The starting line of the Grand Prix Qualifier smelled of burning rubber and ozone.
Elara Vance gripped the steering wheel of The Underwood. It wasn't a normal wheel; it was the circular platen knob of the typewriter, rigged to a steering column with duct tape and hope.
"Engine status?" Elara shouted over the roar of a thousand engines.
"I am hungry!" Ignis roared from the engine block. The dragon-man was currently shoveling coal (which was actually burnt toast from the toaster function) into the boiler. "The boiler requires carbohydrates!"
"We're out of toast!" Jen yelled, clutching her stopwatch. "We have to run on ink fumes!"
"Qualifying rules," Li Wusheng recited from the passenger seat, his eyes glued to the track map. "We must complete three laps of the Genre-Bending Circuit. We must finish in the top 10. If we fail, we are eliminated. And likely exploded."
