Carved in Stone: Monochrome Destiny (14 page)

Robyn knew all
too well that to dwell on things was pointless.  She’d made that mistake
once before.  There was no point in overthinking Kat’s departure, the
facts had been laid out and she had to face them.  Her friend had left and
she had to either implode or move on.  Robyn chose to move on.

A
young man named Mark with light spiky hair stood in front of the gathered
group.  Robyn sat on a plastic chair with fourteen other members of staff,
all dressed in dark overalls, having signed up to this staff outing on the spur
of the moment.  It was Saturday and Mark had just finished explaining the
rules that would govern the next two hours.  Finished with his briefing,
Mark sauntered to a side door, opened it and led the way for all to
follow. 

“Come
on,” Jane Symonds from English grabbed Robyn’s arm and led them to follow the
rest of the group.  Robyn didn’t immediately respond to the sudden
camaraderie.  It was the first time any of the group had spoken to her,
but she had arrived slightly late and sneaked in during the first few minutes
of the briefing.

Jane’s
baggy overalls and huge, obviously badly fitting gloves, emphasized her
diminutive size, but with her hair hanging in wild curls around her shoulders and
a broad smile on her face, she seemed deliriously happy and a little
wild.  Her grip on Robyn was firm and Robyn quickly fell into stride
beside her new partner and felt a little warmth seep into her system. 
Perhaps this was not going to be as torturous as she had first thought.

When
they stepped outside, Robyn watched as a group of young male staff
huddled.  She recognised them all but only knew the names of some. 
Daniel Bray from Humanities was tall with a head of light shaggy hair, Peter
Grigg
the Drama teacher was dark and stocky and Jonathan
Cotton, who she believed taught German, was perhaps the most average man she
had ever seen, average height, average build, medium hair.  The others,
who she could not name, talked with the ones she recognised animatedly.

Mark
walked the group to a row of parked Go Karts and continued his briefing. 
They had seen the video, had the safely briefing and would be racing these
karts all afternoon, but now seeing them, Robyn wondered how the small frames
which seemed dominated by the twin engines behind the plastic seats could
possibly be capable of reaching speeds up to fifty miles per hour as stated.

Mark
led the group, on foot, around the long track, pointing out braking zones and
the best lines around corners.   He stated what to do if they spun or
stopped and he warned them about dangerous driving.

“We’ll
give them a run for their money won’t we, Robyn.” Jane said, squeezing her arm
where she still held tight.  “Show them how it’s done?”

“You
two may think you can drive, but owning a sporty little car does not make you a
driver.”  Jonathan Cotton stated.

So
the TT in the car park was Jane’s then.  There was nothing else to call
sporty apart from Andrew’s.

“I
don’t suppose you’d like to wager on that?” Jane stepped forwards, one eyebrow
cocked.  It was a side of her Robyn hadn’t seen before, playful, less
business-like.  She liked it.

“Oh
Symonds, you can’t help yourself can you?  Okay a tenner.”

“Make
that twenty.” One of the others put in.

“Hey,
I’ll have some of that action.  I could do with a couple of free drinks
later.” 

The
men chuckled as wagers were shouted and agreed.

“You’d
better put me down too.” Andrew stepped out from the briefing room pulling one
glove on.  Robyn hadn’t expected to see him and from their reaction,
neither had the others.

“Oh,
bloody hell, there goes a tenner then.”

“Shit,
I thought you weren’t coming.”

“Damn
it.”

Andrew’s
lips quirked as the men raised their hands in surrender before
patting
him on the back.

Jane
eyeballed him openly.  “You’re no gambler,
Obursen
.”

Andrew
walked up to the two women but his stare was on Robyn.  “Oh, I don’t bet
unless I’m sure to win.”  The half grin he gave her had her blood heating
and it wasn’t just because she was incensed that he thought he would be
victorious.

The
rest of the men were walking away shaking their heads.  Clearly they
believed that Andrew couldn’t be beaten, as did he.  Robyn had different
ideas.

“You’d
better be prepared for a fight, Andrew.”  Her words were slow and
confident and she meant every single one.

“It’s
not any fun if I win too easily.”  He looked down upon her, his posture
stiff and unrelenting but there was something in his eyes that made her believe
he was being playful.  She was correct, because he leaned down to her and
whispered in her ear.  “Good to see you here.”

There
would be several races with each of them having a chance to start at front or
back.  Points would be awarded for moving up places and at the end, the
person with the most points would win, the trophy and the money.

Pulling
her helmet into place and securing it, Robyn drove the parade lap, dutifully
following Daniel Bray as instructed and taking the opportunity to test
different lines through the corners, getting a feel for the grip and balance of
the kart.  When they came around the last bend and onto the straight, one
of the marshals lined them up in two rows.  Robyn sat at the back of the
row on the right, half a cars length ahead of Andrew who was at the back of the
other row.  Eagerly awaiting the dropping of the flag, she readied herself
to start.

The
marshal stood at the side of the track, holding a green flag which, after an
eon, he finally dropped.

Robyn
slammed her foot down on the accelerator and took off.  The kart in front of
her didn’t get off to a very promising start and she quickly veered around it
before turning sharply for the first corner.  The back of her kart tried
to slip out but she just found grip before flying around the tight bend and
putting her foot down to drive out of the turn.

By
the end of the first lap, Robyn had taken another kart, Peter
Grigg
, and was bearing down on the next.  She bided
her time around the intricate bends, over the bridge and through the tunnel and
then she took another competitor on the straight. 

By
the final lap, Robyn was third.

