Silver Lining [Mick Schumacher]

Box In The Ocean

"What if they forget about all I've done?
If I built it up just to be no one
I make my own expectations for every single situation
Then break my own heart when it all falls.
Box In The Ocean; Alessia Cara

-

In the next few days, Hestia experienced working from nine to five. It wasn't a walk in the park, definitely not. Hestia blamed herself for once again romanticizing something only to break up her own heart when her expectations did not collide with reality. But she wasn't planning on giving up, it wasn't on her agenda. Corinna and Gina were already suspicious about her abilities, the last thing Hestia wanted was them having a told you so moment. She dug her heels in, waking up at ungodly hours, returning back with the sunset, all sore and exhausted, only to repeat the cycle again the next day.

On the other hand, a new experience had its pros too. She wasn't Hestia Anna Schmidt, daughter of two-time Oscar winner Loren Schmidt. She was just Hestia, a girl who cleaned the stables. The taste of a wonderfully ordinary anonymous life was like a drug to someone whose every move struck lightning. As a small bonus, she got the chance to spend time with Gina. It was more or less a work relationship, however, Hestia was happy that she wasn't on her hate list. 

It was a lunch break, and Hestia was sitting outside, watching the second free practice in Spain on her phone while braiding her hair, a half-eaten pasta salad in the box in front of her. She still didn't get used to having significantly shorter hair, nevertheless, she quickly learned a few new cute styles, "how is my brother doing?" Hestia was about to cover the screen, although there was no reason for hiding it from Gina. She pulled her hand away from the device to look up at Mick's sister.

"He's trying his best," Hestia answered while securing her braid with a rubber band. Long gone were the times of superstrong scrunchies, "but at least he will see beautiful destinations. Man, I would kill to visit Monaco, for example," she blurted out, not realizing with whom she was talking.

"You've never been to Monaco?" Gina's eyes went wide, "sorry, I didn't mean to make it sound like this," the girl rushed with an apology. She thought Hestia had been visiting luxurious destinations every weekend because of her well-known mother.

"That's fine," Hestia smiled, moving her eyes back to the screen. There was a Virtual Safety Car because of the debris on the track, "going to Monaco would definitely be on my bucket list if I had one. There is something about it that fascinates me. My mother visits it quite frequently, so I foolishly believed that she could take me with her one day. Well...she promised me she would do that. And I, for some weird reason," Hestia chuckled, "I thought she would keep her promise. I put too much faith in something non-existing because I wanted it to become real so much."

"She didn't have much time for you, did she?" Gina sat next to Hestia. She felt sorry for her, she couldn't imagine how tough it must have been to have both parents absent most of her life. A little girl in a big world...it was scary to think about it.

Hestia shook her head slightly, "no. Neither did my father. I don't even know him, he left us when I was little without bothering to explain why. I barely have any memory of him, it's like he doesn't exist. That is why I looked for love in all the wrong places."

"I'm so sorry."

Hestia scanned the screen with twenty cars circling around with a sad smile, "don't be. We are held cards and it's up to us how we use them. And I am simply a bad player." The only thing interrupting the silence was the muttering of the commentator in low volume. Hestia was thinking about ways to initiate a new conversation but decided to finish her lunch as Gina was now paying attention to the broadcast. She was eager to find out as much as possible about Mick's new friend, however, it turned out to be more difficult than she anticipated.