Page 12 of Red Queen
“Hell yeah. We won’t miss out on the biggest party of the year.” Isa speaks up with excitement.
“Great! I’ll find you when I have some time, then. Somehow.”
We share a laugh and say goodbye again. I head back to my hotel and shower, then do my skincare and snuggle under the blankets. Thankfully, it doesn’t take long to fall asleep.
Saturday goes by awfully slow and fast at the same time. We rehearsed all day for the party, so I couldn’t attend qualifying. But at least now we’ve perfected it, and we’re ready to face tomorrow night. After I answer my unread messages, I go on social media to see what I’ve missed.
A video pops up from Blaze’s page, and I see Nathan talking about how positive their day was and ready to fight tomorrow. He finished second in qualifying, which is a very good place to start from.
Some haters found their way to the comment section, and it makes my blood boil. I wish people would realize how much they can affect another person’s way of thinking.
I know Nathan struggled a lot as a kid, especially after he lost his mother. He was bullied for it, and he had a hard time processing it. Being a Formula 1 driver can be demanding, and dealing with the loss of your mother while speeding through tracks one by one can’t be easy.
Even after all these years, people can’t seem to comprehend how much work these drivers put into their job.
Not just Nathan, but everyone else, they train and travel and work and risk their lives to succeed and support their team. It’s a lot more work than we could even think of, and these super clever couch-potatoes criticizing them in a non-humanely and cruel way is just crazy. They don’t deserve this treatment, no one does.
I shoot Nath a text congratulating him and wishing him good luck for tomorrow. He doesn’t text back, so I decide to search up Moscardi’s page, and I’m greeted with a video from Mateo and Aiden. They say almost the same thing as Nath, they finished first and third at quali, and they’re also going to fight tomorrow to at least keep their places.
They’re probably at the best place on the grid, since it’s basically impossible to overtake in Monaco. It might not be an exciting race, but it might have some unexpected actions.
Mateo seems to take the lead in the video, and I doubt he doesn’t know what he’s doing. Fangirls take up the comment section, fawning over him, and honestly, I can’t blame them.
I don’t know if it’s common to describe men as pretty or beautiful, but he’s both. He seems like he was written by a woman. Glowing skin, spectacular hair, his facial features, and his charming personality… God knows why he’s still single.
Just before I fall asleep, Nath texts back, thanking me, demanding to have a drink with him tomorrow when he wins. I send back a winking emoji, and he puts a heart on it.
10
ROSA
Iwake up earlier than I planned to, probably because of the adrenaline. I’m really excited for tonight. I have a VIP ticket for the race from Atlas Autos, so I can slip out before the crowd to make it to the bar in time. We’ll still have a couple hours to go over everything one last time before we open the club at 10 PM.
All tickets are sold out for tonight. We’re expecting a huge celebration, especially since the quarter Monegasque Aiden is starting from first place. If he wins, he’ll be a saint here.
So far, everything is going according to plan. All trucks have arrived, decor is set up, and food and drinks are in the freezer. We’re only waiting for the DJ to come, but he’s still on a yacht, hosting a before party, so we told him to be at the bar’s front door by 5 PM at the latest.
Ivy gave us the green light so we can go to the track, as long as we’re back before five. If all goes well, the race will last about two, maximum two and a half hours, so I can get back to the bar in time. If nothing changes, almost all the drivers will be here, and we’ll have a big celebration.
I’m quite early this time, because I wanted to spend a little time with my uncle and the guys before the race. This one won’tbe a good race for Atlas, as the car is not suitable for the Monaco track. It’s not good in slow corners or over the kerbs, and Monaco is full of them.
They can still bring home solid points, but they won’t be close to even a podium, especially since they finished in sixth and eighth place yesterday in qualifying.
Again, Georgia is waiting for me at the entrance and greets me with a big smile and a hug, just as always. We reach the garage, and there are already a few VIPs there, it seems like I’m not so early.
“Lali!” Huck’s daughter runs up to me with such force, I’m afraid she’ll fall. I’m surprised she remembers me, but I’m glad she does.
Last time I saw her was a year ago. This little angel I used to babysit a couple times is almost seven years old. I’m not that old, but it feels like yesterday when she was three and we were sitting in the grass watching her dad drive a hundred laps during testing days.
“Kai!” I pick her up and spin around until she demands I put her down. “Look at you! You’re a grown woman now. Time flies by, huh?”
She just chuckles and nods, then wraps her little arms around my waist. “I missed you.”
“I missed you, too, sweetie.”
I look up and spot her mother, who’s smiling at us. I tell Kaili to go back to her mom and promise to talk to her soon, as I go to find my uncle. The teams are already getting ready, if not almost ready, to start the race, which is no surprise. I find the old man sitting outside, scanning the weather forecast with some other team members.
“Hey, guys. How’s it looking?” I ask as I step closer, looking out for the important people that are speeding through the pit lane, getting ready for the race.
