"Hurra! Hurra!", came the cheers of the team around her and Ollie. They stood next to eachother, with bright smiles on both their faces while their team praised them.
"You guys did so well today! I'm so proud", Mark says to them, as he pat their shoulders cheerfully.
"And happy birthday, dear", he says to Nala before walking away to sit at the long table. Nala's heart felt overjoyed as she watched the happy people in front of her all talkative and carefree.
She feels a gentle hand on her shoulder then, turning to see Ollie and his smiley expression faced toward her. Nala let out a content breath of air as he brought her into a friendly hug. "You did so well, Nala. You should be proud of yourself", he says when he pulls away. It leaves Nala with a big grin on her face, thankful to Ollie's words.
"You did excellent too, Ollie. But thank you. You're a good friend", she says to him, before going and sitting down between her friends. The dinner went on for a while, the two celebrations of her birthday and her first race mixed together. It was a very delightful night.
But soon it was time for everyone to go back to their apartments. "Shit! I've got to catch a plane home in the morning. Shit. Shit. Shit", Nala whispered under her breath as her, Jaidyn and Marley dawdled back to the car.
"What time?", Jaidyn asks, half distracted.
"Like, 6 or something. Too early", Nala replies as they get into the vehicle.
"Ha! Ours is at lunch time. Doesn't that suck for you!", Marley teases from the back seats as Nala starts to drive back to the hotel. Nala silently rolls her eyes as she focuses on the road ahead of her, the chatter of her two friends now background noise.
As she drives, Nala makes a list of things she has to do when she gets to her room.
1. Pack her bags
2. Check flight time
3. Lay stuff out for tomorrow (like clothes and laptop for work)
4. Probably panic
When it came to the last point, her mind had a small battle with itself, but in the end she knew it was going to happen so she just kept it there.
They rolled into the car space in the garage of the hotel, and dragged themselves into the elevator. When Jaidyn and Marley's floor arrived, Nala gave them quick hugs, saying their goodbyes.
"I'll see you guys soon!", she forced out as the doors began to shut. It was funny to think that the next time Nala was going to see her friends would be in an entirely different country thousands of kilometres away. She thought about that for a few moments before the doors opened onto her floor.
Nala trudged back to her room, her feet sore in her beautiful heels and her eyelids heavy. It was around 11:30 and Nala just knew she wasn't going to be having a long enough sleep. She would have to get up around 4 in the morning and get to the airport, then fly all the way back to Italy.
Although she was only 17, she lived by herself in her parent's old holiday home just outside of Rome in the hills. It was very beautiful there. Peaceful. Idyllic. Perfect for Nala. She moved there to avoid anything that could come up between her and her father, Toto. But also to have a nice retreat when she wasn't out travelling the world for work. She loved it. And right then, she had the biggest desire to be back there, cuddled up under the bed sheets with her beautiful golden retriever, Romeo, at her side.
Nala slowly got ready to go to sleep, gathering all her things and putting them in a heap at the base of the bed, ready for the next morning. And when she finally got herself into bed, her mind buzzed with a million different thoughts about her first race earlier that day.
Beep! Beep! Beep! The alarm clock cried out at Nala to get up already. She tossed and turned around trying to block out the noise, but soon she pushing herself up off the bed as she checked the time. 4:14 it read. Nala sighed as she quickly got dressed in comfortable clothes, a nice sweatshirt and her favourite lounge shorts.
Nala splashed cold water on her face, waking her up a bit more before brushing her teeth as she starred at her sleepy self in the mirror. It was too early. But she had to get to her plane. She just had to.
Soon, Nala was hauling her massive suitcase out of her room, accidently making too much noise in the hallway. Behind her, she locked the door and made her way down to the reception. Nala felt a little pang of lonliness when she gave the keys back at the desk and went outside to where her uber was waiting. She usually travelled with Marley and Jaidyn, especially since she had a private jet, yet they had to go back to London today for some business stuff, so that meant she would have to travel alone.
The uber driver was friendly, making light conversation on the way to the airport.
"How was your stay?"
"Where are you headed back to?"
"What do you do for work?"
At that last question, Nala answered honestly, feeling quite proud of herself as she talked about it. "Well, I'm a rookie Formula 1 driver. I just competed in my first race yesterday!", she said, which the driver kindly congratulated her. He was dark skinned, with a warm smile and a happy personality.
When they finally arrived to the airport, the kind man helped Nala with her bags with a bright smile on her face.
"Good luck, dear. And have a good flight!", he waved to her as Nala disappeared inside. The man's kind words made Nala's expression brighten as she slowly made her way through security and customs until she could finally go and board her plane.
