Chapter 2
The McGuire family home, Darlington, South Carolina, Saturday, 1400.
I kept my mouth shut for the rest of the time we were at the track. I knew I had to wait until we got home. I know that the contract is a big one for mom and dad. I mean when a world-wide auto manufacture wants to build a racing team around your family owned racing design firm. You just don’t turn them down outright. You take your time and think things through. But the one hinging point for me was those people thought that I was a girl. And it was the girl Roberta, that they wanted driving for them.

Well not just Roberta but my sister Beth as well. It seems that Bertha Benz, and Mercedes Jellinek have this crazy idea of forming an all-female driver race team to take on the boys of Formula One. According to dad they have had the idea for a while now too. They just haven’t had any luck in finding the right set of female drivers to pull it off. That is until now.

When mom didn’t correct them about me being a boy at the track they got to talking between themselves. They figured that they could talk mom and dad into forming their all-female driver team. By using me and Beth. Well I should say Roberta and Elizabeth. When I heard this, I was all set to correct the two old bats. Only the glare from mom stopped me. You know the one I’m talking about. Every mother has one. The one that says not now we’ll talk about this later at home. I just glared at mom and walked away. She knew that I would be confronting her and dad at home.

Now, I have nothing against giving Beth her shot at the big time with the contract. Hell, I’m all for it, but not for me. I don’t want to get my chance at racing F-1 under a lie. Namely, racing as a girl named Roberta Lee McGuire. I know that for the past four years thanks to the drugs that saved my life from leukemia I have taken on a very feminine appearance. It had gotten so bad that mom and dad sent me to see a shrink.

Originally it was to help me deal with the whole ‘why me?’ shit of having leukemia. When the other nasty side effects of the experimental drugs kicked in they had me keep going. I know that our next session is going to be a big one. It’s not like I hate my shrink, in fact I really do like Sharron. She hasn’t been in the field for long, so she isn’t as jaded as her more experienced counter parts. The only thing that we haven’t really come to see, eye to eye on, is how she thinks I should present myself.

Sharron has on more than one occasion suggested that I try presenting a more female appearance. To better match what the drugs were doing to my body. Well the first time she suggested that crazy assed idea I stormed out of her office. It took mom three weeks to talk me into going back to her. That was four years ago. Since then, I have been forced to accept the fact that I will always have a girlish figure and face. All thanks to those experimental drugs.

But I’ll deal with all that on Monday. Right now, I need to have a little heart to heart chat with my parents. I doubt that there will be a lot of talking though. More like me raising hell and not giving a shit one way or the other. For the past three and a half hours I have slowly been stewing in my own juices. Thankfully, none of the guys at the track called me some fucked up nickname like princess or sweet pea. All I heard was Robby, Bobby, or Speedy. Nothing girly. There might have been a snicker or two about mom and dad calling me Roberta but nothing else.

I storm pass mom and dad in the living room heading for the kitchen. I make only one stop at the refrigerator for a coke. Beth and Joey are hot on my heels. They know that I am beyond pissed off at our parents. Neither of them said one word to me during the whole ride home from the track.

I waited for mom and dad to come to me. I wasn’t about to give them the pleasure of starting this little fight. Oh hell no. they got me into this mess and they damned well, will get me out of it. First though I need to set a few ground rules.

It didn’t take long for mom and dad to realize that I wasn’t coming out of the kitchen. Dad waved for Beth and Joey to leave. While mom started off as they entered the kitchen. “Robert, we would like to talk to you about what happened today.”

“No, we don’t need to talk about what happened at the track. You just need to tell me how you are going to get me out of the mess you got me into.” I was fighting to keep my anger under control. I didn’t want this to become a shouting match.

“Rob, it is not that simple.” Dad started.

“No! It is that simple. You call up the Mercedes-Benz people. Explain to them that I am a boy, not a girl. If they want us as their new F-1 team then they accept us as we are.” I knew that I had the upper hand. They wanted our family to be their new race team, and I had the talent to force the situation.

“Wrong!” That one word from my mom stopped me cold. Mom and dad finally sat down at the other end of the table. “Robert, we know that you don’t want to hear this, but the Mercedes-Benz people already know that you’re not a girl. They don’t care, so long as you can show up and drive for them as a girl.”

“Wait! What? I don’t understand.”

