Speed Freak

by Fleur Beale

  It took Jack a couple of seconds to remember he didn’t have the right sort of licence to drive on the road.

  Nobody was surprised that, for the second time, Craig and his father hadn’t waited around for prize-giving. I gave the obligatory speech, thanking my sponsors for the tyres, Gran for the food, Dad, Grandad and my bro Felix for the technical expertise. He won a spot prize. It was a helmet. He was over the moon and up among the planets. Dad muttered, ‘The fat will be in the fire now.’

  Yes. Erica wouldn’t be quite as ecstatic as her son was. Dad cunningly let him ring her to tell her. Then he took the phone back and had a few minutes’ conversation where he took himself off to where we couldn’t hear. The rest of us got on with packing up.

  We said our goodbyes to Gran and Grandad, then hit the road. As we were coming down the Bombay hills, Dad asked, ‘You sore?’

  ‘Just the usual. No worries.’ But I did hurt more than usual. Poor old body, it always took a battering during a race day. No suspension. G-forces. Bruising. I didn’t regret a single ache and I would do it all over again next month in Rotorua.

  CHAPTER THIRTY

  IT WASN’T A helluva lot of fun getting up for school in the morning. When I made it to the kitchen, there was Felix all bright and bubbling and wearing his helmet. Erica was wearing a strained expression. Dad was generating calm. All fairly normal.

  At school, I caught up with my friends at interval to find Nina and Ginnie doing one of those useless does so/does not arguments.

  Nina: ‘Hexes do so work.’

  Ginnie: ‘They so do not.’

  ‘Do so.’

  ‘Do not.’

  Then Nina turned to me. ‘It did work, didn’t it Archie? You won. Therefore my hex is powerful.’

  ‘Hate to break it to you, Nina. But I won because Craig got caught bending the rules.’

  They gaped at me. ‘Cheating?’ Colin asked. ‘Disqualified?’

  ‘Yeah. Both.’

  Nina took a breath, but James silenced her. A hand across your mouth will do that. ‘Shut it, Nina. Tell all, Archie.’

  I gave them the whole story. Ginnie said, ‘Too full of himself. I bet anything you like it never entered his head that he’d get caught.’

  She was probably right. I wondered how many other times Gus had ‘helped’ a driver win.

  I talked about it that night with Kyla. But not for long. I’d had enough of Craig.

  A week later, though, he was back on Facebook, doing the grand apology. This one was longer than the one he’d offered Silver. To all my fellow karters I want to say how sorry I am that I let my mechanic talk me into an illegal setup. I can see now that it was stupid and I should have sent him down the road right then and there. Please accept this apology and my promise that I’ll never do anything that dumb ever again.

  Sel skyped me. ‘What d’you think about the Great Grovel?’

  ‘It’s typical — not his fault, apparently. Gus gets all the blame. He should have just said Sorry I got caught. I’d believe that.’

  Sel laughed. ‘Exactly what I think. Can’t wait to see if he shows up at Rotorua.’

  ‘You’ll be there?’ It was a long and expensive journey from Dunedin, especially when he didn’t have a realistic chance of winning.

  ‘Wouldn’t miss it for anything. We’re having a blast, me and the old man.’

  Me and my old man were having a blast too. Neither of us said so, but we could both feel the possibility of the trip to Portugal hovering just around the corner. For those four weeks between Auckland and Rotorua, Dad neglected Erica to work on the kart with me. Felix deserted his mother as well. He only stopped wearing his helmet to work in when he discovered it got in the way too much.

  We did everything we could to get the optimum set-up for the kart. Took it to get it balanced, then on Wednesday of the week coming up to Rotorua we went out to the track to make sure everything was perfect. It wasn’t. There was something wrong with the engine. We took it off and gave the back-up one a run. It was okay, but it was a fraction slower than the good one. The kart itself, though, was perfect.

  ‘Bloody engine,’ Dad said. ‘Don’t worry, Archie. I promise we’ll get it right before tomorrow.’ The day we were driving up to Rotorua.

  Dad and I worked on it after dinner, but Erica sent Felix to bed. ‘Now. Or you don’t go to Rotorua.’

  No more argument from the kid, but a grumpy face can say a lot.

  Dad sent me to bed at ten o’clock. ‘Tired drivers make mistakes. Off you go, Archie. And don’t worry. I’ve got a few ideas still to try.’

