"I-I won!" Alice muttered.

"Way to go Ally! Another victory under our belt!" Ghazali told her in an excited mood.

Alice couldn't believe it, she had won round two of the ROA Cup. She was so overjoyed that she couldn't express herself. As she slowed down, she saw the Huracan roll beside her. Nadya looked at her and raised her fist. Alice seeing this smiled lightly and raised her fist. She gestured that she had to go and drove off. After Nadya left, she noticed Richard's car also rolled beside her. He looked at her and gave a simple nod before driving off. She felt a massive wave of relief as all her stress from the race slowly disappeared.

"There goes Alice Shah of Akinabalu Motorsports taking home a first-place victory. This marks her second official win of the ROA Cup and also her second win in her professional career." Mick told the viewers.

"Winning a race is already hard, winning two prestigious titles is a remarkable feat! The 17-year-old girl is full of wonders. We will keep an eye out for her in the next round of the ROA Cup." Hasaki told them.

While she did her cool-off lap, Sugimoto and Kara finally reached the finish line with Kara in front and Sugimoto behind her. She scored P4 while Sugimoto scored P5. Kara was ecstatic that she managed to hold off Sugimoto but Sugimoto was even more static than her.

"Let's fricking go!!!" He screamed into the mic.

"Absoulte masterclass drive Sugi! You dominated this race!" Ghazali told him.

"Oh my god, I've never felt like it in such a long time! Absolutely Lovely." Sugimoto said inside the mic.

Alice returned to the pitlane and the marshalls instructed her to drive to a certain spot. She parked at the number 1 spot and got out of the car. As she got out, a cameraman told her to stand on top of her car. She was initially hesitant but she heard the cheers from the crew to tell her to do it. She climbed onto the hood and carefully made her way to the roof. She stumbled for a bit and stood up proud. The flashes from the camera blind her but she screams to herself and punches the air in celebration.

The crowd cheers for her as Alice does her celebration. She was over the moon and soon got down from the car's roof. There, the pit crew rushed in and began celebrating her as they lifted her up into the air. She was surprised by it but didn't mind it. As they were celebrating, Sugimoto made his way to the pits and a couple of the stronger crew went up and picked him up. They were both lifted into the air as they celebrated their achievements. Shortly after, they put them back down. Ghazali soon came up to them and congratulated them.

"Congratulations on your win Alice and congratulations for your insane comeback too Sugimoto." Ghazali told them.

"Thanks, Gaz, it was all thanks to your guidance." Alice told him.

"Ah don't patronize me. You guys did all the work." He told them.

"Hey if it weren't for you, my car wouldn't feel like a rocket today!" Sugimoto told him.

He fixes his glasses and flustered lightly from the compliments.

"It's my job to assist you two as a team principal. But thanks." Ghazali told them.

As they were talking, the manager soon arrived at the pits to meet up with everyone.

"Great job team, you've done well for today. Everyone played their roles and it has given us a truly impressive result. We couldn't ask for a better day than this. So I'd like to extend my thanks to everyone who has worked hard today." The manager told everyone.

Everyone inside the pit garage clapped their hands upon hearing his speech. The drivers went to give their thanks to the crew while they congratulated them. As they were still in the pits, a marshall came over and called on the winners to head to the podium ceremony.

"Well then kid, go on and claim that trophy." Sugimoto told her.

"Alright then. You're coming too right?" She asked him.

"Eh? I'm not the one receiving the trophy right?" He told her.

"Yeah, but it's a bit scary going in alone." She shyly told him.

Sugimoto scratched his head and huffed reluctantly.

"Fine, I'll follow until the sidelines." He told her.

"Really? Well then let's go!" She said excitedly.

"You're still a kid huh?" Sugimoto teases her slightly.

Sugimoto escorted Alice to the podium ceremony. She noticed that there were a lot more people present than the other day. Alice was a bit overwhelmed when she saw the massive crowds waiting for them to go on. They watched as each driver began being announced onto the podium. Richard was called onto the podium first, then Nadya. Then, they called upon Alice to go to the podium. She quickly turned to Sugimoto for a bit before going up.

