everything has changed ➺ charles leclerc

eleven - angeli & charles

— march 26th, 2004

CHARLES RAN OVER TO THE SCHUMACHER household and rang the doorbell frantically. Pascale and Hervè had finally bought him a bike after months of him begging for it. Angeli had a bike of her own, which her mum had bought for her birthday the previous year. However, she didn't want to start riding it until Charles had his own as she didn't want him to get jealous and upset. She knew how much he wanted a bike, so she asked her mum to beg Charles' parents to get him one so they could both ride their bikes together.

"Ange!" He yelled outside the door, knocking on it it profusely. He just couldn't wait to finally ride his bike with Angeli. He continued knocking for around 7 minutes before Amelié eventually answered.

"Charles dear, it's 7 in the morning." Amelié yawned, opening the door.

"Is Ange awake?" The young boy excitedly asked. "Maman and papa got me a bike!" He exclaimed, a wide smile on his face. Amelié tiredly smiled at the clearly excited seven year old boy at her doorstep. She knew how much her daughter and Charles wanted to ride their bikes together, so much so that Angeli hadn't even touched her bike yet. The two were always attached at the hip— what one had, the other needed to get; what one did, the other needed to do.

"That's wonderful, Charles!" Amelié smiled, opening the door wider for the young boy to enter the house. "Angeli is still asleep in her room upstairs, but I think you can wake her up if you'd like. She's been waiting for you to get a bike so you both could ride together." She said as the young boy all but sprinted up the stairs, tripping on a step.

"Sorry!" He yelled out from the upstairs hallway, making Amelié laugh.

Charles burst into Angeli's room, his excitement palpable. He found her still curled up in her blankets, tightly hugging her stuffed bear, her tousled hair cascading over her pillow. He approached her bed with a mischievous grin, ready to wake her up in the most playful way possible.

"Ange, wake up! It's time to ride our bikes!" he exclaimed, bouncing on the balls of his feet. Angeli stirred, slowly opening her eyes to find Charles hovering above her, a beaming smile on his face.

"Charlie?" she mumbled, rubbing her eyes. "Is it really time? Did you really get your bike?" she let out a yawn.

Charles nodded vigorously, his enthusiasm infecting the entire room. "Yes, yes! Maman and papa finally got it for me! We can ride together now!"

Angeli's drowsiness quickly evaporated as she realized the moment she had been waiting for had finally arrived. She sat up, her eyes wide with excitement, and a smile spread across her face. "That's amazing, Charlie! I can't believe it! Let's go ride!"

Without wasting another moment, the two friends dashed downstairs, their laughter filling the house. Amelié watched them with joy, seeing the bond between her daughter and Charles growing stronger with each passing day. She couldn't help but feel grateful for the friendship they shared.

"Shoes, Angeli!" Amelié yelled out, as the two children dashed out the door. Her daughter ran back inside quickly to put on a pair of shoes and grabbed the helmet in Ameliés hands.

"Thanks mum!" The blonde yelled out, fastening her helmet and running towards Charles, who stepped into the elevator leading them down to the ground floor of their apartment complex.

Outside, the sun was just beginning to rise, casting a warm golden glow over the streets of Monaco. Charles and Angeli dashed out of the complex and hopped onto their shiny new bikes, their hearts pounding with anticipation.

"Do you know how to ride a bike?" Angeli asked her best friend as she mounted her bright pink bike.

"No, but I've seen Enzo ride his!" The brunette gleamed, placing his feet onto the pedals of his blue bike. "You're supposed to put your feet on the pedals, and then push them down?"