Luca visited his mother in the hospital again the following day to share the bright morning and breakfast with her. After ensuring she was fine and comfortable, he returned to his ho, the villa, to get so rest.
By "rest", Luca didn’t an a patent leisure that simply defined a brief respite. What he ant here was a complete and undisturbed repose that would last the entire day, allowing him to fully rejuvenate after the rapid and exhausting switch of locations in less than 48 hours.
There was a strange chord that ca with the switch from Switzerland’s unique landscape and cold-thin climate to the buzz of Italy and then to England’s cool, dreary air. Even for an F1 driver who frequently traveled, this transition felt overwhelming and subrging.
Luca treated himself to peace in the afternoon, unplugged and undisturbed, until that peace was interrupted by a call from Manuela. Upon answering, she inford/reminded him that a few agents from the F1 racing ga company, F1 Monoposto, were scheduled to visit his residence today in order to present him, first-hand, with his official and inaugural F1 Monoposto Driver Card.
Luca found enthusiasm in the news and responded that he couldn’t wait. When Manuela asked if he would be needing any form of security for the brief visit, offering to send Dino and Chico to the villa imdiately, Luca replied negatively and assured her that everything would go smoothly.
Besides, with the enriched physicality he had attained over the past few months, Luca believed he could take on a hundred gorillas, let alone n. Regular protection was not needed anymore.
***
Right at the ti Manuela had apprised they would arrive, the agents—dressed in F1 Monoposto’s signature palette of red, green, yellow, and black—showed up at the villa. They were seven in number, and Luca welcod them in without delay.
He treated them with genuine hospitality in the outside lounges, offering refreshnts and comfort before they got down to the business of the day.
One of the crew mbers had co fully equipped with a cara, ready to capture the occasion in both photos and videos for later uploads. This reveal would no doubt gain far more traction and reception than the usual, because it was Luca Rennick, of course. And if the agents were still stunned by his appearance, then the majority of the globe was sure to share that sa shock and conception once the footage went live.
"Is this the part where I see my demotion?" Luca asked with sharp eyes, studying them as they set everything up.
The background they had chosen was a short white fence to the left of his building. The fence bordered a beautifully manicured garden, and beyond that lay the open, virgin valleys.
"Not with a rating like yours, I’m afraid"
"Are you ready for this, Luca?"
Luca gave a steady nod, and the man reached down to a wide rectangular carton. He opened it and pulled out a slimr case. The surface shimred under the sunlight, and the crest of the ga company was proudly embossed in silver at the center.
"Here you go," he said.
The man presented the case to Luca, who initially assud it was heavy. But when he grabbed it by the bottom and one upper edge, it felt surprisingly and deceptively light.
Luca was then instructed to peel off the top surface, which was actually a matte black sheet covering the details of the card. While doing so, he was advised to smile occasionally at the rolling cara, just to give the footage that warm touch they intended.
"What’s your guess first?"
Unintentionally, Luca laughed as the presenter pressed so tension into the mont. He considered the question and shrugged.
"It wasn’t really an ideal season," Luca said honestly. "I crashed many tis, missed more than five races. Since my teammate holds the highest TR of 95, Antonio the champion is 93, and Davide, the runner-up, has 90... I’d place my rating sowhere between 85 and 89."
All the crew mbers laughed, their energy contagious enough to infect Luca with it as well.
"That’s an impressive guess. Very well then! Peel away and let’s see what our passionate gars will have to deal with when Luca Rennick is their avatar!"
Luca wore a warm smile as he gently pinched the corner of the sheet and peeled it away in a smooth, neat manner.
The details began to reveal themselves gradually, starting with the year of the Driver Card, the company’s crest once more, and eventually his image, followed by the full specifications.
Luca was shocked when he saw his Total Rating.
┌──────────────────────┐
│ F1 MONOPOSTO DRIVER CARD │
├─────────────────────┤
│ LUCA 🇮🇹
│ RENNICK
│ Jackson Racing Ferrari
├─────────────────────┤
│ Experience: 80
│ Racecraft: 96
│ Awareness: 91
│ Pace: 96
├─────────────────────┤
│ Total Rating: 97 │
└──────────────────────┘
************
Well, one thing "Driver of the Season" certainly ant was that he had been the best-performing driver that year.
