Everyone was sitting in the garage Gobber told them to meet in after they put their bikes away. Ruffnut and Tuffnut were arguing over who was faster out on track, Snotlout was trying to talk with Astrid, who was having no part of it, Fishlegs was thinking to himself what he could do better out on track, and lastly Hiccup was looking at his feet, thinking of what would happen these next few weeks, and just what his dad would think.
"So, what did ya learn out there?" Gobber asked.
"I learned there was a moving obstacle out on track." Snotlout shook his head and motioned toward Hiccup.
"Ah, ye weren't that slow, Snotlout," Gobber replied, the others laughing to themselves as they saw Snotlout's face morph into defeat. "But there was quite a pace difference out there, I will admit. By the time we're done, I'm hoping all o' ye will be able to battle each other on track and have a proper race instead of a practice session. Now there is something I would like to point out first of all. Hiccup," Hiccup winced at the stern mention of his name, knowing that nothing good could come from this. "If we had another four people in this class I would not have had ye start first. I'm glad you stalled it here where everyone could get around ye, but if this was an actual race, you might have ended up looking like me. But, that's why yer here. You've learned now that ye need to keep yer cool under pressure, otherwise you'll mess up like that again. And if ye stall again, raise yer hand up, and hope no one clobbers you. So, Hiccup, anything else you learned out there?" Gobber asked, and everyone else turned to him, a couple smirking at him knowing how his performance went.
"I need a lot more practice." Was all he could mutter out with a sigh. Snotlout chuckled while rolling his eyes and everyone else nodded their heads.
"Aye, practice makes perfect. It was yer first time out there on track as a racer, I don't expect you to have the know how like some of the other people here. But with some work-"
"A lot of work," Tuffnut kicked in.
"Some work," Gobber reiterated, looking at the twins, "you'll be able to be a competent racer. I know it." Gobber said this last part turning his attention toward Hiccup, and even though he didn't want to keep doing this training, Gobbers words almost made him want to try his hardest. Gobber was a huge mentor to him during Hiccup's years in the garage working on motors, wheels, setups, and everything in between, to the point where Gobber was almost like a second father to him. However, Hiccup didn't feel like he would ever fit in, and without a lot more work and practice, it would stay that way.
"Fishlegs, what did you learn?"
"I think I need to stiffen up the rear suspension, change the air pressures… and actually drive it into the corners." His voice trailed off at the last part of the sentence, but Gobber still heard him.
"Aye, send it!" Gobber chuckled before continuing. "I used to 'ave the same problem, it's scary when ye first try to race, but you'll get more and more comfortable the more you do it. And Fishlegs, don't get too technical with trying to change your bike, it'll only cause ye more problems. The first hurdle you need to cross is yer own mind." Fishlegs nodded at this as he took mental notes.
"Ruffnut, what about you?"
"I learned that this dork keeps getting in my way." She pointed at Tuffnut, who tried to smack her hand away.
"No way, I was faster than you, you just kept slowing me down!"
"Did not!"
"Did too!"
"Both of you calm down!" Gobber bellowed. "Yer doing the same thing here as ye do on track. Yer from the same team for Thor's sake, you should be working together."
"That's easy for you to say, you haven't had to live with her for the past…" He paused as he counted on his fingers. "Seventeen years!"
"Wow, I'm surprised you can count that high," his sister said, to which Gobber had to rub his eyes and sigh. He was going to need a few drinks after today if these two kept it up.
"Look, it doesn't matter. You two could be really good at racing if ye would just stop fighting between yourselves. Work on that for the time being." Ruffnut stuck her tongue out at Tuff, who promptly elbowed her.
"Snotlout, what about you?"
"I did everything perfect, the only thing that went wrong was Hiccup." He jabbed a thumb at Hiccup sitting behind him.
"Ah, so Hiccup kept you ten seconds behind Astrid did he?" Gobber said with a smile.
"Yeah, he kept blocking my way as I was trying to lap him," he said, shaking his head.
"Aye, that's odd. He even slowed you down eight seconds before you got to him, Hiccup has some power, doesn't he? Or was it your mouth that slowed you down? Yer mouth is big enough that if ye open it, it'll act like a parachute. Hiccup might have only slowed you down by two seconds, Snot, but you were still at least eight seconds slower than Astrid, and I'm sure that she'll say that she can improve some of her performance. So, do you know what you can improve on?" Gobber asked more pointedly this time, and Snotlout just looked down at the ground with a glare before shaking his head. "Shame. Looks like you'll have to get out on track again and really focus on what you need to fix. But if I'd suggest anything? Quit being cocky, it'll only land ye in more trouble than it's worth. Astrid, what did you learn?"
"I over drove a couple corners, so I think I just need to not underestimate the track like I did this time." Gobber nodded his head and looked out across the rest of the students.
