"A TIE!?" They both gasped in shock at what the manager unfolded to them.

"H-how could this be, there must be a mistake!" Alice said as she looked at the replay footage.

Alice rewinds the footage many times yet the footage shows that both cars touched the finish line at exactly the same time. Not even an inch different.

"What are the odds of that happening?" Sugimoto said.

"I guess that's something, this is a rare occurrence, especially in this kind of sports." The manager told both of them.

The drivers seem to accept the result but there's still something not yet settled between them.

"Hey Senpai, since this is a tie, what happens to our bet?" She asked as she was confused about what to do.

"Well I did kinda give you a 5-second head start so I guess technically I win" he said smirkingly.

"H-hey that's not fair, we both crossed the finish line together so it doesn't qualify for a win for you!" She argues back

They both crossed their arm and tried to find another way for a tiebreaker. But in the end, they settled on something else.

"I guess we can put this bet on hold until we get another race, how does that sound?" Sugimoto said offering Alice an ultimatum.

Alice became hesitant but reluctantly agreed to the deal and shook hands as a sign of sportsmanship.

"Good racing from both of you, I hope to see more of this from both of you!" The manager said as he seemed pleased with their progression.

They went to the garage and headed into the break room to rest for a while. Sugimoto laid back on his sofa while Alice sat by the table.

"You're pretty good for a rookie driver." he said as he praised her.

"T-thanks, my dad taught me from when I was young." She told him

Alice thought for a moment about finding a compliment for him.

"W-well you did give me a handicap and nearly beat me so I guess you're somewhat worthy of being called my Senpai." she said to him.

Sugimoto smiles at her compliment. There was a few seconds of silence until Sugimoto asked her about the previous bet.

"Since nobody won, I guess I can still call you a kid right?" He said and chuckled slightly.

"I-I am not a kid! So stop calling me that old man!" Alice said angrily.

"Hey I'm not that old, I'm 21 years old next year!" He exclaimed.

"2-21? Are you that young? I thought you were in your 30s!" She said to Sugimoto in a surprised tone.

"Just because my physique is big that doesn't mean I'm that old!" He said seemingly surprised she thought he was that old.

They fell into silence again until Sugimoto asked her something.

"S-so how about you, how old are you?" Sugimoto asked curiously.

Alice wanted to lie about her age but since she didn't want to get mistaken again, she just told him her real age.

"I'm 17 next year." She answered him.

Sugimoto looks at her with a confused expression.

"W-wait, you're a high school student? I thought you were some middle school prodigy!" he said in a surprised tone.

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

Alice looks a bit angry being assumed to be an actual middle schooler.

"I'm a high schooler, you airhead!" She said to him.

Sugimoto seems to understand it now but he decided to push further.

"So why are you this short?" He asked being inconsiderate of her.

Alice slowly got up, took a deep breath, and grabbed a broom from the nearby closet.

"K-kid? w-what are you doing with that broom?" He asked while being concerned.

"YOU DON'T SAY THAT TO WOMAN!" She screamed at Sugimoto.

Alice began chasing Sugimoto across the room. Sugimoto picked up a giant cushion and used it as a shield to block her attacks and dodged a couple of them as she pursued him.

"Chill kid I was just joking, don't take it to heart!" He said as he used a cushion as a shield blocking all the strikes coming towards him.

"The only thing that's going to take it to heart is this broom inside your heart!" Alice said angrily.

The manager who was just minding his own business heard commotions from the break room. He peeked through the door and saw them running around as Sugimoto blocked and dodged her blows.

"Huh, just when I thought they were getting along with each other." The manager sighs and walks away while sipping his coffee.

After a good 10 minutes of fighting, Alice and Sugimoto finally got a bit tired from all the running and began calling a truce after he managed to block most of her attacks.

"Shall we call a truce?" He asked her while panting from all the running.

"Y-yeah.." She answered while panting from all the swinging she did.

They both finally reestablished peace with themselves and then looked around the room and saw the mess they'd made in the break room.

"Maybe we should clean this up before the manager comes back." Sugimoto suggested to her.

"I guess we should." She answered him.

They began cleaning the break room to its original state. After a few hours, they finally finished and it looked like it was back to normal. Sugimoto looked at the time and it was their time to leave, they both looked at each other and began packing their stuff.

"So you're hungry?" He asked.

"Nah I'm not that hungry." Alice told him.

As she said that, a big rumble can be heard from Alice.

"Okay, maybe I could go for something." Alice said to him feeling a bit embarrassed.

"There's a burger place not far away from here." Sugimoto told her.

"Burger huh? I haven't had that in a while! Let's go!" Alice said to him enthusiastically

Alice and Sugimoto went to the burger restaurant where they sat across each other and ordered some food and drinks. As they were waiting for their food, Sugimoto struck up a conversation with her.

"So how old were you when you started driving kid?" Sugimoto asked her curiously.

Alice started thinking about all her memories when she began racing.

"I started driving karts when I was 5 years old, then when I was 8, I began racing in the novice league." she told him.

Sugimoto started coughing when she mentioned that she was already racing in actual cars at such a young age.

"You were racing in the novice league when you were that young!?" Sugimoto said in complete shock.

"Yeah, my dad told me that karting wasn't doing it for me since I kept winning easily there." Alice told Sugimoto with a sigh.

"So I guess you're a child prodigy huh?" Sugimoto asked her.

"Yup, I guess it runs in my blood as my grandpa and father used to race as well" Alice answered him.

Sugimoto just nodded casually and the awkward silence came back. But Alice decided to ask something about him instead to break the silence.

"Say, how about you, when did you start racing Senpai?" She asked him a question.

Sugimoto began thinking about It for a while and then told her.

"Well, I first started racing when I was 14 at the academy here in Akinabalu when it was first established." He replied.

"You mean the Akinabalu Race Academy?" Alice asked him.

"Yeah, that one! I was the best in my category back then. I also met some friends along the way." Sugimoto told her.

Alice smiled while listening to his story, as she listened, Alice began thinking that they were not that different after all.

"I see, so you were a prodigy just like me huh?" Alice asked him.

"I wouldn't call myself a prodigy since I'm no genius, I just pushed myself hard to get where I am today." he said and chuckled.

"Pushing yourself hard huh?" She muttered to herself remembering him lazing around just this morning but doesn't press further.

Their food arrived and they began eating. Alice munched on her burger while Sugimoto enjoyed some fries. They had some small talk and a few laughs. After finishing, they left the restaurant and walked back to the entrance of the circuit.

"So you're taking the bus back home, a bit ironic isn't it?" He told Alice.

"Yep, I guess it's a bit ironic for a racer like me to take the bus right?" She said and chuckled.

"Well then, see yah later kid!" He said as he gave her a head pat and walked away.

"Oi don't just touch someone's head and walk away like that!" She said almost snapping at him but let it go.

"Jeez, that senpai of mine." She muttered to herself.

Alice went to the bus stop and got on a bus going back to her grandpa's house. She looked out the window and saw the mountain in the distance and she took a quick nap by the window. Alice finally arrived home and her grandpa waited for her outside the house.

"Welcome home darling, how did your session go?" her grandpa asked her.

"I-it was eventful, to say the least." she told her grandpa.

"Ah, I see, glad to hear it." Her grandpa told her

Her grandpa welcomed her inside and she went to her room and sat on her bed reflecting on everything that happened that day.

"I guess everything went better than I expected." Alice muttered to herself.

After such an exhausting day, Alice's eyes began feeling a bit heavy and she lay on the bed and finally slept until tomorrow.