by Leigh Hutton
Dallas stiffened away from her, his eyebrows creasing together, and it was as if, for those few moments, he was looking straight through her. ‘But after your crash,’ he said, finally focusing on her face. ‘You still aren’t considering the World’s?’
‘I’ve told you I’m still going.’ Her tone darkened at the shift in topic, felt she needed to be defensive.
‘You might still reconsider?’
‘It’s not about me right now,’ she said, keen to turn the attention back on him. ‘Besides, the World’s are a long ways off. We have to focus on you and making sure you shine your best out there on the ice, like I know you can, like I’ve seen you play so many times. You looked lightning fast today, like the announcer said at one point, “Cash has jet fuel in his legs!” I’m sure the other guys will pick up the intensity, now it’s urgent that they do.’
‘I really looked good?’
‘The best by far! You just need a team behind you, like those big Arrowhead guys. I saw the scouts watching you, too.’
‘Really?’
‘The guy from New York didn’t take his eyes off you practically the whole game.’
‘He’s talked to me a few times. Thanks, Clover. It means a lot that you’re here.’
‘I’ll always be here for you.’ She pecked him on the cheek. ‘I might travel for racing, but I’m never gone too long. Even if New York offers you a scholarship, I’m sure there’s some kind of racing around there, and if not, I could always spend a month there, a month at home, or something like that. And you could come visit me. Or, we might even get lucky, you might get picked by a team in California or Florida, or somewhere like that, where there’s lots of racing.’ Clover knew the chances of this happening were slim to none, but she was addicted to her own enthusiasm, to the way her words were softening Dallas’s face, making him hug her more tightly.
‘It would be great if you came with me, after we graduate,’ he said.
‘I would be so honoured if you asked me!’
‘Of course I would, I mean, will.’
‘Well, that sounds great! And I know you would be travelling with your team a lot, and that. But we could make something work.’
Clover had only allowed herself to think a few times about what would happen to her and Dallas at the end of their senior year. She realised their relationship was likely to turn into a long-distance, complicated arrangement for them both, as she would never consider giving up her racing, and he had to go where he could get a gig on the ice. But she loved how his eyes were shining now, how his mood had shifted. They would make it work. She would make it work. Even if it meant becoming a part-time stewardess to get free flights to go and see him. And besides all that, it was just too far into the future for her to take too seriously. They still had an entire year to enjoy together, at Silvertown High, before she had to worry about what came next.
The next day, Dallas’s game improved, but not enough for The Crusaders to avoid defeat by the team from Cheyenne. Denver’s season was still celebrated, though. And the scouts were still very impressed with the vice-captain, Dallas Cash.
Clover was sad to have to leave Cheyenne. To leave Dallas. But she was itching to ride, as the weather had been pleasant and warm since they had arrived in the capital of Wyoming. It was as if her track was calling to her, ‘I’m melting, Clover! I’m lush and loamy come and ride me!’ She didn’t mention this to Dallas, though. Neither did she mention her training plans when he asked what she would be up to for the rest of the week, simply replying ‘School, and stuff.’ Clover wasn’t sure why, but speaking about her racing with Dallas now felt uncomfortable, as if she had something to defend.
Reflecting on this, that night, during their drive back home, Clover decided her thinking on the matter was childish. She was sure that Dallas was cool with her racing, he’d always seemed supportive. She considered that she probably shouldn’t have spoken to him about the World’s when he’d been in such a fragile state, and that any animosity she’d sensed must just have been from his bad mood at his team’s defeat. Nothing more. She decided to take him out for dinner the following week, to show him her summer racing calendar and invite him along to the Enduro races. All he needed was to come along, to be a part of it, as she had been with his hockey. Then he would understand.
The day after Clover got home from Dallas’s tournament, rain set in. Thick, black clouds. Water fell in drenching sheets, shrouding everything but the scenery closest to the house. The rain was forecast for two solid weeks, but it only kept Clover off her WR250F for two days. The weather hadn’t let up, not by one drop or fraction of reprieve in the icy cold wind. But Clover couldn’t take any more. After school on Wednesday, she pulled on her gear and a rain jacket to at least try and keep herself warm, and rode out into the deluge.
