Filed to story: Returning to Her Not-So-Poor Family
While Mirabella’s teammates from Light Fleet were cheering for her, Harlan pushed through his consoling friends and stormed toward them with anger written all over his face. He slapped the hood of Mirabella’s car for emphasis.
“Get out.” He cried out with his teeth gritted, regardless of his image, his voice laced with barely contained rage, “You couldn’t possibly out-drive me. Tell me the truth – is this car rigged? Turn it off and get out, I want to check.”
Mirabella remained seated in the driver’s seat. Ready for the next race, she was not willing to waste time indulging him.
Her Light Fleet crew quickly formed a protective barrier in front of her.
“If you want Bella to step out for a check, you’ll have to admit that you’ve been out-driven,” one of them said. “Then maybe she’ll let you take a look.”
Harlan was in no mood for chitchat. He was convinced that Mirabella must have modified her car or had insider knowledge of the track’s layout. There was no other explanation for how she could beat a professional racer like him, especially when she had never been seen at any racing event before.
Something was up!”Our vice-captain is telling you to get out. What are you waiting for?”
“If the car’s not modified, what are you afraid of?”
“Let’s have a look and see if it’s been rigged.”
“Get out!”
The members of the opposing team, one by one, started to press her.
Just then, a bold voice rang out from the crowd.
“The vice-captain of Drift Kings can’t handle losing? Making a scene over a girl in front of everyone –
isn’t that a bit embarrassing?”
Heads turned towards the voice, some with a hint of wariness. Timothy Bynes?
Even Harlan’s expression soured. Timothy was the sole heir to the Bynes family – a man not to be trifled with.
“Mr. Bynes, you might not know this, but this girl, on her first visit to Kowloon Bay, drove like she owned the track, even outpacing me.” Harlan forced a smile, but Timothy cut him off, “Sounds like Mr. Harlan was simply out-driven.”
Harlan’s face hardened.
“If you wants to check her car, shouldn’t you negotiate with her and get her consent, instead of banging on her vehicle and demanding she steps out with a posse. If she’s clean, would you be willing to apologize in front of everyone?”
Mirabella glanced over. A young man stood in front of the spectator stands, whose expensive attire setting him apart from the crowd. Even separated by the protective netting of the racetrack, he stillstood out with an air of evident chivalry. His presence commanded respect.
Mr. Bynes?
She’d never heard the name before.
Harlan, grasping at straws to justify his loss, insisted, “If I’ve misjudged her, I’ll apologize. But only if she has the guts to step out and let us check!”
Unexpectedly, Mirabella cut the engine, put on a black mask, opened the car door, and stepped out.
Timothy hadn’t expected the girl to be so slender and so tall. The mysterious allure she had behind the wheel was nothing compared to the real, close-up impact of her presence.
He couldn’t believe how stunning her eyes were!
When she was seated in the car, he saw her behind the wheel and caught a glimpse of her face – she was absolutely gorgeous.
Last night, all he saw was her agility and deft movements. He didn’t expect that when she stood before him, her figure and poise would be so stunning.
Timothy was gobsmacked, utterly unable to tear his gaze away until Harlan stepped forward to inspect things. That’s when he finally spoke up, “Let someone from another team handle it.”
Perhaps fearing that Harlan wouldn’t be fair, a volunteer from one of the other teams stepped up with an air of eagerness. After a thorough check, he announced, “The turbocharger, the clutch, you name it – it’s all stock. Top speed’s legit, only 210 mph.”
“No way.” Harlan’s face soured, disbelief etched into every line in his face. The results were a slap to his pride.
How could it be stock!
It couldn’t possibly be stock!
But the crowd was already jeering at him.
“Can’t handle losing, eh?”
“Making a fool of yourself, man. They said it’s stock. You got beat fair and square by a girl.”
“Lucky he wasn’t the one inspecting. He would’ve claimed it was rigged for sure.”
“Are we racing or what?””I say this round decides it. With her speed, Harlan could race her ten more times and still lose.”
“I think we might as well call the results. It’s just the Kowloon Bay track. We’ve got plenty of training grounds. Just give it to her.”
Then, a voice rippled through the crowd.
“The boss is here.”
Sean approached with an unmistakable authority, his presence parting the onlookers.
Harlan perked up, thinking the boss was here to back him. He started, “Boss.”
But Sean told him to buzz off.
Harlan slunk away, while Sean appraised the girl who had captivated everyone’s attention – the same striking eyes from last night, hair tied up in a bun, still wearing those little white sneakers.
No doubt about it, it was her.
“Where’s your boss?” Sean didn’t care if she was part of the Light Fleet or not; all he wanted to know was why Ophelia hadn’t shown up.
“If you’re friends, you can ask her in private. If you’re not, why should I tell you?”
Mirabella’s tone was as cool and detached as her demeanor.
Timothy, standing nearby, was struck by how even her voice was so captivating, which further deepened his admiration.
“How dare you! Do you have any idea who you’re talking to?” Steward moved to teach the girl a lesson.But Sean just smirked, with a devil-may-care glinting in his eye, “If I win, you have to answer that question.”
“Then you’ll never know the answer in this lifetime.”
Sean just chuckled at her response – she was bold, almost like him.
“You think you can beat our boss?” A member of the Drift Kings couldn’t hold back his derision.
In the eyes of onlookers, she was so na?ve, still unscathed by the harsh realities of the world, that she was unaware of the caliber of racer standing before her.
“Can we race now?” Mirabella was clearly not interested in wasting any more time here.
She seemed to not fear him one bit, as if racing him was merely a formality, a pit stop before more pressing matters.
Sean laughed. He’d seen confident racers before, but she was something else. Fine, he thought, let’s show the little lady that there are always bigger fish.
Harlan was taken aback as Sean walked past him and climbed into his car, ready to show everyone just what he was made of.
The captain himself was stepping up to the challenge with the girl.
“Thanks a bunch.” Harlan didn’t forget to give a grateful bow, shooting a snitching glance at the fiery red sports car parked beside him, “Just now she was all fire and brimstone, saying that if any of us from the Drift Kings lose, we’d have to crawl from the starting line to the finish.”
“That was your deal, not mine,” Sean retorted and rolled up his window indifferently.
Harlan hadn’t expected the captain to be just as tough to talk to as ever. He’d actually been touched a moment ago because he thought the captain had come forward to save his bacon and to smack down the girl’s pride for him.
Guess he thought too much.
The leggy Ref stood between the two cars, blew a whistle, and motioned for the onlookers to clear out to the sides.
“Bella.” Mignon intended to warn Mirabella that this Sean was no joke. He’d never lost an international race, and he always left a mile-wide gap between him and second place.
But right then, she didn’t dare step forward, afraid of piling on the pressure and throwing Mirabella off her game.
“Go Bella!” Candice from the Light Fleet cheered at the top of her lungs, “You’ve got this!”
The rest of the Light Fleet crew joined in the rallying cry, “Bella, go, go, go!”
None of the other spectators, though, dared to echo the chants, not even mustering the courage to cheer for “Light Fleet”.But the Drift Kings was another story – they were all over it, leading everyone in a chant of “Sean!
Sean! Sean!!”
Their spirit was undeniable.
In contrast, the support for Bella seemed a bit thin on the ground.
With the countdown at three seconds, the Light Fleet folks held their breath in suspense.
Three.
Two.
One!
