Chasing Daisy

had a choice between Johnny or Laura being here, I’d choose the former every time. I’m taking this as proof that I am definitely over him.
    Holly and I wander to the front of the grid where we spot Will being interviewed by a television crew. He glances my way but carries on, unfaltering. I dither for a moment before deciding that yes, I do want to wait until he’s finished so I can wish him good luck for the race. Holly complies and we lean up against a nearby wall. Luis is being chatted up by some of the brolly dollies. Stunning girls in hotpants and advertisements splayed across their straining T-shirts . . . He’s in his element.
    ‘Where’s the lovely Laura today?’ I hear the interviewer ask Will and my attention is immediately diverted.
    ‘She’s in the garage, I think.’ Will looks uncomfortable to me, but I’m not sure the interviewer would pick up on it.
    ‘And will we be hearing wedding bells anytime soon?’
    What?
    ‘Er, I’d better just concentrate on the racing for now.’ Will flashes the interviewer a grin.
    Holly and I wait for the interviewer to finish up his piece to camera. Will glances at us and raises his eyebrows. Finally the television crew moves away and we start towards him. But then out of the corner of my eye I see her – the blonde in the blue sundress. I hold Holly back as a smiling Laura reaches Will’s side and affectionately rubs his arm. Holly pulls on my hand. ‘You’re staring,’ she says quietly.
    I quickly avert my gaze and it falls instead on Luis. He meets my eyes, ignoring the pretty grid girl fawning all over him.
    ‘Let’s go,’ I mutter to Holly, giving Will one last glance before turning to climb the wall. As we get to the other side, I look back to see Laura departing and Will staring regretfully after me. Then Luis stalks over to Will, his expression furious. I only catch the look of surprise on Will’s face before I have to concentrate on getting across the pit lane without bumping into the hordes vacating the grid. What on earth is Luis saying to him?
    Will’s parents are standing within the lines of the white box painted on the floor of Will’s garage. Moments later, Laura joins them. I suddenly feel angry. This isn’t right. This isn’t right at all.
    ‘Let’s go through here,’ Holly urges, but I’m rooted to the spot. ‘Daisy,’ she prompts. I reluctantly follow her. By the time we reach Luis’s garage, the cars have set off on their warm-up lap. The camera shows hundreds of race fans in the grandstands blowing whistles and holding up banners in support of Will. My heart starts to beat faster as the camera zooms in on his car.
    I don’t want to be here.
    But I’m not leaving if she’s not leaving.
    The cars come around the last corner and take their places on the grid, then the lights go out and they’re off.
    I feel sick. Dizzy. Will makes it around the first corner and keeps his position, but Luis is hot on his tail.
    Focus, Daisy! If you leave, they’ll win! They’ll all win! His parents detest you, Laura barely knows you exist, but you have a right to be here. You should be standing in that box, not them!
    I look away from the cars on the television screen and stare at the back of Pete’s helmet-encased head, trying to distract myself from the dizziness I’m feeling.
    A collective gasp of shock brings me back to my senses. I glance up at the television screen again to see a car turning in the air like a spinning top, car parts shattering and splintering across the track as it smashes into a tyre wall and lands the wrong side up on a gravel pit. The blood drains from my face as I realise it’s Will. Flames flicker underneath his car as track marshals clamber across the race wall to get to him.
    I’m vaguely aware of Holly’s hand on my arm and the sound of Will’s mother shrieking in the garage next door.
    Everyone else is eerily silent, just staring at the footage on the television screens. The track marshals have put out the fire and an ambulance crew has arrived. Moments later they’re pulling out a white sheet to shield Will from the spectators.
    ‘What’s going on? Why have they covered him up?’ Laura sounds slightly hysterical.
    Whereas I feel frighteningly calm.
    ‘He’ll be okay,’ Holly says. ‘Don’t worry.’ It sounds like she’s very, very small and is speaking in a tiny, tinny voice. I barely register her words. A chill goes through me as I remember what Will said about topping himself if