Codie’s POV
I was flying down the main straight of the Clipsal 500. If this was the final lap I would have won. Pity this was only lap 27. I turned into the pit stop the next lap and took my 10 second break, stretching out my fingers that had started to cramp from gripping the wheel. I took a drink of water through the straw in my helmet, connected to the water pack behind the driver’s seat.
“Alright Codie, you’ve got this one. I know you do. You won this one last year, you can do it again. Let’s go!” I heard Amelie’s voice through the head phones.
“Alright girls. I’ll give it my best shot.” I drive around the slight turns, left right left and go up the next straight. A 90 degree right turn was next. I pulled the wheel down and slowed down a bit to go around the corner. Then was a 90 degree left turn, and another right one, and another right one. Everything was happening in seconds, everything moved so fast. It was what I loved about racing, how you have to make a snap decision or risk crashing into the walls or other cars. Then it was turn 8 out of 14, a simple little right turn, instead of focusing on that one I got ready for the 180 degree right turn. Them stupid right turns.
I took a deep breath and pulled the wheel to turn the corner. This normally didn’t happen, I mean, isn’t the car supposed to turn with the wheel? Not keep going straight?
“Uh, guys?” I said through the head phones.
“What’s wrong, not that I’ll be much help but what’s wrong?” I heard Louis’ voice through the head phones.
“Tell Amelie, wheels locked up. Gonna crash. Majorly.” I stopped talking as the car collided with the wall. I felt my whole hand crack fairly abnormally and I jumped out of the car as soon as it landed back on four wheels. “Well, #YOLO.” I said randomly through the pain of my hand. I just looked at the front of my car, it had crumpled up entirely. My poor baby. I would hug it but I was a little scared it was gonna explode on me.
I watched as people came rushing towards the car and me. Still holding my limp hand which was in deathly pain, I told the people what I think had happened. And I thought I had broken my hand. I heard an ambulance come as Louis came to me.
“What the hell happened?” He asked me.
“I told you the wheels locked up, and now I think I’ve broken my hand.” I spat out through gritted teeth. How much was this shit supposed to hurt? They put me in the ambulance and Louis went with me in the van. He had a break from touring for about two weeks, and now he had come to watch me race. Well, fail at racing anyway.
“I’m sorry I don’t know what that means.” He told me as we sat in the hospital room. I was still arguing over how I told him what had happened.
“Well, I thought it was self-explanatory. ‘The wheels locked up’ meaning ‘the wheels stopped moving and locked up’!” I shouted at him.
“I’m sorry I’m slow and a little dumb in the head.” He argued further.
“You don’t have to apologize for that, love, you were born that way.” I told him, picking up my phone and checking my messages. 10 missed calls, 30 text messages. Mother, father, Amelie, Clarisse, Elysse, mostly from Jamie though. Oh, wait, there was my man manager, even after all this time I still didn’t know his name. I just called him ‘Manager’ and he responded, so yeah. It kind of stuck.
“Now I have a decision to make.” I said to no one in particular. When I got the x-rays it showed I had practically smashed my hand into tiny pieces. Well, I broke it in four places so that was a bit of an exaggeration.
“What would that be?” Louis asked.
“Well, do I wait until my hand heals and get straight back into racing or take a while off or quit altogether. I can’t drive with a broken hand.” I explained to him.
“Well, it would take about… a fair while to get your hand back to normal. Maybe you should take a break from racing for a while after your hand heals and practice driving before you get back into it.” Louis offered.
“Your right. I’mma take a year off.” I decided.
“What?!” he screamed at me.
“I’mma take a year off. That gives me time to get into my singing, try and pick up dance again and spend a year travelling the world with you while you tour!” it made perfect sense. There were so many things I wanted to do with my life but racing got in the way!
“Excuse me? You think you’re friends are going to let you do that? They’ll kill you before that would happen!” Louis was practically shaking my shoulders.
“Not if they don’t know about it until after I organize it with Manager.” I referred to my manager as I normally do and picked up my phone searching for his number.
“Codie, by break I meant a month or two after your hand fixes itself, not an entire year altogether! Seriously, think this through, love.” He shouted the first sentence but talked normally for the second.
“Yes. Hello Manager, this is Codie.” I said after he picked up.
“How are you going with your hospital bizzo?” he asked me.
“Uh, okay I guess…” I trailed off.
“How much time will you need off?” he asked next.
“Well, about that…” I trailed off again.
“What is it?” oh my gosh, here we go.