  But I woke up early next morning to the noise of the engine. It still sounded rough. I leapt out of bed, remembered to throw on some clothes and raced to the garage.

  ‘Dad? It’s no better?’

  He grunted. ‘It will be. I’ve got Grandad on the case. You get off to school. Stop worrying.’

  ‘Are you okay?’ His face was a sickly shade of pale.

  ‘I’m fine. Nothing to worry about. Get off to school.’

  Nothing to worry about? He sure didn’t look too flash. But I didn’t want to get my head bitten off, so I didn’t ask for details.

  When Erica came out to the kitchen, I said, ‘Dad doesn’t look too good.’

  She pulled a face. ‘Getting to bed at two, then getting up again at five can leave you looking like a rag.’

  She was right pissed off, so I got on with eating my breakfast and took myself off to school.

  But my head wasn’t tuned to class work. What if Dad really was sick? What if he couldn’t fix the engine? At interval, I rang him. He sounded cheerful. ‘Listen to this, Archie.’ The roar of the engine battered my eardrum. I held the phone away so that I could listen properly. Yes! It was smooth, not a cough or a wobble.

  ‘Sounds good, Dad,’ I yelled.

  He must have heard, because he shut the engine down. ‘It was all just a matter of making small adjustments. Things must have got out of kilter when we took it down for balancing.’

  ‘Phew! Brilliant. Thanks, Dad. I’ll get home quick as I can. Felix can help me get everything packed.’ Could be good to let Dad spend some time with Erica, since he’d been neglecting her for the past few weeks.

  But he said, ‘I’m taking the day off. I’ll do it.’ He hung up before I could suggest he should have a sleep. Probably would have snapped my head off — he doesn’t like being told what to do, and he hates sleeping during the day.

  Colin spent the rest of interval making engine noises. A Ferrari, he reckoned. ‘A sick one,’ Silas said.

  The girls got fed up and disappeared. Yeah, a bad Ferrari noise can be slightly irritating. By contrast, the bell was music. We had maths. I practised focusing, and some of it stuck to the brain.

  I rang Dad again at lunchtime. He didn’t answer. I rang the landline till the answerphone picked up. He could be having lunch somewhere with Erica — except that she’d be at work and he hadn’t arranged to meet her, as far as I knew. He’d looked bloody awful this morning too. What if … I jogged towards the bike sheds.

  ‘Archie! Where the feck d’you think you’re going?’ Colin’s bell-like voice.

  ‘Home. I’ll be back in time for class.’

  I heard Ginnie say, ‘Let him go. His head’s not here anyway.’

  I rode fast but carefully. An accident now wouldn’t be a great idea. Dad would be fine. He’d laugh at me for worrying, then he’d yell at me and tell me to get back to school. I hoped.

  The van was parked in the driveway, so he must be at home. I opened the front door. ‘Dad?’ No answer — and there wasn’t any noise coming from the garage. I went in anyway. ‘Dad?’ He wasn’t there. The kart was on the stand and the trailer door was open. I looked around.

  ‘Oh my god! Dad!’

  He was lying on the floor with his head in a pool of blood, one leg skewed under him. I dropped to my knees beside him.

  ‘Dad?’ I put my ear against his chest. Nearly howled with relief. His
heart was beating. He wasn’t dead. Erica. Phone Erica. No. Ambulance first. I dialled 111. Gave them the details. ‘Hold a clean cloth against the wound,’ they told me. ‘But don’t move him.’

  The wound had to be on the side he was lying on, but if it was dangerous to move him … I ripped off my shirt, folded it into a skinny pad and eased it under his head. Then I called Erica.

  ‘It’s Dad. He’s breathing, but he’s passed out on the floor. He’s cut his head.’

  ‘Call the ambulance. I’ll be there as quick as I can.’

  She hung up before I could tell her I’d already rung for the ambos, but the truth was, I’d be bloody glad to see her.

  The ambos arrived after what seemed like ages. They put a neck brace on Dad before they moved him. ‘Good work with the shirt,’ the older ambo said.

  ‘He’s done some damage to his ankle,’ the other one said as she wrapped a splint around it.

  Erica tore in. ‘What’s happened? Bill?’

  The ambos stared at her. ‘Dr E! What are you doing here?’

