Till you Remember Me

Chapter 5

March 2, 2022

Marcella was awakened by Francesca's loud music, she slowly opened her eyes and saw the bright sun outside the window. She yawned and sat up in bed, she grabbed her phone from the nightstand and saw a notification from her mother. 

Mommy ❤️ - Good morning Sweetie! Hope you slept well and enjoyed the day. Send me pictures! Love you!

Marcella smiled after reading the message, sometimes she asked herself what she would do without her mother. Her father loved her but he was also strict, on the other hand, her mother was more easygoing and kind. Stuff like this, a simple message, made Marcella feel good and have a good day. 

Today, Francesca and Marcella were going to go explore a bit around Manama. Marcella got up from bed and headed to the bathroom, when she opened the door she heard Francesca singing to Mariah Carey, and doing her hair while in her PJs. "Good Morning sleepy head", Franz says looking at Marcella. Francesca didn't look tired whatsoever, which makes sense since she slept the whole day yesterday after arriving from the airport. "I'm almost done with my hair, so you can get ready. I'm going to change and order us some breakfast.", she said grabbing her make-up bag and hair products. Marcella was left all alone in the bathroom, she stood in front of the mirror and looked at herself for a second. She was thinking about what happened yesterday in the lobby, and how she wished she hadn't been so shy and could have built more of a conversation with Charles. She snapped back to reality and got ready for the day. A good way to wake up is a cold shower, which she hated, but she sure needed it. 

When Marcella got out of the shower, she saw Franz sitting at the end of her bed on her phone texting someone. There was a food tray by the table, which meant that the breakfast had arrived. "What did you order?", Marcella asked Francesca, as she grabbed her clothes from the suitcase. "Something light. An egg omelet with avocado toast and fruit, with orange juice and water", she replied. Marcella picked out an outfit, she decided to wear a pair of light wash mom jeans, with a pair of khaki Boston Vegan Birkenstock, and a Satin Classic Shirt, with a ponytail for her hairdo. Both girls sat at the table and grabbed their breakfast, Franz was checking her emails and scrolling through social media. Marcella was eating her breakfast and just thinking to herself, deep in her thoughts. Her whole mind was occupied by the taught of none other than Charles Leclerc, the golden boy for one of the top three Formula 1 teams. 

After breakfast, both girls headed downstairs to ask at the reception for a rental car to visit the city. When the lobby doors opened Franz walked out first heading to the front, while Marcella was looking for her camera. When she heard the ding to the elevator door, she started walking out while still looking inside her bag, when she bumped into someone for not paying attention. "I'm sorry, I was looking for my camera...", she said looking up to her surprise it was him again. "Charles...", she said looking at the smile across his face. "Ms. Young Warrior, I think us meeting like this is starting to become a habit. Wouldn't you agree?", he said looking at Marcella's eyes, with a bright smile on his face. She didn't know what to say, but to stay still and hope that he wouldn't notice how nervous she was. This has never happened to Marcella before, she's been on blind dates, but never has she experienced this type of feeling with any guy she's been with. PULL YOURSELF TOGETHER MARCELLA,  she thought. "You're right, from now on I promise it won't happen again.", she said looking back at him. They both looked at each other, like a scene from a movie. A moment like the ones you see in the movie, where everything around you stops and you don't realize that time is going. Francesca managed to get a rental for a car for the day, when she turned to go tell Marcella, she seemed to notice the moment both Charles and Marcella were having. She didn't want to go up to them and ruin the moment, so she thought of another way to get her attention without doing it in person. 

I've got my red dress on tonight, dancing in the dark, in the pale moonlight. The moment is broken by the ringtone of Marcella's phone coming from her bag, she grabs her phone and answers the call. "I didn't want to interrupt your moment with Ferrari boy over there, but I got us a rental car for the day, so if you wouldn't mind, we got to go.", says Franz over the phone. Marcella looks over to Franz's direction and sees her waving at her, luckily Charles gets a message on his phone and doesn't realize what's happening. "Alright, I'll be there in a second.", Marcella says before hanging up the phone call. She checks her phone real quick and then looks up at Charles, who is also putting his phone away. "I've got to go, my friend is waiting for me. But I shall see you at the race.", she says with a smile on her face, she starts walking towards Franz when she feels her arm grabbed and turns around to see Charles holding her. "I know we just met, but would it be okay with you if we go out for dinner tonight?", Marcella could swear that her whole face went pale, and she was probably sweating a little bit. Was it happening? Was Charles Leclerc asking her on a date? She was at a loss for words, but she knew he was waiting for an answer from her. "Umm...Of course, I would like to go out for dinner with you!", she says with a small smile on her face, trying to hide how nervous she is. "Awesome!", he replies returning the smile at her, "Would you mind giving me your number so I can text you the time?", he asked taking his phone and hanging to her. Marcella grabs his phone and puts in her number. "Here you go! I'll see you tonight!", she says walking towards Francesca. 

"What happened? Is everything okay?", Franz asks Marcella as they're walking out of the lobby to the rental car waiting outside. Marcella is just walking with a smile on her face and she looks at Franz and says, "Yes, everything is alright.", she says getting in the car after Franz.