“I was thinking off taking a year off.” I quickly took the phone away from my ear, and from arms-length I still heard him shouting, all of the words clear as crystal.
“EXCUSE ME?! WHAT THE BLOODY HELL DO YOU THINK YOU’RE TRYING TO PULL HERE?!!! WHO AM I GOING TO GET TO REPLACE YOU? HUH?! DID YOU EVEN THINK ABOUT THE REST OF YOUR TEAM AND ME IN THIS DECISION?! WELL EXCUSE ME IF I SAY NO!!! BECAUSE IT IS A BIG FAT NO!!! I REALLY THOUGHT WE WERE GOING WELL WITH THE RACING THING HERE! I DON’T KNOW WHERE YOU’RE GETTING ALL OF THESE CRAZY IDEAS FROM, BUT I REALLY DON’T LIKE-”
“MANAGER! SHUT UP AND I’LL EXPLAIN!!!” when I heard silence through the phone, I started talking normally again. “I thought it would be a good idea because then I could do the many things I still want to do with my life. That includes singing, dancing and spending time with my fiancée. That’s why I thought you would let me take a year off. Sorry I thought you would understand.” I told him.
“Well, hmm…” he tried to argue with me.
“Please Manager?” I asked him.
“Well, if you can find a driver to replace you then yes, otherwise-” he didn’t need to finish that sentence.
“THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU! Alright, I’ll talk to you later! Byes! Hugs for you!” I probably acted like a twelvie, but you know. I don’t care.
“How did you do that?” Louis asked, confused.
“With skills only I have.” I answered.
“You just got a year off of racing, and practically guaranteed back in for next year! Man, I love you!” he picked me up off the bed and whizzed me around, making me laugh like a child.
“I love you too.” I hugged him after he put me down.
“I love you more.” He tried to win.
“Doubt that one, mate.”
***
“So, I will be taking a year off of V8’s and will be back for the Clipsal 500 next year. Any questions?” I asked the news people.
“Why are you taking a year off?”
“Codie, what will you do in your gap year?”
“Who will you be spending the most amount of time with?” they shot the questions at me.
“Okay, uh, I’m taking a year off to live my life. I will do many things in the year I have. I will probably be spending the most time with my fiancée. Thank you, I have to go, I’ll miss my flight if I don’t leave now, so bye for a year!” I answered and told them, making up an excuse to get out of here.
They blocked my way out of the place, oh my god move! People, I may not actually need to go, but I will later on today! I have to pack yet! I finally got out to my car and drove off, back to my house that I would be leaving for a year, well that was the plan. Whether the plan was going to work or not was a different story.
When I unlocked the front door to my house for the last time for a while, I took as long as I could to walk to my room, which was now Mum and Dad’s old room. There were so many memories in just the first room, just the kitchen, just the lounge, even the staircase. The room next to my old one with Louis, every other room. I could remember every person who had walked through the front door, who had been in each room, when they had been here, from the hour in the morning to the hour at night when they left.
I grabbed the suitcases I needed and packed as many clothes as I could. I remember each shirt that I had worn, when I had worn it. All of my skinny jeans had memories attached to them like photos, just in my mind. I then threw in my favourite shoes and my favourite photos. I didn’t want to forget anything, or leave anything behind. I have to pack just enough, not too much and not too little. I packed my underwear next because I could just shove them in between everything. Everything only just fitted into my biggest suitcase that I hoped would fit in my car.
I put my phone on charge and put my headphones with it, as well as my small backpack which had my wallet, notebook, iPod, laptop and spare charger in it. When I looked at my reflection I realised how much I had changed in the last two years. I went from local racing to V8 supercars, went from a terrible relationship background to engaged to the hottest guy on the planet (in my opinion anyway), went from unknown to famous. Not to mention my hair was shorter, it was only a few inches longer than my shoulders now, instead of to my waist.
I walked around the house, looking in every room, smiling at the different memories. I really hoped Jamie wasn’t going to smash the walls or anything. She was going to take care of/live in my house while I was gone. Gone to the other side of the world. To England. The thought of going there excited me this morning, now I was scared. I was going to be somewhere completely new. Only people I would know being all of One Direction and their families.
