In the quaint town of Monaco, two childhood best friends, Charles and Avianna, have always had a special bond. Their parents would bring both of them to all the kart racing and formula races. Since then, the two have trained, grown, and dreamed toge...
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*****
Charles
March 1, 2005- Madrid, Spain
THE SHRILL SOUND OF THE ALARM CLOCK pierced the early morning silence, making me, Maman, and Papa groan. I buried my face deeper into my pillow feeling a little more sleepy but having a second of realization that it's race day today makes me stand up to wake myself up.
"Good morning, Charles," Maman and Papa smiled at me, opening their arms to signal a morning group hug. "Go take a shower. Let's just grab breakfast on our way to the track," Maman suggested.
I adjusted the heater's temperature as I couldn't handle a cold shower, especially not at six in the morning. I slowly gripped the turn-on button and quickly ran away from the droplets to ensure the initial cold water wouldn't touch my skin.
After I showered, Maman used the bathroom to shower while Papa started getting ready since he had showered last night. Whenever we're not at home and there's only one bathroom in the hotel, Papa always showers at night because he knows Maman takes a long time in the shower.
"Papa, is Avi and her mom coming?" I remember Avi's mom agreeing yesterday that they'll watch my race today.
"No ideas, son. Ask your Maman. She's the one who's in contact with them." Papa assisted me with tying my shoes when he saw me struggling.
"You're becoming a man already. At least learn to tie your shoes by yourself so I won't need to assist you anymore when the time comes." Papa patted my head. In my defense, I could tie my shoelaces, just not properly. It still somehow worked, though.
"Papa, where's my suit?"
"It's with Jules, that's why we need to be there a little early since we'll still be meeting them," Papa said, looking at his wristwatch. He was about to make his way to the bathroom to let Maman know about the time, but just then, she came out of the shower.
She signaled Papa to help her blow-dry her hair, and without a second thought, Papa got the blow-dryer in his hands and started drying Maman's hair.
"Maman, will Avi and her Mama watch me today?"
"Oh, speaking of that, Lucia texted me last night around 11. She told me they'll try to come because she forgot they had prior commitments," Maman said, looking at me through her reflection in the big mirror as she did her makeup.
"Can you text them and ask if they could still come?" I insisted. I was looking forward to seeing Avi again. It's always nice to have friends that you just randomly meet, and it happens rarely in my case. Even though we travel to different countries for my karting, it's hard to make friends, considering that after just a few days, I will get separated from them again.
"No, honey. I wouldn't want them to feel pressured to watch you. Let's just hope that they can catch up to your race, okay?" Maman was right. Understanding and accepting her sentiments, I let out a heavy breath, feeling sad.
