Mon Chéri

5

ND68:

"It's lights out and away we go here in Bahrain. Amazing start from the Redbull cars, Hamilton not far behind with Alonso and Daniels right on his tail."
"Keep it smooth keep it fast. We got this." The words I keep repeating to myself as this race goes on. I qualified P6 but from turn one on I was able to keep George Russel behind me while trying to chase Fernando.
*
*
*
"Oh the Mercedes and Aston Martin touching tires a bit in turn eight and there goes Nova Daniels using that to her advantage in turn nine and she is now sitting on the podium." Lap 27 came and the second they touched I decided to gun it into turn nine and it worked. Running on mediums I knew I was going to have to go in soon but I wanted a gap between myself and Alonso who was now in P4 before I came in. "Box this lap box." "No I'll lose my places the tires will hold a few more laps." "Copy that." Ferrari was trying to keep me around and I could tell. They listened to every one of my words when it came down to the car and how it would perform and trusted my knowledge of my own driving and car wear. I can only imagine how they treated Charles for him to leave though.
*
*
*
We're about to start a record here folks. As I came around the last corner I saw the white flag. One more lap. I was able to put some distance between myself and Alonso making my pit stop a little more comfortable as I was able to come out right behind him and then pass him on the next lap at turn four. Pushing my car as hard as I could without putting myself in danger I slowly closed the gap on the Redbull of Charles. But as the final lap dwindled away I knew there was no chance of me catching him. "Down the last straight away it's gonna be Verstappen first, Leclerc second, and for the first time we have a woman on the grid and the podium, Nova Daniels take home third place from Bahrain. "Woohoo! Yes!" I cheered. It's not a win. But it's a podium and it's more than I ever expected to come out of my first race in an F1 car. "Beautiful job Nova." I heard over the radio. "Thank you guys so much." I replied as we took the cool-down lap.
*
*
*
We pulled around to the podium area and I parked my car behind the third-place sign. As I was unstrapping myself to get out I felt on top of the world. Once I got out I walked over to the cool down room and sat down. "Nova, you did awesome." Max said as he walked in. Somehow I was first into the room. "Thank you." I said still out of breath a little. "Here, they're for all of us." He said tossing me a water from the fridge. "Oh, I was just going to wait till I got back to Ferrari. Thank you though." I said opening the cap of the bottle. "You'll die by then." He said chuckling. The door opened and in walked Charles. "There she is." He said with a smile. "Welcome to the podium Chérie." He said. "Thank you, Lord Perceval." I said with a giggle. He rolled his eyes and sat down after grabbing a water.
*
*
*
As we stood for the Dutch Anthem my heart started to slow down. Maybe I'm actually good at this. For the longest time, it was just a hobby for me and I never took it seriously. Once I got into F2 and was in the running for the championship I started to take it seriously and in a way I've doubted my abilities since then. Yes, I can win in an F2 car but to win in an F1 car is another feat. Maybe I actually can though. If Ferrari doesn't do me like they did Charles there's a shot. The anthem ended and we all left the podium. "I will be taking this and I will be getting shit-faced in my room tonight." I said carrying the bottle of champagne over my shoulder like Jack Sparrow does his Rum bottle when it's always gone. "Wow, no invite I see how it is." Max chuckled. "Rot op, je had gewoon kunnen vragen om langs te komen." I said and Charles looked at me funny. Max sighed and looked at me. "Nodig hem uit voordat hij huilt en sms me wanneer ik er zal zijn." He replied glancing over to Charles. "ja ja. ga nu je vriendin zoeken voordat ik haar meeneem." I said and he ran off with a giggle. "Would you like to come over?" I asked looking over at Charles. "Yeah, sure. I'll meet you at Redbull?" He asked and I nodded. He went his way and I went mine to go change. As I walked into the Ferrari paddock everyone cheered. "You did amazing today." Carlos said running over to me. "Thank you, so did you Mr. Smooth Operator," I said and he laughed. He needed up getting P6 so still good. We all chatted for a bit then I went off to my driver's room. I pulled off my suit and slipped on a pair of jeans and a Ferrari shirt I turned into a tank top. I slipped my boots on and I walked out grabbing my phone and wallet. "Bye, guys!" I yelled and I heard a bunch of byes and see you soon. I walked over to Redbull and texted Charles that I was here. I didn't want to just walk into a paddock that wasn't mine. "Can I help you, Miss Daniels?" A voice spoke. I looked up from my phone and saw Christian Horner. "Oh, no sir. I'm just waiting on Charles. I can move to a different area if you'd like." I said. "No, you're fine. Please come in." He said beckoning me into the paddock. I walked closer and underneath the roof of the garage. "Impressive race today Miss Daniels. None of us were expecting you to podium your first time out." "Thank you. I wasn't expecting to podium until at least mid-season so I'm just as surprised as most everyone else." He chuckled and nodded his head slightly. "Charles should be out soon. His room is just back there if you'd like to go back." He said pointing behind him. "I'll wait here. I don't want to walk in on him or something." I said with a laugh. "Hello, Aimer." I turned around and saw Charles standing there. In a Redbull t-shirt and blue jeans with a cap on his head. "Hallo vriendelijke meneer." I said. "Enough with the Dutch I don't know what you're saying." He whined. "And I don't know what you say in French so kus mijn kont." I heard a chuckle as I finished and looked over to see Max. "Max, what did she say?" Charles asked. "She told you to kiss her ass." He said. "The day you beat me is the day I'll kiss your ass. So never." He said with a sly smile. "Children stop fighting." Christian said. "He started it." I said. "I don't care who started it. I'll lock you in a trailer for the rest of the night and you'll have to be nice to each other." Max laughed and Christian shot him a look. "That means you too Max." He said and Max shut up. "Come on boys. We got a bottle to pop." I said and they grinned. "I'll take care of your boys Mr Horner." I said turning back to him. "Please, call me Christian and they will live. Just dump them off at my hotel if you need to." He said and I smiled and nodded. "Kom op ik wil gaan." Max said. "Ja ja, let's go come on Lord Perceval." I said grabbing his arm and we took off running with Max.