Thank god I got my car to go with me as well. That was coming by ship, so I would have to wait for a while before it got there, but I would have my Baby Blue. I heard Jamie’s red buggy drive into the driveway. They were going to move in now, Clarisse and Amelie were fairly jealous of my living with One Direction for a year. Jamie and Elysse weren’t. Since they ended their relationships with the other members ages ago, well Elysse and Niall only lasted about two weeks, but you know. Their first argument was about food though. Niall was all like ‘you have to be anorexic, you’re like the same width as a twig and you eat nothing’ while he was holding a packet of Doritos, and Elysse was all like ‘I’m not anorexic! I eat meat!’ and then the rest of us were all like ‘isn’t that vegetarian’ and she came back with ‘I said heaps!’ and stormed out of the room. Yeah, long sentence, but I don't care.
“Codie, oh my gosh I’m gonna miss you!” Jamie told me as she picked me up and hugged me at the same time.
“I’m gonna miss you too.” I replied. I tried to hold back my tears as we got my suitcase in the car and we said our final goodbye’s to each other and I drove off. I needed to pull over a few times to cry and not crash.
When I got to the airport, I put on my sunnies and struggled to get my suitcase out. I probably looked like a dag in my Adidas trackies and Louis’ old jumper he let me keep. I loved it because it still smelled like him, and I felt like he was by my side. It made me stronger on the inside.
I checked in and got on my plane, sitting next to a guy named James. This was like Jamie and her life being filled with ‘Steve’s’. Mine is filled with ‘James’s’. Liam James Payne. Niall James Horan. Dickhead James from Murray Bridge. James from Queensland. Not to mention the many James in school. Now I have aeroplane James to add to the list. I had a small conversation with him before I put my earphones in and closed my eyes, listening to my music. Completely absorbed with the different notes of the singing, the different chords of the guitar and different beats and times. Slow songs, fast songs, in between songs. I took a deep breath and rested completely, before falling asleep.
***
Waking up, I found my iPods battery dead. I changed my earphones to my phone and continued listening to my beats and grabbed my computer. I had started writing my life down, an idea from Louis. This way people can get to know the real me, and judge me for who I really am.
It was hard to type with one hand, but I was handling it well. Louis had to go back to England the day after I got out of hospital, and I only just got the ticket yesterday for the flight today. I typed until my fingers cramped, and the battery went flat. Thank god my phone was still new and had a whole lot of battery. I decided to change my phone to a HTC. The latest one of course.
First stop on the trip. Sunnies on, even though it was probably still the middle of winter. For the hour and a half I was at the airport for, I charged everything up and got ready for the longest part of the flight. This time when I landed, it would be in England. I wouldn’t be leaving for a year.
I could feel the butterflies starting to build up at the thought of England. For a year. I was practically bouncing off of the walls with excitement. The thought of seeing Louis and the rest of the boys again. Seeing Louis’ family in Doncaster. Everything I thought about, made me want to get there faster.
I heard the call for my flight and jumped up, repacked everything in my backpack and got back onto the plane. I was sitting in the same spot, the plane just needed re fuelling. James sat next to me again, and we had another quick conversation. Turns out his life is filled with different Codie’s, like mine is with James’s.
Again I shut myself off from the world, using my music. I could feel myself dancing in my seat, or maybe that was my imagination. My mind was imagining my body doing flips and turns and different moves to the music though, I really needed to start dance again. I thought about the different songs I could sing covers for, and lines that I could make an original song from.
I grabbed my computer again and started typing up more of my life story. That was when I felt someone tapping on my shoulder. I jumped before realising it was just James.
“What are you writing? Because it will make an amazing book.” He told me. “It just seems like a great teen-fiction kind of thing, it’s so descriptive.” He had no idea.
“This is my life. I’m Codie Badress, and people judge me because of what they know about me. I decided if they know my past and what happened in my life, then they might change their minds.” I explained to him.
“Well, that part your writing now is really sad. I’m sorry for your losses.” He said.
“It’s alright, I’ve moved on. It happened a few years ago and I got it out in the open now. Anyway, I shouldn’t need to worry you about my past, shit happens. It’s just the fact that I get that shit.” I told him.
“Uh, okay then. At least you know you will sell at least one copy. I’ll buy one, I mean I’ve been reading everything you’ve written on the plane so far.” He told me.
“Really? Thank you, I think…” I trailed off.
We finished the conversation and when I woke again it was just about time to land. When we finally did I got off the plane, still tired no matter how much sleep I got. I ran my hand through my hair and my droopy eyes searched the crowd for Louis’ familiar hair. I heard him shout before I saw him.
“CODIE! I’M OVER HERE!!! YO CODIE!”

Notes