Dad sighed. “Robby, it’s like those old sayings go. Appearance is everything, and first impressions are the most important.”

“Just what the hell does that have to do with me driving for those crazy assed bitches? Especially as a woman!” I snapped.

Mom sighed and took my hand. “Honey, as you know the chemo drugs that stopped the leukemia were not covered under our insurance, because of their experimental nature. The reason the drugs worked so well is because they never really left your system. They’ve been in you for the last four years, and there is no way of flushing them out. Part of the drugs makeup is certain hormones.”

“What hormones are we talking about here mom?” I was starting to get more than a little worried. When I started that drug trial they didn’t say anything about there being hormones in the drug. “Why wasn’t I told about these hormones?”

“There were three synthetic and two natural female hormones in the drug’s makeup Robby.” Dad answered for mom. “AS for why you weren’t told the answer is simple. The drug either cured your cancer completely or nothing. We saw no need to tell you about the side effects if they didn’t show up. We did it to save your life Robert. You happy now. If you have to be mad at someone for keeping you in the dark. Don’t blame your mother. I’m the one that made the decision to put you on that drug.”

I couldn’t believe my ears. My own father had known exactly what type of drug cocktail the doctors had put me on. He did it to save my life sure but I’m the one paying the price. I could feel my anger over something that has been long out of my control rising once again. Only to have mom blast me with a cold hard fact.

“Before you go blowing you top, Robert. You need to know something. Before the doctors put you on the drug they told us that you had may be five to six months left to live. The choice for us was simple. Give you a chance at some kind of life or let you die.”

I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Right along with the head of anger that I had been holding in since the track. “What you’re saying is that because of the drugs I will always look more or less like a female. That it was this or letting me die. Does that about sum things up?”

Mom and dad just nodded their heads yes. “Okay I can live with that. Now that I know the whole story. What that doesn’t explain is why are the Mercedes-Benz so hard up for me to be a member of their all woman race team? I mean I know they saw me drive today. But you said they know that I’m really a boy.”

“It all goes back to those old sayings of appearance is everything, and first impressions are the most important. How often are you mistaken for a girl when people first meet you?” Mom asked me. I didn’t even get a chance to answer. I didn’t have to. “I thought as much. I hate having to state the obvious to you.”

“Then fucking don’t mom.” I growled out through clenched teeth. “I know that I look more like a girl that I do a boy. Do I get sick and tired of correcting people? Yes. Can I do anything about? No. that doesn’t mean I have to give up on trying to be a man.”

This time it was dad that came down on me with the facts. “Rob, in the past three years you have dated only one person. Kelly Ringwald. A very out bi-sexual young lady. Do you know how many times your mother or me have been called in to speak with your Guidance Consular at school? I tell you anyway. Fifteen times in the last two years. Must of those were about you and her dating.”

“That doesn’t mean shit dad! Just because that old bat is a bible thumping redneck homophobe doesn’t mean that Kelly is a bisexual. Old Iron panties hates anybody that doesn’t fit into her neat little world view. Hell, last year she had two students expelled just because they were a biracial couple.” I knew that I was only stating the obvious to my parents.

Mrs. Eloise Carson was a known Born Again Christian fanatic of the first degree. More than one student at my high school had tried to get the bitch fired for her bigotry. The problem was the bitch always found a way to make life a living hell for those students until she could get them expelled. The woman usually used the basketball or wrestling teams to drive the ‘undesirables’ out. The only reason she hasn’t had them come after me is because of my medical history. That and the fact that I was more than willing to challenge them to a rat race. I’ve put more than a few of them into a ditch on a backcountry road.

“Damn it, Robby! All that is besides the point! We know that Carson doesn’t like you and Kelly in her school.” Dad threw up his hands. “Shit boy! We know that she doesn’t like anyone who does not fit in with her fanatical beliefs. We know she has been looking the other way when it comes to the basketball and wrestling teams’ and their bullying of LBGT students. The problem is knowing and proving. Which no one has been able to do. Too many of the other teachers are afraid of the bitch and those two coaches.”

And there was the bit in the ass. The Head Guidance Consular for my high school was basically untouchable. She was protected by the two biggest sources of income and pride for my school. Dad wasn’t done with chewing me out yet either.

