So High School - Lando Norris

07

Watching in slow motion as you turn around and say Take my breath away

- Take My Breath Away, Berlin- 

27.02.2024

Sakhir, Bahrian

Bridget woke up from the best sleep she'd had all year. Sunlight peeked through the thick hotel curtains, casting a warm, golden glow across the plush white bed. She stretched out luxuriously, savouring the rare feeling of complete rest, then reached over to check the time on her phone—ten o'clock.

The first thing she needed was coffee and a smoke.

She slipped out of bed, pulled on some loose shorts and a tank top, and headed downstairs of the hotel to the lounge, with many couches and chairs.

Once she had her coffee in hand, Bridget sank into one of the terrace's cushy chairs, lighting a cigarette and taking a slow, satisfying drag. Her phone buzzed in her hand, and she started scrolling through notifications, catching up on missed texts and checking the day's news. She was just starting to zone out when a familiar voice broke her concentration.

"Morning! Finally up, Bridge?" Her brother, Max, stood in front of her, grinning at her. He looked annoyingly chipper for the morning, as usual. She smirked, rolling her eyes. "Morning, Max." She put her phone down and took another puff of her cigarette.

"Coffee and a cigarette, huh? Classic Bridget," he said, plopping down beside her on the couch. "When are you gonna quit smoking?"

Bridget just rolled her eyes, taking another long drag. "You know, over a million people die each year from secondhand smoke," she teased, blowing a stream in his direction. Max scooted an inch away, dramatically waving the smoke from his face.

"Yeah, yeah," he said, shaking his head, though she could see a hint of real concern behind the banter. "One of these days you're going to cough your lungs out, and I'll be here to say 'I told you so.'"

A few minutes later, they heard footsteps. Lando arrived, all flushed and sweaty from his morning run. "Hey," he said, plopping down on a free couch across from them. Max nudged her. "See? If you stopped smoking, you could run like him," he teased, grinning.

Bridget pretended not to hear him. Right now, she had zero interest in thinking about quitting smoking—especially not when Lando was sitting there, looking like he'd just stepped out of some kind of fitness ad. His damp hair fell messily across his forehead, and beads of sweat traced along his cheekbones. She felt her heart skip a beat. Why does he have to look this good? she thought, her face growing warm.

"One day, she'll quit," Lando said with a casual smile, glancing over at her. There was something about the way he said it that made her wonder if he was rooting for her to make that change. For a moment, she didn't know where to look.

Keep it together, she thought, focusing intently on the last drag of her cigarette. She hated feeling flustered, but somehow Lando had a way of catching her off guard.

Why does he have to look this good? Bridget asked herself. When Bridget was younger, Thea always teased her about liking Lando.

But now that they were older, Thea had stopped making fun of it. Bridget took another cigarette out of the box, and Max just scoffed and shook his head. What they say about older siblings being stricter than parents was true.

After a relaxing morning, Bridget decided to have lunch with Max and Lando. They went to the hotel restaurant and ordered their food. Max, of course, ordered steak and fries; Bridget got a burger and fries, and Lando chose chicken with rice.