Episode 3: Rivals, Rankings & Bad Decisions

The rankings appeared on the giant screen above Harbor Circuit.

1. Ryder Calloway

2. Ava Carter

3. Luca Moretti

The crowd cheered.

Some people celebrated.

Others complained loudly.

Ava stared at the screen.

Second place.

By six-tenths of a second.

Six.

Tenths.

Of.

A.

Second.

"You're thinking about it too hard."

Mason appeared beside her holding coffee.

Again.

Ava frowned.

"Why do you always have coffee?"

"Emotional support beverage."

"That's not healthy."

"Neither is street racing."

"...Fair."

Tara joined them moments later.

"You almost beat Ryder Calloway."

"Almost doesn't count."

"Second out of thirty-two racers absolutely counts."

Ava crossed her arms.

"I had him."

"You absolutely did not have him," Sienna replied.

Everyone turned.

She pointed toward her tablet.

"Corner twelve. You committed to the inside line too early."

Ava stared.

"You analyzed my race already?"

"I analyzed everyone's race."

Mason slowly stepped away.

"Sometimes I forget how terrifying you are."

"I get that a lot."

---

Across the paddock...

Ryder leaned against his McLaren.

Silent.

Thinking.

His teammate frowned.

"You look bothered."

"I'm not."

"You got challenged for the lead for the first time in months."

Silence.

"...She drifts too aggressively."

His teammate grinned.

"So you're impressed."

"I'm observant."

"Right."

---

A familiar voice interrupted.

"Still pretending you aren't human?"

Luca dropped into the empty seat beside Ryder.

Ryder looked over.

Luca grinned.

"You know, most people celebrate winning."

"I won a qualifying race."

"You beat Harbor City's favorite chaos gremlin by less than a second."

Ryder frowned slightly.

"Chaos gremlin?"

"You met Ava."

"...Fair."

---

Meanwhile...

Ava was losing an argument.

Badly.

"No."

Mason nodded.

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes."

"I am not challenging Ryder to a rematch."

"You literally said and I quote—"

He cleared his throat dramatically.

"'One day I'm wiping that smug look off his face.'"

"That wasn't a challenge."

"That was a declaration of war."

Tara nodded.

"It kind of was."

Ava groaned.

"I hate all of you."

"No you don't."

"...Unfortunately."

---

"Speaking of declarations of war..."

Luca appeared beside them.

Completely uninvited.

Completely comfortable.

He looked at Ava.

"So you're the girl who almost ruined Ryder's winning streak."

Ava smiled.

"Almost."

Luca pointed toward the rankings.

"Second place says otherwise."

"Oh, I don't like him."

"I get that a lot too."

Mason leaned toward Tara.

"I kind of love him."

"Me too."

Sienna looked at Luca once.

Then back at her tablet.

Interesting.

Very interesting.

---

"Tell me something," Luca said.

"Why does everyone act like Ryder is unbeatable?"

The group blinked.

"He basically is," Mason replied.

"That's boring."

Luca grinned.

"I hate boring."

Ava smiled despite herself.

"You fit in here disturbingly well."

"I know."

---

The loudspeaker crackled overhead.

"Attention drivers."

The paddock quieted instantly.

"Tomorrow's event will be a city sprint through downtown Harbor."

Excitement exploded through the crowd.

Street sections.

Bridges.

Parking garages.

Sharp turns.

Minimal room for mistakes.

The announcer continued.

"Drivers will compete in pairs."

Everyone froze.

Pairs?

The screen lit up.

Matchups appeared one by one.

Then—

AVA CARTER

VS

LUCA MORETTI

"Oh this is going to be entertaining," Mason whispered.

Luca smirked.

"I promise to go easy on you."

Ava laughed.

"That's adorable."

---

Another matchup appeared.

RYDER CALLOWAY

VS

JACK TURNER

The crowd groaned.

Everyone knew how that race would end.

Even Jack looked offended.

"Seriously?"

---

Luca glanced toward Ryder.

Then toward Ava.

Then smiled slowly.

"Oh."

Ava frowned.

"Oh what?"

"You know what's funny?"

"What?"

"If you beat me tomorrow..."

He pointed toward Ryder.

"...you'll probably race him next."

Silence.

Complete silence.

Ava blinked.

"...Seriously?"

"Seriously."

Mason looked emotional.

"This is cinema."

Tara smacked his arm.

"Focus."

"I'm trying."

---

Across the paddock...

Ryder looked toward the conversation.

Luca.

Laughing.

Ava.

Laughing.

Mason making exaggerated hand gestures.

Tara nearly falling over laughing.

For some reason—

his eyes stayed there longer than necessary.

His teammate noticed immediately.

"Watching the competition?"

Ryder looked away.

"Something like that."

---

Ava suddenly appeared beside him.

"So."

Ryder looked over.

"So."

She pointed toward the matchup screen.

"If I win tomorrow..."

"You race me."

"If you win tomorrow."

"Confident."

"Realistic."

She grinned.

"I was wondering something."

"What?"

"Are you always this serious?"

"Mostly."

"That sounds exhausting."

"It has benefits."

"Such as?"

"I don't drift through security gates."

Ava gasped.

"You heard about that?"

"The entire city heard about that."

"Oh."

A pause.

"...Fair."

For the first time—

Ryder looked almost amused.

Almost.

Ava pointed accusingly.

"That was almost a smile."

"It wasn't."

"It absolutely was."

"It absolutely wasn't."

She smiled.

"See you tomorrow, Ghost."

He raised an eyebrow.

"Ghost?"

"The crowd calls you that."

"And you?"

Ava started walking backward.

"I haven't decided yet."

"That's concerning."

"It should be."

She turned and disappeared into the crowd.

Ryder watched her leave.

Again.

Longer than necessary.

His teammate sighed.

"Oh no."

Ryder frowned.

"What?"

"Nothing."

The teammate smiled.

"Absolutely nothing."

Somewhere nearby—

Tara watched the entire interaction.

Then slowly turned toward Mason.

"Oh my God."

"What?"

"I have a theory."

Mason groaned.

"That's never good."

"It really isn't."

To Be Continued...

***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***