However, her thoughts are suddenly interrupted by a strange commotion.
From somewhere she can’t quite identify, screams are heard that are so loud they almost match the sound
of kart engines.
What on earth is going on? There don’t seem to have been any accidents on the track, some karts continue going round the circuit as before, while other drivers have come off the track for a break or to make some adjustments to their vehicle.
Lola, Peter and Midori Kuma head in the direction of the screams, as do Olivia and Bob.
It doesn’t take long to figure out what the confusion was all about.
Off the track, in an area reserved for one of the teams, there were a couple of children with very long faces.
One was crying and holding on to his sore wrist, while the other just seemed very annoyed by the reproaches
he was getting. As if it were all a waste of his time.
“He pushed me and knocked me to the ground. I slammed my hand on the kart and twisted my wrist.
It really hurt,” the former explains in a whimper.
“I barely touched you, and it was the third time I asked you to let me pass! I had to go to my mother’s car to getthe mobile phone,” the other replied, angrily adjusting a tuft of dark hair that almost covers his eyes.
“Who are those two?” Lola asks Olivia.
“Their names are Daniel and Max, and they are teammates,” the nice brunette girl explains.
“But recently Max has become quite nervous and even a bit aggressive. He seems like another person.
Until a few months ago he was the nicest and kindest person in the world.
As well as being the best on the track, practically unbeatable.”
“And is he not winning anymore?” Peter asks.
“That’s right, in the last few weeks he seems to be driving without using the accelerator, as if pushed by the wind… when there is a wind.
You know what he reminds me of: a snail with a helmet!” Then, with a long sigh, Olivia adds: “Maybe he has some problems in his head…”.
Midori Kuma probably thinks the same: while scratching the back of his head, his eyes turn sad.
“Obviously Max has a problem, and a big one too,” says Bob, who then runs to have a look at Daniel’s wrist.
Lola runs after him because she’d be really sorry if that young driver couldn’t drive anymore… he’s so cute that she had decided to cheer him on!
Meanwhile, Steve has also come back, and is now trying to reconstruct what happened by questioning some
of the parents.
“We really don’t know what is happening with Max.
Until recently he would have gone out of his way to help his friends, on the track and off.
He would often help out even the youngest drivers with their homeworks. And he was always the one to bring the ball for a kick around after the circuit tests” says one father.
While another lady adds: “He dreamed of becoming a Formula 1 driver. And to reach his goal he had also became the best in his class, because his parents always told him that if he got bad marks at school, he would have to give up kart driving.
So, he managed to be a champion both at school and on the track. He had a real passion”.
“I’ll tell you what happened,” announces another man approaching disconsolately.
It’s Daniel’s dad and he has just received an apology from Max’s mother for her son’s behavior.
“She was really mortified but also worried, she says that in the last few weeks she has been having a hard time controlling her son’s temper.
He only calms down when he is in front of a video game console or when he’s using his smartphone to watch videos and chat with friends. But as soon as they tell him he has to stop playing with all these devices and study, or simply join the family at the table for meals, he reacts badly and stops talking to them.”
“Goodness, that’s really bad,” Steve murmurs softly to Lola and Peter. Midori Kuma’s eyes also look really
worried.
The two cousins, however, can’t understand why such fun things, like video games or mobile phones, can
transform a person in such a way.
“And that’s not all,” Daniel’s dad continues. “Max’s mum is also worried because her son says he is no longer
interested in being a driver.
While until recently, for him, there was nothing but karts and cars.
She just can’t explain how her son’s passion could have died out so quickly… On the rare occasions when he talks about himself, Max has told her that he has new friends, much nicer than the ones he goes to school with or at
the kart tracks.”
“I really want to see if there are better friends than us… For me it’s impossible,” says Olivia, a little offended by
this last statement.
Daniel’s dad adds: “Poor woman, I was really sorry to see her so anxious about her son who now only seems to talk about virtual friends.
None of the family has ever met them and sometimes they even suspect that he’s making it all up.”
“They should take away the video games and the mobile phone for a while,” another parent suggests.
“That only makes things worse,” says Daniel’s dad. “Whenever they stop him from playing or chatting, Max throws himself on the bed and stares with wide eyes at the ceiling. Almost as if he’d seen a ghost. He even loses his
appetite, and at times refuses to eat.”
The parents of the young drivers continue on for a while commenting on the transformation of the former
champion and together decide to try to find a solution to help him.
Everyone is sorry to see such talent thrown away like this.
“New technologies, new problems. Unfortunately, sometimes unfamiliar too,” Bob murmurs in a low voice.
Nobody seems to have heard the words of Olivia’s wise mechanic, except Midori Kuma, who gives him one of his unmistakable winks and then gives him a high five.
They understood each other. And they know that there is much more to come.
The show has just begun.