Chapter 309 Real Speed Shows in the Corners
Tilda was just about to get into the car when a girl in black punk clothes walked up. It was winter in the Rocky Mountains, but she acted as if she didn’t feel cold at all. That alone made her stand out. Tilda noticed and couldn’t stop glancing at her. Amanda saw Tilda looking, and their eyes met. For a moment, Amanda’s breath hitched. From Tilda, she felt something intense, almost overwhelming.
“Do you need something?”
The usually cold Amanda spoke first. Tilda smiled faintly. “No, I just think you’re really pretty!”
“Ahem…”
This was the first time Amanda had been stared at and complimented so directly by someone so mysterious. She froze for a second, her heart beating faster.
“Um, thanks.”
Amanda wasn’t used to this kind of attention, especially from someone she didn’t know. She quickly opened the door and got into her car.
Tilda looked at her. So, she’s racing tonight.
Amanda was driving a classic black Ferrari 718. The modifications were top-notch. It fit her vibe perfectly. It was cold, stylish, all black, and sharp as a blade.
Mystro, who was sitting at the back, asked, “You interested in her?”
Tilda nodded. “I’ve been into girls who are cool and mysterious lately.”
Also, Amanda’s face seemed oddly familiar, as if she had seen her somewhere before.
Mystro’s heart skipped a beat. He paused before asking, “You’re not into girls, are you?”
Inside, Mystro was soothing himself. Calm down. This isn’t a big deal. He wasn’t against LGBTQ friends–he just didn’t want Tilda to be hurt.
Tilda cleared her throat and said, “No. I just admire her. I’m still straight.”
Dane wrote, “Tilda, I don’t want you to marry too soon. I wanna spend more time with you.”
Tilda felt speechless. What is he talking about? I’m only 19. Dane is thinking way too far ahead.
Soon, the track was cleared, and roadblocks were in place. Four sports cars for this round rolled onto the track. There were too many sign-ups, so the organizers filtered racers by skill and car type. In the end, 12 drivers were chosen. Four cars per group, three rounds total! The one with the fastest overall time tonight would win the championship.
Santiago was in the second group, while Amanda was in the first. He sat in the lounge, watching the drone livestream with Harry.
Harry leaned forward eagerly. “Santiago, who’ll win–you or Amanda?”
Santiago shrugged. “I don’t know. Depends on tonight. Amanda’s trained hard. She loves racing more than anything.” Winning didn’t matter much to him. All that mattered was giving his best.
Still, out of the four cars, Santiago noticed the AE86. In this day and age, someone treating an AE86 like a treasure had to be a die-hard Initial D fan. The AE86 was hard to modify. From the drone, Santiago couldn’t see clearly. Still, to pass the organizers, that AE86 had to be very well tuned. He thought he might find its driver later to trade notes–he wanted to build his own AE86 someday.
Harry sneered, “Tch! Quit acting cool. I’m betting on Amanda! She’ll win! You’ll eat her dust!”
Santiago shot daggers at him. “Are you begging for a beating? Keep it up, and no more playing my new games for you!”
Harry shrunk. “No! Sorry, I was wrong…”
The race began! Four sports cars shot forward like arrows. Their taillights streaked across the mountain roads like glowing trails. Amanda took the lead as her Ferrari roared. In a flash, she left the other three far behind.
Tilda was last, but she wasn’t nervous. She gripped the wheel and stayed close. She wasn’t falling too far back.
Mystro and Dane sat in the back, buckled up. Even at deadly speed, they calmly studied the course map.
“The start’s straight, but there will be lots of curves later. AE86 has less horsepower, so Tilda’s at a disadvantage now,” Mystro said quietly. He made sure Tilda couldn’t hear, so she stayed focused.
Dane wrote a note: “Anyone can go fast on a straight. Real speed shows in the corners!”
Mystro smiled faintly. Compared to Mystro and Dane’s calm confidence, River and Manfred were breaking into a cold sweat as they watched the livestream.