At first, her body convulsed from the cold and the damp. But once she was saturated, it didn’t seem to matter. It was as if she’d turned into one big goose bump, numbed completely from everything but the revving of her bike, the movement of the suspension, vibration of the motor. The ground was ridiculously slick. It was all she could do not to slide straight into the water, or down the cliff on the opposite side, as she made her way around the pond. But her bike’s soft terrain tyres dug in, beneath the slop and puddles of water. This is good practice, she told herself. If her teeth hadn’t been chattering, she would have even said it aloud to be more convincing. Tough it out here, and Czecho will be a breeze.
She’d been messaging back and forth on Facebook with Kerry, and apparently conditions at the WSEC were expected to be wet. Cold. Just like now. So grit your teeth, buttercup, and get your ass out on that practice track! Rain, hail or shine. If you wanna finish the World’s, let alone in a podium spot, you’re gonna have to train. And train freakin’ hard!
Through spring, Clover rode. She practiced in two-hour, intensive sessions, consisting mainly of lapping on her new practice track and frequent trips to the MX park, on the outskirts of Denver, to practice for the final motocross event of the WSEC. It took no time at all to shave fifteen seconds off her fastest lap time, but she still wanted more. To go faster. This was her speed training, for the special tests. But there was still the endurance element of the sport to train for. She needed to go on a few riding trips and decided on dates she thought would work well with school, and also coincide with Dallas’s hockey training camps, so he would be away, too.
On these excursions, Clover would trail ride for at least six hours a day, for six days, to emulate the kind of exertion she’d experience at the World Six-Day Enduro Championship.
Clover ended up going on two such trips, to the vast and stunning Moab, in Utah. Ernie had made friends with his arch-rival from ice racing, Arik, and the German brought his wife and young daughter, Pippa who he’d just bought a TTR-125. Leslie had promised to bring Jasmine, but pulled out at the last minute. Arik, who was a great rider in his own right, and Ernie, who was a champion back in his day, took Clover on the toughest trails they could find. Clover came back sore, tired, and with a wide smile on her sandy face. Her hands had developed calluses, so she no longer got blisters.
Clover only broke her training routine a few times all summer, mostly to hang with Sydney and Dallas.
The first really exciting event in Clover’s summer was the first Rocky Mountain Enduro Championship race, in northern Texas. Clover finished just shy of the podium in the Pro Ladies Class, in fourth place, behind the reigning Pro Ladies champion and member of the infamous, rough-talking and ample-breasted, ‘Banger Sisters’, from Nebraska. A lady from New Mexico got third. Lasha finished second.
Clover was hot on their tails for the second and third rounds, even taking a win at her home state race, at Highstone Lake, the place she’d lost her junior title, the very same venue she’d won at in ice racing. She and Lasha were hailed as the fastest girls to ever come from the junior ranks the future of the series in the Pro Ladies division.
Even more exciting was the penultim
ate round, which was held just outside the city of Las Vegas, when Dallas finally took up her invitation to come and watch.
She found it mildly irritating, however, how he stuck to her side and made sure to introduce himself as ‘Clover’s boyfriend’ at every possible opportunity. But she didn’t mind too much. It was just so awesome to have him there. And it obviously helped her riding she got second, and even beat the reigning champ.
It was an unreal weekend, topped off by a party on the Sunday night not on the famous Las Vegas Strip, but out in the desert. Dallas stayed (albeit, in his own tent Ernie insisted) and they shared a campfire and made ‘S’mores’.
Once the parents had mostly drunk themselves tired, or headed to the ‘oldies’ parties, the rest of the campsite really came alive. All the ‘young’uns’ snuck out, under the light of the stars, away from the motorhomes, travel trailers and tents, and made a huge bonfire down by the edge of the lake. The group cracked beers and sat up bench racing and swapping stories from the weekend. Once Dallas had polished off most of a six-pack without Clover’s help, as Ernie was only a few campsites away he was even having a laugh. Everyone ended up in their underwear, squished into a hot tub that somebody had set up on the water’s edge.
