7 Days in the Life of My Family by Hotaru Tomoe (Chap 5)

Chapter Five: Thursday.
I woke up this morning after finally falling asleep around 0230 AM. Still a bit woozy, not to mention really sore from where that Centaur kicked me yesterday, I crawled into the shower.

Today I was going to the racetrack with Haruka-papa. I've been there a few times to see her race, but today she was promising something special. "This should really make your friends at school jealous when they hear about what I have planned." She told me with a grin and a wink. I honestly don't know if I should be excited or worried.

After my shower and applying more ointment, I got dressed and went downstairs for breakfast. I could hear Setsuna-mama in her room slowly getting ready. I chuckled and shook my head as I went by. As I said, she isn't a morning person.

"Good morning Hotaru. Are you feeling better?" Michiru-mama asked as I sat down in my chair, which had a large pillow in it. She served up a few pancakes to Haruka-papa and me. She was reading a newspaper from a small pile that she had with her.

"I'm feeling a bit better thank you. The ointment is helping a bit. I'm still a bit sore though." I replied before digging in. Michiru-mama beamed at me then turned back to making a few more pancakes for herself and Setsuna-mama.

Setsuna-mama came downstairs into the kitchen with a warm "Good morning, family. And you too Haruka." She added with a grin. Haruka-papa stuck her tongue out at her while we laughed. She swiped a newspaper from the pile and sat down. Occasionally she can be quite cheerful in the morning.

We sat there eating and discussing our plans for today. Haruka-papa and I were going to the racetrack while Michiru-mama and Setsuna-mama were going to meet Rei and Minako at a local recording studio. Minako got an offer to record a few songs, including one that Rei had written. It was an opportunity for both of them. Michiru-mama was going there to play the violin while Setsuna-mama was there for moral support. She can sing a little bit, but she gets a little nervous in front of others.

While we were talking, I glanced over at the newspapers. There were a few pictures of the battle from yesterday, mostly of us fighting the yoma. "Can I see some of the papers, please?" I asked.

"Sure, here you go." Haruka-papa smiled and handed me the comic page.

"No, I wanted to see the whole paper Haruka-papa." I said.

"Are you sure? You were feeling pretty down after what happened and we didn't want you to get even more upset." Haruka-papa said.

"There are a few less than flattering pictures of you in there." 

Setsuna-mama added. But they both handed over a few papers.
I flipped through them. Most of the pictures were of the others fighting the yoma. There was one of me holding my Glaive above my head and putting up my Silence Wall. Then there was a picture of me that depicted me screaming and flying over several cars. And there was one of me lying on the car, face down, with my bum to the camera. I started giggling as I stared at this picture.

"Hotaru? Is something wrong?" Michiru-mama asked, concerned. I burst out laughing.

"You okay, princess?" Haruka-papa asked. I was clutching the paper and laughing even harder now. I was laughing so hard that I fell off my chair and landed on my sore bottom.

"Ow!" I cried out. Then I looked at the picture again and started rolling on the floor, laughing my head off.

The three of them came over to me with expressions of concern, but they were smiling as well. "What's so funny?" Setsuna-mama asked as she sat beside me holding me. Michiru-mama sat on my other side and held me as well. Haruka-papa held onto my legs.

I held up the picture and tried to talk in between giggles. "I think they captured my best side!" I blurted before going back to laughing my head off.

The three of them stared at me like I was crazy, then, one by one, they started giggling, then chuckling, then they were all laughing as hard as I was. We sat there like that for a while and we eventually calmed down.

It was quiet for a few minutes until Michiru-mama spoke up "Its' good to see that you can laugh about something like this." She said quietly as she hugged me.

"True, if this happened a few years ago you wouldn't have spoken for days." Haruka-papa added.

"Our little princess is growing up." Setsuna-mama stated with a sigh and a smile. We sat there and held each other for several minutes. I wished that this moment would last forever, but it wasn't going to be.

"Aw man, look at the time! We're going to be late. C'mon princess we've got to go." Haruka-papa stood up and helped me to my feet.
"Be careful and have fun today." Michiru-mama said as we were leaving. We all hugged each other.

"I will. Say hi to Rei and Minako for me. I love you." I replied.

Haruka-papa and I got into the car and we were off to the track.
We made good time getting down to the track, and we weren't as late as we thought. Still, the man in charge of Haruka-papa's pit crew, a man named Mr. Anoki, did chew her out a bit. Mr. Anoki is about 44 years old with grey hair and some old burns on his face from an accident several years ago. He's about 5'8' and 165 lbs. He's a bit gruff on the outside, but he turned out to be a really nice guy who takes pride in his work and who expects good results from his team.

