"Let's meet at that coffee shop we both like!" Leena said. She knew she couldn't avoid this and was ready to submit. She just hoped that Patricia could save her some humiliation and not yell at her in public.

  "All right. Get a move on, then. See ya!" Patricia raised her eyebrow smugly after she hung up. 'This girl really needs to be taught a lesson. Why doesn't she respect me? Then she wouldn't have to go out of her way to calm me down when I'm pissed, ' she thought.

  "See you later," Leena said weakly, and put her head down on the steering wheel. She was so depressed right now. Leena would rather be dead than face Patricia.

  Leena stopped feeling sorry for herself after she remembered why she went out in the first place. She fumbled with her phone in her haste to call Claire, but the girl wouldn't pick up. She pressed redial repeatedly, but there was still no answer. She started to worry, and couldn't know that Claire was practicing her turn on the runway. The music was so loud it drowned out the phone. How could she even tell someone was calling? Her head was in the clouds right now, her worldly cares forgotten.

  'Where did she go? Why didn't she tell me?' Leena thought to herself and wondered if she needed to call Kevin to ask if he knew. It was eleven o'clock and she'd known for an hour that Claire was gone. Who knows how much of a head start she already had?

  After she thought about it for a moment, she finally gave in and called Kevin.

  "What do you need? Shoot!" Kevin said. He thought the call was from Claire, so he even di

  ces were thrown in her direction while she waited for Leena.

  "Sorry! Didn't mean to keep you waiting." Leena apologized breathlessly and sat down before Patricia could say a word. She totally forgot her manners, which also showed how tired she was.

  "What did you do? Lollygag on the way here? It wasn't a long drive. What took your slow ass so long?" Patricia snapped, rolling her eyes. She was farther away than Leena, but she made it here earlier than her. She really had some nerve to make her wait.

  "You're one to talk! You drive like you're training for the Geely Super League. Speaking of which, does your family know you're a racer now?" Leena said and took her coat off, draping it over her chair.

  "Not yet. I don't want to freak them out. There is a race next month and I'm thinking of entering," Patricia said with a frank smile. Racing was her favorite pastime. As it was also risky, she always did it in secret, fearing that her family would forbid her to do it. That would be all she needed, so she kept it from them.