Chapter 31
The paperwork is simple enough, but my hands shake as I fill it out in the sunny warmth of the dealership. All I have to do is sign, and we’re done.
After a night of tossing and turning, I woke up with only one thought.
I’m going to win.
A shrill ring from my back pocket stops my pen a centimeter from the paper. DERRICK - BOSS flashes at me on the screen. This can’t be good.
“Hey, Derrick,” I answer politely. “What’s up?”
“How’s your dad?” His bitter tone does not bode well. “Is he at Circuit Smack with you?”
Fuck. Fuck. Fuuuuck.
“Lying about needing to take leave is a fireable offense, Mari,” he fumes. “You skipped work to go on a little TV show. Are you serious?”
“Derrick,” I start, but I don’t really know how to finish. There’s nothing I can say to smooth over that lie.
“If you’re back to work on Monday, I’ll let it slide, but only because you’re my fastest writer,” he says.
“And if I’m not?” I dare to ask.
“Your things will be sent to your home via courier,” he says, and the line goes dead.
The clipboard in my hand weighs a thousand pounds. Out of the window, my car sparkles almost blindly in the setting sun, freshly washed. The receptionist is already making a listing for it at her desk, her acrylic nails clicking on the keyboard.
My teaching job won’t pay enough to cover everything if I leave my technical writing job, not that it pays very well either. I hate that job. I’ve been miserable since the day I took it.
I open my work email on my phone, and despite not taking new projects until my part-time absence is over, my inbox is filled with new projects. Three of them are for Jaxon Electronics.
If I lose, I lose everything. No day job, no car. I could try to sell the bot, recoup some of the costs, like I told my dad.
If I win, though, even if I only win the Trot, that could change everything.
Winning the Trot would win me most of my money back.
I wouldn’t leave with what I came for, but I’d have a robot.
People would pay attention. I might be able to get sponsors for next season and come back.
I might get the chance to be on another team.
The opportunities I’ve always wanted and worked for could finally manifest.
If I win the Circuit Smack championship after that, that’s guaranteed to get me sponsors.
Plus, $250,000. I’ll have more than enough money to float me while I find something new, even after paying for everything we’ve been working for.
Even after setting enough aside so Ava doesn’t have to ever think about tuition again.
It’s a leap of faith, one so large I might break every bone. But maybe my dad is right.
It turns out, buying the bot isn’t the most reckless thing I could do.
My pen scratches across the paper, and I hand the clipboard back to the receptionist. After a moment, she hands me a receipt for a wire transfer. I open the banking app on my phone and see it already pending. Thank god for modern banking. I just hope it clears in time because I have enough now.
I have enough to buy ZetaMax.