“For the last five months she has been lodging complaint after complaint against you. All for the same fucking reason. Can you guess what that reason is? No? Let me fill you in.” Dad and mom must have been running interference for me big time for dad to be this worked up. I see the blood vessel over his right eye pounding in time with his heart beat. “She wants you expelled for crossdressing and transvestism on school grounds.”

“What the hell?! I’ve never worn any girl clothes to school.”

“And yet you look like a male to female transsexual in her eyes. She has been petitioning the School Board to force you to either drop out or dress in accordance with your apparent sex.” Mom blows my mind with her explanation of the facts of life for me.

“Shit. Just great. No wonder Iron Panties has been after my ass. Let me guess the other part of the equation. Either Mrs. Benz, or Mrs. Jellinek, went to the school yesterday to talk to Carson. Basically, they want to get background on me for their racing team. What they get instead is an earful of how I’m some sexual deviant and perversion in the eyes of God. Then this morning when Beth and I show up at the track they don’t see a MtF, but two young professional drivers that just happen to be women. Stop me if I’m getting too far off the track here.”

“Nope. You’ve basically nailed it, honey. The only thing that you got wrong was why they were at the school. Yes, it was for background on you, but not for the race team. They want to know if your mother and I took an active part in your education. They want to know if you, Joey, and Beth had ever shown an interest in the hard math sciences. The Mercedes-Benz Company believes in family traditions. They wanted to know if their investment in our little racing firm would be a stable one. An investment that we almost lost thanks to that idiot Tommy.” Dad snarled out that last bit. He was still pissed off over what Tommy pulled last night.

“Then they really did come here just looking to invest in our family business. What brought about the offer to sign me and Beth to their new racing team?” I asked of them both.

“Robby, they don’t want just you and Beth. They want the whole family. Mercedes and Bertha both feel though that it would be easier for you to be accepted by the general public if you raced as girl. We know that you want to race professionally Robby. The problem is something that Bertha and Mercedes pointed out very bluntly. Your appearance. We’re sorry honey, but the truth of the matter is no professional team is going to give you a chance as a boy. They will however fall all over themselves to sign you if you were a girl.” Mom gave me an apologetic smile. “A beautiful face is a bigger sales point than a scraggly beard any day.”

I knew that what mom and dad had been saying was true. The drivers may be the pull of the sport, but it was the track girls that made the sales go wild. Then there were the drivers like Danica Partick, Chrissy Wallace, Mika Duno, and Shawna Robinson, that really brought in the fans, at least for Formula One racing.

“How long do we have before they need our answer?” I didn’t have to say who they were. Mom and dad already knew.

“I talked Bertha and Mercedes into giving us until next Saturday. I figured that you would want to talk to Sharron and Kelly before making your decision Robby. Why don’t you go get a shower and change?” Mom answered quickly for me.

I just nodded my head and went up stairs to shower and change. I had a lot to think about between now and Monday morning at 4pm. That is when I have my normal bi-weekly appointment with Sharron. Thirty minutes later dressed in jeans, t-shirt, and cross trainers I grabbed my wallet, and keys. I didn’t bother to let my parents know that I was going out, or where I was going. They knew that I need space and time to think. Even as I was starting the engine to my GTO the garage door was opening.

With practiced ease I backed out of the garage and pulled onto the street in front of our house. I let the car just idle as I turned around. I could have revved the engine and popped the clutch doing a burnout like so many other teenage boys, but I love my car too much for that stupidity. I spent three of the last four years rebuilding my car to factory specs. Sure, I have made a few improvements in the engine output and handling but nothing drastic. No need to really. The 1969 blueberry black GTO J model came from the factory with a 400 CID V8 Ram Air III engine, Rally II wheels without trim rings, Hurst shifter with a unique T-shaped handle, wider tires, various decals, and a rear spoiler.

It didn’t take long before people started to stair at me and my car. I was very used to it by now. I mean when you drive a car that looks like it came out of a Fast and Furious movie you tend to draw a lot, I mean a lot, of attention. I head for the one place that I know my car won’t stand out, Billy’s Big Barn Pizza. The local teen hangout for the high schoolers on this side of town and where my girlfriend Kelly works. I double check my watch to make sure that she’ll be on shift as I pull in and park.

As I get out of my car I hear the voice of the one person that I am really not in the mood to deal with. “Hey sissy boy! When you going to sell that beautiful car to a real man?”

