junoonlinesaturday · 9:05 p.m.so i said yes to a man today.
for $11,000.
you WHAT
relax.
the car. not me.
Tofu used to be all mint. Then she lost her hood. The only spare in California was red. She paid in ube cake.
Yellow fenders. A blue trunk. A grey bumper.
lola · my grandmashe looks like a fruit salad.
junoa fast fruit salad.
junoonline9:05 p.m.ok back up. what man
trent. v8 miata. $40k of "i know better."
been trying to buy tofu for a year.
and you said YES?
to a bet.
tomorrow's race. tofu finishes one run, he never asks again.
and if she doesn't
she's his. 11k.
how hard can finishing be
she's never done it.
which is why i need a manager.
TEAM TOFU (official)
cfo · priya
chief engineer · sparks
recovery · winch
media · rico
parts · hector
title sponsor · dot
manager ·
the crew is a lot. management's empty.
i know nothing about cars
perfect. you're hired.
welcome to
Team Tofu
One girl. One five-colour Miata. A crew that never signed up. A race she has never once finished. And one manager who knows nothing about cars.
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junoonline9:06 p.m.manager's first decision.
tyre pressures for tomorrow. 28 or 30?
uh. 30?
kidding. i know my pressures.
the real decision:
if she finishes, there's an after‑meet.
and you're dressing me.
the tank top. safe. classy. boring.
or the black lace. you haven't seen it. neither has trent.
the safe tank topread ✓✓
the tank top? really?
ok. respect. tank top it is.
maybe.
the black laceread ✓✓
you didn't even think about it.
fine. a preview.
the rest, if she finishes.
ok wait. why has she never finished
long story.
it starts at 4:58 every morning.
Every Morning
Cakes and pastries up the canyon at 4:58. Same car, same hairpin, every day.
Every morning she drives her family's pastries up the canyon to the cafés. The cake gets the seatbelt.
junoyou can sit in the trunk. that's where the battery lives.
junoonline9:07 p.m.
you buckle in a CAKE??
that cake has never been in an accident.
and you?
different story.
family business. it's called ube mine.
say it out loud
no.
Priya has ridden shotgun since they were sixteen. Then the cake got the seatbelt.
priyai'm not mad.
junoyou labelled it.
priyait's ironic.
junoonline9:07 p.m.priya. best friend since second grade.
she does our money. she does not do cars.
never learned to drive. that seat was hers.
she has a label maker. it's a whole thing.
One warm ensaymada at the tightest bend. Then her phone buzzed.
trent · wants tofu11k. cash. today. last offer.
junoit's 5:20 a.m., trent.
junoonline9:09 p.m.ok. the long story.
three years ago. tofu's first race.
she died halfway through her first run. the car, i mean. she's a she.
trent leaned on my door. 'call your boyfriend, sweetheart.'
i fixed her myself by 4 a.m. one headlight only came up halfway.
she's been winking at him ever since.
and he's still trying to buy her
every week. today i said: race me for her.
manager. business decision.
should i have just taken the 11k?
take the moneyread ✓✓
you sound like my mom.
what 11k doesn't buy:
never sell herread ✓✓
correct answer.
loyalty gets you this.
hairpin. sunrise. socks lost.
Dot
Tofu has a title. Juno doesn't have it yet.
Every panel came off a different car. One headlight never fully opens.
junoit's a wink. she's flirting.
junoonline9:10 p.m.small detail.
on paper she isn't mine.
you bet a car that isn't YOURS??
she's mine. i've paid for every panel. dot just still has the title.
wait. the title sponsor?
81. pink sunglasses.
scarier than trent.
Dot bought Tofu new in 1991. Juno is buying her back, one visit a month.
dot · title sponsorhow's my girl? and don't say 'fine'.
junoshe's… great.
Juno has paid her every dollar she had. Dot keeps the title in an envelope.
dotwhen she's finished, sweetheart.
Finished means paint on every panel. The bumper is still grey primer.
junoonline9:12 p.m.so. dot doesn't know about the bet.
you bet HER car??
i know.
she's 81 and still drives a stick. she'd kill me with it.
manager call. do i tell her?
call dotread ✓✓
calling her now. wish me luck.
she laughed for a full minute. then she sent this.
