Heartdriven: Too Driven To Drive

35. Fanatically, My Dear

    Sebastian wanted to arrive early at the track, so Alice wouldn't be caught up in the fans wanting Sebastian's attention. They were a little bit later than expected, for God knows what reason... and fans were already lining up. He could handle that the best on his own with Britta, after dropping her and Antti off in the paddock. It did give him some excitement to be greeted by the fans and meeting them, so she didn't mind getting dropped off, trying to encourage him to seek out the masses, while she could hype herself up for the day and Antti got Sebastian's pre-race routines ready. Antti liked to talk. A lot. Alice wondered if he even still realised he was talking to her or just speaking out loud to himself. But the company was nice.
    He paused for a moment, letting her get a word in, "It's taking a while. Do you think they went directly to the briefings?"
    "Nah, not without telling us. Do you want to try the balls or the lights?", somehow in his flow of words, he had convinced her to try some of Sebastian's pre-race workouts.
    "Uhm, the lights then." With her hand coordination, playing around with balls in a small motorhome, was probably not the best idea. Banging on a bunch of lights to check her reaction, seemed the better option. With surprising results, it didn't go as bad as expected, not quite the reactions of a Formula One driver, she did have the reactions of a Formula One photographer. "Whoooo, that was hard," throwing herself back on the couch, "Sebastian really does this every race?"
    "Yes, but he actually hits the lights, heh."
    Well, she was pleased. It felt like a workout in its own. If Antti hadn't been there, she would have zipped down the dress. It was so hot. A teensy little regret playing dress up.

    Finally, Britta and Sebastian showed up, before Antti could convince Alice to play ball with him. That little workout had exhausted her enough to not even get up to greet the husband, "That took a little longer than usual."
    "Yeah," he chuckled knowingly, "There were a lot of fans."
    He went about his ball-business with Antti, and Britta sat down next to Alice on the couch. "Alice. Sebastian didn't want you to know this, if it would cause you stress, but I thought it best you knew, so you could prepare yourself."
    "Uhm... Okay. What is it?", it caught Alice off guard, but she trusted Britta in being right in whatever she would tell her.
    "As Sebastian was signing for the fans, there were some people asking about you. They wanted you to come too."
    "They wanted to see me?"
    "Yes. So if they ask for some photos, you can just decline, say no or that you have to catch a flight. You don't have to agree to any photos you don't want to," Britta was a pro and used to these kinds of things, reflected in the kindness she was relaying the information.
    The thought was making her a bit uncomfortable. Sebastian had always had pleasant experiences with fans, but Alice was thinking about her experience with the paparazzi in Canada. At least she would always have Sebastian with her, when his fans were there. He would probably find it easier to decline for her, if she found herself in a situation she was uncomfortable with. But maybe she should just stay back, try not to cause any attention for herself. They were there to see Sebastian, after all. No. This was what she was not supposed to do. Overthink. Mellow... mellow.

    A joyless race with car issues, Sebastian didn't even make it halfway through the distance. His most enjoyable experience of the day might have been the precaution he had taken earlier in their hotel room, to even make it through the day.
    He had wanted to leave early, if Britta hadn't been there, he probably would have. But through the media sessions he went and onwards to the briefings with the team.
    They hadn't been kidding by the amount of fans at the circuit, as Sebastian was greeted lovingly leaving the paddock of his team's home track. It brought the smile back to his face and Alice stepped back for him to enjoy the interactions.
    Alice had thought she could blend in among the fans, but a couple of girls in the back soon spotted her. They didn't approach her, but she could feel their eyes on her... trying not to stare. They looked young, they couldn't be much past their teen years, and with the smile on their faces, they looked kind and sweet as well. She returned their smiles and they took the courage of a few steps towards her. "Hello," the mousiest peep came out from the shortest one with reddish a pixie cut. They didn't seem all that dangerous, why had she worried about this? "C-can we have a... a photo with you?", the redness in their cheeks were showing, either from this interaction or spending the whole day outside.
    "Sure. Do you want one each or shall we do one together?", shoving her camera bag around her back, she put her arms around their shoulders as they both got their phones out. They seemed quite nervous, Alice was too but tried to disguise it to not put them off. If anything, she was confused. The crowd was swarming Sebastian and each of the drivers leaving who wanted to stop by, and these two girls wanted a photo with her.
    After posing properly with the both of them, she took some of their courage for herself, "Why do you want a photo with me?"
    "Y-you are so cool", they stuttered over each other as she was trying to differentiate their voices, "I think... we think it is so cool that you are a woman!"
    "That I'm a woman?", recognising the nervous rambling from herself, she gave their sentence the benefit of a doubt with a chuckle.
    "Yes! No! But yes! In a male dominated field, there are so many men, and it's really cool that you are a woman!"
    They had managed to speak separately and were starting to make sense. And surprise her. She wasn't exactly feeling empowered in her rather stereotypical gendered outfit. "I hadn't thought about that before. You guys are so sweet." She wanted to hug them, but restrained herself.
    "So we just thought it was really cool and we wanted to meet you." Their talking pace was starting to normalise, and they seemed a bit more comfortable for Alice to want to know more.
    They were curious about her, and she was curious about them. "Do you want to work in F1 as well?"
    "Yes, absolutely!", nodding excitedly with wide smiles, they spoke simultaneously again.
    "What do you want to do?"
    The taller one... well, taller than Alice, adjusted the glasses on her curly blonde locks, "I want to be a strategist. She's a designer."
    "That's so cool!", Alice was mirroring their enthusiasm as she was in fact excited about the prospects, "You should apply, they are always looking for new people with fresh ideas. I think Marussia is hiring. It's a start."
    They looked at each other as they were taking a mental note, "Thank you!", squeaking away, they moved in for a hug and she finally got her way to show them her appreciation. They were quite cold, how long had they been waiting?
    Alice could hear Sebastian starting to say his goodbyes to the fans, just lingering a bit for her to finish, "I have to go now. But I hope to see you in the paddock one day!"
    Managing to drag herself away, Sebastian did the same and he grabbed her hand quite firmly to stop her from wandering off again and didn't let go until they were back by the car. "That was fun!", she breathed a sigh of relief in her seat.
    "Really?"
    "Yesss! Babe, they were so sweet and patient," she realised she was starting to sound like a fan meeting her idol, but it was a relief to have such a positive experience.
    "They always are," he was quite mute but it didn't stop her from going on.
    "I don't know why I thought it would be uncomfortable."
    He continued monotone, "It is the first time they have asked for you, but it can be stressful when there are many and you don't have the time for them all."
    "Did you get everyone tonight?", wanting to distract him from thinking of the race by speaking of the fan interactions.
    "Yes, you were taking your time. I was in no rush," he was clearly still a bit moody from the day's disappointments, even if the fans had softened him a bit.
    He kept quiet after that, so she didn't drill him further. There probably wouldn't be any shimmy-shammy on the schedule tonight, even if those lederhosen had won her over.
    Continued sentiment of the season with an attitude of: on to the next one.