“I am not in the mood for your bullshit Hart.” I try to ignore the dumb son-of-bitch and head towards the door. I get about ten feet from the door when the beer bottle smashes against the wall in front of me. I turn towards Hart with blood in my eyes. “You know something Hart. I got a nice idea. If you think you’re so fucking good behind the wheel. Let’s put your car where your mouth is. Ten laps on the Lady, for pink slips. You game?”

There is was. I just throw down the challenge. Hart thought he knew how to drive. Comparted to me he didn’t know shit. The punk had no real-world racing under his belt. All he has ever done is rat race. What I just gave him was the real challenge.

Hart started to laugh at my challenge. “Yeah right! Like you would stand a chance against me on a real track like the Lady. You do alright on the streets because of all those sissy Indy cars your parents let you test out. But Darlington is a NASCAR track. Where real men go to race. If I wanted to take your car I would do on the streets. Just to make it far.”

“Hart let me explain something for you. My ticket is good for NASCAR, Formula One, Indy, Formula Renault, Endurance, Touring, Drift, and Rally racing. I busted my ass to get that ticket. You are nothing more than a showoff street racing punk with an overpowered, under balanced, top heavy, piece of jury rigged shit that you call a street racer. Now, fucking put up or shut up. Your choice fuck head!” I was done dealing with Thomas Hart. If he took the challenge, we would be heading for the track tonight. If not, he would either leave me alone or get his ass beat stupid by me.

I may be small, but when you hang around a bunch of grease monkeys and former Football players turned pit crew. You learn how to fight, and to fight nasty. I had already set my keys between my fingers. If Thomas Hart came at me, I was going to gouge his eyes out in the first swing. Before the two of us could come to blows, we were interrupted by an unexpected source.

“Hart take some advice. Get in your car and just disappear. Before you make an even bigger fool of yourself. Robby has already beaten you on the streets twice. You try to take Robby on at the Lady and he’ll roll you for your lunch money. He set a new track record today. And as good as you think you are, Robby is three times the driver you’ll ever dream of being.”

I had to shake my head as I looked over Danny Hailee. Of course, he would know about the test run today. His dad works for my parents. His dad even setup my car for that crazy damned run. I was about to shut Danny down, but he had to go and drive the nail in the coffin for Hart’s ego. One that would put an end to the flying monkeys bugging me to race them.

“By the way Hart, from what my dad was telling me earlier. Robby was offered a five-year professional contract with Mercedes-Benz as a driver, not pit crew, driver. The last time I looked those contracts pay somewhere around a million and a half per season to start for rookies. Oh, and that doesn’t include his race bonuses.” The more Danny laid out the details of my proposed contract the more I wanted to hear. I wanted to know how he even found out the details of the proposed contract.

“Danny, you want to shut up about my contract, bro?! The ink hasn’t even dried yet. You go blabbing the details to the local asshole and it will go bye-bye. Didn’t your dad teach better than to talk out of shop? You’re supposed to be a member of my pit crew you, dumbass. Start acting like it!”

“Yes boss!” Danny yelled out with a smile. “Sorry, boss! I won’t do it again, boss!”

“Oh shut up smart ass.” I couldn’t help it and started to chuckle at Danny’s antics. There were times when the big teenager could get max points for being a smartass. Danny turned to look at the very stunned Thomas Hart. “Oh, you’re still here Tommy boy. I thought I told you to disappear already. I suggest that you get while the getting is good.”

Danny popped his knuckles as Thomas got the hint and finally left. “Sorry, about letting the cat out of the bag about your contract Robby. I’m just sick and tired of that jackass’ attitude.”

“Yeah, well. You better remember to keep your yap shut about what goes on in the trailer, Danny. I won’t have a member of my pit crew blowing our strategies before a race. Understand?”

“Wait. You’re serious about me being on your pit crew?” Danny was stunned to say the least. “You really not pulling my leg?”

“Why don’t we go inside and talk Danny? You can bring Sherry with you. I know that she’ll keep her mouth shut.” I lead Danny and his long-time girlfriend inside the pizza joint and headed for a booth in back. Once we were seated I gave Danny the evil eye. “Let me start off by thanking you for handling the moron, Danny. Hart has been getting out of hand lately.”

“Shit, no biggie, Rob. I would have pounded the obnoxious ass anyway just for throwing that beer bottle.”

