Wolff

Missing Out

Nala stayed in Monaco for a few more days, but her mother was now very aware of what she wanted. She didn't want to be coddled. That meant Susie tip-toed around her, not wanting to upset Nala again. But that was only when they saw each other. Nala had begun to lock herself in her room, so she was by herself. At least the Australian Grand Prix was on, so she was able to watch that.

At the start of the first practise, she heard the commentators, Crofty and Martin Brundle, talking about her.
"We have received devastating news over the past week that Nala Cameron has been in a car accident and is now, sadly, paraplegic. We send our condolences out to her, and her family, and we hope she is able to recover as soon as possible. As for her racing career, she will, hopefully only temporarily, not be able to resume driving. Liam Lawson has taken her seat at Audi", Crofty had said, a sad tone to his voice.
Nala broke down in tears. It was just a reminder of the pain this accident had caused her, not just physically but mentally and career-wise as well. It was the worst thing that had ever happened to her.

At around 7am on Friday morning, Nala got a call from Ollie. It was a facetime call. Butterflies spiralled through her body as she answered the call and saw Ollie's happy face pop up on the other side of the phone.
"Nala! Hey, how are you?", he asked. Nala nodded her head slightly.
"Good. What time is it there?", she replied.
"5pm. But I have something special for you", he announced, smiling broadly. Nala smiled back, nodding, and Ollie started moving around on the other side of the call. A few moments later, the phone was turned towards Ollie's car, and she saw a little sticker. It was bright blue, Nala's favourite colour, and said 'NC2' on the side, for Nala Cameron, then her race number. Nala felt her heart swell up, and her face became an expression of true joy.

"Ollie, I love it. Thank you", she said as the camera panned back to Ollie quickly.
"I'm glad. But I also have some people who want to see you as well", he added, and he started moving again. Ollie moved out of the shadows of what must have been the garage, and outside maybe.
"Ready?", he asked. Nala nodded, her smile giddy as she awaited what he would show her. Then, he lifted his phone up, and Nala could see a sea of people. To one side, the team, and the other, all the drivers of the grid, and behind them, a thousand or so fans, and everyone was waving to her as Ollie faced the phone to all of them. Nala felt tears in her eyes as she saw them all with smiles on their faces. They were all there for her. Ollie lowered the phone back down so she could see his face once again.
"Oh Ollie. Thank you do much. That was so sweet of you", she cried.
"Don't worry. It's a team effort. We just want to see you happy", he replied. Nala smiled, then the camera was being face to some of the drivers.

Pierre Gasly, Charles Leclerc, Carlos Sainz, Mick Schumacher, Yuki Tsunoda, Max Verstappen and Lando Norris. They all stood in a huddle with eachother, looking at the screen of the phone where they were able to see Nala. They were some of the people she had grown a bond with over the past month or so in her F1 career. She appreciated them so much. Before the phone was taken again, they all shouted out something different, but Nala caught everything they were saying.

"Get better soon"
"Hope to see you"
"We miss you so much"
"You need to come back"

They were all meaningful words that Nala would remember forever. The phone was looking around again, and Nala saw Lewis, Seb and Fernando together, waving at her. "Get better soon, kiddo", one of them called out. Then she saw the rest of the drivers in a group over near one of the technical areas, all waving as well. It was all very overwhelming in a way. She wished with her whole heart she could be there. She was missing out.

The weekend passed pretty quickly. Nala watched every practise and qualifying until it came up to the race. She saw that Ollie had gotten in Q3 for the first time, and was so proud of him! She even called him straight afterwards. He was estatic too. She wished she could be there.

During the race, Ollie had a great start, so did Lando, she saw. Ollie was able to be in the top 15 for most of the race, clearly working hard, and it paid off! He got P6 in the race. Dramatic but happy cries could be heard coming from Nala's room as she celebrated his excellent performance, clapping her hands as she waited a couple minutes before calling him.

"Ollie, well done!!", she called into the speaker as soon as he picked up.
"Thanks, Nals. It means a lot", he said, a happy tone to his voice. "Also, the only reason I got that result was because of you", he added quickly. Nala's face turned bright red and butterflies swirled through her body.
"What? Why me?", she asked meekly.
"Well, I wanted to do it for you. I wanted to race for you, today, and until you get better", he replied sheepishly.
"What if I never get better, Ollie?", she whispered into the phone. Ollie paused for a moment, and Nala thought he wouldn't say anything about it.
"I don't think that going to happen. You're strong. But if it does, I'll always race for you, no matter what", he announced and Nala's heart swelled up.
"Thank you, Ollie", she whispered, before hanging up and sighing loudly.

The was the moment Nala realised that her small feelings she had for Lando were fading, and they were quickly getting replaced by feelings for Ollie.