At Aurora High School, inside the staff office, the dean held up the request form, his expression stern.


    "You want to take off four consecutive evening study halls? Absolutely not. There are exams every night from now on."


    While her grades were excellent, she couldn''t rely on luck to get a perfect score every time. Pridees before a fall, and he wouldn''t let her ck off at such a critical time.


    "I know," Juniper nodded, her attitude surprisingly pleasant. "That''s why I''m requesting to take the exams in advance."


    That way, she wouldn''t fall behind, right?


    Before the dean could respond, the other teachers in the office chimed in, "We agree! We agree!"


    They hadn''t gotten enough of her perfect test papersst time. The physics teacher, Keith, was particrly excited. "Approve her request! Approve it now!" he shouted.


    "... You all just spoil her," the dean grumbled, but he helplessly stamped the form and stormed out of the office. A few stepster, he poked his head back in. "If she doesn''t get a high score, I''m docking all of your pay."


    The other teachers looked at Juniper, their faces screaming, "We don''t want a pay cut!"


    Juniper tilted her head, a corner of her mouth lifting into a reassuring smile. Seeing that confident grin, all the teachers breathed a collective sigh of relief.


    And so, Juniper spent her lunch breaks taking exams and skipped her evening sses.


    "Alright, you can go," the literature teacher said, holding a perfect paper with a beaming smile. "Walk slowly, don''t trip."


    Juniper was now Aurora High''s prized possession; they couldn''t afford for anything to happen to her.


    ...


    Later, at the Fracetrack located on


    a mountain road north of Era City, preparations for the event had been underway for


    rack do Wyears, and the


    beenpleted


    Before the race, the registration channel remained open, allowing all participants to practice on the track.


    Juniper had gone home to change into a ck windbreaker and matching ck pants. She wore a ck baseball cap pulled down low, obscuring her face and revealing only the delicate line of her jaw.


    The ce was swarming with drivers from all over the world. The sun beat down, kicking up dust from the ground.


    "Juniper!" Kurt, who had been waiting for her, saw her and immediately pulled Ghoul over. "This is the little spitfire I was telling you about... I mean, the master driver!"


    "Her?" Ghoul''s eyes fell on the girl, and he was instantly unimpressed. "Are you sure you''ve got the right person?" he blurted out. This delicate girl who looked like sh


    frown just from being in the sun? A


    master driver? Was this a joke?


    "That''s me. What about it?" Hearing the disdain in Ghoul''s voice, Juniper turned her


    head slightly, her nonchnt tone dangerously sharp.


    Ghoul felt goosebumps break out on his skin under her gaze, a strange sense of unease washing over him.


    "You''ll see what Juniper is capable of in a minute," Kurt said, not bothering to exin further. He grabbed the helmet from Ghoul''s arms and handed it to Juniper. She took it, put it on, and shot Ghoul a merciless re as she walked past him.


    Ghoul rubbed the back of his neck, feeling deeply unsettled. Was Kurt just trying to pick up this girl?


    This wouldn''t do. He still needed to find a way to convince J to race.


    For this year''spetition, Kurt was the only driver from the Orient Country region whose points qualified him for entry. But his luck was terrible; he had drawn a track position on the far edge. Onane like that, it was difficult to control speed during sharp turns, making it easy to fly off the track. It was also more susceptible to interference from other drivers, which could cause a vehicle to flip.


    No wonder Kurt was so anxious.


    "Juniper, that one up ahead is my car. Pretty sweet, right?" Kurt said, walking beside


    her with a wide grin, eagerly awaiting her praise.