The following days passed by with Jayden blissfully unaware about his uncle's actions. Mom and Damian decided it would be best not to tell him but Damian would not let things stay this way. He wanted to help Jayden and Lissa but did not have the means or the know-how to provide them anything substantial. "This needs to change!" he thought. He would figure out a way he could be helpful to them. All he needed was a plan!
Jayden spent the last few days going to school and hanging out with Simon. At school, he was used to keeping a low profile doing the bare minimum required. This frustrated his teachers because they knew he could do much better. They tried different ways to motivate him and even called his mother in for a meeting but it was a waste of time. Jayden knew he what he wanted to become and he would not spend more time than needed on his study's. That was until his mother gave him an ultimatum. "If your grades aren't above average by the end of the school year I will cancel all your racing activities. Do you think your sponsors want someone whose only redeeming feature is his racing talent? They want someone that people look up too! Someone that kids want to be and parents want their kids to take as an example. Just being fast is not enough! Now start doing your best in school or it all ends!" This scared Jayden into becoming a model student, surprising his teacher and fellow students alike. It wasn't only the fear of not racing that pushed Jayden to change his ways. When he thought about his racing idols he remembered that they were all highly intelligent and disciplined people. They could speak multiple languages, knew how to operate highly technical machines and where able to give measured and calculated answers to tough questions. For Jayden, this was a timely wake-up call that was necessary to prepare him for the future.
Outside of school Jayden and Simon were checking out his future competition. Guys like Stephen who was dominating the championship or Vincent and Octavia that were doing well and battling for victories every race. They had been together when applying for their racing license but now they had two years more experience then him. It would be tough to beat them straight away but he was convinced he would be on their pace soon. He would have to be to prove to David and Francis that they made the right decision to sponsor him. Something else the looked up was the racing team he would be driving for. Team OW Racing had was a legendary team with many championships to their name that had gotten into a downward spiral regarding their championship results. They had some bad luck with drivers leaving mid-season or not being skilled enough to fight for the championship. This did not mean that they were a bad team. They still had all the facilities of a large team and trained engineers and coaches that come with it and were comparable to the team Stephen was driving for which was team NorthRacing.
Jayden would meet his team this weekend. Uncle Anthony would join him to help him settle in and make sure he was treated properly. The team was based in a neighboring city Den Haag a short 30 minutes drive away. Damian showed interest in joining them but needed to work that day. He had also started studying furiously on something but did not want to bother any of them so they let him be. When he was ready he would surely let them know what he was up to.
Time went by slowly and Jayden was nervously awaiting the day he would meet the team he was going to race for. The only thing that could keep his mind off off that day was Lyssa best friend Elena. She had been coming over more frequently to listen to Lyssa's singing. She even started conversing more with Jayden when she found out he got sponsored and would be racing this season. She had never shown much interest before and having this cute older girl talking to him made Jayden very happy and although he did not have any concept of love between man and women it was clear for everyone to see that he was infatuated with her. Listening to her every word almost following her around like a puppy. He never got the chance to spend too much time with her though. Lyssa would always shoo him away as if he was a buzzing fly when she found him lingering around them for too long. Today the same happened. He was just bragging to Elena how he would be a professional driver someday when Lyssa just barged in and pulled Elena away. While being dragged by Lyssa she gave Jayden a wink which sent butterflies to his stomach. He sighed seeing her leave. Today he would go to bed early because he needed to be up early in the morning. He would finally meet up with team OW Racing!
The following morning Jayden got up bright and early. Mom and Damian had already left for work so he was alone with Lyssa. Because he got up first he decided to make breakfast for them both. While doing this uncle Anthony arrived looking a bit tired. "Can you make me something too? I'm not used to getting up this early." He said before sitting down on the couch and planting his feet on the table. Jayden nodded and prepared food for his uncle as well. After Lyssa came down they all finished their breakfast and Jayden and his uncle left for Den Haag. The ride was pleasantly quiet and after they arrived Jayden noticed the large sign on the front of the building. "OW Racing! The key to a good car is good prep!" it read.
Jayden nodded. "That's a great slogan! I think I'm going to like it here!" he thought.