The Princess and the Pauper (Arabella) novel Chapter 1657

The captain himself was stepping up to the challenge with the girl.

"Thanks a bunch." Harlan didn't forget to give a grateful bow, shooting a snitching glance at the fiery red sports car parked beside him, "Just now she was all fire and brimstone, saying that if any of us from the Drift Kings lose, we'd have to crawl from the starting line to the finish."

"That was your deal, not mine," Sean retorted and rolled up his window indifferently.

Harlan hadn't expected the captain to be just as tough to talk to as ever. He'd actually been touched a moment ago because he thought the captain had come forward to save his bacon and to smack down the girl's pride for him.

Guess he thought too much.

The leggy Ref stood between the two cars, blew a whistle, and motioned for the onlookers to clear out to the sides.

"Bella." Mignon intended to warn Arabella that this Sean was no joke. He'd never lost an international race, and he always left a mile-wide gap between him and second place.

But right then, she didn't dare step forward, afraid of piling on the pressure and throwing Arabella off her game.

"Go Bella!" Candice from the Light Fleet cheered at the top of her lungs, "You've got this!"

The rest of the Light Fleet crew joined in the rallying cry, "Bella, go, go, go!"

None of the other spectators, though, dared to echo the chants, not even mustering the courage to cheer for "Light Fleet".

But the Drift Kings was another story – they were all over it, leading everyone in a chant of "Sean! Sean! Sean!!"

Their spirit was undeniable.

In contrast, the support for Bella seemed a bit thin on the ground.

With the countdown at three seconds, the Light Fleet folks held their breath in suspense.

Three.

Two.