Laura hadn't really needed Mia's directions. She had caught a bus into the outskirts of LA and hitched a lift from a guy who, thankfully, knew his way around.
"Thanks for the lift dude." She said as she got out of the car.
He waved a goodbye and sped off. Laura entered Toretto's, which looked like a grocery shop, to find Mia standing at the counter talking with Dom.
"Hey. Hope you don't mind me comin' over here so soon." Laura said as Mia smiled at her.
"No problem, if your not busy you can help me out for a few hours. I could use the company."
"No problemo. I was actually wonderin' if your brother knew any mechanics looking for someone to hire… You just kinda looked like the kinda guy who might…" Laura looked at Dom as he grinned and thought for a minute.
"You good with engines?"
"Yeah, I'm Ok. My dad used to own a garage and I used to help him out. Got pretty good with the tools…and then he retired."
Dom smiled at her and looked at Mia who nodded.
"Well then, looks like you've got a job if you want it…" he said waiting for a response from Laura.
"Seriously? You know someone then?"
"I own a shop. Mia will bring you round later when she closes the shop at about three. You Ok with that?"
"Sure. Thanks dude I totally appreciate it."
"Don't thank me yet. I might have to fire you if you're hopeless… or if you're an undercover cop. Are you?"
Mia laughed at the bemused looked on Laura's face, "Uh no."
"Right then, see you two later." And with that Dom waltzed outside, got into his RX-7 and sped away, leaving Mia laughing at her.
"What was that?" Laura asked her laughing.
"Oh nothing, he's just being Dom!"
The two of them sat and laughed for hours, mainly at the random customers they got throughout the day. One man shouted at them for not having his favourite toothpaste! At ten to three Mia locked up the shop and drove them to DT's, Doms garage.
As Laura walked up the ramp into the garage she felt overwhelmed, there were hundreds of tools about the place, some she hadn't even seen before. Mia smiled and waved at a tough looking girl who was in the process of fixing a Celica.
"Hey girl, how've ya been?" the girl asked Mia while eyeing Laura as if she were the devil.
"Good, is Dom in the back?"
The girl nodded and turned the radio up as she rolled underneath the Celica. Laura noticed three other guys working around the shop and they all smiled at her. Mia led her into a back office were Dom was sitting doing paperwork.
"Hey bro."
Dom looked up and grinned when he saw Laura, "So you didn't run away them?"
"No," Laura said smiling sweetly, " do I have any reason to?"
He laughed, "Maybe. So Mia will introduce you to the team and get one of them to show you the ropes for the rest of the day. I'll need you in Monday to Friday, you Ok with that?"
"Yeah," Laura replied as she thought of the pleasure she'd get from calling the club and telling them to stick their job.
Mia led her back into the garage and banged the door with her fist, "Hey guys, listen up. This is Laura, Dom's just hired her. Make her feel at home, Ok?" She directed this last request to the girl looking daggers at Laura.
"Hey," they all said in unison and the three guys got back to work. The girl just stood looking Laura up and down from under her eyelids and chewing her gum. She really looked as though she could kill her.
"That's Vince (Mia pointed to a very scruffy, muscular looking guy), Leon ( he had a nice smile and seemed friendlier that the rest), Jesse (he looked very young, maybe Laura's age and seemed very shy) and Letty," she lastly pointed to the girl who was now talking to Dom, "Don't worry about her, she'll take a while to accept you but it'll be fine. Just don't rattle her cage."
Laura nodded and heeded this warning well, she did not want to be in that girls bad books.
"Hey, Leon!" Mia called and the guy looked up and walked over to them when he could see Mia wanted something.
"Yeah."
"Would you take care of Laura today. She knows her way round a car, just not around the garage. Give her a job and show her were the tools are and she'll be fine."
Mia smiled and walked off into the back. Leon lead her over to the Honda Accord he was working at, "So, you know your way around a car?" he asked with an eyebrow raised.
Here we go, thought Laura, "Yeah, mostly."
Leon smiled and handed her a wrench, "Good."
For the next two hours she helped him with the Accord and actually surprised him with her knowledge. By 5.30 they all started packing up and Laura finally felt at ease talking with the others, although Letty was still being wary. It turned out they were all pretty dead on, despite the rough exteriors.