High Stakes: Between Rivals and Lovers

Open Exhibition Race

Days pass and soon enough it is the day for the Open Exhibition Race. Grand Prix official sponsors host the said event for fans and enthusiasts to watch their favorite racers do what they do best – race. Although bearing no weight on the contestant's rankings, gaining fan support is another goal of this event.

Engfa is in her quarters, putting on the last touches of her makeup and ensuring her hair is okay before meeting the fans and the media covering the day's activities.

As a crowd favorite, the chaos of pre-race preparations and media appearances almost takes a toll on Engfa's sanity. Almost, if not all media outfits wanted a chance to interview her. Vloggers, fans, and influencers had their phones and cameras up in her face trying to capture an angle they could immediately post on their social media accounts. Some questions were good, others were not so and delved into more of her personal life, which she was trained to handle professionally. It was more exhausting than racing itself.

After her third interview with the press, P'Sun, her right hand, checks in on her. "You good?" He asks, concerned. He knew Fa had bad migraines, but the racer would just shake it off.

"I'm fine, P'Sun." He hands her a bottle of water he had in his bag which she gratefully accepts. He knows she was putting on a brave face.

On the other end of the room, Engfa spots Mew giving his own interview for the press. Mew, another strong contender this year talks about his training and preparations for the preliminaries three weeks from now.

But Engfa was hoping to see someone else. Looking further back, she sees Charlotte attending to a Live video of the racer. She's holding the phone steady on a portable stand, checking the video's engagement. As the woman was busy, Engfa returned to the pit to assess her car, talk to the crew, and maybe see if Coach Nawat needed something from her.

But really, she just needed a breather. The pressure from the press event was more stressful to her than the actual race itself.

"What's wrong, Engfa?" Coach Nawat asks when he sees his star racer sit on their team's benches. He had advised her to stay in the briefing area until the race began, but maybe she wasn't feeling well. "Are you not feeling well?"

Engfa shrugs, "No Coach. I'm fine. I was just checking if I was needed here." She replies innocently.

"You're more needed out there." He says curtly. "Not too long now the race will begin. Try to squeeze a few more interviews or just talk to the fans."

Engfa nods and she, P'Sun, and Meena head back up to the open area where fans and reporters are patiently waiting for her.

Meanwhile, Charlotte also searches the throngs of media, pit crew, custodial staff, and fans in search of Engfa. The anticipation of the exhibition race could be felt. Banners and signs were everywhere, with each fan and supporter rooting for their favorite racer.

Later, Charlotte finally catches Engfa standing near the bleachers, taking photos with fans who are giving her flowers and other tokens of encouragement.

Charlotte notices how compassionate she is towards her fans. But when Engfa steps in front of the mic, she sees firsthand how Engfa is passionate about her craft. She exudes sheer strength as an athlete which Charlotte found irresistible. Mesmerized by Engfa's words, she stays and doesn't notice that Mew is giving another a press statement on the other end of the room.

Mew's eyes search for Charlotte and when he finds her, he doesn't cause a scene and leaves her be. He spots Charlotte watching Fa, her blue and white oversized jersey sticking out in the sea of red and black fans huddled up over Fa's corner.

Despite the crowd's cheers and the noise surrounding them, Engfa catches Charlotte watching her. It wasn't that hard either, as the latter stuck out like a sore blue thumb in a sea of red and black. Their eyes were immediately drawn together, Charlotte giving her a wide smile.