"Well, here I go." She said to him.

"Have fun up there." He said to her.

Alice slowly walked onto the stage where the podium was located. She looked towards the crowd and heard people cheering for her, she felt proud seeing people supporting her, She began waving towards them and got up to the podium. The president of the ROA came onto the stage where he began handing over the trophy to each driver. Then it was her turn to receive the first place trophy for round 2 of the ROA Cup. The president handed her the trophy and had a small chat with her.

"Congratulations Miss Shah, you've outdone yourself again. Your father would've been proud of you." The president told her.

"Thanks. I'm glad to be standing here." Alice told him.

This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.

"You should be. You're a local Akinabaluan, you're making your nation proud. I know it's still too early to say but I hope you will bring glory to your nation once you go international." The president told her.

"I hope to one day. Thanks for believing in me." Alice said.

The president nods and walks down the stage. She stood on the highest podium and felt pride coursing through her. As they were standing, the P.R. team made an announcement.

"We will now be playing the national anthem of Akinbalu." The P.R. person told.

Alice placed her right hand to her heart and stood up straight as she sang her national anthem with pride. Alice felt proud that she could bring the race back home to her homeland. After they finished singing the national anthem, Alice was sprayed by Nadya with a bottle of sparkling water. She popped open her own bottle and sprayed her back. Richard who was also on there only stood and watched them go over it. As he was going off, Nadya chased him and sprayed him on his back.

Richard suddenly looked behind him with a glare on his face. Alice thought he was mad but he suddenly popped open his own bottle and began spraying them. They began chasing each other on the stage and soaking each other in sparkling water. After they finished, Alice began looking for Sugimoto. There she saw him giving an interview with the press. Alice slowly crept up to him and began spraying with what was left of the bottle.

"Hey kid, stop that already!" He said as he began running away from Alice.

She chased him around until the bottle was empty. Sugimoto was soaking wet when he gave and Alice laughed slightly.

"Damn, I wasn't planning to get wet today. But oh well." Sugimoto sighed.

"Hey, you also deserved this too Senpai!" Alice told him.

"Yeah yeah, I'm going back to my interview. I'll get you back later." Sugimoto told her sarcastically.

Sugimoto soon left her and suddenly a number of interviewers flocked towards her. They began asking absurd questions, as usual. She answers them one by one calmly. After a few long and daunting sessions, she finally escaped and made her way onto the team. There she met up with Ghazali who was also just finished with the questions.

"Hey there Alice, finally finished with your interviews?" He asked her.

"Yeah, they were such a pain as well." She told him.

"I understand. I was also struggling when they asked me some absurd questions as well." He told her.

As she was talking to Ghazali, Alice was tackled by Raani from behind. She hugged her tightly that she couldn't breathe.

"You made mummy proud Alice!" Raani jokingly said.

"Y-Yeah, thanks..." She asked as she began tapping out from Raani's grip.

Raani soon let her go and the rest of her friends arrived.

"Congratulations Alice, you were a beast today!" Airi told her.

"Thanks, I've given it my all today. Thanks for coming you guys!" Alice told them.

"No problem, also who's this guy behind you?" Raani asked her.

"Ah, this is my team principal. Mr Ghazali." Alice introduced him.

"Hey girls, thanks for supporting the team." Ghazali told them.

As they were talking, they noticed that Aini had been sitting behind Airi the entire time without uttering a single word. Airi looked at her funny as if something wasn't right.

"Hey Aini, what's up with you?" Airi questioned her.

"Oh it's nothing, It's just something else." Aini told them shyly.

They were a bit confused by her sudden shift of behaviour. Raani was about to confront her but suddenly Ghazali talked.

"Ah, she must be shy. You don't have to be shy with me." Ghazali said with a smile.

Aini looked at him with a disgusted face after he said that.

"You're disgusting." Aini flat out said.

Alice, Raani, and Airi were shocked to hear what had come out of her mouth. Raani went up to her and closed her mouth.

