Lando Norris exudes speed, he brings his high speed energy into every aspect of his life. With his life going by so quickly, he finds something that slows him down, where he wishes he could stop time.
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Kemala had worked all the days following Lando's last visit but the man with curly hair hidden under the grey cap refused to show. He's kept his presence at the back of her mind, slowly creeping up to her consciousness at the times she's least expected. Like a mystery waiting to be solved, she keeps trying to piece together the Lando case.
Settling into Arthur's place proved to be difficult, the small apartment two people with different lifestyles. The sharing of one bathroom. But even through of all that Kemala finally felt free and able to embrace who she really is. There is only one thing that clings onto her, her monetary tie with her father. She hates that every piece of clothing and belonging she owns is from her father's money. Arthur had convinced her to keep her belongings but she loathed every second she wears her father's clothing.
Kemala eyes fixate on her due, unfinished assignments on her computer screen. She can't even bring a finger up to begin the work, let alone finish it. The monetary tie of her degree with her father bears too much, she wishes to be completely free from him. Simply looking at her submitted art work makes her sick, each colour stroke was possible because of her father. She intakes a sharp breath, and opens her email to write up a letter of withdrawal to the admissions officer of her university
"I'm really doing this" she mumbles, her fingers clicking against her keyboard with a slight tremor. She details her reasoning to withdraw from her courses as personal family problems and monetary issues, wishing to return once she had gained financial control. Withdrawing this deep into her degree and courses would be a waste of her father's money but his money doesn't mean shit her. He can burn with his money if it meant that Kemala would be free. Her cursor hesitates on the send button, her eyes glancing over the words in a rapid and repetitive manner. A sigh escapes her lips as she leans back into her chair in deep contemplation, she does so with such great strength that her chair creaks beneath her weight. Just like ripping off a bandaid, she sends the email quickly before the reality was able to kick in.
She jumps off her chair and emerges from her room, facing a confused Arthur who's busying himself with cooking an Italian lunch
"Yes?" Arthur asks, briefly glancing at the beaming girl before him as he works a sharp blade against garlic cloves atop a wooden board
"I've just quit uni"
"Mala!" Arthur's brows furrowed, his mouth slight agape
"I'll return of course!" Kemala justifies "once I earn enough money to pay for it again" She glides towards Arthur and the marble kitchen counter, her socks padding softly against the hardwood floors. She takes a seat atop a wooden bar stool before Arthur and gleams again
"This is so risky," he speeds the knife against the peeled garlic "your father will definitely notice"
"That's fine" She shrugs, "as long as it's under my own accord and not my father"
"Will the cafe job be enough?"
"It will be," I shake the worry from Arthur "did you stir the pasta?"
"It might take a while to accumulate enough money, and no I haven't"
"Doesn't bother me" Kemala smiles, walking over to the boiling pot. The change of cold tile beneath her shocks her feet, she takes a wooden spatula and stirs the spaghetti gently. She can feel the softness of the pasta through the spatula, signalling to Arthur that it's cooked. Arthur insisted to finish up the meal on his own, Kemala busied herself with this week's dirty laundry as she didn't want to leave Arthur working on his own.
She sorted through colourful to plain socks, her fingers fishing through the cloth laundry basket. As her fingers worked to turn them inside out, she ponders about the possibility of her father's reaction. She feared the possible anger and outrage, she didn't care for disappointment or sadness but rather the unpredictability of her father's rage. Her lips dip into a visible frown, her eyes downcast onto the clothes before her. Her hands had accustomed to cleaning up after her father's outbursts and her eyes had cried enough tears.
Luckily enough, before Kemala could spiral through her own mind Arthur calls for her as lunch is ready. She happily picks herself up and stretches her legs to join Arthur at the table with warm home cooked food. Kemala spends the rest of the day finishing her house chores, feeling comfortably tired as she retreats into her room for the night.
Kemala sinks into her comfortable chair, as well as a blooming curiosity. Her fingers begin to type away into her search engine. Lando Norris. She quickly clicks to see the images, his brown curly hair and wide smile filling up most of the visible images - alongside his bright orange team merch. In some pictures he shows a set of dark, focused eyes with furrowed brows and tight lips. For someone with such a bright smile, he's able to switch it up so drastically. Kemala recalls the man she saw, the similar colour dampened curly hair with the similar bright wide smile. The the shape of his jaw and colour of his skin, Kemala searches for a video for reference and stumbles upon a video of Lando with his team mate Carlos Sainz doing challenges in a Mclaren supercar
"I'm so scared" Lando's breathes into a laugh, facing Carlos who is equally as giggly. Kemala adjusts her headphones and the volume, smiling at the two young men giggling in the Mclaren. They continue to bicker about the traction control with squeals and screams emitting from both their lips. Kemala can't help but laugh, their chemistry and presence is especially humouring. She sits through the whole video, laughing along with the two drivers behind her screen. Once Lando is behind the wheel she observes how he drives, almost enthralled by the sheer skill he possesses with the wheel. He grips the wheel firmly, the muscles in his arms tensing when he turns and when his fingers effortlessly dance with the pedal shifters.
Almost in a trance, she continues to laugh away with the two drivers into the night.
- Note:
You guys might've noticed that I've deleted a chapter. I've had two paths for this story and I became unhappy with the one I had so I'm changing it now. Hope you guys understand ♥️
