The Knight of the Wheel.

After school Mila was kind enough to drop Alice and I off at the workshop. Remember that Alice doesn’t take her car to school since it’s too flashy for the model student council president.

“You tinker with your car more than you use it, don’t you?” I asked her after we waved Mila goodbye.

“Well… yeah. I love that thing, but I hate to stand out. The mountain pass and car meets are pretty much the only places you’ll see cars flashier than mine.”

“And even then yours is pretty iconic.”

“I suppose…” Alice blinked, frowned and punched me harmlessly on the shoulder. “Dammit, Oliver! We’re talking about cars again!”

I laughed.

“Hey, hey, hey! What’s going on there!?” I flinched at the shout. Alice and I turned to see a tall man coming out of the shop, blue coveralls on, blonde hair a curly mess, blue eyes staring directly at me. “What did you do to make my sister flustered? Come on, don’t keep the ammo to yourself. Let me in on it!” the man said with a big smirk.

“It’s nothing, Alex! Forget it!” Alice told him, now even more flustered. “Did the new part arrive?”

“Yeah, it’s in my office. Go get it yourself, but don’t start messing with any cars. You’re in your uniform and if you get it dirty with oil mom’s gonna freak out.”

“I know! Geez. I’ll be back in a minute, Oliver.”

I nodded. “Don’t worry.”

Alex and I found ourselves smiling as we watched Alice run into the shop, but soon it dawned on me that I was suddenly alone with her big brother. I mean, it wasn’t the worst. I had met Alex before and been properly introduced as Alice’s boyfriend. But like I once said, it had all been in passing, very quick. I hadn’t spent as much time with her family as I had with Mila’s and Sarah’s.

Alex turned to me, his smirk still on his face. “So? Spill it. What made her flustered?”

I chuckled. “She’s… a little worried that all she can talk about is cars, and we were talking about her car again just now.”

“Aaah. I see.” Instead of laughing it off, like I expected, Alex looked deep in thought. “Hey, Oliver, mind coming with me for a second.”

“Um… S-Sure.”

Alex led me to the far end of his large, spacious workshop. The skeleton of a motorcycle was there, along with several broken parts and a toolbox. Alex sat on the ripped seat of the bike and sighed.

“She’s been a lot livelier since she started dating you,” he told me. “She talks about you all the time, but I still get worried since she doesn’t let us see you much. I get that she’s embarrassed, but… Well, I want to make sure the guy she’s planning to run away with isn’t a douche, you know?”

I smiled nervously. “So she told you what we’d like to do?”

“About living together? Yeah. I support the idea, and I do want her to chase whatever dreams she has for herself. You’ll forgive me for not being totally sure about you, though.”

“No, I understand,” I told him. “I have a sister, too. I get how it is.”

Alex grinned. “Still, I can’t just ignore the way she’s been acting. She’s… happy. Did she tell you that she’s been going to the mountain pass less often?”

I blinked. “No, she hasn’t.”

Alex sighed. “I was the one who took her there the first time. She was stressed, exhausted, depressed… I know the dangers of street racing and drifting, but cars are what our family bonds over. Our dad, me, my wife, Alice… We’re very different people, but we all love these machines. Racing and drifting is what kept me sane during some tough years in my life, so it was the only thing I could think of to help my sister. Damn brat took to it like a fish to water,” he laughed. “She built her car, tested it, tuned it over and over and before we knew it she was beating everyone’s times, winning nearly every race and drifting like Tsuchiya. She… immersed herself in the track and her car, and despite the danger, it did the same for her as it did for me. Kept her sane.”

“I’m… familiar with the story,” I told him. “For the most part, at least.”

“I bet. She trust you. You mean a lot to her. So much so that she doesn’t feel the need to go race anymore. She still takes her car up to the pass for a drive or to test new setups, but she’s not even trying to beat her own times.”

I tilted my head. “And that’s…?”

“A good thing, of course!” Alex laughed. “She used to lose herself in the rush of speed and adrenaline. Now she’s just doing it because she enjoys it, taking less risks in the process. Alice is maturing, and I’m very happy for her. And now you tell me she’s worried all she can talk about is cars? Well, of course that’s the case. At our house, if we weren’t fighting over academics or politics, we were gushing about car engines, brands, models both old and new. Despite our difference of opinions with our parents, cars kept us connected. That’s why it means so much to her that you’re willing to hear geek out about them. But now she’s growing and wants to broaden her horizons. If you’re the one causing that change in her, then that already makes me want to trust you, kid.”

“I hope I can be worthy of that trust,” I answered sheepishly.

Alex smirked. “Can’t exactly tell in only a five minute talk, right? So I have a little proposition for you, if you’re willing. Feel free to say no if it’s not up your alley.”

“Hm? What do you have in mind?”

Alex gave the seat of the bike he was sitting on a hard pat. “I recently got this piece of scrap for dirt cheap. I want to fix it for myself, a personal project. How about you come help me every once in a while? Come bond with your dear brother-in-law.”

“Sure, I’d love to. When should I come over?”

Alex laughed. “Woah, didn’t even need to think about it. You really sure?”

I nodded. “Yeah. Alice really looks up to you, so… Well, I’d like you to believe me when I say I only want what’s best for her. Besides, I’ve been enjoying learning about all kinds of stuff. Cooking, fitness, driving, new music instruments… I think learning more about cars and motorcycles would be good for me.”

Alex’s grin widened. “Alright then! Perfect!” He clasped his hands together. “How about a couple of hours on Sundays? It can be morning or afternoon. Like I said, it’s a personal project.”

I nodded again. “Sure, that sounds good to me.”

“Hey, what are you two doing here?” Alice asked, running up to us with a box in hand. “What are you talking about?”

Alex shrugged. “Oh, I was telling him about this time when you got tickled so hard you farted.”

It caught me so off guard that I snickered and bent over painfully while trying to hold back my laughter. Poor Alice went completely red in two seconds, both in anger and shame.

“You…! ALEX!”

“Oops! Gotta get back to work. See you Sunday, Oliver!” Alex said, quickly making his escape.

“Y-Y-Yeah, s-see you Sunday…” I managed in between snickers.

That last exchange replaced Alice’s shame with utter confusion, and she looked from me to her brother with a tilted head.

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