'finish, sweetheart.'
keep it quietread ✓✓
our secret.
secrets look good on me.
if she finishes, dot never has to know.
noticed a pattern yet?
every decision comes with a photo
management perks. don't tell hr.
does tofu even run right now?
barely. that's what saturdays are for.
The Yard
Saturday, 10 a.m. Tofu has been running hot all week.
Tofu made it four miles. The tow truck was already there.
winchwas in the area.
junoyou live forty miles away.
winch...it's a big area.
junoonline9:12 p.m.that's winch. he's towed her 37 times.
he keeps count. on his truck door.
eats sunflower seeds when he's nervous. he's always nervous.
he likes you
he likes TOFU.
he talks to her when he straps her down. it's sweet.
Five of Tofu's panels came out of this yard.
hectorheard trent's buying your car, mija.
junonobody's buying anything.
hectorthen take the hose. on the house.
junoonline9:13 p.m.found the problem this morning.
radiator hose. split right down the middle.
is that bad
that's what killed her three years ago.
hector's open till 10. he says take a spare.
take tworead ✓✓
two hoses. you're the boss.
one is enoughread ✓✓
one hose. one clamp. confidence.
Car's out. Then every panel gets its own sponge.
junothe hood is from fresno. it has never seen this much water.
junoonline9:16 p.m.
you'd be useless on wash day.
i'd hold the hose
everyone says that. then they spray themselves.
ok. one. manager perk.
the other two are just for my camera roll.
After all that, the nap she pretends isn't a nap.
junoit's not a nap. i'm reading.
junoonline9:20 p.m.this afternoon i tried to nap. every time i closed my eyes she was steaming at the halfway cone.
so don't close them
smart. tonight i won't.
proof i was reading.
i was not reading.
and one i really shouldn't send.
ok. garage. ten hours.
Ten Hours
Back in the garage. Everything that can break on a '91, checked twice.
Ten hours to the race. She doesn't trust a single bolt.
junoonline9:58 p.m.currently under a car.
prove it
ok. currently NEXT to a car. break.
happy?
Sparks got asked to leave a PhD for "unauthorized experiments." She brought one.
sparksit's not a bomb. it's a prototype.
junoit's blinking.
sparksthat's the prototype part.
junoonline11:21 p.m.sparks. chief engineer. self-appointed.
she wants her clamp on the new hose tonight.
she's the best mechanic i know. she's also set four things on fire this month.
manager. your call.
trust sparksread ✓✓
she screamed. a good scream.
it's on. it hums. that's normal. probably.
no fires before race dayread ✓✓
she called me a coward and gave me a normal clamp.
she says i'll need it anyway. it's in the glovebox.
junoonline12:09 a.m.
new hose is on. clamp tightened like it owes me money.
you're covered
you should see the car.
garage rules: what happens after midnight stays in here.
junoif you look good you go fast. that's science.
The helmet sleeps on her pillow. She doesn't.
junoonline2:14 a.m.you up?
if she doesn't finish tomorrow, trent drives her home.
she'll finish
you don't know that.
manager. important decision.
what are you wearingread ✓✓
nice try.
the rest is a finish‑line thing.
go to sleepread ✓✓
sweet. one for the road.
and one you get if she finishes.
see you at the start line.
Race Day
The same lot where Tofu died three years ago.
Rico is on the walkie. Nobody asked him to be.
ricoin a world... where one girl... has never finished.
junorico. the walkie is for cones.
ricocopy.
ricoin a world... full of cones...
junoonline9:24 a.m.rico. media. he's making a documentary about tofu.
it's his fourth.
the others are about a gas station, his moustache and a raccoon.
he says the story works better if i'm single.
rico likes you
rico likes CONTENT.
it's for the doc. he's very professional.
junoonline9:31 a.m.staging lane. four cars ahead of us.
nervous?
my hands are shaking. hers aren't.
shoes off. race socks on.
left one's the clutch. heel-toe is easier when you can feel it.
is that a real thing
it's a real thing. i'm very good at it.
manager's call: she gets one song.
the fresno taperead ✓✓
the terrible fresno tape. perfect.
pure silenceread ✓✓
just me and her then.
for luck.
Trent's in the crowd with an envelope. Eleven thousand, cash. Four runs. Finish one and the bet is over.
junook tofu. breathe.
Faster than she has ever gone. Halfway. Further than three years ago.