It was nightti now. The garden was cloaked in navy-blue darkness, and the villa’s lights glowed like twinkling stars across the dark canvas of the landscape. Luca stood by the floor-to-ceiling window in the second living room, holding a hot cup of chocolate like he always did, with his gaze fixed on the night outside.
As his thoughts whisked through recent events, he ca to see it as rational for F1 Monoposto to rate him the highest, considering he had earned the title of Driver of the Season. But even with that logic in mind, Luca was still surprised... and he felt deeply honored.
He was definitely going to grab the ga upon its release on January 7th to see for himself exactly what a simulated version of Luca Rennick was capable of.
Luigi and DiMarco also received noticeable increases in their ratings, obviously due to their performances with the HiCEs. Yet even with that, Luigi had only just managed to match Rodnick’s previous 95, while DiMarco now stood at Luigi’s forr 93.
Rodnick, on the other hand, had been completely abstracted from the ga following his doping violation and ban. The ga had completely removed his likeness and statistics, leaving no trace of his previous standings. It was as though he had never existed within this past season. He was erased, pixel by pixel, from the digital world that once celebrated him.
Luca thought it was a bit cruel, but this was the punishnt. After all, F1 Monoposto had once endorsed Rodnick and the official ban’s consequences stretched far into also losing many contractual agreents, endorsents, and official placents in the ga. Rodnick was now temporarily erased as if he never existed. That was the harsh aftermath.
Another thing that made Luca’s mind churn further was the fact his team was stated as Jackson Racing in the Driver Card. Yes, of course, he was still a Jackson Racing driver—for a few weeks—but what if he just changed to another team during this post-season window?
Luca entertained the possibility of changing a team. The little wisp of a spark he had with Jackson was quite faint, one that could still be revived and blood. But Luca was aware that there was a blazing torrent elsewhere, burning brighter, pulling stronger.
Just as that thought faded, Luca turned when he heard ruffling sounds coming from sowhere inside the house. He was completely alone, so his first presumption was that either an intruder had wandered in, or so wild animal had found its way inside.
Before he could move, the door creaked open, and the most beautiful person in the world to him peeked her head in to scan the room.
Once Isabella’s eyes landed on him by the window, they widened, and she slowly startled into the room.
"Isabella? You’re here?" Luca asked. Winter break wasn’t until the next week or so, so Luca did not expect her to return and definitely not by this ti.
Isabella, who was dumbfounded by the appearance of the figure before her, finally found her words. She held up Luca’s phone, and a frown scarred her face.
"I’ve been calling you nonstop and got no response. Your phone was just lying on the counter," she said with slight irritation. "And we’ve been together for a year now, Luca, and you still can’t spell my na right? Why did you save my contact as Issabella with two S’s?"
Luca held back a laugh, confused at first, until she dialled his number and the hilariously misspelled na popped up on the screen.
"I’m really sorry," he chuckled. "I’ll change it now." He walked closer, gently took the phone from her hand, and corrected it imdiately.
Isabella scoffed and suggested that he add heart emojis too, maybe three or four of them. Luca humbly agreed.
After making the correction, he set the phone aside. He then shifted his attention fully to her, because he senses she had sothing more on her mind.
"Once I heard your mom was hospitalized, I ca back to see her," Isabella said. "I’m just returning from the hospital now."
After they talked about Mrs. Rennick’s condition, Isabella took a small breath and voiced her real concern.
She told Luca it hadn’t been pleasing the way he had been shaving her off for many weeks now, constantly distant and increasingly unreachable. So, when she learned he was back in London again, she took a bus just to co, find and catch him.
Luca had traveled for over two months, vanished into another country, and now returned with an entirely new look; different aura, different energy, and almost twice the body size she rembered. And while the change was impressive, it wasn’t necessarily healthy for their relationship.
Isabella couldn’t help but feel like she was now missing pieces of his world lately. It wasn’t bad, just... different. And that difference made her feel a little out of sync, like she was trying to catch up with soone who had now begun running far ahead.
Luca deeply apologized for the rift and assured her that things would return to normal, and even go smoother from now on.
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