lemon and mint | Charles Leclerc

11.

February 2013

"Oh, I'm so happy for you, Jules," Pia said while hugging the Frenchman tightly. She was so delighted that Jules signed with Marussia. She was well aware that it wasn't just because of Jules' talent, but he didn't have to know that Anthonie pulled a few strings in Jules' favour. She was sure that he would get the seat anyway once, so why ruin it for him?

Pia didn't want to ask her father at first. She believed that Jules could do it on his own, but when she heard that Luiz Razia, who should've driven for Marussia this year, had problems with his sponsorship, she took the situation into her own hands.

At that time, she appreciated her suddenly great relationship with her father. It was at that point when he'd do almost everything for her, and she just took her chance. She just had to come up with a story about how she knew Jules without revealing to her father her relationship with Charles, but it wasn't such a big problem for her. She was always a brilliant liar.

She knew that Anthonie didn't try that hard for it. With Luiz having problems, it was almost questionless that Marussia would be looking for another driver. Anthonie just made sure that the next driver in line for the seat would be Jules. Maybe he would be next on the list even without the help of Anthonie Teunissen, or maybe not.

"Thank you, P. I cannot wait to talk about it to Danny," he exclaimed. Jules was aware that Pia had known about them ever since she spoke to Daniel. From time to time, it was refreshing to talk about their relationship with someone, and Pia was always there to listen. She loved their little dramas about picking the film or about paying for breakfasts. She enjoyed listening to Jules grumbling because Daniel was teasing him that he was the older one from them.

"It's like a dream come true, huh? You and Danny, travelling the world together while doing what you both love," Pia suggested. She was so sure that they would enjoy it. Pia would like to have that sort of life in future as well.

"Well, I'm not so sure about it. I mean... I'm excited about it, but what if something happens between us on the track, and then we will argue because of that? Furthermore, I don't want to make our relationship public because of Danny's career. I'll have to stay away from him." Those were things that kept Jules awake for many nights. He'd lie in his bed and let this hurtful question fill his head even at the time when he didn't have a seat in F1. Now all these scenarios began to get even closer to reality, and he realised that he had many more sleepless nights ahead of him.

"Woah, calm down, Ju. Nothing like that will happen. I doubt that anything will happen between you two on the track and if yes... You two are smart enough not to bring into your personal life." Pia knew how much Daniel loved Jules. He would never do anything that would put his love in danger. "I know it's hard to keep it a secret, but I promise you that you will find time for yourselves. Paddock is a cruel place, but that doesn't mean that everyone in there is cruel. If you need anything, I'm here for you, and so is Danny. Also, Seb can help you as well."

"I know, I have you and Danny, but I don't think that I'll go to Seb. I mean, I don't really know him, and I still have Joanna," Jules pointed out. He had known Joanna for years. She was one of the most important human beings to him. In his opinion, Joanna was always a bit different from the rest. Many things had hurt her in her life, yet she had that fire in her. Many people loved her, but just a few people knew the real Joanna behind the facade. Jules always saw her as a little Austrian girl that was diligent, passionate and had tremendous talent. She didn't allow many people to see her like that, but when she did, you knew you were special.

"Joanna? You mean like Joanna Lauda?" Pia asked as if she didn't believe they were talking about the same person. Joanna was her role model. Pia adored her deeply, but sometimes it was a bit bittersweet. She loved her, but she also noticed how her father was looking at J. Pia understood that in Anthonie's dreams, she should've been the next Joanna.

"Yeah, J. When we were younger, we made a promise that one day we'd sit in those red cars together, and now I'm finally one step closer," he revealed to her the promise from their childhood.

"I can imagine that - you two in Ferrari and Danny in Red Bull," Pia said and looked at Jules. His lips bore a light smile, and his eyes were focused on the sky. Pia could immediately tell that he was daydreaming about the situation she just described.

"You're heading to Leclerc's, right? I'll go with you. I need to share this news with them," Jules said proudly. Leclercs were his second family. Well, maybe third because he also counted Joanna and Daniel as his family.

"Yeah," she simply nodded with a smile on her face. She was so proud of him.

---

"Pia, can I talk to you for a bit?" Charles took a chance to ask Pia while she was finally alone for a bit. All the Leclercs were delighted by the fact that Jules had a seat for the season that they were more talkative than usual, so it was really hard to talk to someone privately.

"Yeah, sure," she quickly nodded while walking away from the room with Charles. She was a bit worried because of Charles' facial expression. She couldn't read his face for the first time ever.

"This whole... This isn't your job, right?" That was what he was worried about - how Jules gained the seat in Marussia. Charles didn't understand that everything in F1 is about politics and mind games. You must pull strings if you want to be there. There is no other way. The time when talent was enough was already forgotten. She could tell it to him for a long time, but she didn't want to take his illusions away.

"What do you mean?" She asked confusedly. Sometimes it helps to pretend to be stupid, but it never worked on Charles. He knew her too well to believe she didn't know at least a little behind-the-scenes information about Jules' seat.

"I just want to be sure that you didn't pull a few strings for him." It wasn't like Charles was jealous of Jules because Pia helped him. He just wanted to know that he was there because of his talent. Because it should work that way - drivers should be there because of their talent and not because of their connections.

"I'm not able to do that." It was true. She was too young to manage something like that, and Charles obviously knew that.

"Pia," he warned her. "Don't play stupid. We both know that your father or Seb is fully capable of doing it..."

"Charles, he got there because of his talent. Nobody helped him to get that seat." Pia reassured Charles with a calm voice. She didn't want to lie, but sometimes a lie was necessary. For her, it was a white lie. Why would she ruin it for everyone here? Jules deserved that seat, and that was it for Pia. She was also sure that nobody else would tell Jules.

"What are you chatting about, lovebirds?" Jules asked both youngsters when he noticed that they both seemed really engaged in their conversation.

"We are chatting about the future world champion in Ferrari," Pia quickly responded. It wasn't the first time Charles saw Pia lie, but it still surprised him how easy it was for her. She looked so relaxed even though she was lying directly into someone's eyes. Sometimes he got afraid that one day he would be the one listening to Pia's lies without any doubt because of how brilliant a liar she was.

"Oh, everybody is talking about Joanna nowadays," he laughed.