what?”
She didn’t answer my question. She kept looked down into the floor but I knew there is nothing special with the floor.
Then she ran away from me. When she almost reached the door, I asked her the last question for her that day. “What’s your name princess”
“Hana. My name is Hana Chen.”
Hana…. Means flower in Japan language. What a cute name, as cute as the one who own the name. I didn’t know why but I seemed so attached into that little girl. I felt something different in her. I felt she was so lonely. Not as happy as other kid at her age that I ever met. Seems like something loss from her life. But I didn’t know why. Of course I didn’t know because I didn’t have any kid. I’m 22 years old and will never think about kid. Even marriage…. I never think about that. My focus just for my career, only my career.
I slept in the bed. I closed my eyes, while praying… tomorrow should become a better day.
When I woke up, I saw another fruit juice in the table. I already drank the juice from Hana before and I didn’t know from whom this juice. I looked into the clock, it almost 3 pm, that means the testing almost done for today. I immediately ran to the garage.
I saw all crews rounded up near Ella Chen. Seemed like they had a meeting.
“So the problem is from the fuel tank. From what we found today, the material in the tank it self didn’t strong enough to hold the pressure from a burning process in a fuel tank.” One of the mechanical engineer spoke.
“So that means something wrong with it?” Ella Chen asked the engineer.
“Yes Ella. We have to call the factory immediately.”
“I will. I will call Honda after this. Unfortunately Honda Racing Team didn’t do test today. So perhaps they didn’t find out the problem yet.”
Then the meeting over and I still stood there. So this is how team in Formula One work. They connected into each other. For example, us. Petronas-Honda which had supply from Honda as the main team. We here just like a secondary team.
All crew busy with their won duty. Ella gave a sign to me to approaching her. I followed her instruction.
“How’s the juice.” She asked me.
I didn’t understand what she means. “Juice?”
“I left the juice beside your table. Didn’t you see that?”
So that juice from her. She is just exactly a mirror to her daughter. I giggled when I remember about that.
“What are you laugh at? Do you think I didn’t consider carefully when I gave you the juice? Perhaps you are too arrogant until you forget how nutrition is become one of the basic element for a driver. For your information, Michael Schumacher, the greatest driver ever in Formula One, doing diet in his career time. He couldn’t drink the beer and smoke in his everyday life. Because he had a schedule about dieting. That’s why his stamina always on top. And for sure he will not end up unconsciously after JUST HIT THE BARRIER.” She added the last sentence sarcastically.
“Wu Ji Zun, you really need to study more. Study and understand about your work from now on. You are not in a rich team. We couldn’t serve you like a king. And one more thing. If you feel something not right when you drove, just tell me right away. That’s the rule. And that’s why we put a radio communication in formula one car. Also, importantly that’s one of my job as a race engineer. I will always there to listen my driver. Don’t hesitate to ask anything, but only for a job matter.”
Definitely she is a very well experienced race engineer. She knew I felt something wrong with the car before I hit the barrier. Perhaps that’s why she didn’t mad like a crazy to me. “How about asking how’s your Hana doing?”
She seemed surprised when I mentioned about Hana. But she pretend didn’t hear my question. Still, I could see a glimpse of smile appeared in her lips, then she busy to call Honda Factory.
“Well… My first day not as bad as it seems.” I whispered to my self.
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[Acknowledgment]:
- Lap => one round, one lap means if a driver drove from the start till the finish, that’s consider as one lap.
- Circuit => the special road (could be special made or just a boundary road) that used for racing. Link image for Sepang circuit:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/87/Circuit_Sepang.png/260px-Circuit_Sepang.png
- Gear button, start button => in Formula one car, all the things work automatically. So we just need to press the button to do something. That’s why you read I wrote button and not coupling or something
- Oversteer, understeer => that’s kind of style of driver while he drive. Oversteer means he is more aggressive and break at the same time when “Turn” head in front of him. Understeer is a more controllable style, he will break in the “Turn” sliglty a moment before the “Turn” headed up
- Pitstop => the place when all the teams garage placed and also featuring a straight road that include a place to change tyre and fill the fuel. I will explain more when we already in “Real Race” moment ^0^
What else? uhmm… ha ha. Sorry I couldn’t think anything else. If you need my explanation just tell me what you didn’t understand. From now on I will keep updating the new terminology in each chapter. Feel free to as dearie *hugz*
[Author’s Note]: Two chapters at one day LOL. Seems like my story is little bit boring isn’t it? Because the comments that I received decrease in every chapter LOL. But its okay. No matter how many comments that I received, I’m fond to write this FanFic! Ha ha. I just enjoyed this too much. But if you guys still want me to update fast like this, please comment because from 20 July till 20 August I will go outside island for a job training. So I will not able to update. How fast I will update depends on the encourages that you guys give to me lol.
[Comment’s Reply]:
- jowyn: I will wait your update dearie. You promise!! LOL. Yeah… Ella has a dark past. You must be know who is the bad guy here LOL.
- Cookies: Thanks for support me dearie. I will read your story soon ^^
- Jasmine: Ha ha. Italy is so suck!! My de Rossi even failed to do penalty shoot *I am Romanisti lol*. I will root Turkey or Russia from now on. But Euro didn’t as fun as before though hiks. Yes, I made Baron such a devil here…. ha ha. Sorry Baron, I made you like an angel in other story though LOL. For the Chun’s injury.. he is fine ^^. Its common happened in F1.
-xiaoXue: As my promised.... LOL... ^^