Ready or Not?

8.

Packing complete, outfit decided, hair has been washed.
I was actually looking forward to this race weekend, even though I'd agreed to a flight tomorrow, it was going to be my fresh start I needed, and I would also get to see Max for the first time since my little promotion.

"Nat do have everything?" Joe was giving me that judgemental look as he always would when he saw my two heavy cases and 3 extra bags.

"Look I know it seems excessive but I am actually planning on meeting some friends out there after the race on Sunday, so I had to bring my whole wardrobe with me" I was out of breath from all the steps plus carrying all that luggage was tough, but I was not planning on admitting that to Joe or else he would know he was right about me. We sat down and chatted with other members of the team, whilst I kept an eye on my socials to see how everyone else was doing in preparation to this weekend. I came across a blank story from Carlos that read

'holas todos, Isa and I have split, we hope you can respect our privacy at this time but just know we are still the best of friends and she will always be a very special person in my life even if we are not dating ❤️ '

My jaw physically dropped. Carlos breaking up with Isa was not on my bingo card for this season, but it seems he's keeping me on my toes with all these flirty exchanges we have, maybe he did mean something by them. As we approached the descent, my leg began to shake uncontrollably, I am not too sure why I have always struggled with this part, whether I flew commercial or private, the fear always remained. Joe noticed my leg and placed his hands over it, "It's going to be alright, just breathe"

Through all my nerves, I hadn't realised I had forgotten to breathe. I inhaled and exhaled and before I knew it, the captain announced our arrival.

"Thanks" I whispered to Joe who's hands were still placed over my knee, he was a good friend, and I need to learn to treasure these types of people in my life as they are rare and few.  We headed straight to the track, since we missed the first team meeting this morning, we had a lot of catching up to do. I hauled all my bags into the motor home where I saw Max headed into his room "Hey there Lia, now who's got you smiling like that?"

"Shut up Max, I'm just happy to see you, the house doesn't feel the same without you" We both sat down in his room and I dumped my bags to one side so they'd be out the way. "So I have one question for you brother...Did you bribe Christian into giving me a job at Red bull?"

"Of course not sis, Horner was the one to bring it to my attention that I had a great talent sitting at home, he's seen the posts you have done for me, and all the accounts you've been taking care of for me, so he reached out to Rachel who pulled some strings and made you a great space in the team" "I hear you'll be wearing your own RB team kit too, so you can stop stealing mine from my room now thanks" We smiled in sync and looked over at our phones, the F1 insta account just posted something.

'Lando Norris will not be racing in Barcelona this weekend, he is not well enough and will have to miss out on the racing action here. Everyone wishes him a speedy recovery and we hope to see him back on track next week in Canada'

"One less car to worry about on track then I guess" I suggest to Max who was already messaging his friend something supportive I imagine.

"Yeah, I just checked with him, turns out he's caught covid, he thinks he got it before he arrived"

"Oh God" I need to get tested without letting Max know, he can't know we spent the night together. "I'm just going to pop out, do you want me to get you anything?"

"Yes actually, I need some sunscreen, I keep burning up when I am out on track even through the visor so could you buy me a good one please"

"Oh yeah sure, see you later" I head straight for the door because if I am positive for covid I don't want to spread that to the rest of the team, or even worse, to Max. I'm sure Horner would fire me immediately for making his star driver sick.