Chapter 8

When the time for me to fly to Monaco, I was already pretty excited for the Grand Prix, the sights of the country and of course the sight of the country. Luckily, my inexperience in flying to Europe directly from Australia was somewhat helped by having Aussie with me, since he was also a Grand Prix host nation and was invited to Monte Carlo as well. He got invited to a lot of long-distance races, so he was more capable of handling time zone differences and other things. Simply put, I knew I had to be at the Casino Square on Tuesday, but would be incredibly jet lagged by going back 9 hours in time zones. From this, me and Australia both agreed that we'd get there on Monday evening, providing me plenty of chance to rest before Tuesday. I was quite fortunate to have Aussie help me out in that respect, since he didn't even need to be at the track until Thursday, so it was all for me.

Another thing that suited me very well in my situation was Australia's tendency not to ask many questions, but to just shrug things off. That dealt with one thing that I wasn't looking forward to before the long haul flight, having to explain the situation between me and Matilda. It was difficult to work things out myself, never mind trying to explain to my brother that my first relationship is with a girl, but keeping to type, he just asked who I was meeting and where. Simple and fortunately for me, not needing much explanation. I was starting to think that maybe, just maybe, luck was going to be on my side this week.

As planned, Australia and I arrived in Monte Carlo on the Monday evening. While I had been here before with Matilda, the place looked much more beautiful at night than during the day. Especially the glow of lights from the few boats that were in the harbour at this point and their reflections in the gentle, but not unnoticeable ripples in the water. As the weekend wore on, the harbour would obviously fill up, so I had to enjoy the sight while I could. Australia soon yanked my away from my thoughts and daydreaming though, reminding me of just how tired I was after the flight.

We found our hotel, not far from the Rascasse corner on what would be the Grand Prix circuit for the weekend. The room was a simple, two bedrooms, a kitchen and a TV made up its interior. It didn't need to be anything but simple. Aussie and I could be comfortable for the week and we had a more than decent view of the part of the circuit our room overlooked, as well as the harbour which wasn't far away. I quickly settled down and got ready to go to sleep, seeing as it was already late and in all honesty, I had no trouble sleeping that night. Despite how weighted my conscience and thoughts were for various reasons, as well as being very excited to be visiting Matilda while watching a Grand Prix, I was very tired after the journey, being as it was a journey that involved travelling much further and for much longer than I was used to.

The following day would prove to be much more interesting. I woke up surprisingly early and still felt very well rested. Since I'd been told by Australia that the formal part of the week probably wouldn't arise until Thursday, when the actual Grand Prix weekend would begin, I wore my usual attire to go and meet Matilda at the Casino Square corner, as opposed to the dresses Poland had advised me to buy a few weeks before. I left the hotel and walked out towards our arranged meeting point and then it hit me. There were only a few centimetres of barrier separating me from an actual Grand Prix circuit. However, I had to contain the excitement that came with that realisation. I needed to at least maintain some dignity and not make a total fool of myself. As I went up the hill and approached the aforementioned corner, someone slowly entered my view.

It quickly became obvious that the person was Matilda, though unlike me, she was very well dressed. Her hair was worn asymmetrically as usual, but looking elsewhere, she just looked very formal and very nice. Needless to say, her rosy pink dress was modest, yet classy and lovely, covering most of her body like her coat usually did and on her feet were two high heeled black boots. Dressed like this, she didn't just personify her nation, but was a pure embodiment of class and grace also.

Of course, after seeing that kind of beauty, I was much less confident about turning up in a cardigan, shorts and sandals that I'd just thrown on. As though I hadn't made much of an effort and Matilda had put all of her effort in to look nice. I continued to approach her, considerably more nervous than before and managed to wave as I got closer.

Once I felt I was close enough, I spoke "Hey Matilda!" I called before smiling at her, which she returned before I continued "Thank you for inviting me here and I'm sure your streets will provide a marvellous spectacle for the weekend for the duration of the weekend." I'd gotten it into my mind that if I didn't look formal, I had to at least sound like I was to avoid looking like some girl who didn't understand the first thing about Formula 1 and the prestige and formality that came with being anywhere near the Monaco Grand Prix, which is probably what most people assume about me at first sight.

Still with her smile from before, Matilda replied "Bonjour Ashleigh. You don't need to talk like that to me. I already know how smart you are."

I almost had to stop and decide whether or not I'd heard her right, before speaking again "Thank you." I said with what felt like a slight blush appearing on my cheeks. It wasn't often I was complimented so outright. "I just thought I had to act formal so as not to ruin your formal and…" I paused to try and find the words, but decided to be just as straightforward with my compliment as she had been "I didn't want to ruin the formal and beautiful image you've presented yourself with." All of that was true, despite my nerves and hesitation while saying it. It seemed almost surreal to be saying all of this.

Seemingly noticing how nervous I was, Matilda spoke up before I could continue, though with a slight giggle in her voice, it still remained soft and reassuring as it usually was when I was perhaps making myself a little too nervous around her. "You mean how I'm dressed? Don't worry. I'm the only one who needs to be formal for now. I act as a dealer at this casino." She smiled brightly, while I again had to wait a moment for the words to sink in.

"Oh…w-well I should have made more of an effort at least…" I managed to force out. I still hadn't lost my child-like stubbornness "It doesn't seem right is all."

"It's fine! Anyway, I think it's time you saw where I work." She said, taking my hand and leading me towards the front door of the casino overlooking the Casino Square corner (hence the name). I felt myself blushing and tensing up a little again, which was strange considering I had kissed Matilda without being overly nervous or embarrassed, but couldn't be seen to be holding hands with her, despite nobody being in or around a casino during a Monte Carlo morning. To be honest, at this point, my train of thought wasn't worth questioning, or you'd just end up with more questions to ask.