“Juniper!” J cried, running up to the car.


    "Your mom is fine," Juniper said as she opened the car door. She then introduced J to her friends. "This is my cousin, J."


    “Hi, J,” Qadir, Queenie, and Dolce greeted her with warm smiles.


    J, who came from a poor background and was often ostracized at a school filled with the children of the elite, was taken aback. No one had ever been this friendly to her.


    "Hi, hello," she stammered, nodding repeatedly like a pecking chicken.


    "Hey, we are now friends," Qadir said, sensing her awkwardness. He was a natural at making people feel at ease. He slung a friendly arm around her shoulder. "Era High and Aurora High are pretty close. We should all grab dinner after school sometime. Milkshakes are on me."


    J stiffened slightly at the casual contact. Juniper''s friends were... a bit much. Just as Juniper was about to intervene, Melvin appeared.


    "It''s not safe on the side of the road. Let''s go," he said, his voice t as he smoothly removed Qadir''s hand from J''s shoulder.


    "Holy crap!" Qadir''s eyes widened as he recognized the man. "You''re... the racing legend, Melvin Steele!"


    Melvin shot him a look, his mind still fixated on the image of Qadir''s arm around J. He was not pleased. He remained silent, his expression cold.


    "Juniper, Juniper, is this for real?" Qadir, unfazed by the cold shoulder, turned to Juniper. "You know him?!"


    Outside of J, Melvin was his favorite race car driver. He was skilled, charismatic and had recently given up every turn to his home country. A true patriot! Who wouldn''t be a fan?


    “Huh?” Juniper blinked, replying nonchntly, "Yeah, I know him. He''s my brother."


    “Your brother, huh?” Qadir said, processing the information before his voice shot up several octaves. "Wait, what? The legendary Melvin is your brother? Your actual brother?"


    "Yep," Juniper nodded. "Same mom."


    “Ahhh!” Qadir clutched his head and let out a squeal. He had just stumbled upon the secret of the century. The famous Melvin was Juniper''s brother.


    "An autograph! I need an autograph!” Qadir frantically dug through his backpack for a pen and paper and approached Melvin with the utmost reverence. "Mr. Steele, could you please sign this for me?"


    Melvin just stared at him nkly.


    Qadir scratched his head,pletely baffled. What was going on? Melvin didn''t seem very friendly.


    “Actually,” Shanley interjected, unable to watch any longer. "Qadir''s a good kid. He doesn''t mean any harm. When he says he sees Juniper as a ''bro'', he really means it."


    Melvin understood the implication immediately. He took another look at the boy, who had a goofy, harmless smile. Maybe he had overreacted.


    "Hello,” Melvin said, his tone softening as he took the pen and paper and signed his name with a flourish. "And thank you for looking after Juniper."


    "Of course Qadir was ecstatic to get the autograph. He lowered his voice conspiratotially By the way Mr. Steele, do you know J? Is there any chance I could get J''s autograph too?"