Here and Beyond

Significant Changes

CHAPTER 1
Significant Changes

The feeling of being in a car that is made for racing is truly exhilarating. Adrenaline pumps in my veins as I push for more speed, making it hard for other junior drivers to match my pace. Holding my wheel, switching my site from one mirror to another, I feel the throttle on my feet and the incoming voice of my aunt in my head. 

Push, Maxime. Push. You can do it. 

I can do it. 

I can make it, I will win it. 

Those phrases echoed in my mind, serving as a motivation for more. Last year, I won Formula 3, and the feeling I experienced back then haunts me and reminds me that I should win this year, too. Considering the support I receive from Toto and Susie, I have been unstoppable despite being one of the few females who challenge male-dominated sports. 

Lost in thought, I did not notice how I crossed the line and how the checkered flag waved in front of me as I passed by. I did not hear the loud cheers of the crowd nor the way my car sounded as it zoomed in on the track. 

"I made it?" I whispered to myself. Pure ecstasy continued to sink in. Engulfing my system, making my heart beats loud, my head a litte bit hazy, and my eyes to produce water from its ducts. 

The booming voice of the commentators echoed through the whole place, "Driver number thirteen just crossed the line making Maxime Wolff the winner for the Drivers' Championship of Formula 2!" 

It was all a blur after then. Susie welcomed me with open arms, Toto shouting cheers for me after kissing me on my forehead, and my team lifted me on the ground and threw me in the air. Despite the fast pacing of events that day, I can still feel the cold temperature of my trophy that now sits in my bookshelf. 

"Hi," I whispered to the ears of my boyfriend. 

He is also a driver, who happens to be a little bit ahead of me in terms of championships and rankings. Lando Norris of McLaren, racing under the British flag, were in my arms. His head was buried in the nook of my neck. His arms cling to my sides, his hair tangled on my fingers, and his breathing sends a chill to my spine.  

With a wide grin, Lando raised his head to face me, "Hi, baby." 

For the whole year our calendars rarely match up, especially because we are both racing for our own motorsport activities and careers. This moment is one of the rarest when we have the actual time to spend with each other. Usually, Lando comes home and we spend the day in our family home. Sometimes, he invites me to their family home. And even though we are both official to our families and friends, we do our best to keep our relationship private. 

After all, they do not need to know what happens behind the cameras. 

"How was your sleep?" I asked him. For three hours, we are both buried in blankets and pillows in one of our couches. I texted him to come over the moment I learned their plane touched down and he come through to my request. 

"Better," he murmured on my skin, "I was tired from yesterday's race." 

"I know right, I watched the whole thing. I still wonder how it felt for you to race in Abu Dhabi," Lando's dream was to be a Formula 1 Driver. It wasn't a life-long dream nor the long-term goal, but his passion for racing eventually get him there.