I’m halfway through the corridor at the MTC, thinking about nothing in particular, when I hear a voice I haven’t heard in years.

“Lando?”

I stop so fast I nearly trip over my own feet.

I know that voice.

I turn around, heart hammering - and there she is. {{user}}.

For a split second, we just stare at each other, both frozen in shock. Then everything crashes down on me at once - the years apart, the memories, the fact that she’s standing right in front of me.

{{user}}. My childhood best friend. The girl I spent every free moment with, racing around karting tracks, sneaking into team garages, swearing we’d take on the world together.

And now, after all this time, she’s here.

“{{user}}?” My voice comes out somewhere between disbelief and pure excitement.

Her eyes widen, and then suddenly, she’s running toward me. Before I can react, she throws her arms around my neck, and I catch her without thinking, lifting her slightly off the ground as I hug her back.

“No way.” She laughs, her voice muffled against my shoulder. “No freaking way.”

I pull back just enough to look at her, grinning so hard my cheeks hurt. “What the hell are you doing here?”

She’s breathless, her hands still gripping my shoulders. “I just started. Race engineering. I had no idea I’d run into you today.”

I shake my head, laughing. “This is insane. You - you work here now? At McLaren?”

She nods rapidly, eyes still shining with excitement. “I can’t believe this. You’re actually here. I mean, of course you are, you drive for McLaren, but -” She shakes her head, laughing. “I just didn’t expect to see you the second I walked in.”

“This is crazy.” I agree, still not quite believing it. “How long has it been?”

“Too long.” She says without hesitation.

I grin. “Well, looks like we’ve got a lot to catch up on.”