Chapter Text
Pov: Max Verstappen
Max was back at the CAWS (Canadian academy of Winter sports) after a tiring summer vacation. During days off, slacking in was not in his dad’s program. The young teenager has been on the Amsterdam ice rink during 3 weeks of his vacation month. The last week was spent with his mother in Flanders, since his parents divorced when he was 7.
So, after 8 hours of flight and 2 more in the bus, that he finally made it to the academy, exhausted even though he didn’t really do anything.
He was wishing now only to find his dear dormitory and sleep till the next day.
He carried his suitcase behind him and got to the reception of the CAWS. Before the vacation, the responsible had announced a restructuration of the dormitory for a dumb raison Max already forgot.
He was simply wishing his new roommate wouldn’t be a pain in the ass. He hoped the gods would be kind to him.
But either way, there was still almost no one in the academy, the back to school only next week.
He took his key and walked to the “363” room. When he set a foot, he jumped in one of the beds, not even caring to change his clothes, and fall asleep quickly.
It wasn’t until the sweet noon rays of sunshine of the next day illuminate his face that he would wake up.
He headed to the cafeteria to eat something as he was starving. It was still empty of people or full of ones Max didn’t want to talk to.
He was eating a meal of not incredible pastas when a young teen stopped at the level of his table.
The Dutch looked at him with interrogation.
-” Are you Verstappen, the captain of the Senior team?”, he asked before the concerned nodded, “My name is Isack Hadjar, I will enter the team this year. Nice to meet you!”
The Dutch gave him a thumbs up before taking another bit of his meal. He hoped internally that the French would let him eat peacefully. He seemed to understand his very thought and left with a last smile. Max sighed happily as he didn’t have enough energy to discuss with anyone right now.
The academy still empty and the level of action of this story inexistant, Max decided to at least go on the ice to occupy his mind. After some series of dribble, he followed then by a few shots. In an empty ice rink, it was impossible to recreate the condition of a real match, so, he focused on improve his precision.
When even skating on the ice and doing less serious exercises weren’t enough to make him escape his boredom, he got back to his dormitory to call his best friend, Daniel.
The Australian picked up at the third ring bell.
-” Hello, hello Maxie, how was your vacation?”
-” Are you coming soon?”, he asked without caring to respond his question.
-” Still in Australia, my flight take of in an hour. I will be there tomorrow late afternoon”
Max sighed. That was long to wait.
-” Not my fault if you always come back so early”, he defends himself as he heard the pissed Max.
He had nothing to add because Daniel was kind of right. Nobody prevented him of staying home a tad longer. He wished him a good flight before hanging up.
He decided to wander in the academy’s gardens. He saw Carlos, the goalkeeper of his team with who he exchanges a few words. Saying that him and the Spanish were friends was maybe a euphemism, but his company was still better than the one from a wall. He waved Max goodbye before he rejoined Leclerc, another guy of the team.
He didn’t want to talk to Leclerc more than necessary. The Monegasque and him had a small rivalry since their childhood. They still were cordial when they weren’t on the ice rink. Max just knew he was furious for not being the captain and that thought delighted him.
When he got back to his room, he noticed the second shelf of the bedroom was already perfectly filled from his roommate’s stuffs. He didn’t even open his own suitcase who was still lying on the ground.
Juging by his fastidiousness, his new roommate wasn’t a member of the senior hockey team, and he doubted one of the juniors were conscientious enough to clean the shelf before putting his clothes on it. So, he concluded it was belonging to one of the skaters.
He decided to stop his reflexions, feeling that he will know in a short time with who he will share this room for this year. Max even took example of his dormmate as he started unpacking his suitcase.
After shoving his clothes where there was a bit space, he took his phone and let it take his soul for a good hour. He was only taken back to the reality when the door opened violently.
-” Albon?”, said Max puzzled.
The Thai was definitively not his roommate. He was one of his teammates who he was the closest to, so he knew Alex wasn’t really caring about cleanness. Behind him, there was George Russell and it was making more sense about the identity of his roommate.
Wait...
Freaking George Russell? Of ALL the students of the academy, it had to fall on this stupid skater? Right now, Max would have kissed Charles’s feet if that meant to change his roommate.
George and Max were too different to get along. That’s what Max thought after their first big argument together. Before that, they had a cordial relationship and no more during their childhood. His father had said to him to not gave him more attention like for any persons that couldn’t help him climb higher in his hockey career. But it was complicated to ignore him when every word and smug smirk that this pretentious mouth made him wanted to punch his face.
And now, he was forced to share a room with him? He suspected the directors to just wanted some dramas to entertain themselves during the year.
Well, Max isn’t going to give them this pleasure, and he will ignore him or argues with him for the whole year. He’s going to be the bigger person.
-” Of course, it had to be you”, sighed that horrible English accent.
-” It isn’t more pleasant for me, but I propose you sleep in front of the door. This way, you would be far from me.”
-” Do it yourself since it’s your idea”, he said as he smiled coldly.
-” I was the first in this room”
-” Not my fault if you can’t get a life, Verstappen. If you had, you wouldn’t be back one month early”
-” I came back yester-”
-” Calm down you two! It isn’t even the first day and you already arguing”, Alex cut them, “I propose each of you sleep on his side at a good distant without strangling the other. Ok?”
Max gave him one last cold glare without adding anything and left the room. He headed to the gym, his second favourite place here after the rink, to forgot about his disastrous colocation.
George William Russell... Max is going to complain to his father. Maybe he could convince him that the Brit was a nuisance to his career so the old man could pressure the direction into changing him of dorms.
Or maybe not, Max would prefer to not disturb him for something so idiot. Well, Max couldn’t even remember the last time he called him of his own will.
Max had the habits to respond to the calls of his father after bad matches or the few moments where his father would ask how the training is going. Then he would say that he needed to focus more on the training and be less on his phone. Which is ridiculous because if he was on the phone, it’s because the old man called him first.
Max could just ignore the calls, but ignoring Jos Verstappen just meant to invocate a Christian Horner with the same man on the line. And Max didn’t specifically to see his coach, so he responds his calls.
He let his thoughts wandered and tortured his poor mind, thinking about one specific person that Max would have preferred to erase from his mind.
After a long seance of sport that tired Max enough for him to sleep on a bench, he decided to return to his bedroom.
Fortunately, George was already asleep or at least was very skilled at playing pretend. If ice skating didn’t pay, he could at least convert himself in theatre or comedy. Maybe in a clown?
Thinking about it, Max didn’t think George would make a good clown even if had the perfect picture of him with a red nose and shoes 2 sizes too big. He had too much style, maybe a magician then, a magician that will fail all his tricks he hoped.
But either way, there was low chances George would become a magician or a clown. Max didn’t watch the ice-skating training but, like everyone in the academy, he knew George was sort of talented.
That was their only common point although Max would never do ridiculous spins on the ice like him.
He collapsed on his bed with a loud grunt, being gratified by a pissed sigh of the yet so perfect actor at his left.
When he woke up, the Dutch was relieved to see that the Brit was already gone. Maybe because it was almost noon, that could be the reason.
He left for his morning jog, waiting impatiently for Daniel’s arrival to have someone to complain about all his bad luck.