Steam. The hose tore off the radiator end, old clamp and all. Same lot. The same spot as three years ago.
junono no no no.
junoonline9:42 a.m.she's steaming.
same spot. torn hose.
three years ago this is where i called for a tow.
don't you dare
trent's walking over.
he's holding a tow strap.
he's smiling.
Trent drops the tow strap at her feet.
trentcall your boyfriend, sweetheart.
Same words as three years ago. This time she doesn't look up.
junoi've got it.
junoone hose. no spare. ok. that one's on me.
She has the spare. Sparks is over the barrier before the steam clears. Winch is already backing up the truck. Just in case.
junoyou told me to bring two.
Six minutes.
Then Dot walks onto the lot in her pink sunglasses and holds out a radiator hose. The one Tofu left the factory with, in 1991.
doti keep it in my purse, sweetheart.
Then a hose sails over the barrier. Hector, in the crowd, his own truck's hood still up.
hectoryou owe me a hose, mija.
Sparks moves her prototype to the radiator end. It hums. It blinks. It holds.
sparkstold you. not a bomb.
The normal clamp from the glovebox goes on the radiator end. Sparks was right. Again.
sparkscoward. you're welcome.
Slow off the line. Steaming the whole way. Across the line. The first time ever.
The terrible Fresno tape is still playing when she crosses.
No music. Just Tofu, steaming, and the crowd going quiet, then loud.
junoSHE FINISHED.
Behind the barrier, Winch is holding a tow strap he doesn't need. He's crying a little.
winchwas in the area.
ricothat's going in the trailer.
priya$31,406. worth it. don't quote me.
junoonline12:52 p.m.she finished.
trent doesn't get her. ever.
I KNEW IT
you did not.
the spare hose is retiring a hero.
the real winner:
she's been carrying that hose since 1991.
the real winner:
his truck is still on the lot. no hose.
team tofu showed up. all of it. first time ever.
found trent.
one finished run, trent. that's all it took.
the fresno tape carried us.
silence worked. i heard her the whole way.
you kept me up till 3. worth it.
you told me to sleep. i actually did. it worked.
you're what my crew was missing.
TEAM TOFU (official)
cfo · priya
chief engineer · sparks
recovery · winch
media · rico
parts · hector
title sponsor · dot
manager · __________ you
i owe you a finish‑line one.
here.
meet's at 8. you're still dressing me.
The Meet
Sunday night. Dressed by management.
junoonline7:58 p.m.leaving for the meet.
safe tank top it is.
as ordered. boring. on purpose.
the lace is in my bag. in case someone changes their mind.
the black lace. as ordered.
windbreaker over it. zipper optional.
everybody wins.
…
breathe.
Top up on Tofu. Tank top on her. Very responsible. Two guys at the next car forget theirs anyway.
junoeyes on the car, boys.
Top down on Tofu. Windbreaker open on her. Somebody walks into a cone.
junoyou picked it. i'm just following orders.
trentlucky run.
junoluck is a 10 mm socket, trent.
junosomeone told me to take your money.
i didn't listen.
junosomeone told me never to sell her.
i listened.
trentwe're not done, juno.
He leaves early. She doesn't think about it until 1 a.m.
A cherry RX-7 parks two spots down. The driver doesn't say a word. He looks at Tofu. Then at her.
junowho is that.
priyaandre. owns the tire shop.
priyaclose your mouth.
junoonline9:41 p.m.manager.
the rx-7 guy just crouched by my front tyre. for a full minute.
then he said "your toe's out." and walked off.
is it?
no idea. i'd let him fix it.
winch just dropped his sunflower seeds. weird.
junoonline1:03 a.m.
guess where i am.
passenger seat's open.
priya labelled it. i peeled it off.
it's yours, manager.
the rest of the drive is not for here.
trent's car just pulled up.
don't get out
he didn't come for the car.
there's a wall behind the old furniture store. the meet keeps a list on it.
THE LIST
1 · trent
2 · wade
3 · bea
4 · dima
5 · saff
6 · andre
7 · mari
8 · kenny
9 · juno + tofu
someone painted a ninth name tonight.
trent's is at the top.
and dot's car is behind his. she never went home. she's grinning.
and dot still doesn't know. dot is about to find out.
eight names. one a week.
manager.
think you can manage me?
The List
Eight names on a wall. One a week. Hers is at the bottom. Trent's is at the top.
Tofu is a work of fiction. Every character and image is AI-generated.