Going into the final round of the series, Clover was tied for second and just a few points off leader, Lasha Moore. The race was to be held back at Highstone Lake, the weekend before she would start her senior year at Silvertown High School.
TWENTY-FOUR
Thick clouds of dust billowed from the back of Clover’s truck as she belted along the gravel road towards Silvertown. She brought her truck to a stop at the ‘T’-intersection. School was right, down passed the Silvertown reservoir. But she looked left, up at the tallest of the mountain peaks.
The forest surrounding and running to the mountain’s base was already speckled with colour, as the aspen and poplar trees changed their leaves in preparation for another stunning autumn. She squinted against the early morning rays, as the sun reflected off the face of the Rockies some still tipped with a sliver of white, even after at least two months of warm, dry weather. These mountains would always take her breath away.
On to the bitumen and, just as Clover got up to speed, her mobile revved from under her new books.
‘Syd!’ she said, plugging in her earphones. ‘What’s happenin’? Sorry I didn’t ring last night, got home from the race super late.’
‘That’s okay,’ Sydney said. ‘So, how’d ya go?’
Clover smiled at the warm enthusiasm in her friend’s voice. ‘Real good,’ she said. ‘I got third in the championship, in the Pro Ladies Class! You should have seen this track seriously gnarly! One evil trail section was called the Husky Highway ’cos it was made with a Husky chainsaw with all these big logs you had to pull your bike over. I got through on my own, but, some of the other girls actually got help!’
‘Is that against the rules?’
Clover hesitated. ‘Normally they do make an exception when the trail’s that hard but, as if you would. I mean, if you need help, you shouldn’t even be racing.’
Sydney laughed. ‘Leave it to Miss Racing Star to want to do it all on her own.’
‘Sorry if I don’t want to be some damsel in distress!’
‘There’s a difference between being useless and accepting help when you need it, Clover.’
‘Whatever. I didn’t need it.’ Clover didn’t mention that she was actually late to the next control and got a minute’s time penalty, which was why she was beaten, but she was proud to have done it on her own. The memory of Lasha on the podium her smug smile and laughing eyes, how she practically waved the biggest trophy in Clover’s face flooded her mind.
‘I’m so proud of you!’ Sydney said, pulling Clover from her darker thoughts. ‘Did Lasha win?’
‘Yeah.’ Clover took a deep breath, and looked out at the highway. She’d just passed the turn to Camp Shitty and was reminded of how far she’d come, from the days of drinking her sorrows away and having zero direction in her life, to now chasing her racing dreams. ‘I’m happy with a podium. Not bad for my first year as a pro!’
‘I’ll say!’
‘Oh, and, Sydney guess what?’
‘Lasha the evil cow crashed and peed her pants?’
‘HA! Um, no. Dallas came to watch!’
As soon as Clover hung up, her phone revved again. The strong, assertive voice on the other end of the line was unmistakable. Her English teacher.
‘I’m sorry for bothering you early,’ said Mrs. Frost. ‘I’ll get straight to the point. Something’s come up, a significant opportunity for you, and for the school do you think you can meet me in my office as soon as you get in? You are on your way in?’
‘Be there in about ten minutes.’
Clover pushed her phone into the pocket of her jeans. What this big opportunity was, she had no idea. It was only the first day of term, and she’d been well and truly on her best behaviour for the majority of last year, so surely it couldn’t be something bad . . . could it?
Clover rapped lightly on the door to Room 6B, English/Language Arts. She watched, through the little window, as Mrs. Frost raised her well-worn face from her desk, and reached for a piece of paper.
‘Please, take a seat,’ said Mrs Frost, waving at her visitor’s chair, before squeezing between her desk and the wall and sitting down heavily.