  I answered for her, because she was busy giving Dad the once-over. They didn’t seem to mind. ‘She’s a good doc,’ the woman said. ‘One of the best. If you’ve got to have an accident, have it while she’s on duty.’

  Erica straightened up and turned to me. ‘He’s coming round. Thank heavens you came home, Archie. And I’m sorry I snapped at you this morning. You were right — he wasn’t well. I should have asked him what was wrong.’ She stepped back to let the ambos stretcher him away.

  ‘He wouldn’t have told you. He never admits he’s sick. Erica — is he really going to be all right?’ Now that the cavalry had everything in hand, I’d got the shakes.

  She gave me a brief hug. ‘Yes. We’ll need to find out what made him pass out, though. There’s a number of things it could be. Don’t worry, I’ll get to the reason.’

  Bloody hell, it was just like tuning an engine. And that’s when it struck me — he wouldn’t be able to drive the van up to Rotorua this afternoon.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

  ERICA AND I followed the ambulance to the hospital. Worry about Dad chased around in my head, competing for space with the gut-wrenching disappointment about not getting to Rotorua. The only other person who could drive me was Grandad — but he was in Tauranga and I needed to leave today. Not possible.

  I sighed.

  Erica patted my hand. ‘He’ll be all right, Archie. He’ll have come round properly by now. Won’t be impressed to find himself in the Emergency Room either.’

  An arriving text saved me from having to answer. It was Colin. Where the hell r u? Taylor wil hav yr ars.

  I texted back: Following dad to hosp in ambulance. Wil be ok. Gave me heluva scare.

  Mate! I tel Mr T.

  Thanx

  Erica parked the car, then leapt out and disappeared, leaving me to make my own way. When I found the right place, I had to laugh. Dad was lying propped up on pillows on a skinny little bed, glaring at a bunch of medics around him. A couple of them were arguing with Erica. ‘You do not treat members of your own family, Erica. Step back and let us get the job done.’

  Hell, but she looked just like Felix at his most stubborn. Then something must have clicked into place and she stepped back. She saw me and came over. ‘He’s awake and insisting he’s fine. Not a thing wrong with him. A huge panic about nothing.’ She snapped her mouth shut.

  ‘What made him pass out? Will they find out?’

  ‘If they don’t, I promise you I will. He’s going to have to take it quietly for a few days.’ She must’ve seen my face drop, because she said, ‘Oh! Archie, I’m so sorry. But it’d be madness for him to drive anywhere at the moment. There’s his foot too. It looks like there’s bad bruising at the very least.’

  ‘I’m just glad he’s not dead.’ I couldn’t say any more — I’d bawl if I tried.

  ‘Me too. Grab us both a cup of something, will you? And a bite to eat.’ She handed me a twenty. ‘There’s a coffee bar in the entry foyer. Could you get me a long black and an egg sandwich? They do good ones.’

  Old Erica, she knew her stuff. Giving me something to do — that was gold.

  I had to wait while they made her coffee, so by the time I got back to where I’d left Dad, there was no sign of him. Erica was easy to find, though. She was frowning over a chart and talking to a woman lying on a bed.

  I hung back, not wanting to get in the way, but she saw me, said something to the woman and came over. ‘Thanks, Archie. Your dad’s going to be fine. He’s got an inner ear infection that upset his balance. He said he tripped on something — remembers falling and the next thing he knew he was in the ambulance.’

  I let out a long breath. ‘That doesn’t sound too serious?’

  She gave me a reassuring smile. ‘He’ll be good as new in a few days. Except for his ankle. He’s waiting in X-ray now, but it looks to me like he’s broken something.’ She reached out to touch my arm. ‘I’m so sorry about the race.’

  I shrugged. Didn’t want to talk about it. ‘Can I wait with Dad?’

  ‘He said for you to go back to school. It’ll be better than waiting round here.’

  My reading of it was that Dad didn’t want any of us sitting by his bed, worrying and fussing. But I shook my head. ‘Can’t face school. I’ll go home. I’ll collect Felix too.’

  She gasped. ‘Oh lordy! Can you believe it! I forgot Bill was going to pick him up.’ She looked like she was going to cry.

  ‘A lot’s been happening,’ I said. ‘Okay if I use the rest of that twenty for the bus fare?’

