ALICE Ch 49

Jeddah. The Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

Howling engines sound distant but they’re all around. Alice stays focused as she rockets into the tenth lap, hot on Val’s tail.

“We are in range,” Lora says calmly into her ear.

“I know. What about Woodcock?”

“She’s coming for you.”

“I have no power.”

“I know, Alice. Do your best.”

Alice takes the turn tightly, jolting over the bumper and pushing harder. All she can do is try to find the boldest possible line and take risks that other drivers will not. It’s the only way to compensate for her engine.

“Alice!”

“I saw it,” Alice says tightly, shifting up. Val was wide just now. She’s protecting her tires. That’s insulting; she’s thinking about the end of the race when it’s the present that she should be focused on. Val has a high opinion of herself. Always did. Alice figures that she’d probably be the same if she were pretty and perfect at everything the way that Val is.

Val also probably got a better night’s sleep because she probably didn’t stay up until past midnight watching endless dog videos in the Tiktok vortex. But that is neither here nor there.

“Loosening,” Lora says. “Max is moving up quickly, Alice.”

Alice figured on that. Val’s starting to pull away. They scream through another turn. The pack midfield is tight. She can see Laakso and Alonso up there and Lewis has already overtaken Charles. Behind, Faye has overtaken Danny Ricciardo and is closing on Woodcock, who in turn has her sights on Alice.

“Don’t worry about your tires,” Alice says darkly. “Worry about me.”

“Alice,” Lora warns.

But if Alice were the sort of person who listened to warnings, she’d never have made it to Formula One. She goes for it and Val responds immediately, repositioning in a predictably sensible way so that Alice won’t have room to make a move. The fight is on, but Val’s making a mistake. Alice and Val are alike in that neither of them is especially polite, but they are different because Val pretends to be.

“Alice!”

Alice isn’t hearing that. She hears sneakers squeaking on the floor of a small gym as middle school girls kick a soccer ball around without a clue. Parents cheer and coaches look on.

Alice watches from behind because she’s standing in the goal. Far ahead of her is Val, dribbling skillfully, about to score their team’s first point.

The car shakes as she pushes it harder, her gloved thumbs manipulating the buttons on her steering wheel as her fingers feather the gearshift. The track is a blur. She risks a look to her right.

Alice is wheel to wheel with Val, whose helmet is pointed straight ahead.

“Tires! Tires!” Lora warns as Alice only picks up more speed. “Dear god!”

Alice slides through, the car shuddering noticeably as she tears around the corner just ahead of Val.

Overtaking Val isn’t the hard part. The hard part will be fighting off Max.

Alice grins in her helmet. She’s looking forward to it.