“No, it is a big deal Danny. That is why I want you and a few of the other guys from school on my pit crew. Guys that will have my back when shit gets squirrelly. Do think you can find enough guys to fill the bill for me?” I know that I haven’t told mom and dad that I’m going to sign the contract, but after what that asshole Hart pulled it just confirmed my decision.

“You sure that you can pick your own pit crew? I know that some of those big companies have stipulations about who you can use as mechanics and pit crew.” I could tell that Danny was more excited about this than I was. Then again, he wasn’t the one about become a traitor in the war of the sexes.

“Yeah I’m pretty sure that I can get just about whatever and whoever I want.” I took a deep breath because this is going to be the make or break point for me. “Listen Dan, I want to talk to you about something. Can I trust you to keep a secret?”

“Look, Robby, if it’s about you transitioning to be a girl you can forget about it. Nobody in school cares. We all know that you got really messed up thanks to those experimental drugs they used to fight your cancer. Hell man, the entire football team has been waiting for you to come out.” To say that I was the one who was surprised this time is an understatement.

“Um… about that. It seems that part of my contract is I have to come out of the closet as it were.” I looked down at my hands. “Let me rephrase that. There is no doubt about me having to come out of the closet. They will only sign me when I come out of the closet. The same goes for Beth. I don’t come out and they don’t sign her either.”

Sherry put her hand on top of mine. “Damn girl that sucks. We know that you and Kelly have been dating for like forever. But having to let the world know about something so personal is just fucked up. If it helps I can guaranty you that none of the cheerleaders have anything against you girls.”

I just chuckled at the way Sherry could so easily lump me in with the female population of our school. “Thanks Sherry. That means a lot to me. Do you guys think that I’ll have any problems in school if I do come out? I mean with the wrestling and basket teams. I know the football is pretty cool with the LGBT students, but Coach Stills doesn’t tolerate the bullshit on his team.”

“If you’re worried about Iron Panties and the two ass clowns there might be more than a few problems.” Danny got a thoughtful look on his face. “Let me make a few calls tonight and tomorrow. I’ll make sure to have you back cover, Robbie.”

I picked up on the slight change in my name from Robby to Robbie. I guess that I’ll have to get used to it. Come to think about more than a few of my class mates used the feminine form of my name. I just never really paid attention.

“Thanks, Danny. By the way do you think you can get me enough guys together to setup two full pit crews?”

“Wait? What? Two full crews? Are you nuts? Why aren’t you using your parents’ pit crews?” Sherry asked in confusion.

“Well that is kind of hard to explain. They need their normal guys here, so they can keep building and test new designs for different teams in the different auto-racing sports. Now do you see why we’ll need two full pit crews?” I felt like I was begging Danny.

“Um… Robbie, do they have to be all men? I mean can a few of them be girls? There are some really good athletes on the girls’ teams. Not to mention the cheer squads.” I had to give Sherry a sideways look. I had never really thought about using women on the pit crew. I know that there were teams that had female pit crew members and mechanics, but it hadn’t thought about it for myself or Beth. “What I’m asking is how many people do you need for two full pit crews? Because from the look on Danny’s face you might have a problem filling all the positions if you use only guys. But if you include the girls’ teams you would have more than triple the number to choose from.”

I had to stop and think about how many positions there were on a Formula One pit crew. Thankfully I could eliminate the fuel handlers position straight off. That left all the other positions to fill. I started working my way through the positions.

First there was the lollipop man. He holds the team's pit sign, helping the driver identify his pit stall on a possibly crowded pit road. Not one of the more glorious jobs, but one of the most important jobs. Because if you over shoot your pit you have to go around and come back in. That means lost laps, lost track position and possibly loss of the race. A lollipop man can make or break a race team at some of the faster tracks. That is why this position is normally held by the Crew Chief.

Next up are the four tire changers, one at each corner of the car, they have the sole responsibility of using a pneumatic wrench to remove the car's single locking lug nut from each tire, then reinstall it on the new tire. The tire changers are normally the smallest and nimblest members of the pit crew. They worked with the eight tire carriers, two at each corner of the car, one assigned the task of removing the old tire from the car, and one to install the new tire on it.

The next three members take care of some of the most important control surface on the car. The two Stabilizers stabilize the car at each side of the middle. The front wing men adjust the front wing angle. These three people effect the handling of the car throughout the race.