  WE’D LEFT THE house unlocked, but everything seemed okay. The pool of blood in the garage had turned sticky, but I cleaned it up as best I could, then for something to do I finished getting the trailer and my gear ready. A part of me still hoped for a miracle. Dad might be well enough to drive by tomorrow, and we’d get there if we left early enough. His ankle might look a lot worse than it was.

  But saying it out loud when I broke the news to Felix made me accept that it wasn’t going to happen. He bawled, just like I’d been wanting to do all afternoon.

  We were sitting at the kitchen table, trying to get up the energy to start cooking, when Dad and Erica arrived home. Felix stared at the pad of bandage on Dad’s head, and we both stared at the boot affair on his ankle. Erica held one of his arms, and he had a crutch on the other.

  ‘Sorry, son. Bloody stupid thing to do.’ He gave a sigh of relief as Erica helped him lie down on the sofa in the lounge. ‘Bloody head. Dizzy as hell when I move.’

  He missed the grin I’d persuaded to wobble on to my face because he’d shut his eyes. ‘Just don’t go playing dead on me again.’

  Felix huddled into his mother, tears still dripping. ‘Don’t die, Bill. Please don’t die.’

  ‘I’ve still got a few miles left on the clock, Felix. I’ll be around for a while yet.’

  Erica rubbed at her face and cleared her throat. ‘I have to think. Three nights. What do I need? And you boys need to get a move on too. Felix, go and pack your bag. Archie — can you get things ready for us to leave as soon as possible.’

  I screwed up my eyes. ‘What? Are you coming too? But Dad can’t …’

  She had that determined look on her face. ‘No, he can’t. But I can.’

  For the second time that day, my legs gave way and I plonked down into a handy chair. Hope was having a ding-dong battle with disbelief. ‘You mean you—’

  This time she smiled. ‘It’s all arranged. I’ll drive. I’ve got leave from work. Felix’s carer is going to stay with Bill.’

  Felix, just about chopping her in half with his hug, shouted, ‘Mum! You’re awesome!’ and sped off to his room.

  I hadn’t succeeded in getting myself upright, so I just sat there, probably looking as if I’d been knocked on the head as well. Then, bugger me if I didn’t start to cry.

  She just handed me the tissues and said, ‘I agree. It’s been quite a day.’
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  I got the tear ducts shut down. ‘Thanks, Erica.’ I shook my head. That sounded so weak, so inadequate, so I tried again. ‘Thanks.’ Still pathetic, but she got the picture.

  ‘I’d like to leave in half an hour if you can get things organised by then.’

  That got the legs working. Dad, his eyes shut again, said, ‘Ring Grandad. He’ll have to be your guardian for the event. He won’t mind.’

  That was an understatement. ‘You tell that son of mine not to worry. We’ll be there with bells on,’ Grandad said.

  Twenty-five minutes later, just as we were about to head off, there was a thumping great bashing on the front door.

  ‘That’s got to be Colin.’ I went to open it before he knocked a hole in it. Yep. Colin, along with Silas, James, Nina and Ginnie, all of them looking worried.

  ‘How’s your dad?’

  ‘Is he driving you?’

  ‘What happened?’

  I clapped my hands over my ears. ‘Whoa! One at a time. Or how about you all shut up and let me talk?’ But I was chuffed that they’d come. I gave them the short version of events and finished with, ‘You just caught me. Erica’s driving and we’re leaving now.’

  The girls gave me good-luck hugs. The guys did the high fives and issued orders to text the results. ‘You’ll suffer if you don’t,’ Colin said.

  ‘I’ll do my best to remember. Give my love to school tomorrow.’

  ‘We’ll tell old Taylor you sent him a kiss,’ Colin said. The bugger — he just might do that.

  They disappeared, laughing, just as Diane, Felix’s carer, arrived. I led her through to the lounge, where Dad was sprawled on the sofa, his eyes shut. He didn’t look great. God, I hoped Erica was right and that he’d be better in a day or two.

  We said our goodbyes. Dad just grunted, then said, ‘Do your best, Archie. Good luck, mate.’

  A few minutes later we were on our way. Erica drove slowly, her hands scrunched tight from nervousness on the wheel. She’d wear herself out if she couldn’t relax a bit. I only just managed to stop myself from offering to do some of the driving. Ironical that the law wouldn’t let me. I knew she’d say no, and I for sure didn’t want to upset her.