Clover eased into the plastic chair, but her eyes stayed on the white wall opposite. There was a new addition to the Shakespeare posters and inspirational material the teacher had previously used to liven up the stark room: a long banner across the entire width of the wall, with blue writing on white, reading,
Small minds discuss people. Average minds discuss things.
Great minds discuss ideas.
The saying gave Clover goose bumps. It was so true. Something her mind had often skirted, in parts, but never had the insight to string into a whole, concise statement.
‘Like it, do you?’ Mrs. Frost glanced back at the banner.
‘It’s perfect.’
‘I hope the others take as much notice. I imagine you’re curious as to why you are here?’
Clover smiled, now in the full belief that she’d been beckoned here for something good. Otherwise Mrs. Frost wouldn’t be looking so cheery.
‘I knew it couldn’t be too bad, I haven’t had the chance to submit anything to fail yet.’
Mrs. Frost laughed. ‘No, though I don’t expect you’ll be getting any more of those. No, this is much more exciting. I got an email this morning from the school division; it seems they are in urgent need of a student to send to ten schools, plus Silvertown Elementary and Silvertown High School itself, to do inspirational, beginning of year talks. We held an urgent staff meeting, and we decided that it needed to be you!’
WTF?!
Mrs. Frost smiled. ‘Not only have you grown leaps and bounds since having, let’s be honest, a pretty shaky start to your schooling here, but you are also excelling in your sport. An extreme motor sport, to be precise. And the fact you are going to the World Championships, well, that’s a real clincher.’
‘Um, okay.’ Clover’s eyes were going wide.
Mrs. Frost leant across her desk. ‘Look, Clover, I think you could really help these kids. As you know, previous speakers we’ve had, well, they haven’t resonated with the students. This program has been sponsored by one of the major airlines and a bunch of other companies. Dozens of schools and exceptional students across America are taking part. For our district’s end of it to fall down now, just because the kid they had lined up chickened out, well, would just be too sad to comprehend.’
‘Right.’
‘I’m really sorry to do this to you, I wouldn’t ask if I didn’t think you were up to it. But any time you’ve spoken in class, you’ve been fantastic.’
Really?! All I remember is how nervous I was, and the words I messed up …
Mrs. Frost must have noticed Clover’s confused expr
ession. ‘Your confidence has really grown,’ she said. ‘I know you could inspire these kids. It’s the last resort for the schools you’ll be going to they’ve had free-falling grade averages, rises in detentions and expulsions. Basically,’ her voice dropped to a whisper,
‘the principals have lost control. It’s incredible that a group of passionate individuals have volunteered their time to make this happen. The hope is that the students at these troubled schools will benefit greatly from hearing from a kid like them, a ’ She used her fingers for quotation marks ‘“Cool” kid who they can relate to, but also one who has figured out how to succeed as a teenager in this day and age and is striving to do great things with their life.’
Am I considered a cool kid now?!
Clover had been watching Mrs. Frost’s lips open and close, not really hearing what the teacher was saying and certainly not believing the bits she did hear. ‘So, wait ’ Clover said, raising her hand to be allowed to speak. ‘You want me to go to all these schools and talk about, what … my racing? And tell the kids that I’ve struggled with staying on the straight and narrow, too, is that right?’
‘Precisely. Your first stop will be Silvertown Elementary, but not because they are in trouble. The situation there is quite the opposite, as I’m sure you can imagine. We wanted you to go there, just to get your feet wet, on home turf. I hope you don’t mind, but I took the liberty of ringing the principal he’s very excited. Seems you’re a bit of a celebrity there already, with your little sister as a pupil. He said they’ve put that article from The Chronicle that ran on you a few months ago up in most of the classrooms. He’s already told the kids about your talk and they’re all jumping out of their skins to meet you.’
Clover opened her mouth to ask another question, but Mrs. Frost was too quick.
‘And I also rang your mom,’ she said. ‘Sorry, again, but we really have no time to waste on this the first talk at Phoenix Composite High School is scheduled for Wednesday. Your mom was elated when I spoke to her, said you would love to do it. And she assured me missing a few days of your training wouldn’t hurt your preparations for the World’s.’
