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THE premiere for Court Cards has gone smoother than Maia expected. So far, all she's done is take pictures with Caleb and Ben, plus her other co-stars as well. Nobody has been rude or crazy towards her either, or at least, not yet anyway. Ever since the trailer came out, she's been going a bit viral for being pretty, and people on TikTok keep saying that she's the next best thing for the world of entertainment.
That craziness is a problem for her later though, because right now she's in the middle of one of ten interviews, and this interviewer actually did his research, to Maia's great relief.
He's a tall British man wearing an all-black suit, not unlike the one that Ben's character wears in the film. Since the interview started, she's answered questions about juggling an acting career while getting a Bachelor's degree in Environmental Science and Policy (his words, not her's,) and also questions about what it was like to move from Australia to America by herself at the age of seventeen.
"Was it hard? Adjusting to life independently at such a young age?" He asks, pointing the microphone at her with just enough space for her breathing not to be heard.
Maia nods. "It was a little hard at first! Especially with the terms Americans use being quite different, and, um, even some of the curriculum is a bit off as well, but mostly the words. I got made fun of by my roommate the first week I moved in because I kept calling McDonald's 'Macca's.'"
"Right! That's what it's called over there, isn't it?"
"Yeah, it is! But, other than that, it was actually quite nice. I had my mum here with me for the first few months or so, living with some distant cousin of mine that I'm really grateful towards," she explains, smile beaming like the moon in the night. "But even after she left, I was quite well-adjusted already! I got lucky having such nice schoolmates and living in such a nice area."
The interviewer begins asking another question, and behind him, she can see many more guests shuffling in through the front doors of the casino lobby the event organizers have turned into a make-shift premiere house.
That's when she sees him.
He's standing there with three other people. One is tall with dark hair and a beard to match, while the other has brown curly hair and a little bit of facial hair on his chin. The last guy he's with is around the same height as the dark haired man, but he's paler with lighter facial hair.
But him? He looks the same. Taller, hair a bit longer, but still, just the same.
This can't be real.
"That would be Oscar Piastri and a few other Formula 1 drivers who got invited to the event," the interviewer adds, noticing her eyes going slightly wider and her mouth being just a bit agape. "I believe they're set to leave for Abu Dhabi when the premiere is over..."
Maia hates to be rude, she really does, but she's not paying attention to any of the interviewer's words anymore. Not after he had said his name.
That would be Oscar Piastri.
Oscar Piastri.
Oscar.
Osc.
She's staring, and for just a moment, she sees Oscar barely starting to stare back at her too.
He must remember you. How could he forget?
Because truly, how could he? When they had spent so much time together arguing over meaningless things? Asking each other in the middle of class 'who's most likely to become famous?' or 'which out of the two of us would get married first?' She supposes they both won the first question, with Oscar maybe beating her out just a smidge, but that second one? No answer to that one yet since she's still single. She couldn't really speak on Oscar's behalf though, since she hadn't talked to him in a little over eight years.
Eight years? Had it been that long already?
Eight years without anyone to beat in her classes. Eight years without meaningless 'would you rather' or 'most likely to' questions to keep each other awake during boring school hours. Eight years without making bets for gas station snacks before playing a game of basketball, or cricket.
That's right. Eight years. Eight years without Oscar Piastri by her side, and he has the audacity, the nerve to show up now.
"Is it really?" Maia asks innocently, snapping out of her trance. "My roommate is a huge F1 fan so, I was wondering why they looked so familiar!" The lies drip from her tongue with ease as she ignores the palpitations in her chest.
In her peripheral vision, she can see Oscar getting scooted forward by the other drivers, who seem to be peering around for something. Beverages, probably.
"Angela, right?" The interviewer asks, changing the subject quickly. "What do you have to say about her and who she is to you?"
Maia shakes off her nerves and continues on, rambling about how lovely Angela is and how she's never had a friend like her before.
The only issue? She can feel Oscar's gaze still, and it feels unwavering against the side of her head.
No. No. She isn't gonna let him win this time.
She remembers what he told her before he left her behind. Maybe he was kidding when they were younger, but considering how little he reached out and how little effort he made to reconnect, she was almost positive there might have been a droplet of venom in the last exchange of words they had.
She's lost a lot of competitions against Oscar, a lot of bets, and a lot of time, but he won't catch her this round.
She won't allow it.
THERE is a big misconception about Oscar and who he is as a person. The fans of Formula 1 have sort-of dubbed him this introverted, mysterious force whenever he's next to Lando, but he's much more outgoing than he seems. He's just naturally quiet, that's all.
But, as he hides out in the overly nice restroom of the casino lobby, he can't help but wonder if that stereotype he accidentally created for himself might reign true after all.
His phone has been blowing up ever since the premiere concluded, texts from Lando, Max, and Daniel, no doubt. He had simply said that he needed some time alone away from the crowd, but they keep insisting he come out to mingle—like his mum trying to get him to make new friends at a new school.
School.
The last time he saw Maia was when he was a 14-year-old, still going to school in Australia.
Surely, she must have remembered him. That had to have been why she was looking at him the way she did when she was doing that interview.
Another vibration from his phone, and Oscar decides to give it a glance of pity.
lando 🎤🎤: you're gonna regret not having fun if you stay there the whole night ):
It's true, he would. He doesn't mind big hang outs or big parties, but he would rather be shot dead than give whatever otherworldly force a chance to throw Maia back into his face, into his life.
What was the last thing he had told her before he left?
"You gonna miss me when you're in England, Osc?"
"Ha, obviously not. You're too annoying for me to miss you."
Oscar shoves the phone back into his pocket and rests the back of his head against the wall of the restroom, for once removing any consideration of the dirtiness or germs thriving on it.
He never stopped thinking about that stupid response, and he never stopped thinking about her.
The boarding school in England was nice. It was a decent looking place with fun and kind kids. The teachers weren't so bad either, but no one, not a soul could replace the void that Maia Hoang had filled for him, and he chose to leave their friendship off like that.
It was a joke, and he was sure that, at the time, Maia knew it too. She had laughed with that smile of hers and shoved him a bit, and when their parents called for them to get picked up from the front gate of their school, they parted ways for the last time, as if they'd see each other again the next day. He's pretty damn sure they never even said 'goodbye' either, just a simple wave as the two hopped into different cars.
What he had said about not missing her was a joke. But, maybe now, as adults, Maia didn't think it was a joke anymore.
Why on Earth did Oscar do that to her?
Why didn't he just say 'Yes, I would'?
Oscar looks towards the door of the restroom, contemplating whether or not he should suck it up and leave and go hang out with the rest of his mates—or maybe even reconcile with his old schoolmate he has one too many regrets about.
Or, he could continue to rot in here and wait until the after party for the premiere is over.
He pulls out his phone again to check the time.
9:23.
The event doesn't finish until 11:20.
The Australian boy huffs and hangs his head, looking at his brown Jordans that he was lent to wear for this event in particular.
Oscar was never really scared of much growing up, and yet, the thing he was the most afraid of wasn't crashing on track, or the monsters in the dark. No, his biggest fear was a girl he used to see as competition, who he now sees as a big, red, flashing reminder of his regrets.
NOTES!
14 year old oscar being a dumbass 😒
xoxo, cas