Haruka-papa went to change into her driving outfit while I chatted with Mr. Anoki and his crew. They all liked having me around and showed me a lot about cars and everything that makes them work. Mr. Anoki also gave me a lecture on safety.

"Hotaru? I have a little gift for you." Haruka-papa said as she walked back in her blue and gold Nomex driving outfit. In her arms was a large box with a red ribbon on it. She handed it to me and I eagerly opened it. Everyone stopped what he or she were doing and watched me with big smiles on their faces.

I opened the box and gasped. Inside was a driving suit like Haruka-papas' but this one was black with purple stripes. It even had my name on it!

"Go in there and try it on. I hope we got your size right." Mr. Anoki grinned and pointed to a locker room.

"Thank you Haruka-papa, Mr. Anoki!" I hugged both of them and ran into the locker room to change. It fit perfectly. There were even matching gloves and boots to go with it. Haruka-papa was right Kimyo and the others at school were going to be so jealous when they saw the pictures of me in this outfit. I was so glad that I had remembered to bring our digital camera.

Haruka-papa took several pictures of me as I walked out of the locker room. Then, one of Mr. Anoki's crew took a few pictures of Haruka-papa and I in and around her racecar, as well as a few pictures of Mr. Anoki and me. The last shots were a big group photo in front of Haruka-papas' racecar.

"This is so cool! I love this outfit! Thank you Haruka-papa! And you too Mr. Anoki, everyone." I was running around and hugging everyone in sight at this point.

"You're welcome princess, but the surprises don't end there. Put this on and get into the car." She handed me a helmet and put one on herself.

"Do you mean…?" I asked tentatively.

"That's right! We're going racing!" Haruka-papa grinned as she helped me put my helmet on.

"All right!" I was literally bouncing up and down at this point. Then Haruka-papa got into the driver's seat while Mr. Anoki picked me up and put me in the car. This wasn't a normal racecar we were in but a modified sports car that had a passenger seat. It was reinforced for racing. *

I was strapped into the car with the four-point racing harness and after making sure we were comfortable and secure, Haruka-papa started the engine and we moved up to the starting line.

"Ready for this kiddo?" Haruka-papa asked me over the radio. There were earpieces and lip mikes built into the helmet.

"Ready Haruka-papa." I replied.

"We're ready on our end." Mr. Anoki called out. I looked over and saw him give us a thumbs-up sign. We both did the same. 

Haruka-papa and I did a slow practice run around the track to get a 'feel' as she put it, for both the car and the track. After that we went up to the start line.

Haruka-papa started revving the engine. The light in front of us was red. "Get ready." A voice called.

The light turned yellow. Haruka-papa brought the car up to speed. My heart was racing furiously. "Get set." The voice said.

Green light. "GO!" The voice screamed. Haruka-papa floored the accelerator and we were off. We went down the first straightaway at a modest 120 MPH and started accelerating. She slowed a bit as we took the first corner and accelerated again. We were going even faster going towards the next corner, and faster yet as we rounded the corner and went straight down to the line.

This was incredible! I've been driving with Haruka-papa for years but never like this. I was beginning to see why she loved it so much.

"Ok, now let's see what this baby can really do!" Haruka-papa growled as we began our second lap and we were going even faster. I looked at the speedometer. 180 MPH and accelerating! I gulped and shut my eyes.

"How are you doing kiddo?" Haruka-papa yelled over the engine noise.

"Great!" I shouted back. I still kept my eyes shut as I felt us turning the corner. And we were still accelerating! I squeezed my eyes shut even tighter. We did a few more laps then went into the pit.

"How are you holding up, young lady?" Mr. Anoki asked as he gave me some water.

"Great." I replied a bit nervously. He laughed and patted me on the shoulder. "That's the spirit."

The Pit Crew did their jobs and we were off again. I shut my eyes again before we reached the first corner. I could hear the engine, the roar of the wind, and Haruka-papa shouting something I couldn't make out.

"Now let's really open her up!" She shouted into her mike. I felt myself being pressed into the seat as we went through another high G or gravity turn and into the straightaway. I chanced a look at the speedometer. 285 MPH! I closed my eyes again quickly.

On and on we went until Mr. Anoki signalled that our time on the track was up and the next team was about to start their practice runs. We slowed down and drove into the pit area. After we stopped and shut down, Haruka-papa climbed out of the car and removed her helmet. I was still sitting there in my seat, unable to move. Finally Mr. Anoki reached in, undid my harness, and pulled me out of the car. He chuckled as he helped me take off my helmet.
"Don't worry, everyone feels the same way after their first time." He grinned and patted me on the head. I just stood there and nodded as my heart restarted itself.

