Chapter Nine
"Okay, team. The Florida 500 is in less than three days. In those three days, we have to train Mr. McQueen into the best he's ever been, besides the fact that he's currently entering his midlife crisis." Cruz explained to us at an open field early the next morning. Someone had mowed it down in the shape of a track.

"Hey!" Dad argued, slightly offended by her rude, but honest comment. Hey, I can't say she's wrong. She is our trainer after all.

"I'm sorry, Mr. McQueen, but that's a fact of life. When you start to get old, you get slow!" She started, pacing in front of us. Mater laughed, tapping Dad's side. "But don't worry! We're gonna make you faster than ever before! You will win the Florida 500 and continue racing forever!" She cheered.

"Alright. Let's do this! What's first on our list?" Dad grinned, driving closer to her, excitement present in his voice and on his face. Cruz smiled, nodding her head.

"Well, I'm glad you asked. First, we're going to practice passing." She answered as she began to drive off.

"Passing?" He questioned. All of us turned and looked at Dad. Was there a problem? In my opinion, it sounded like a good start. "Alright, you're my trainer." He agreed.

"That's what I thought." She smirked. She lined us up at the starting line. In case you were wondering, everyone one who was helping Dad train was Mater, Ethan, Luigi, Guido, and me. Personally, I figured the whole town would be trying to help in any way possible, but they were all doing their own things.

"Now, Mr. McQueen-"

"Ya know, you can just call me Lightning," Dad interrupted as she placed him far behind the rest of us. "There's really no need to be proper."

"Sorry," she apologized. "Lightning, I'm placing you far behind to help you get the feeling of starting at the very end. You didn't finish your last season, so you will be last, like dead last." She rambled.

"Yeah, yeah, I get it." He stated, rolling his blue eyes. She smiled and nodded her head. She drove towards the starting line, taking her place beside Guido. She beamed at us, obviously happy about something.

"Go!" She cheered as Guido waved the flag. All of us took off as fast as we could. Dad passed Luigi quickly, but got stuck behind Mater, who, of course, was laughing his head off.

"Should've got you rear view mirrors!" He cheered, slightly taunting Dad.

"Thanks for the tip!" He grinned back. He passed him right before the turn. Mater nodded his head as Dad took his place behind Ethan, trying to find a way to pass him.

Ethan was good, somehow knowing each side Dad was going to pass on. It took him a little while, but he eventually passed my best friend. All he had left was me. I could hear him coming up behind him. "Hey, Little Red." Dad greeted from behind.

"Dad." I replied, trying to keep my thoughts on racing. I had to give him the feeling of racing Storm, only, he was a lot faster than me.

"How's it going? Enjoying the weather?" He asked, trying to make small talk. He was going to try to break me, but I was going to hold out and win this three lap race.

"Dad, I know what you're doing and it's not going to work." I stated as I narrowed my eyes on the road. Only one lap left to go. Speed. I am speed.

"Oh really? Not if I keep talking to you like this?" He asked. I shook my head, trying to block him out. "Or like this?" He asked in a different voice. I shook again. "How about this?" He asked in a funny voice.

I stifled my laugh, trying not to let him get to me. "Oh, come on, Stel. I know you wanna a laugh," he added, knowing I was breaking my thoughts. "Don't smile. Don't smile." He demanded, using the same tricks as when I was a child.

I felt myself beginning to smile, but I quickly shook it away. The finish line was about twenty feet in front of us and I was going to win. I sped up, leaving Dad behind. I crossed the line full force, making everyone turn to look at me.

I skidded to a halt, a smile on my face. "I did it!" I cheered, watching Dad pass the line behind me. He came towards me, gently tapping my side.

"Way to go, Little Red! Nice job of keeping your head in the race!" He complimented, making me laugh. Cruz drove over, softly smiling.

"Nice job, Stella. That was a good win," she congratulated. She turned towards Dad, her face slightly dropping. "Mr. McQueen, I mean, Lightning," she quickly corrected as she shook her head. "This race is important. Stella was supposed to represent Storm. If you want to continue your career, then you have to win."

Dad furrowed his eyebrows, taking this in. He nodded his head, understanding. "I mean, I understand that this is fun, I get it," she quickly added. "But I want you to race. I want to see you back out on that track winning first place."

"Alright then. Let's do this again." Dad replied, narrowing his eyes. I could he was serious now. He wasn't going to go easy on me anymore. He was going to pull out all of his tricks and secrets he learned from Doc and his many years of racing.

xxx

It felt like we had been training for hours. My stomach wanted food and I had to get out of this heat. If only Flo had a portable station. Then we could all take a break and have a drink.

I glanced around, wondering when Cruz would let us stop when I spotted the whole town, all of them in a line watching us. To be honest, it gave me a sense of pride and I wanted them to watch us race one more time.

Suddenly, they began to cheer for Dad as we took out places. "Alright, this is our last race until later this afternoon. So make this one count!" Cruz encouraged. Soon, Guido waved his flag and we all took off.

I was going to win. I was going to show them how much I had learned over the past years. I was going to beat Dad. There was no way he was going to pass me. I am speed.

One lap was left and I could feel Dad gaining on me. The town cheered as he edged closer and closer. But I wasn't going to let him win. I teased him, speeding up a little every time he even thought about passing.

Before I even knew it, we had crossed the finish line. The town began to cheer for the both of us. Dad beamed at me, meeting me at the end. "Nice job! You really know how to play me!" He grinned.

"Well, I learned from the best." I smiled, making him chuckle. Cruz came towards us, her frown slightly present on her face.

"We'll work on this later." She stated before she drove off with Mater. I knew she wasn't happy with Dad's process. Hell, no one was. I began to feel guilty as I thought about it. I was supposed to be like Storm, only, I was being selfish. I was racing for myself today.

Dad needs hope. If I keep shutting him with a loss after loss, then how is that helping him? Maybe I'm the reason he isn't getting better. Maybe that's the part that's messing with his head. He doesn't want to beat his daughter and I'm not even giving him a fair chance. "Come on, Stella. Let's go." He smiled, nodding towards the rest of town leaving.

I smiled back, following. But in the inside, the thoughts kept scrambling in my head. Next race, I should go easier on him. Next time, I will let him win. He needs to have a win under his bumper and I was going to give it to him.

~~~~~~~~~~
Guys, I just wanted to say that I saw the cutest thing in church the other week. This little girl had a toy Cruz and a Lightning and she made Lightning sleep on his back and played with them like this.

Cruz: "Wake up! Wake up!"
Then she flipped Lightning back up onto his wheels.
Lightning: "Thank you!"
Cruz: "You're welcome!"

And she said it when it was quiet and I almost died of adorableness because she had the sweetest and most innocent voice on earth. My heart just like died.