The duo ran back to the circuit and entered the garage where they saw the manager standing in the middle of the room.

"We're here!" Alice told the manager.

"Ah, greetings both of you, glad you could make it. We only have a few hours left until you both race, I want both of you in your best form alright?" The manager told them.

"Hey chief, can you give me that thing I asked for?" Sugimoto asked him.

"Sure thing Sugimoto, it's already at the break room." The manager told him.

"Sweet!" Sugimoto said excitedly.

"Wait, what thing?" Alice asked curiously.

Alice was confused about what it was about but it was quickly answered when she saw something familiar in the break room.

"The sofa?!" She said in a surprised tone.

"Yup, I managed to make a deal with the manager. I miss you so much!" Sugimoto said as he hugged the armrest.

"S-seriously?" Alice muttered in disappointment but not surprised.

Alice sighs as she looks at him lazing on the sofa. She was about to say something to Sugimoto but he had already slept.

"Jeez, this guy can just start lazing around at such a crucial time!" Alice said as she was annoyed by it.

"Manager, why did you give him back his sofa? He was already being productive after you took it away!" Alice argued with the manager.

"It's just his way of preparing I guess. I suggest not waking him up and let him do his thing." The manager told Alice as he looked at him.

"Fine, I'll just go and begin preparing myself mentally and physically." Alice said to the manager slightly disappointed.

Alice went to the television and looked at the leaderboards and saw that many racers were eliminated as they failed to get in the top 24 drivers qualified. Alice worried for herself as she didn't want to disappoint her team. But she became determined to prove her worth there. She trained herself with reflex training as the deadline came closer and closer. After what felt like an eternity, they were up next.

"Final team, Akinabalu Motorsports. Please stand by in 5 more minutes." The announcer told through the speaker.

"Fuah, that was a good nap!" Sugimoto said feeling refreshed.

Sugimoto saw Alice standing there frozen. Sugimoto then went up to her and tried to relax her with a gentle head pat.

"S-Senpai!" She jolted.

"You look really nervous kid. Are you perhaps scared?" Sugimoto told her.

"I-I'm just scared that I couldn't perform like the others. What if I failed and didn't qualify for the race? I don't want to be a burden for the team!" Alice said as if she was on the break of tears.

Sugimoto looks at her feeling a bit shocked seeing her being so worried. He decided to relate to her so she could calm herself down.

"You know, it's normal to feel nervous like this. But don't let it overcome you. You will feel nervous in the first lap, but once you get to the next lap, all your fear will go away." Sugimoto reassures her.

"I guess you're right. I need to have more confidence in myself!" Alice told Sugimoto/

"That's the spirit kid!" Sugimoto told her.

"T-thanks Senpai." Alice said and smiled at him.

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

As the other team driver finished their qualifiers, it was Sugimoto's turn to qualify for the race. The stewards came toward the garage and signaled them to start moving the cars.

"Sugimoto, time to go!" Ghazali called him over to his car.

"Good luck Senpai!" Alice told him.

"Time to show them how it's done!" Sugimoto said confidently as he cracked his knuckles.

Sugimoto went to the starting line as Alice watched the race from the pit. The manager and Ghazali began communicating with him on the team radio. Time stood still as Sugimoto held his steering wheel. The lights lit up one by one as Sugimoto got ready. When the red light disappeared, he floored the gas and his qualifiers started. Alice watches as Sugimoto enters the hairpins and disappears. As she was standing, Kara approached her.

"Did I miss anything?" Kara asked Alice.

"Hey Kara! things just got started!" Alice told her.

"Good, let's go watch his race on the television." Kara suggested to her.

"Ah alright then." Alice swiftly replied.

They both went inside the pit and watched the television. As they watched, Kara decided to strike up a conversation with Alice.

"Say Alice, what's your relationship with Asashi?" Kara asked her.

"Asashi? Oh, you meant Senpai, why do you want to know?" Alice asked curiously.

"You two seem close to each other." Kara told her.

"We're not that close, we're just partners that's all." Alice told her as her face got red.

