Zoe chuckled, looking across to her with a wry grin, knowing she felt pretty much the same....but knew it was possible they would still do it anyway. It just felt like a given thing, an inevitability 

"Me learning how to use one of those? Shiiit...." She added, giggling as she shifted up, overtaking a slow moving tractor on the valley road, picking up a little more pace as she sighed, her coo almost showing that yeah, she was maybe pulling back from it. Then again, she was always the ideas girl. Val seemed to send just a little harder than her, Zoe always right behind. Well, unless her peachy ass was right in shot, then in which case, yeah, Zoe knew where she wanted to be. First to fly, send and be kicking ass. Still though, she had plenty of time for Columbian compadre, even in spite of the stupid shit they got into.
"Okay, maybe we learn it together. Make a video out of it, if I'm going in, I'm not going without you, hey!" Zoe giggled, knowing that while it was dark, they could both take that humour- they were living life on the edge, and well, a certain thing came with it, the two driving out into the middday sun.

----

Hugo took a deep breath, looking across the small room with an almost vacant stare. The temporary lodging in the team's motorhome, with a bed, a small desk and a lamp above felt like a bit of a cage, but nothing compared to some of the crappy hotels he'd stayed in. He could take this. Privacy, well, almost with how little soundproofing it had, but it was home at least. In a white underlayer with sponsors on, leggings to go with it, the Portuguese teen seemed at ease, as if he was taking a moment of zen before he had to go back out again.

The phone gave a gentle buzz, as Hugo reached across the bed, picking the device up with a gentle swipe, seeing the caller ID flash before he did.
"Hey, Hugo! It's Maxine....how is my client doing?" The sound of Maxine Blake, his agent rang through, as he put it off speaker, taking the phone to ear. He leaned back against the wall, feet sprawled across the bed, the British 40-something woman the handler for Hugo's brand, reputation, and right now, involvement in F1.
"Good, good thanks Maxine. You good?" His accent came across, his English stellar and unbroken but clearly accented with the Portuguese tinge it had. He did speak French, Spanish and English fluently, a gift of a good education, that and a dad who travelled.

"Yeah, not too bad thanks, actually. How have you settled in over there at Valkyrie? Been a while since pre-season, hey?"
"It's good...shit, I'm pinching myself....can't believe we made it, into F1 Maxine! This is insane..." Hugo said, Maxine chuckling as he breathed a sigh of relief almost to himself.
"Yeah....and what's she like? Kasumi, I mean." 

"Oh yeah, she's cool, Maxine. Really nice. Super friendly. Wouldn't want to be her though...she is going to have a lot of pressure. With you know...."
"For sure Hugo...she's the first female in modern F1, she will have doubters. But she isn't a PR stunt, she is more than capable. Her pre-season times raised a lot of eyebrows, I'll say that now. It's impressive she didn't end up at the other teams- Red Bull were making serious enquiries before this gig happened. I know you two challenged each other a lot last season, so I'm glad there's no bad blood from when we spoke last." 
"Not an issue. We're here to get points, the team comes first. She seems cool, anyway. Far better than some assholes I've had before."

"That's great, that's great...just remember, you're also here to boost your reputation. You aren't here to race Hamilton, but you need to show what you're made of. Shit, if the team is lucky, you might score points. That's a very good day....Valkyrie is clearly minted, with a lot of money and a hell of a lot of resources for a new outfit, but you have to still remember, they are behind the curve. Remember, you are now in a shop window, Hugo. Lot of people are going to talk about you, like we said.....what you now do, say, feel about things, actually matters. You behave like a child, trust me, the Principals talk about it. So be better thab that. And because I know you aren't rolling in money, the reason Valkyrie has you is because you're talented. So's Kasumi. So show them what you're worth, and everyone else too- this game is fickle and you need to be more than just a walking pound sign. Let's forget the whole Ferrari thing, yeah? Lots of new opportunities here, and a good chance to build up your reputation. Don't be an arsehole, keep up good optics and socials, get good race pace and I'll be fielding calls for you in no time."

"Pretty difficult to forget they lied to me, Maxy....ahh, yeah I guess you're right. Thanks for the heads up."
"It's literally what I get a cut for. I wouldn't get paid if I didn't think about your best interests and talked to the right people, would I?" 
"Well, that's why you're talking about reputation now. Let's just take one season at a time, shall we before we look at more cut for you?" Hugo said, Maxine audibly laughing, knowing they could chat shit like that from time to time, as side-on as that joke went.
"Haha...well, I am that confident in you. You have this. It's going to be a long season. Just focus on what's first. Don't be a dick. Remember the media training, but have good optics. You're the underdog, Hugo. Go get em."

(all yours to start off the next chapter officially :) )