Starlight | Charles Leclerc [ENGLISH VERSION]

Chapter 2 : Setting the scene

« Success is not the end,
Failure is not fatal ;
It's the courage to continue that matters. »
— Winston Churchill

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Saturday, qualifying day

Friday's free practice went perfectly. Julia was finally able to take to the track in her car, and it's fair to say that she really enjoyed it !

Before qualifying, even though it was hot in Bahrain, the drivers took their traditional bike ride around the circuit. Naturally, Julia, Charles and Pierre did it together, not missing an opportunity to show off. They were accompanied by Carlos, Daniel and Yuki, and Julia took this opportunity to get to know her best friends' team-mates better. She chatted a lot with Carlos, who turned out to be a very charming, funny man with whom she could get on well.

Seeing Julia laughing with Carlos, Charles couldn't help but feel jealous. He had to admit, he'd always had a soft spot for Julia. They had known each other since secondary school, and Julia had moved to Monaco with her parents in the house next door to the Leclercs' when she was just eleven. Charles and her had met in the school playground, one of the rare days Charles was present.

Julia was on her own, too intimidated to arrive in the middle of the year when everyone already knew each other. It was the Monegasque who made the first move towards her, sitting down beside her to share his packet of sweets with the young French girl. They started chatting, and ended up discovering their shared passion for karting.

From then on, they became inseparable. They did everything together : they spent their weekends at the karting track, competing against each other in a friendly rivalry that only existed on the track. It was there that Charles introduced him to Pierre, and their trio was soon formed. Their parents became friends too, which enabled them to spend even more time together. Later, they all competed together in international competitions with Anthoine Hubert, Alex Albon, George Russell and Max Verstappen.

Having arrived at high school , and still as close as ever, Charles and Julia, for the first time since they had known each other, were not in the same class. They were understandably disappointed, but this did nothing to change their friendship, since they saw each other almost all the time outside school. However, Julia met and fell in love with a boy in her class, and it was during this period that Charles realised that he was in love with his best friend.

Seeing her kissing another boy and hearing her talk about him almost all the time annoyed Charles, but he took it in his stride, because Julia was happy, and she deserved it more than anything. Her friendship was too precious to him and he didn't want to risk losing it. The young woman had never known any of this, as Charles had never dared admit his feelings to her. And yet, as Carlos put his hand on Julia's shoulder, he thought maybe he should have.