"Ah I see, I guess that makes sense." Kara said and smiled.

Alice turned her gaze back onto the television and watched Sugimoto clearing some of the sectors in the race.

"I'd be cheering for you Alice." Kara teases her.

"I told you it isn't like that!" Alice said and began blushing from it.

As Sugimoto exited the final sector and began approaching the finish line. Upon crossing the finish line, an announcement was made.

"A. Sugimoto. Number 431. Time 2:42." The speaker announced.

"Woah, that's a pretty big good for a first lap." Kara gasped.

"He just placed 12th in the leaderboard. That automatically qualified him in tomorrow's race!" Alice gasped as well.

The team was also watching the race began cheering for Sugimoto's success but he's not over yet. Alice began thinking a lot about Sugimoto so she decided to ask Kara about him.

"Kara, how good was Senpai when you met him?" Alice asked her.

"Ah, Asashi was pretty good back then. He was number 1 in our academy." Kara said to her.

"So Senpai was pretty talented after all, I thought he was bluffing." Alice said slightly chuckling

"Yep, but it's kinda weird that Asashi quit racing a few years after racing professionally," Kara told Alice.

"He quitted racing?" Alice asked seemingly surprised by this new revelation.

"I wasn't in Akinabalu during that time but once I heard the news, it was kinda sad to know a driver like him quit. But I'm glad he decided to return to racing again, he's still talented as always." Kara told her.

"I see, I never knew he quit racing once, maybe I should ask him once in a while." Alice muttered to herself.

Sugimoto came back again and crossed the finish line for the second time.

"A. Sugimoto. Number 431. Time 2:36." The speaker announced.

"Crap he's going insanely fast, he's already in the top 3!" Kara said as she was surprised by it.

"I thought Senpai was joking when he said he wanted pole position." Alice revealed to her.

"That means he's really going for it then!" Kara told Alice as she crossed her arm.

The team cheered again knowing they'd secured 3rd position in the race. The best thing that could happen now is to secure pole position.

"Look at that speed, I've never seen Senpai like this before." Alice told Kara.

"He's probably in hyper-focus, he usually does that in a hot lap and doesn't speak to anyone at all." Kara told her.

Sugimoto disappeared again into the hairpins and all eyes are now on Sugimoto. They began watching the race with an intense focus. After he completed all the sectors flawlessly, he came out of the final sector and unto the straights. Kara and Alice looked heads on the track. All the pit crew except the manager and Ghazali ran out of the pit and looked through the fence where they saw Sugimoto's Porsche cross the finish line and finish his final lap.

"A.Sugimoto. Number 431. Time 2:30. New Leader" the speaker announced.

"S-Senpai did it!" Alice cheered.

"I guess Asashi really did mean it huh." Kara chuckled.

"You did it Sugimoto, pole position!" Ghazali screamed into the mic.

Sugimoto pitted and the whole crew celebrated the victory as he stepped out. Alice and Kara went over to Sugimoto.

"You were amazing Senpai!" Alice told him excitedly.

"That's not fair Asashi, you never let me have fun!" Kara said as he lightly punched him.

"Haha, I couldn't let you have all the fun now can't I?" Sugimoto teased Kara.

As Sugimoto talks with the others, the stewards signal Alice to be ready for the qualifiers. Sugimoto notices Alice fidgeting again and decides to give her some motivation.

"Hey kid, don't forget, confidence." He said as he petted her head again.

Alice began to feel reassured again.

"R-right! Confidence!" Alice said as she got her act together.

"Final driver. Alice Shah. Number 430. Please drive to the starting grid." A steward informed her.

"Ah it's time for me to go, wish me luck guys!" She told them.

Alice began scrambling into her car and started taking deep breaths. Sugimoto walks towards her car and taps on the window. She rolled it down and he told her something.

"Show them what you got, kid." Sugimoto told her.

"I'll show them what I'm made of!" Alice said with confidence.

Alice begins driving toward the starting grid, the young racer is about to embark on her first professional racing of her career. Alice Shah's journey is just beginning.