Brute

40. Max

It was a chilly day, he hoped it would get just a little warmer as the sun rose higher in the horizon. Today's workout wasn't too intense, it was just enough to get his body moving. He had been honest to Brad about how stiff he felt from all the nerves.

They focused more on making sure he was breathing properly, so that he wouldn't fatigue his muscles and cramp them. He also did more stretches to make sure he wouldn't be cardboard at the end of the day.

After all the training, it was time to shower and head to breakfast. Kalki still hadn't sent over his schedule for today, he was very ready to pick a fight about it. Max took a deep breath and calmed himself down, she was very punctual, something must have come up to cause such a delay, he wanted to remember that he had to still be reasonable, no matter how jittery and all over the place he felt.

The worries melted away when he headed to the restaurant for breakfast, his mother was waiting for him. He walked straight to her and gave her a big hug, she gave his arms a little squeeze when he finally let go, she always did this, it always made him smile. She knew he wasn't himself lately, she just wanted to see him smile, anything to cheer him up.

"Did you sleep well? How are you doing today? What are you craving?" She asked him questions one after the other.

"I slept good! I'll answer your questions, catch a breath mum! How was your flight?" He asked.

"A mess as you can tell from yesterday." She laughed, "but I made it! I got to see you in time that is all that matters." She smiled.

"What exactly happened?"

"Bad weather, so they cancelled a lot of flights. I was so afraid I won't make it on time so I contacted Raymond, he found me a chauffeur who drove me to the next city, he got whatever tickets he could find and I made it!" She laughed.

"That sounds exhausting! And you still came to the track? You should have just taken a break!"

"I was very relaxed alright! And your manager, please don't scare her away she's fantastic."

"What did she do?" Max asked reading the menu.

"What did she not do? Because I came so late it was way past check in time at the hotel, she made so many calls to get that sorted, made sure to arrange someone who'll take me around town and told me I could call her or text her whenever I need something."

"She's good at her job."

"She's a familiar face too. I swear I've seen her before..." she squinted trying to recall where she had seen her.

"She's Kalki. Kalki Burman."

"Neel's older sister!? Your Karting rival? No way!" She exclaimed.

"It's her. It really is."

"I can't believe it. I swear it was just yesterday we were trying to break a fight between the two of you." She laughed.

"Yeah we don't physically fight anymore." Max laughed.

"Do you remember when you were ten, she called you a name so you tried to pull her hair out?"

"Hey! In all fairness she called me hedgehog for my haircut and she did get away with a punch once."

"Once? Both of you were violent!"

They enjoyed breakfast recalling more of the nicer memories Max had from his Karting days, it wasn't all gloomy. One thing that he did realise was, the good days and the bad days both had Kalki in them. Whether she liked it or not, she had celebrated his wins with him. It made him wonder why didn't they keep in touch, maybe it would have been good to stay in contact with each other.

The drive to the track was pleasant, it was quiet. Kalki didn't talk much, she just let him know he has nothing on his schedule today, he just had to focus on driving. The whole team was rather quiet, everyone was feeling the pressure. "Deep breaths people! We're almost there!" Kalki reiterated to everyone.

"I really like her." Christian said to Max.

"What can I say? She's good at her job."

"And you're great at yours. Show us what you're capable of." He gave him a pat on the back.

Max was strapped and ready in his car, they slowly made their way to the grid. The formation lap felt like it had been going on forever. When it was finally time to go, it felt like the lights took forever to go out.

A few laps into the race and Max was comfortable, neither Ferrari or Mercedes had the pace to keep up with him. Checo was doing a fantastic job of defending, their strategy, whichever one they chose to apply would unfold flawlessly.

Whatever they'd do, it would pressurise the teams trying to chase them, pressure when not handled properly led to mistakes. Mistakes always gave Max the extra edge over them.

Max could see the chequered flag in the distance, the closer he was inching to it, the louder he could hear his heart beat in his ears. A few more meters, just a few paces. He reminded himself. When he crossed it, it felt unreal, he could hear the roars of celebration in the crowd, in his ears, his crew absolutely losing it. He was shouting at the top of his lungs now, it felt like a weight was lifted off his shoulders, a sense of relief washed over him.

He hopped out of his car and sprinted straight to the end of the Parc Ferme, where his crew waited for him. The engineers, strategists, mechanics, Christian, Helmut, everyone was here. Everyone was proud of him, he could see his mother. She stood a little away, happy tears in her eyes, taking pictures of everything. Taking pictures of the grin on his face. The team moved apart so she could reach him.

"You did it!" She hugged him, "I hope you're proud of yourself."

"We did it. We really did. Thank you mum. Thank you for all the hours you've put in, the lifestyle you sacrificed so you could be there for me, nothing I do will ever be enough to thank you for everything you've done." He felt tears forming in his eyes.

"You do your best everyday. That is everything to me." She smiled wiping his tears away. "Now go on! You've got a trophy to collect."

"In a minute." He said, he could see Kalki in the corner of his eyes, cheering and hooting with the rest of the team.

"You're a world champion! A WORLD CHAMPION!" Kalki yelled as he walked towards her.

"Is it okay if I-" he awkwardly stretched his arms out.

"Of course it is!" She pulled him in for a hug, "I'm really happy for you. It's been incredible to watch you live your dream." She said.

He could smell the perfume she was wearing, this was probably the closest they'd ever been. He felt a strange tingle in his heart. When she pulled away, he saw her face, her big doe eyes, her smile. Had she always been this pretty? It made him nervous, his heart was beating fast. He needed to get out of here. What the fuck were these butterflies about?