The familiar interior of her jet made Nala feel like a weight had been taken off her shoulders. She was finally on her plane, now they just had to take off and go home. Not long later, the sound of the engines firing up filled her ears, and she was joined by two flight attendents dressed in nice grey attire. She was offered a cold glass of water as they pilots drove the plane out onto the tarmac, and butterflies spread their way through her body as she realised she was going home.
The six hour journey was spent by Nala watching movies. Titanic. Cinderella. Happy Gilmore. You name it. But soon, the rolling hills could be seen, and Nala knew they were getting very close to landing. She watched through the window as they flew across miles of land in just a few minutes. The sky was a pale blue and the fluffy white clouds looked as though they were the most comfortable thing on earth. She sighed a breath of relief when the pilots voice came through an overhead speaker.
"Welcome back home, Miss Wolff. We will be landing in just a few moments", the pilot says. The familiararity of her last name sends a warm but absent pang through her body. Nala longed to have her last name there all the time, yet she would be associated with her father. And even though she loved her father dearly, she wanted to prove she could make it on her own, without him and their famous last name.
The plane soon landed and came to a stop in a hanger close by to the airports exit gates. As soon as she stepped out the door and onto the landing of the stairs, Nala could hear the distant hustle and bustle of the city of Rome. She was home.
Nala rushed through customs, eager to get out of the airport as soon as she could. And when she did, she took a deep breath, closing her eyes as she soaked in the Italian morning sunshine. She made her way back to her personal car, the one that had been locked away in an airport garage while she was away. And when she saw it, a bright smile came across her face.
The grey 1962 Ferrari 250 GT SWB Berlinetta looked as magnificent as always. It was her dream car. The car she truly loved. And it made Nalas whole expression light up as she walked towards it, a skip in her stride as she did so. Nala carefully loaded her suitcase into the passenger seat, and then went around and lowered herself down into the drivers side.
Smooth leather of the steering wheel could be felt under her touch. She missed this. Nala hadn't been back home for nearly 3 weeks now, as she had been over in London preparing for the race and so on. So she was overjoyed when she was able to start the car and hear the low rumble of the engine underneath her.
Nala decided to take a detour through the wonderful and busy streets of Rome. The sounds of the world around her were music to her ears. Soon, the chattering of people and sweet melodies of musicians, as well as the old buildings and cobblestoned roads were gone though, replaced by the chirping of birds and wind in the trees, and the rolling hills around her. It was peaceful, and Nala loved it.
When you thought about it, Nala lived in 2 worlds that were so different from eachother. The first was her work life, if you counted driving cars for a living work. The lavish and famous lifestyle that came along with that was overwhelming. The constant noise of people around you, whether they be fans or teammates, and the spotlight you were put in. It was completely opposite of her home life. Where she lived in the peaceful hills of Rome by herself, with her beautiful dog by her side, a horse that she loved and an adorable but annoying bird. With no one to bother her, and she could live however she wanted. Yet those worlds fit along beside eachother so perfectly.
Nala finally pulled up the tree-lined drive of her house. When she could finally see the building come into view, it was like she was suddenly lighter. The house was bricked, with flowers growing all on the outside. Not in a bad way, but in a beautiful sort of way. It was classed as a big villa because of its size, but it didn't worry Nala at all as she loved the space to herself. The house had a very gorgeous feel to it. Italian touches were spread around the property, as well as beautiful gardens and fountains. The whole house was amazing.
She parked her car just outside the door, doing a happy little dance as she went over the passenger side to get out her bags. Then she heard the big wooden doors open, and a happy barking as she turned to see her beautiful golden retriever, Romeo, hurdling toward her. Nala was almost tipped over as he ran and jumped on her.
"Hello Romeo, my beautiful boy!", Nala cried, as she hugged her dog who wouldn't stop moving. Romeo's tail wagged back and forth so quick you could barley see it, and he would not stop moving as Nala tried to gather her bags and take them to the front door. Waiting for her was her friend, who had been house sitting for her, taking care of Romeo and her horse, Blue, down in the paddock, and her parrot, Bean.
"How was it?", the girl asked, bringing Nala into a hug.
"Oh my gosh, it was amazing, K! Unbelievable!" Nala replied. Kamille, or K, smiled brightly at Nala, sighing for before saying, "Well, I best get going to leave you be. I bet you've been waiting to be home". As they said their goodbyes, Nala finally took the biggest sigh all day. She was home. In her house. By herself. With Romeo and Blue and Bean. How relieving.