The next members are always the biggest members of the team. The front and rear jack men use simple lever-type jacks to lift the car and permit the changing of tires. The job of the front jack man is considered the most hazardous, as it requires standing directly in front of the car as it enters its pit box. By contrast, due to the location of his duties directly behind the car, the rear jack man is the only team member not in his working position before the car enters its pit box. Some teams even have two spare front and rear jack men for replacement.

The last two members do not normally go over the wall during a pit stop. They are the fire extinguisher man and starter man. The fire extinguisher man does not actually work on the car; instead, he stands ready with a hand-held fire extinguisher to put out any fires that may occur during a stop, at least long enough for the pit crew and driver to evacuate. This job became standard following Jos Verstappen's 1994 pit fire. The starter man also does not normally work on the car. His job is to stand ready with the starter tool to restart the car should the driver stall his engine during the stop.

That is a total of twenty members for each pit crew. That means I need forty people to fill out two full teams. That doesn’t count the guys and gals in the shop that build the damned cars or worked on them between qualifying and race day. I haven’t even counted in Chief mechanics and mechanics. The upside to this situation was that mom and dad would be able to cover the behind the scenes mechanics for both me and Beth. I just had to come up with forty people to man the rest of our pit crew positions.

“We’ll need total of forty people to fill out both teams. There is no way we could fill that many positions. With just the football team. Not when over half the senior starting line up are heading off to college. That leaves, what, sixteen members of the graduating class, Danny?” I asked of him.

“Not even that Robbie. Out of the graduating seniors only fourteen of us don’t have scholarships of some type.” Danny was already trying to figure out where to get thirty more people. “Unless you want to include the guys on the baseball team. That’ll give you another eight guys. It should be enough to fill out one team.”

“I know that it is none of my business, Robbie. Why are excluding the guys from the wrestling and basketball teams?” Sherry asked.

“Sherry, I know that you and the other girls on the cheer squads, and teams don’t have a problem with those two teams. Before you say that they’re nice guys think again. Coach Honeywell and Coach Kline let their teams run wild. They don’t care what kind of bullshit they pull in or out of school. There is no way that I would want any of those monkey nuts on a team with me.” Danny told her honestly. “Then there is the fact that more than a few of them cannot get passports because of their records.”

“Why would they need passports?” Sherry asked more than a little excited about the prospect that her question posed.

“Well there are twenty-one races in twenty-one countries. That’s why Sherry.” I told her then smiled. “You would happen to know eighteen athletically inclined girls that would love a chance at seeing the world, would you?”

In answer to my question Sherry just squealed and started texting on her phone. Danny gave me a look. “What are you up to Robbie?”

“It’s simple Dan. Mix and match teams. Girls and boys. The are only three positions that we need really heavy lifters on, the jacks, starters, and fire extinguisher. The rest can be filled out by average sized guys and gals. We put the smallest girls on the tire guns, and pair them up with people that can lift the tires. We use nothing but girls for the front wing and stabilizer positions. If I miss my guess Sherry is about to hand me the enter girls athletic graduating class. More than enough to fill out the rest of the needed positions on the teams.”

“We got more than enough to fill out both teams, Robbie. None of the girls got scholarships this year. Thanks to the poor performance of the guys teams. None of the College scouts were here to see us perform during games. And thanks to budget cuts the cheer squads couldn’t go to any competitions. No scouts, no competitions, no college interest in a school’s girls athletic programs. It’s that simple. You just gave the girls at this school a chance to get out of South Carolina. And maybe make something of themselves without bankrupting their families with school loans. For the next thirty years.” I had never thought about how one sports program effected the others in a high school.

Sherry must have had a better grasp of the politics than I did. That or she is smarter than she lets on. I have a feeling that it is the latter. As no matter how, hard she tires. Sherry can’t just pull off the air-headed cheer leader bit. Then again, when your parents are a lawyer and a doctor, you are kind of held to a higher standard for grades.

“Yeah guys! What’s up?” I turned to the one voice that I really wanted to hear just then. I let Kelly warp me in a tight hug before moving over for her to take a seat next to me. “Hi lover.”

“Hi yourself, sexy.” I returned her hug and kiss. I let a smile play across my face and asked sweetly. “We were just discussing the members of my new pit crew. You got any ideas?”

