Crash

Sixth Place

"Penelope!" Mattia called, his arms extended in greeting. "It's been too long! We missed you in Australia."

"Hola, Mattia!" Penelope said with a smile, giving him a long hug. In turn, she greeted each of the mechanics, waving to them as they prepared for the day ahead. It was busy today, groups of people weaving in and out of the garage, carrying tires or talking into radios. "Hola everybody. I missed you all."

One of the engineers, a friendly man named Will who always took the time to talk her through what was happening on the track, high-fived her as he walked past. "Hey, girl!" he said brightly. "Where were you last weekend? We got used to having you around!"

Penelope pulled a face. "Sorry, sorry. I had to work. But hey, I couldn't miss the home race."

The garage cheered as Mattia indicated for her to sit next to him. Charles dipped in and out, directed around by various people as he began the slow process of getting himself in the zone. Penelope watched him fondly, engrossed by this almost alien world he lived in. He was always so soft with her, yet here it was different. He wasn't just her Charles here. He was the great Charles Leclerc of Ferrari, focused and driven. It was always amazing to see him switch between them, the moments before and after the race where his focus was back on her. It was as though his world revolved around two axis - Ferrari and Penelope. 

"We are hoping for a special race today," Mattia explained, pointing to some figures on the screen that Penelope did her best to understand. "Everyone is excited."

"It's very special here," she agreed. "I hope it goes well."

Mattia sighed, pushing his glasses a little further up his nose. Penelope noticed he looked more tired than usual, like he hadn't been sleeping properly. "You and I both, dear girl."

Suddenly, Penelope felt a hand on her back. Charles, dressed in his driver's suit, was standing behind her, wanting to say goodbye. 

"Not that you need it," Penelope said in his ear as she hugged him tightly. "But good luck."

Charles chuckled as he kissed her, his hand on her hip. Their eyes met, and she saw something that resembled nerves lurking behind his smile. "Grazie, amore mio."

She tilted her head slightly, giving him a look. "Feeling okay?"

"Yeah," he assured, though she suspected he was lying to make her feel better. "Don't be nervous today, hm? I'll be careful."

Penelope placed her hand on his cheek, his skin warm under her fingers. "I know. Just come back to me, okay?"

Charles smiled at her, kissing her one last fleeting time. "Okay. Te amo."

"Je t'aime. Be safe."

With that, he let go of her hand and he was gone. They'd developed a sort of ritual now, where they'd say 'I love you' in the other's language, like a sort of sweet gesture that made each of them feel more relaxed. Penelope wasn't sure how it'd started, but it made her feel better to engage in something superstitious, like that way maybe she'd be able to manipulate fate into working in her favour. Maybe she could make some form of bargain, anything to keep him safe. She didn't care if he came dead last in every race until the end of time as long as he was alive. Maybe that made her selfish, but she didn't care. The world championship didn't matter if she lost him in the pursuit of it. 

Close to the start of the race, Penelope spotted Jane making her way through. She'd been given a pair of headphones, and she was watching the screens in front of her like they were displaying the nuclear codes. 

"This place is so awesome," Jane said breathlessly. "Oh my god, Penelope, I met Lewis Hamilton. I was walking through and he was just there and he was like 'you wanna take a picture?' and so of course I said yes and then it was the best minute of my life."