"Aini what the heck is wrong with you?! Sorry about my friend, she's probably in a bad mood." Raani told Ghazali.

Ghazali stood there, seemingly unphased by her comment,

"It's okay, I understand how kids are." Ghazali said with an emphasis.

Aini looked at her with flames in her eyes. But Raani managed to control her from raging out.

"We'll be going now. See you tomorrow Alice!" Raani said to her.

Alice and Ghazali waved them goodbye as they watched them drag Aini away. Alice was still confused about what happened and decided to ask Ghazali.

"Hey Gaz, what did you do?" Alice asked with a confused tone.

"I don't know. I didn't do anything at all." Ghazali shrugged.

Alice wasn't convinced by Ghazali's casual response but didn't push further. They soon went back to their team garage where they met up with everyone from the Akinabalu Motorsport team. They saw the crew were already debating on where to celebrate. The manager noticed her at the entrance and began walking hastily towards them.

"Alright, enough with this. Since Alice was the one who won the race, let's ask her where to celebrate instead." The manager told everyone.

They all patiently looked at Alice, some wanted to get drinks but some wanted something like a diner. The entire weight is now on Alice's shoulder as they waited for her to pick a place. She thought long and hard before finally picking the perfect place to eat.

They arrived at a local fast food chain called Borinos and they began ordering food there. They weren't expecting to eat at a fast food chain but they weren't mad. They pulled the tables in the restaurant together and ate at the long table.

"Everything is on me alright. Don't be afraid to order more food." The manager told them.

They all cheered and began enjoying their crispy fried chicken, fries, and burgers. Alice decided to treat herself to a single burger although being on a diet. Sugimoto who sat across her noticed this and decided to tease her.

"Hey, didn't you tell me you were on a diet yesterday?" Sugimoto asked.

"Shut up, let a girl eat a burger in peace. Besides I burned off a lot of calories in that car." Alice told him in an angered tone.

As they eat, Alice suddenly gets a text from an unknown number. Alice was confused about who it was but there were no contact details on it.

"Meet me at the Kota City park. I need to discuss some things with you in private." The unknown person said.

Alice was skeptical at first but then began narrowing it down to who it was. There she realized that it might be Richard who texted her, probably to discuss something about her father after winning the race. There she was a bit surprised at how he got her number.

"How did Richard get my number? I haven't given any contact information to him. Maybe he has some insiders that could track my phone number or something." Alice speculated.

They continue celebrating throughout the night. After they finished eating, they all said their goodbyes and went on separate paths to go back home. Sugimoto gave Alice a lift back home and they waved goodbye to each other. Alice went inside her home where she saw her grandfather standing in front of the house, waiting for her.

"Welcome back darling." Her grandpa asked.

"Hey gramps, how long have you been waiting there?" She asked.

"Ah, I just got out. So how did you do today?" He curiously asked.

Alice went through her duffle back and grabbed her ROA Cup trophy. Her grandfather smiled lightly when he saw the trophy.

"First place again I see?" Her grandpa said.

"Yeah, it was a tough battle but I pulled through!" Alice told him.

"I see. I'm proud to hear that. You know, you're becoming more and more like your father. Bringing home trophies and displaying it on the cabinet." He said to her.

"Thanks! So should I place it there?" Alice asked him.

Her grandpa nodded and they went in to place the trophy on the cabinet. On that cabinet was a display of all the trophies that her father had won and another side of all the trophies that Alice had won. She placed her second ROA Cup trophy beside the first one. Her grandpa pets her shoulders as they both stare at the trophies.

"Well gramps, today has been a long day. I need to go to sleep and get ready for school tomorrow." Alice told him.

"You're still going to school tomorrow? Why not take the day off?" He asked her.

"I would but I don't want to be back on my studies. Well, good night grandpa." She told him.

"Alright, sweet dreams dear." He replied back/

Alice soon heads to her bed and lies on the bed. She was exhausted from everything that had happened that day. Alice stared at the ceiling, reminiscing about the day. Her eyes soon began feeling heavy and she began to rest.