False Confidence - Lando Norris

Chapter Two

Having to travel back home from Australia without any races was quite disappointing, even more for us who would have made our debuts in this Grand Prix. Even though we knew this had to be done, there were cases even inside the teams and health had to come first always. It still didn't feel right to fly home without anything happening actually and having to completely stop everything that was going on at the HQ or at tests. We couldn't even have our usual training in there, had to get everything together at home or find other solutions. As we knew it would be a long break we made plans to stay in the usual schedule even though we had to do everything at Mark's place, as mine was just too small for any kind of workout. Also, I didn't really want to anger my neighbours in the first year of me living there.

It was after one of the workouts that I got home to the worst smell I have ever experienced. It was all around the block and as soon as I went up to my floor and stepped out of the elevator into the hallway that had water up to ankle height I knew exactly where it was coming from. I didn't even have time to freak out as it was getting worse and worse and I rushed to get my still dry things into safety, which was mostly my car and Mark's garage as he was the first one I remembered to call. Luckily nothing important got soaked from my belongings as it was mostly only the furniture that I wanted to change anyway. I was just waiting for a little break and I had time to look around for stuff that matched my style. But still, not having a place to stay at 3 o'clock in the afternoon was quite worrisome. As my family lived in Wales and the only ones I knew here were the team members who we should have been quarantining from.

It would have been a lot easier if I could have just gone home to my family, but with my grandparents living in the same house I couldn't just drive there without knowing what I could take there with me. It just wasn't an option to choose from. In my last hope, I called Lando as I knew he had a guest bedroom and was in England, and as he was the only one I could think about at that moment. I would have called Daniel but he stayed in Australia and couldn't get home after it locked down its airports. Just as the first ring went through I started thinking and then immediately put down the call, hoping it won't show up at his end. In the end, Mark could give me a place to sleep for a night as his girlfriend stayed with her family for the weekend and so I didn't barge in on their privacy. I was just glad to have a place to stay that wasn't a hotel full of strangers and knew I had a full day to get something sorted for the remainder of the time while they're fixing our flats and the flooding.

Right after I woke up and opened up my phone it showed me a missed call from Lando, which for some odd reason made my stomach do a flip. I felt strange asking him for favours after he left me stranded for a year and I told them I need time to get back to our previous stage of friendship. Still, my finger moved on its own while I was getting off the couch and I was already calling him back while starting the coffee maker. It took like four rings before he picked it up and I heard his voice on the other side of the line. His quite sleepy voice. I almost facepalmed at realising how early it actually was. Even though it was the normal wake up time for me. At least since I started working with Renault.

" Sorry, didn't realise it was this early. I forget I'm the only one who wakes up this early. " I let out a sigh, watching the outside from the window in the kitchen. He was known for sleeping in when he didn't need to wake up to an alarm in the early hours of the morning.

" It's okay. Somehow I was already up just still in bed. " I could just see him shrug his shoulders after the sentence, still with his eyes closed. " Why did you call me yesterday? I left my phone at home and only saw it later, but you didn't pick up when I tried to call back. " He asked, already sounding a little more alive.

" I just tapped on your name accidentally. Wanted to send a message so you wouldn't worry but I forgot. Sorry. " I lied, hoping he won't hear it in my voice. Maybe I got lucky with him being still half-asleep and not realising it.