the lakes - charles leclerc

𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝟎

adriana hendrix entered the media room, before sitting on the red plastic chair, similar to ones that you would find in schools. the bright light next to the camera turned on, nearly blinding the woman. the director strolled in, picking up a pair of headphones with a microphone attached to it. she then sat opposite adriana, legs crossed with a black clipboard with at least 10 sheets of paper attached lying on her thigh.

"so, adriana, introduce yourself. name, age, club, country, position. general interesting facts about yourself,"

she looked deeply in the camera, noticing the microphone slowly being edged towards her. "hi, my name is adriana hendrix, probably more commonly known as adri. i am a canadian forward for psg in the division 1 féminine. one fun fact about me is that i can run 100m in less than 12 seconds, which is good in case there's a wasp in the forest. i am terrified of bugs, so i'll be hoping someone else can deal with them!"

"alright. what are you most looking forward to?"

"having nearly 3 weeks away from the outside world. it'll be a perfect time for me to reflect and have fun with the girls who are there. i'm sure i'll get on with the boys too, even though i haven't met them yet."

"what are you not looking forward to?"

"bugs. anything that's not human i will be terrified of, guaranteed. also, being in deep waters. i'm fine in swimming pools as i can see the bottom, or shallow water, but as soon as i can't see the bottom i panic. i sort of hyperventilate, so i'm hoping i don't have to go into the lake myself."

"what will it be like not playing football for 20 days?"

"i'll think of it as a holiday, i don't play football then so it'll seem normal to me."

"what will you miss the most?"

"croissants. literally a god tier food, i'll definitely miss them. i'll also miss my family, as they're in canada so they're hours behind the uk. i hope they can watch this and be proud of their sister, daughter, cousin, niece et cetera."

"that's everything, thanks adri!"

adriana walked out of the room, going to get a pain au chocolat from the costa down the road. entering the room next was monegasque charles leclerc, wearing his ferrari 1/4 zip-up, matching the colour of the chair behind him.

"okay, charles, introduce yourself. name, age, team, country. things you'd use in an ice-breaker,"

"what's an ice-breaker?"

"something you do when you meet someone new and tell that person about yourself."

"ah, okay. god, i am stupid. erm, i'm charles leclerc, born and raised in monaco. i'm a 24 year old formula 1 driver for ferrari, and... what's interesting about me? i'm a pretty boring person, erm... i play the piano, erm, and i also like football." he smiled weakly at the camera, hoping it was enough.

"brilliant! what are you most looking forward to?"

"i think i am looking forward to enjoying the scenery. i've never been to the lake district, so that'll be nice."

"what are you not looking forward to?"

"no phone, no football and no f1. i don't know how i'm gonna cope," he laughed nervously. "but i will definitely miss f1 the most. my life literally revolves around it, and having a break will be a little weird but i'm sure that it'll be the same for the other lads as well. in the actual place, i don't think i'll be good at making fires and doing things. i'm more of a hindrance than a help."

"what or who will you miss the most?"

"the team at ferrari, especially carlos. i will miss my brothers and family, even though i rarely see them because of the schedule. i message or call them each day, so not even hearing them will be the thing i will miss the most."

"thanks, charles, that's everything."

the monegasque left the room, to return to his home before packing for the trip. ensuring all the essentials were there, including a photo of him and his family in 2019, the driver then called his family, saying he wouldn't be able to contact them for a few weeks. then, he got into the taxi which was hired by sky and was on his way up north, to rural windermere.