11 ~ Dead Arm

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Disclaimer: I know that Lando didn't get into karting until after he was like seven or something... but... again this is a work of fiction so... enjoy lol :)

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Daisy's POV

The first time I went to one of Lando's races was a real experience. I knew he karted from before he approached me in the playground because he would occasionally bring in trophies to class for show and tell. After a month of being 'friends', Lando told me about a big championship he was competing in not too far from where we lived in Somerset. It had taken several days but eventually I managed to convince my mum to take me to watch. I wasn't sure what I was going to do there but I wanted to see... with the language barrier still very real, I was only half sure what Lando meant as I dragged my mum through the car park towards the go-kart track.

I was more than a little overwhelmed as we looked around, the clouds looking dangerous in the sky as I hold my mum's hand tightly. We're both confused it seems, neither of us knows where to go but with my dad away for another weekend of work, she was keen to do something that would make me feel better. I was still far from settled after a rough couple of months of moving, fortunately... that's when Lando appears.

"Daisy?!" I hear the familiar voice say from a couple of feet to our left, my head immediately turning to see the small boy dressed in some strange suit with two parents running and stopping beside him.

"Hi..." I say quietly, slipping my hand out of my mum's as I turn and wave at him before being promptly tackled to the very muddy and damp ground in a tight hug. Always the best hugs.

"Lando!" His mum admonishes him and the first thing I notice is the sound of her voice... she has an accent that is clear even from the single word. "I'm so sorry! What are you doing? We don't tackle strangers into the mud!" She scolds and I immediately notice how dirty my outfit had gotten, although I don't find that I care as I shrug.

"Mum this is Daisy!" He says proudly as his tiny hand holds mine and I look around confused for my mum who is now just smiling at the sight and shaking his dad's hand, introducing herself and me quietly in the background.

"Oh..." is all his mum says at first as a smile comes on her face and she kneels down to look at me. "Lando has told me a lot about you Daisy. I'm Cisca," she says and holds her hand out which I shake lightly.

"You have accent too..." I tell her quietly and she chuckles with a nod. "Anche tu sei Italiano?" [Are you Italian too?] I ask after a moment and she shakes her head.

"No, I'm from Belgium... which isn't so far from Italy. It's about half way between Italy and England," she says kindly before standing up. I look to my side and see Lando looking at me, eyes as wide as saucers causing me to suddenly feel embarrassed that he had heard me speaking Italian but he doesn't seem to hate it.

"That was so cool!" He exclaims, my face turning as red as my hair but before I can get embarrassed he's taken off in a run, his hand still wrapped around mine as I follow him and we weave through the legs of adults away from our parents. Eventually we stop running, both of us out of breath but now under a big tent as my chest heaves up and down from moving so fast. Lando doesn't stop leading me somewhere though, eventually stopping next to one of many go karts in the tent while grinning manically at me. "This is mine!" He boasts proudly and I let out a soft 'wow' as I look at it.

We don't have peace for very long though, Lando's arrival brings other kids away from their karts as he introduces them to me, a mess of names that I can't memorise as I stick to my limited vocabulary of 'hi'. Eventually our parents find us but I'm happy when my mum doesn't pull me away, instead she stands off to the side talking to Cisca while his dad, Adam, takes the time to explain to me what he and Lando are doing as well as explaining the structure of the race and the wider weekend.

Deals with Daisy // LN4Where stories live. Discover now