"Are you okay, Hotaru?" Haruka-papa asked. Her face was still flushed a bit from excitement. I was starting to feel something else.

"I'm…okay. I think." I replied. I was really dizzy, and starting to feel a bit queasy.

"That was fun wasn't it?" She asked, grinning. I was getting even queasier.

"Yeah. Fun." I croaked. Bile rose in my throat. "Haruka-papa, I'm going to…" I managed to stammer before I rushed past her and threw up into the nearest garbage can. She came up to me and started rubbing my back.

"Yep, just like the first time I took you for a ride in a race car, Haruka." Mr. Anoki chuckled.

I just stood there heaving for a bit while everyone smiled and offered words of encouragement. I just hoped that Michiru-mama wouldn't be too mad at Haruka-papa when we got home.

"YOU TOOK OUR BABY GIRL FOR A RIDE IN A RACE CAR! HAVE YOU LOST YOUR MIND HARUKA TENOH?" Michiru-mama screamed when Haruka-papa admitted to what she had done. So much for her not overreacting.

I was still pretty dizzy when we got home, and I think me staggering into the living room, bumping into furniture, and falling face first into Setsuna-mamas' lap while she was sitting on the couch just might have tipped her off that something was amiss.

"Well I wanted to do something special with her for her report." Haruka-papa muttered nervously, flinching under Michiru-mama's angry glare. I just sat there in Setsuna-mama's lap groaning while she held me.

"Special! If she were any greener she'd be the Hulk! Not to mention that she's probably scared out of her wits!" She shouted angrily. I tried to speak but couldn't. Setsuna-mama just sat there quietly watching us.

"You see? She's to scared to talk even!" Michiru-mama ran over and hugged both of us.

"Don't worry baby. I'll protect you from the crazy woman." She said softly as she rocked the both of us back and forth. Haruka-papa stood there looking dejected.

"Michi, I…" She began.

"Go away! Go play with your precious car or something, I don't want to see you or look at you." Michiru-mama shouted. I tried to say something again but couldn't. Setsuna-mama looked like she desperately wanted to be somewhere else.

"But…" Haruka-papa tried again.

"Go!" Michiru-mama yelled. Haruka-papa trudged away slowly, looking defeated. Michiru-mama held on tightly to the two of us with her head down on my shoulder. I watched as Haruka-papa went out to the garage, slamming the door behind her.

A little while later, after talking to Michiru-mama about our day together, she finally let us go. Good thing too, both Setsuna-mama and I were starting to loose circulation.

Anyway, I went into the garage with a can of Coke for each of us. She was sitting on a chair staring off into space with the unhappiest look I have ever seen on her face. I walked up beside her and placed the cold can of soda on her cheek and waited for a response.

"Huh? What? Oh, its' you princess." She smiled and took the Coke. 
"Thank you."

I pulled up another chair and sat down next to her, opening my drink. "You're welcome." I smiled.

We sat there drinking quietly for a few minutes. Finally she asked; "Did you enjoy yourself today at least?"

"Yeah I did, Haruka-papa. It was fun. Well, except for the being scared to death part and the throwing up part." I replied, smiling.
She laughed a bit and put her arm around me. "I'm glad. If you ever want to do it again, just let me and Michi know okay?"

"Okay. I told Michiru-mama everything, and I told her that I really did enjoy myself." I replied.

We heard a sound from the doorway and turned to see a smiling Michiru-mama with a smile on her face and a can of Coke in her hands. She came in and embraced both of us. "I'm sorry for overreacting like that Ruka." She said softly.

"That's ok. I'm sure if our roles were reversed I would react the same way." Haruka-papa replied. They kissed each other tenderly. I hugged both of them.

"How was the recording session?" Haruka-papa asked after a while.

"It went well. In fact we have another one tomorrow, and Setsuna and I asked if we could bring Hotaru along tomorrow. Minako thought she could use another back-up singer and we thought you might want to give it a shot. You can sing pretty well, and we figured that you would enjoy yourself. What do you say?" Michiru-mama looked at me.

"Yes, I'd be glad to." I was starting to feel a lot better now, not to mention excited. I hugged her again.

Setsuna-mama came in at this point with a can of Coke in one hand and a handful of pictures in the other. "I ran these pictures you took through my computer. I must say that you look really cute with your racing outfit on Hotaru." She said as she walked up and joined us.

Michiru-mama agreed with her as we moved back into the living room and looked at all of the pictures together. It'll give me something really interesting to show my friends tomorrow, that's for sure.

TBC.
* AN: There are races for cars in this class I have seen them on TV. Just be damned if I can remember the proper name. I should do a bit more research.