"Well I think today was a good learning day for everyone. We'll be back out here tomorrow to learn some more, and hopefully you'll all do better now that you know what to work on. Class dismissed!" He said with a smile as everyone stood up to go work on what they needed to, most going to their garages to set up their bikes for tomorrow.
Hiccup was crouching next to his bike cleaning it and checking all the parts to make sure they worked the way they should when he heard a voice to his right.
"You trying to put driving assists on there? I don't think it works like that," Fishlegs tried to stop Snotlout from walking up to the garage, but his attempts were half hearted. The twins were also watching on as Snotlout leaned into the doorway, Hiccup still crouching on the ground but now looking toward the doorway. "Look, I don't care that you're here, but don't get in my way, you almost made me crash today, alright?" When Hiccup didn't answer him, he stood up a little straighter before continuing. "You're not special just because your dad owns a team. You still have to work your way up like I did. Just try not to get in my way next time, I don't want you making me lose an opportunity just because you're in the way." With that, Snotlout walked back to his friends and they walked away from the garage. Hiccup turned back to his bike, but paused at his work. Snotlout may have said some harsh words, but he was right. If Hiccup was going to stay in this group, he would have to prove himself and put in the work to keep up. Rubbing his eyes, he got back to work on his bike.
About half an hour later, he saw Astrid out of the corner of his eye walking away from her garage right next to Hiccup's. He didn't see her look at him, her walk faltering for a second as if she wanted to stop, before shaking her head and walking back to her car to go home.
"Ye want him to be the one?" Gobber asked Stoick, his words dripping with surprise and disbelief. They sat in Gleeson's, one of the pubs they would frequent when talking about business like this. Both of them were already on their second drink, and it was likely they would continue on for the next couple hours. Given the nature of discussion though, their drinks may be forgotten about.
"Yes, I do." Stoick said with a simple nod before taking another sip.
"I don't mean tae insult yer son, but he's like a newborn deer out on track! If ye wanted him to be the one to send there, did it not cross yer mind to at least help him out a little bit? Give him some time on a bike? He was a lap down in a five lap race today, on our three-and-a-half kilometer course no less, I don't think ye understand what I'm having to work with here." Stoick's eyebrows shot up at this revelation before he rested his head on his hands, breathing out a heavy sigh and closing his eyes. Gobber looked at his friend, worried about how he was feeling. "I don't think ye should be planning on having him take on the Isle. He'll come back as minced meat." Stoick's eyes opened back up and he sat back in his chair.
"How much practice do you think he needs?" Gobber raised an eyebrow.
"For what? To try and be competitive in his class or to be competitive on the Isle? Because I would say he needs lots of training to get himself used to being on a bike, and then lots more to actually race it. But if you're talking about him taking on the Isle, then…" Gobber trailed off, but seeing Stoick's gaze maintain its intensity, he kept going. "Maybe several years at least, barring a miracle. Then again, it may never happen. It's difficult to tell, Hiccup is still a teenager, and if I've learned anything from raising my own, ye tell them to do one thing and they do another. Like this one time, I-" Stoick nodded his head, and knowing that Gobber was trying to avoid the topic at hand, cut him off.
"Do you really think he's that bad?" Gobber looked at him for a second before sighing and looking into the bottom of his glass.
"The wee lad's just started, there's no way to tell how good he'll get. For all I know, he'll be tearing up the track before the season starts. But…" Gobber trailed off once again, unsure how gently he should ask his friend. "But are ye sure this is what ye want? The Isle of Man isn't just a hard track, Stoick, you know it takes the amount of brains of a chipmunk and the amount of balls as ye can fit in a wheelbarrow to even get on that track. I know what I think, but do ye think Hiccup could manage?" Stoick nodded his head without a second thought.
"When Hiccup gets passionate about something, he won't stop until he's found a way to do it. He didn't want my help when he first took apart a motor just to put it back together. He wanted to see if he could really do it on his own. It took him a few days to get it to work, but I didn't have to push him to do it at all. If Hiccup wants to do it, he'll do it." Stoick said.
"He is a feisty lad when he wants to be. I'll admit that much."
"Just keep me updated on him, I want to know if I can help." Gobber nodded, and the growing silence in their conversation was only held by Gobber's want to ask another question boring into his mind.
"Do ye think yer alright with sending Hiccup out there? What if he gets hurt, or killed? Is that risk worth it?" Stoick took a deep breath before rubbing his eyes. This conversation was taking a lot out of him.
"I don't know if it's worth it. It's been my dream since I've started my team, and it's been the dream of every single one of my riders. Hiccup means more to me than any trophy or award out there. But like I said. If he wants it, he's gonna try his damnedest."