It's Lights Out - Mick Schumacher X OC

Part 7

After getting ready, I slip my lanyard on and head out of my room.

I scan my pass and head into the paddock, ready to get going for the first Free Practice session of the season. As the photographers get photos of all the drivers entering, I slip through the pack to avoid my awkward, nervous face being in the background of them. As I head into the garage, I place my bag next to my stool on the pit lane and sit in my stool for the first time, and take in the scenery around me. 

The energy is electric as FP1 approaches in around an hour. The buzz of the fans watching the practice pit stops, the noises of the wheel guns, the clicks of the cameras, and everyone running around like headless chickens to get to where they need to be for the day, making sure everything is in order to collect as much data as possible. 

I place my headphones on and all the noise drowns out around me, and I close my eyes. It feels like I'm in my own personal bubble even though there's so much going on around me, and I smile as I can feel the sun against my back.

However, I can't stay like this forever, as we have to go in for team briefing and then get the season started. So I hop off my stool, take my water bottle and head into the team meeting room. 

I take my seat in an empty corner as everyone else slowly trickles in. Mick, who arrives at the time listed in the email on the dot, is one of the last to enter, and chooses to sit next to me, and not in the 10 other empty seats dotted around the room. 

"You ready?" He whispers to me as Guenther starts his speech.
"I don't know, are you? You're the one having to do the driving. No one cares about me." I reply. playfully knocking him.
"We'll see about that one for when we end up on the funniest team radios video in a few weeks." He says, cowbiting my thigh, and making me squirm.

5 years apart and it's like we're back being 17, play fighting and arguing. However, I slap his hand away and focus on what I should actually be listening to. 

"...this season is a special one as we have so much to fight for. As you know, the last few seasons haven't been good for us, and there's a chance that Gene wants to get rid of the team and go see if he can find something else to make him money. So, let's give him all the reasons to get him to keep it. Let's get this thing going!" Guenther says, putting his hands up into the air. Everyone starts to clap and slowly, start filtering out the room. 

Me and Mick leave the room together, as he steals my water bottle and takes a sip.
"Always tastes better out of someone else's." He says, taking another swig.
"Sure it does. Or, you can never be bothered filling your own bottle up." I say, snatching my bottle back while he tries to take another sip.
"Why would I do that when I can have people to do it for me." He replies, with a straight face, being completely serious.

What a way to kill the mood.
"Winning F2 changed you." I say, rolling my eyes.

I walk away, Mick not really knowing what he said wrong, and go the other way into the garage and head onto the pit wall once again. 

Tom is sat next to me.
"Right, so when you're ready to talk to Mick, you can press this button here, and press it down the entire time you're talking to him. if you wanna talk to me, you press this "T' button, and when you wanna send something to the FIA when another driver does Mick wrong, you can speak to the stewards on the "FIA" button and submit a report." He says, pointing to each button he's talking about, moving around the dashboard.
"Gotcha." I reply. 
He nods at me and places his headset on, which I do the same, and then we give eachother a quick fist bump. 

Before we know it, Mick and Kevin are in their vehicles, and the tyre wraps are off, and off we go.

Mick starts first, going around.
"Hello, Mick." I say. 
"You sound different on the radio." He replies.
"So do you. The going 200MPH does that to someone." I say.

Mick carries on driving as the cameras follow him around the circuit.
"Okay Mick, this next lap we need to go as fast as we can. We need to see how we can do for quali and what we can aim for." I say.

He starts a new lap, and immediately speeds up. 

However, the car still seems quite slow.
"Mick, change configurations to A-B, please." 
"Are you sure?" He asks. 
"Mhm."
"It seems like it would make it go even slower."
"Nope, I got it. Do it, please." I reply.

I see on the screen he still hasn't done it. We go back and fourth, back and fourth. 
"Mick, change it, now please. We haven't got time to waste."
"I don't think you're giving me the optimal command, so I'm not doing it."
"Stop taking the piss, Mick, and change the damn config."
He sighs through the radio.
"Fuck off and stop telling me what to do!" He shouts back.

I gasp at the way he's just spoken to me.
"CHANGE IT NOW! LISTEN TO WHAT I'M SAYING!" I shout down the microphone.

He still refuses to do it, and even pretends to not hear me so he can carry on trying to push his laps, but we're just falling behind even more. 

"Mick. Change the configuration, please." I say, calming down.
"No. I wanna push this lap even further." He says. 
I rub my forehead in frustration. 
"Do what you want then." I say, muting my microphone.

He does another lap and the time doesn't change. 

Tom overhears what's going on.
"Mick, it's Tom. Change the config." Tom says.
"Okay." Mick replies, and then immediately changes it. 

I go bright red in just sheer shock that he just didn't listen to me, and then take my headphones off and walk away. Tom asks Mick to come in, so we can get Kevin out too. 

I go into the office and slam the door. 

First session and it was all going so well, until he decided not to trust me. Until he decided that screaming at me was the best way to speak to me.