“Wait! What do you mean YOUR new pit crew? What pit crew are we talking about? And since when do you need a pit crew?” Kelly demanded of me.

“Me and Beth got offered Formula One contracts this afternoon as drivers. We get to pick our own pit crew members. That’s what I mean by my new pit crew. As for who the pit crew will be for, that is real simple. Mercedes-Benz Automotive International. I don’t know the full details of the contracts but let’s just say that I got them over the barrel not the other way around.”

“How the hell did you get their attention?” Kelly asked in pure stunned disbelief. “Wasn’t Tom supposed to be the one driving today for that track test?”

“Funny thing about that. It seems that it is extremely hard to drive a Formula One racer from behind bars.” I let the disgust over what Tommy had done fill my voice. Kelly and the others picked up on my anger quickly.

“Was it as bad as Dad made it out to be, Robbie?” Danny asked for the girls who didn’t know.

“It was really bad Danny. Worse than the last time he got drunk.”

“The only way it could have been worse than the last time would be if he tried to hit a cop, Rob.” Leave it to Danny to point out the obvious. To which both girls just groaned as I nodded my head. “Oh, for the love of god. Is he fucking stupid? The racing commission will pull his ticket for sure this time. What is this, his third DUI?”

“Fourth, but whose counting? All I know is that mom and dad are done with him. So is Beth. I hear her going off on him over the phone before I left the house. I think called her to try and get her to post his bail. Not that that is going to happen anytime soon. She learned, her lesson the last time.” I didn’t think my girlfriend or friends needed to know about the corporate suits getting Tommy drunk on purpose.

“Well, it’s his own damned fault. He may be my friend Rob, but he never got his head out of his ass after high school. He may be able to handle a Stock car, but he has no place behind the wheel of anything else. Especially a Formula One. Those things are death traps under normal conditions. Hell, any of the open cockpit cars are death traps in my book.” Danny shivered at the thought of driving one of my favorite types of cars. “I still don’t know how you can do it, bro.”

Kelly just smiled and snuggled in close before answering. “He’s got great big balls of brass. That’s how.”

I was about to make a sarcastic remark, but Sherry’s phone started to blow up with text messages. There must have been more than thirty answering text messages to her one text. Sherry looked up at me smiling. “I got eighteen very excited athletes ready to start training the moment you give the word Robbie.”

“Have them all report to my parents garage tomorrow after church with their parents, Sherry. The same goes for the guys Danny. I am pretty sure that my parents are going to put some stipulations on our little deal here.”

“Dress shirt and tie?” Danny asked.

I thought about it. “No. They can come in jeans and a nice shirt. No need to be all formal about shit. I won’t run my team like a damned business. Even if it is one. I want professionalism but in a friendly atmosphere. And you can pass on to everyone that my parents run a zero-tolerance shop. No drugs. No alcohol. No fighting. Period. End of line.”

Sherry and Danny both nodded their heads before getting up to leave. I knew that they would be spending the rest of the night getting with their team mates and the other less than fortunate athletes in the school. As for me, I just had to go home and tell mom and dad that they just got a new daughter. Before I did that though I had one other person to talk to, Kelly.

“Kelly, I got a question.” I took a deep breath and faced her. “How would you feel if I came out as being transgender?”

Kelly just smiled and hugged me. she pulled back and looked me in the eye. “Robbie, I have known about how your body looks under those baggy clothes for two years now. If you think letting the world look at you as a girl will make things easier for you. Then I say just do it. I’ll still love you no matter what people think.”

“Thanks babe. I needed to hear that.” I cleared my throat. “The reason I asked is part of my contract is that I basically come out of the closet. The Mercedes-Benz people think that I’m a male to female transsexual. Mom and Dad tried to explain to them that is not the case. The problem is all those damned drugs they used to kill off my cancer a few years ago.”

Kelly placed her finger over my mouth. “Hush, Robbie. Calm down and take a deep breath.” She waited for me to do as she instructed then removed her finger. Once I was calm she smiled. “Can I tell you something and you not blow your top?” I nodded my head. “Your mom called me earlier before she and your dad left the track. She explained about the contract mess and how it might be screwing with your head. I told her not to worry. If you showed up here I would look after you. I’ve already talked to John and he’s clocked me out for the rest of the day. Take me home and I’ll show you exactly how little I care about what people think.”

-----tbc-----