[center][h2]Tuesday March 16th, 2094, 10:28 local
Buenos Aires, AR[/h2][h3]”The Ranch” (Carrera Condor Formula AG Team headquarters)[/h3][/center]Ava and Bea sat on a couch in team-branded polos and capris, a window with a view of the actual ranch near the team’s facility and the loops of the city’s AG circuit as their backdrop.
[color=#7AFFAD]”Hello. I am Ava Villarosa.”[/color] They both waved to the camera.
[color=#1EFF24]”Hi, I’m Bea Ward, and we’re doing this, because… long story short, we broke the sim.”[/color]
[color=#7AFFAD]”You broke the sim.”[/color]
[color=#1EFF24]”It was your idea.”[/color]
[color=#7AFFAD]”You were driving.”[/color]
[color=#1EFF24]”You’re supposed to be the wise, level-headed one here.”[/color]
[color=#7AFFAD]”They can’t pay me enough to keep you under control.”[/color]
Throughout the exchange, both drivers were cracking up, Bea finally losing it.
[color=#1EFF24]”That’s fair. Long story told in full, we wanted to see how fast the ship can go with some of the new upgrades we’ve got cooking, that meant no braking for turn one, wall… and we broke the sim.”[/color] She explained after calming down.
[color=#7AFFAD]”It ran out of memory computing the physics of the impact and crashed.”[/color] Ava clarified.
[color=#7AFFAD]”And in the meantime, PR had an idea to pass the time while it gets reset.”[/color]
Bea turned to someone off camera. [color=#1EFF24]”You didn’t just google ‘is driver name’ and ‘does driver name’ five minutes ago and copy whatever it suggested, did you?”[/color]
“No… Not quite.” Came a Spanish-accented man’s voice off-camera.

“First question: Would you rather drive a ship that oversteers or understeers?”
[color=#7AFFAD]”Oversteer is faster.”[/color]
[color=#1EFF24]”Oversteer is more fun.”[/color] Both replied without a pause to think.

“Permanent course or street track?”
[color=#1EFF24]”Permanent course, they tend to flow better, street tracks like to get awkward because you have to work with the corners you have.”[/color]
[color=#7AFFAD]”Permanent course. I like space on the outside.”[/color]
[color=#1EFF24]”I need to get you in a Rally car for a stage one day.”[/color] Bea smiled at Ava.
[color=#7AFFAD]”No.”[/color] The Chilean replied unamused by the offer.

“Beat the reigning champion once, or beat your teammate consistently throughout the season?”
[color=#7AFFAD]”Beat my teammate.”[/color]
[color=#1EFF24]”Betrayal…”[/color] Bea shook her head with a gasp, [color=#1EFF24]”No, same answer. If all you have is one flash in the pan it means nothing, doesn’t matter who you beat.”[/color] She gave the serious answer.

“Win from first or win from last?”
[color=#1EFF24]”Win from last.”[/color]
[color=#7AFFAD]”Really?”[/color]
[color=#1EFF24]”The end result is the same, but the journey to get there is more fun both for me and the fans.”[/color]
[color=#7AFFAD]”I’ll take win from first. A win’s a win, and from first is less stressful.”[/color]

“Win by a large margin or by last lap overtake?”
[color=#7AFFAD]”Large margin. Same reason as previous question.”[/color]
[color=#1EFF24]”Last lap overtake. Also the same reason.”[/color]

“Give up your favorite meal for life or have to eat it every day for a year?”
[color=#1EFF24]”Ooooh, that’s diabolical… But I’ll take eating it every day.”[/color]
[color=#7AFFAD]”I’d give it up. You’d get sick of it in the first few months.”[/color]
[color=#1EFF24]”Yeah, but it’s only a year, I can look forward to it ending, not eating it for a year and then it’s all back to normal.”[/color]
[color=#7AFFAD]”True.”[/color]
[color=#1EFF24]”What is your favourite meal?”[/color]
[color=#7AFFAD]”Tomates rellenos. Stuffed tomatoes, best with sweetcorn, tuna and hardboiled egg. Yours is definitely going to be something sweet.”[/color]
[color=#1EFF24]”Stargazy pie.”[/color]
[color=#7AFFAD]”What?!”[/color] Ava almost gagged at the thought.
[color=#1EFF24]”Got you.”[/color] Bea snickered. [color=#1EFF24]”Battenberg cake. It’s an almond sponge cake with jam, covered in marzipan.”[/color]

“Be a scientist or an artist?”
[color=#7AFFAD]”Scientist. Or engineer, that’s just applied science.”[/color]
[color=#1EFF24]”Already am an artist, so that’s that. I don’t have the brains for the smart stuff.”[/color]
“Leadership might not be happy to hear that.” The off-camera team member joked.
[color=#1EFF24]”They knew what they were getting into.”[/color] She grinned in response.

“These last two are from Bea’s social media comments-”
[color=#1EFF24]”Oh no, it’s going off the rails.”[/color] Bea laughed, only half-joking.

“Hold a snake or a large spider?”
[color=#1EFF24]”The only way to win is to not play.”[/color]
“You have to choose one.”
[color=#1EFF24]”Uuuhh… If it’s a constrictor, the snake, otherwise the spider.”[/color]
[color=#7AFFAD]”The spider. They’re adorable.”[/color] Bea shot Ava a puzzled glance, shaking her head in disbelief.

“And the final one: Would you prefer a tall or short partner?”
[color=#7AFFAD]”Is this something you’re asked regularly?”[/color]
[color=#1EFF24]”I get worse.”[/color] Bea shrugged, [color=#1EFF24]”You don’t?”[/color]
[color=#7AFFAD]”You’re the social media creature, there’s a reason I’m not too active there.”[/color] Ava shook her head
[color=#1EFF24]”Maybe Matías wants to know but is scared to ask you directly?”[/color] She pointed at someone off-screen, almost immediately breaking out into giggles, accompanied by a few off-screen chuckles. [color=#1EFF24]”Shame there’s no camera on you, mate, that was quite a face.”[/color]
[color=#7AFFAD]”Someone my height I guess.”[/color]
[color=#1EFF24]”If that was what it came down to, tall. Those high shelves in my kitchen can be a battle.”[/color]

“And we’ll end this with a challenge.” Hands appeared from each side of the screen, handing each of the racers a sheet of A4 paper. “Each of you will have 60 seconds to make a paper plane. Whichever one flies farther wins.”
[color=#7AFFAD]”Already won.”[/color]
[color=#1EFF24]”Confident. I know you were a test pilot, but I’ll have you know I have recent and extensive practice in making paper planes.”[/color]
[color=#7AFFAD]”From where?”[/color]
[color=#1EFF24]”Physics and maths class.”[/color]
[color=#7AFFAD]”Should’ve guessed.”[/color]
Both drivers turned to face away from each other, Bea immediately getting to work while Ava just sat there, reading the paper she was given. [color=#7AFFAD]”I like how this is just notes for organizing yesterday’s meeting.”[/color]
“We reuse and recycle here at Carrera Condor AG.”

Bea spent the minute working, Ava simply throwing something together in 20 seconds.
“Time’s up. Let’s see how you did. Since Ava answered the last question first, Bea, you’re up.”
It was a respectable effort at just shy of four couch lengths, or so it seemed until Ava stepped up to the line, scrunched up her plane into a ball and launched it clean across the room like a baseball pitcher to a chorus of laughter.
[color=#1EFF24]”You win.”[/color] Bea shook Ava’s hand while still wiping tears of laughter from her eyes.