i love you • formula one

28

please don't forget to vote and comment throughout! reading your comments makes my day so much better so thank you in advance x

oh, also please don't kill me for what's going to happen in this chapter... or the cliffhanger ;)

first person

~***~

friday, 04/09/2020

The confirmation email from my tutor that I would be able to enrol in my third and final year of my course instead of the placement year came Thursday evening, along with my module timetable. It made everything official. My stomach did flips whenever I reread the email, the potential possibilities for my dream future consuming almost every one of my waking thought. The whole ordeal was almost able to take my mind off of my anxieties regarding the red car that frequented my road... almost. Luckily for me, I was able to push it to the back of my mind when I busied myself with preparatory work. For the rest of the evening, I alternated between the gym room (to dance) and Sacha's old bedroom (to monitor the CCTV).

Getting the opportunity to take part in the ballet programme that coincidentally coincided perfectly with my university schedule seemed to be fate. At last, I'd be able to follow the dream I'd had since a little girl. Viviana had been in contact with me again regarding the auditions, which would be taking place at the end of the month. I knew I had to work myself hard if I wanted to get my dream role in Swan Lake - the dual Odette and Odile.

I knew I should've alerted Lando the moment the confirmation email came through, however I didn't want to distract him so close to a race weekend. He usually likes to spend Thursday evenings as chilled out as possible so that he can focus and prepare for the first practice sessions on Friday. It would probably be quite a shock to him but I'm sure he'd ultimately be as excited for this as I am. The same can probably be said for Nicky, too, who I would tell after my best friend. Pursuing a career in ballet has been my dream since I was a young girl - there's no way I'm going to pass it up for something I've had to settle for.

Friday morning was a continuation of my prep work. Sure, I had been getting things done ever since I found out that I could potentially continue my ballet, but now I was determined to commit to it as much as possible. I wrote myself up a schedule, however I doubt I'd be able to keep to it knowing me. Spontaneity was now my thing, I guess.

After a long workout, I decided to fill my designated half an hour break doing chores so that I didn't feel as bad when I inevitably stretched the break to a full hour instead. First, I cleaned all of the dirty dishes and dried them, then I moved onto the wet clothes in the washer that I had put in earlier in the morning. The sun was still shining in the sky, however the ominous dark clouds that loomed on the horizon didn't fill me with reassurance that I'd be able to keep the clothes outside for the entire day. Despite this, I brought the clothes outside and started to peg them to the long line that stretched across the far end of the garden. The temperature was warm and I'd have definitely kept the back door unlocked and open if I wasn't so anxious about my potential follower.

My phone blasted music through it's speakers, which I hummed along to in an attempt to make the work less boring. At first, I was filled with annoyance when the gentle guitar of Alanis Morissette's 'Closer Than You Might Believe' was interrupted by the harsh tone of an incoming call, however it washed away as quick as it came when I saw Lando's name appear on the screen.

"Hey!" I greeted cheerfully, bringing the phone to my ear. I tried to balance the device between my ear and shoulder so that I could continue handing up the washing but unfortunately dropped it just as Lando started to speak. My entire body relaxed in relief when there was no damage to the screen upon inspection. "Sorry, I dropped my phone and missed all of what you just said," I apologised to Lando. "Do you think I can call you back in, like, five minutes? It's just that I'm pegging out the washing at the moment and I'm really bad at multitasking."