The
two teachers in front of her were having such a duel that neither was aware of
Robyn’s presence.  She intended to go the long way around the first corner
to overtake, knowing that their duel made them slow, but just as she levelled
with the two
karts,
the car on the inner part of the
track braked sharply for the bend and fishtailed.  The kart between him
and Robyn shifted quickly to the left to avoid a collision and all of a sudden
he was right on top of her.  She hammered the brake and narrowly avoided a
crash, but in her peripheral vision she saw Andrew, who had been behind her,
shoot through the gap.

Leaving
the two men to continue their personal fight, Robyn flung her kart back to the
right, scooted through the gap before they closed it and chased Andrew but
there was not enough time left to catch him and they finished in that order.

When
they got out of the karts, Andrew turned to face Robyn, pulling his helmet off
and giving her a smug grin.  Fine, she thought, the race was on.

For
the rest of the afternoon Robyn drove with focus and determination.  Her
slight weight helped her get a comparatively good start in each race and by
taking every opportunity to overtake, she slowly moved up the rankings. 
By the last race it was clear that there were only three names in it: Andrew,
who stood in first, Robyn and Daniel Bray.  Jane had held her ground to be
fifth overall, but hadn’t enough points to play for the lead and was starting
this round on pole, not allowing for further advancement.

Robyn
sat in the car fifth on the grid, saw Andrew in second and knew that all she
had to do to win was get past him.

When
the flag dropped, she slammed her foot down and slid between the car in front
of her and the wall.  The others were already flying but that was one down
and two to go.

She
took Jonathan on the sixth lap.  Knowing that she was close, he braked
late into a bend but then lost it.  That just left Andrew, who was
concentrating on catching Jane.  She had got an amazing start off the pole
and remained in first place, for the moment.

Andrew
didn’t see Robyn coming, too busy concentrating on his victory and she was on
him quickly, intent on taking advantage of any mistake he made.

Jane
over cooked a turn and Andrew didn’t hesitate to utilise his chance, he took
the lead with two laps to go.  Robyn went to follow him through the gap
but was hit from behind.  Daniel Bray sent her kart skidding wide and
slipped through in front of her, closely followed by Jane, leaving Robyn
fourth.

There
was a hairpin at the bottom of a long straight where the karts got to their
full speed.  It required a great line and serious braking to get round
cleanly and Robyn knew that she only had one shot to get past Daniel and Jane
and leave herself one lap to catch Andrew.  She flew down the straight on
the right side of the track.  Daniel took the correct line on the left,
closely followed by Jane, but Robyn had no intention of merely following. 
Daniel braked: Robyn accelerated.  Daniel turned in: Robyn hit the brakes,
hard.  Daniel came across to Robyn but she flicked the steering wheel and
sent the rear end of the kart out before slamming her foot down and power
sliding around the corner.  The back end missed Daniel by inches but it
had the desired effect.  Daniel panicked, braked, was hit by Jane and
Robyn got past.  Now, she just had to reach Andrew.

Robyn
followed Andrew, the whole lap.  He flew around making his kart as wide as
possible and she knew her only chance was to do exactly as she had to Daniel
and hope that Andrew hadn’t seen it.  When they came to the final hairpin
they spilt, Andrew left: Robyn right, but Andrew was fearless.  He braked
almost as late as Robyn and leaned into the turn even as the kart threatened to
lose all grip.  Robyn put her kart into a skid, drifting it around the
bend but Andrew would not give.  She had a tight line, but Andrew had the
power.  They came out of the bend together but Andrew had kept the momentum
better than Robyn and he edged over the line half a car in front.

Andrew
took the trophy and the wagers.

“What
the hell was that?” Andrew spat as he took off his helmet.

“Don’t
be a sore winner.”  Jane spoke brightly as Daniel handed over his cash.

“I
promised I would fight.”  Robyn kept her gaze level and her voice steady,
but the sudden vehemence in Andrew’s tone had her quivering.

“Well
aren’t you full of surprises.”  The words were cold but the look that went
with them wasn’t.

Robyn
felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to see Peter
Grigg
behind her. 
“Bloody good driving, Robyn.
 
Looks like we might finally have a challenger for Andrew.”

A
round of back slaps and hard hugs later, Robyn was ten pounds poorer and
happier than she had been in days.  Devoid of overall and helmet, she
walked to her car.

“Do
you always drive with so little regard for yourself or just save that for the
track?”  Andrew’s displeasure was clear.  Robyn didn’t turn.

“I
like to win,” she answered as she got in her car, not knowing what to make of
his concern.  In one way it was nice to know that he cared, but in another
she felt chastised and that just wouldn’t wash.

“At
what cost?”

She
couldn’t look at him.  “I didn’t see you throttling down.  Don’t
lecture me, Andrew.”

Slamming
the door, anger washing though her.  Robyn started the engine and gunned
out of the karting centre.  Andrew had her so mad that she kept her foot
down through the narrow lanes and up over the hills towards the larger
roads.  Driving was her one and only vice.  Whipping along, taking
the car around the bends and over the hills gave her a thrill that she couldn’t
find elsewhere and it calmed her.  She wouldn’t be chastised for wanting,
or having the ability and drive, to win, not today.

The
car hammered through the sunken lanes.  The high banks hemmed her in but
that only added to the thrill.  Slowly, she felt the annoyance subside as
she gave herself to the drive.  Slowly that was, until the black Audi came
up close behind, its horn beeping and its engine and driver both running on
angry.

Did
he want her to stop?  Did he think that he could encroach on this, her
only pleasure?

Robyn
put her foot down further and careened to the dual carriageway that cut through
the centre of the county.  Once on the smooth blacktop, she thrust her
foot down and felt the power convert to the rear as the tail dropped before the
car flung itself forwards.

The
gauge picked up, sixty, seventy, eighty.  Robyn didn’t care.  The
ground was dry, the road straight and the traffic light.  She needed the
speed, craved it.