13

Adelaide

Leah and I cross the finish line at the same time. The two of us stay behind Victory lane, not uttering a word. Leah wears her smug face again just like what I saw on TV before the Charleston 500. Will Doc Hudson love me for my win or will he not? We're proud of our own tie.

Well, I barely know Doc Hudson. He died a long time ago, but Dad told me great things about him. He was a great racer and a great mentor until he passed away. He knew my father for…forever. He quit in 1954 and somehow came to Radiator Springs and met him.

Doc Hudson might be proud of me, my father would be proud of me, and the rest of my family would be proud of me as well, no sign of disgrace and disappointment, but I'm still not enough for the family. Maybe, I'm not enough for myself. However, I love this family, but the only thing they would want from me is making them proud.

Making them proud means everything. They'll love me for what I've done, they'll love me for continuing on such a legacy, and they'll love me for being me, the daughter of the Great Lightning McQueen.

What would I be if I weren't? I still would've had everything except…the glorious life. Racing had been a part of my family's life. We wouldn't be the McQueen family without this, but I wouldn't go through such expectations of a racer. I wouldn't have to be the daughter of McQueen and feel great.

I guess the life I have isn't so bad. I still have everything, but I still need to follow through expectations. I'd rather have this than no fame in my life. Racing makes my family's lives like this.

"We got a tie with Adelaide McQueen, daughter of the Great Lightning McQueen, and Leah Tran! Winners of the race in Charleston, South Carolina!" The announcements say.

The fans and press take pictures of me. What's going on? The lights keep on blinding me and turning me to stone. They've always looked at me, but this is different. It feels like people are staring at me in disbelief and anger. They can't be, but they seem pleased with taking pictures of me and Leah.

Well, the fans and press have been looking at me with glee for a long time. I wasn't even a racer yet, but I got their attention anyway. Nothing's wrong, but the expectations drive me crazy. One mistake, and everything falls down.

When everything falls down, nothing is in your favor. The fans and press might just hate you for that one mistake and perhaps…forever. However, I never get any of that, not ever in my life. No one looks at me in scorn.

The crowd of cameras flashed and snapped for winners. They did it for Cruz, and they did it for Storm although he didn't deserve it. Other winners got that respect as well. Now, Leah and I have it. We have that respect.

"Congratulations, Adelaide," Leah says.

"You too,…Leah," I say.

Leah looks worried. However, her win distracts her from worrying, but I say nothing and pay attention to other things. Where's everyone else? Where's Caleb? Oh goodness gracious! I forgot about him! Leah faces me with concern.

Why would Leah look at me like this? She doesn't like Caleb at all. Does she hate Caleb whenever he's around and not me? I don't get her. I don't get this racer at all. Leah acted nice to me, but could it just be a facade? She hates Caleb, and she seems to care about her win more than anything, so…

Caleb didn't crash. Did he? It's all my fault! My family is a lot to me, and I'm loyal to the McQueen family and Hudson Hornet racing legacy. I would do anything for them, but one error will be a problem. We're the McQueens, and we're invincible.

"Adelaide, shouldn't you be proud?! You won!" Leah says.

"Yes, but I lost him," I say.

"Your brother?"

"I forgot about him!"

"He's just a disrespectful child!"

The commentators have a lot more announcements, and I pay more attention. I guess it'll be fine, but the announcement continues. These announcements shouldn't be that long, right? This is uncomfortable.

Something bad shouldn't have happened during this race. If it did happen, then everything was my fault. I hate disappointing everyone, and I hate disappointing the Fabulous Hudson Hornet's legacy. Everyone counted on me to be the racer. I can never let everyone down, especially the three great racers. They're great, but I'm not as great as them or am I?

No crash should occur. It can't occur! I swear it can't! It can't be Caleb's crash, right? Caleb can't crash. I did so much to prevent it from happening. No, no, no,…my father can't…he'll be mad at me for Caleb's crash! It can't be true. I can't disappoint, disrespect, and ruin the family name.

"As Adelaide, daughter of McQueen, and Leah made the tie. Caleb McQueen, the son of the Great Lightning McQueen, has crashed. It ended with a tie and a tragic night," the announcements say.

My focus aims toward the screen. Is this my first win? Could it be? What about Caleb? Caleb's body is shot on screen, and I park frozen and stiff in front of everyone. My stiffness turns into shakiness, and my voice quavers.

No…no, this can't be, but the screen is telling me otherwise. Caleb's body is destroyed. Poor Caleb. He doesn't deserve this. He doesn't deserve this at all. I don't deserve it at all either. I don't deserve all of this. They're rewarding me with a bad deed.

It's not a true win. I let Caleb get hurt, and I should've stopped. I accelerated passed the finish line too much, and Leah…I didn't even notice Leah hurting Caleb. I made a fool of myself! I made a fool of myself in front of everyone this season!

"I forfeit this win! The winner is Leah Tran!" I cry and announce.

Leah and the whole crowd gasp. They see a winner claiming her forfeit. This never happened to any racer, but this is reasonable and acceptable. Well, to them, they can never understand. They can never understand why I forfeited my win.

I don't deserve this. I don't deserve to win like this. I hurt Caleb, and I passed by it. What have I done? I could've stopped, but I didn't. I didn't notice everything in my sight, and it's all my fault, all of it…Well, it's kinda Leah's fault too, but Leah wouldn't care. She probably wouldn't.

I leave victory lane and look for the sight on screen. Where did he go? The gasps from everyone grow into upset feelings. I drive to the sight of the crash, but it's empty. Did they pick Caleb up? No, no, this can't be!

"Caleb!" I shout, "Caleb! No!" I end up crying.

"Adelaide?! forfeiting?! Why are you doing this?!" Leah's voice roars.

Why would Leah say such things? She was the one who wrecked Caleb! She doesn't have a kind heart. She's a monster, and she hurt Caleb! She probably disrespected Cruz in front of Caleb without knowing! Caleb did tell me about the incident.

I shouldn't have let him, but he insisted on going! I'm the only one capable of racing! Dad's going to be mad at me! This is my fault! It's my fault for forgetting! Sara and her friends were bothering me! I was seeking my glory, but it came at the cost of Caleb.

What would Dad think about me? What would he think about all of this? He would probably yell at me for this, and I'm going to be a disgrace. I should never fail, but I did. I failed my family, and I failed the McQueen family. I'm going to be disowned and forced to leave home. It's all my fault!

"Adelaide, you forfeited your win?" Cruz asks.

"It shouldn't have been this way!" I cry, "It shouldn't have been this way!"

"It's going to be fine!"

"It's not!"

It's not fine, and it will never be fine! What I have done was unacceptable, and this shouldn't have happened. This win is invalid and will not count. I should've not let Caleb race, but he wants to be by my side. However, he crashed, and this was bound to happen. I tried to do anything to stop him, but I couldn't.

I couldn't do anything. It's too late. I can't go back and fix this. I broke my promises, I disappointed everyone, and everyone might've saw the worst in me. What's the point of winning like this if I hurt Caleb?

I head for my trailer and leave the empty sight. Tanya and I drive away from the racetrack as we move along. This is an embarrassing and awful win, and I don't deserve being remembered as an awful daughter and sister. The public lights ain't bothering me now, and the dark welcomes me with a grin.