Page 4 of One Knight Stand

“However, today’s focus will be on situational awareness and learning how to maneuver the vehicle safely through the slalom course,” he said. “We require the antirollover devices, as the turns in the slalom section can be quite aggressive, depending on how fast you’re going.”

Wally looked over at me, his face a weird shade of green. Jax had a dark scowl on his face. I don’t think he’d ever ridden in a car with Frankie, but he’d seen her in action in the simulator, gauged our reactions, and gotten the memo. Or maybe he was disappointed he hadn’t been chosen to drive first. Hard to say.

“Students, hurry, please,” Professor Grange said urging us along. “I will need you to put on the safety helmet that’s on your seat. It shouldn’t be necessary, but some of our maneuvers can be violent and we don’t want to risk your valuable gray matter, do we?” He chuckled, but I felt my stomach drop.

Helmets? This was getting real.

Without recourse, we climbed into the car. My hands shaking, I put on my helmet and fastened my seatbelt. Frankie carefully positioned the front seat and mirrors. The curtain was about to go up on this horror show. Still, it was time to suck it up. We were in training to be spies, after all. I mean, how bad could it be with a highly qualified, professional instructor and a car with special safety features?

I wasn’t sure I wanted to know the answer to that question.

I’d taken the middle hump, since I was the shortest and smallest of the three of us. Jax sat behind Frankie, because she had the seat pulled up, leaving more leg room for him. Wally wedged in beside me on my right side, his breathing just short of hyperventilation.

“This is wholly premature, in my opinion,” Wally said in a low voice. “What are they thinking, letting students drive so early in the semester?”

“I’m discovering UTOP is all about on-the-job training,” Jax said as he fastened his helmet under his chin. “Hang on. It’s likely to be a bumpy ride.”

Professor Grange shut the door on Wally’s side, then slid into his seat. “Everyone is buckled in and helmets on, correct?”

I was suddenly hyperaware of how close I was to Jax crammed in the back seat between him and Wally. Jax glanced at me as I tightened my helmet, sliding the band as far as it could go. He checked on Wally, then gave the professor a thumbs-up. “We’re good to go.”

I took one last look at Wally. He’d turned an even darker shade of green. His eyes met mine, and the dread in my stomach grew.

I knew exactly what he was thinking.

Frankie was driving. We were all going to die.

Or at least we were going to wish that we were dead.

Chapter Four

ANGEL SINCLAIR

“Situational awareness is the key to successful evasive driving,” Professor Grange instructed. “You must avoid putting yourself, or others, in a hazardous situation. That’s critical if you are to survive in your new careers.” He pointed Frankie down the winding road, presumably toward the driving track.

After several more minutes of additional lecturing and a couple of sedate turns, he instructed Frankie to turn left at the yellow dead-end sign.

Wally and I shared unspoken looks about the irony of the dead-end sign.

“Students, let me test your situational awareness,” Professor Grange said. “Who can tell me what was on any of the past three billboards we passed? Or the make and color of the last car we passed?”

Our silence from the back seat was deafening. For the first time this year, even Frankie had nothing to say.

Nonplussed by our lack of response, he continued, “Everydetail of your environment is important. You must be hyperaware of your surroundings. Our driving training will emphasize situational awareness during every aspect of your time on the track. This track includes a specially made obstacle course designed to help you to learn how to properly react to threats in adverse driving situations.”

While he was explaining, Frankie had been steadily increasing speed. She took the ninety-degree corner at the dead-end sign so fast, the professor grabbed involuntarily for the secondary steering wheel in front of him. She skidded off to the edge of the road rounding the corner but stepped on the gas, yanking the car back onto the road. A second later, she hit a pothole so hard that all of us, including Professor Grange, bounced our helmeted heads on the car ceiling. Wally yelped, and I almost swallowed my tongue.

“Oops! Sorry about that stupid pothole, guys,” Frankie said. “It was kind of hiding there. Professor Grange, thank you for letting me drive today. I really love to drive, but my parents don’t let me do it very often.”

Holy crap. Itotallyunderstood where her parents were coming from.

Professor Grange cleared his throat. “Ah, yes. Well, as you can see, the passenger side where I’m sitting has an identical set of driving controls. So, if at any point in the exercise, you begin to lose control of the vehicle, Ms. Chang, I will take over. I’ll announce that ‘I have the car,’ and you should stop all attempts to drive. Understood?”

“Of course,” Frankie said.

“Excellent. Be aware, I will allow you to go much farther than a normal driving instructor, as this car has multiple safety features. So, don’t count on me saving you. I am here to avoid a catastrophe, not to prevent you from failing. Sometimes you have to learn from your mistakes.”

Mistakes? Wait. How was it fair that we had to be part of her learning curve?

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