Jayden had won races before and even received trophies for them but this was different. It was his first real podium ceremony and he enjoyed every second of it. He congratulated Octavia and Stephen with their race and ran off to celebrate with his family and friends. They had supported and helped him in any way possible and now he could finally show them that all the hard work was paying off.

Seeing her son run over to them his mother got sentimental. "He is growing up," She thought. As a mother, she always wanted the best for her children. Now she saw with her own two eyes how Jayden had started to grow from a shy boy that would not even speak up in cla.s.s to one that could converse freely with people he just met. After she saw how easily and freely he talked with Kevin, listening and discussing with him she began to feel a weight lifting off her shoulders. There was always a lingering feeling that they might treat him poorly but she could notice no such behavior from either James nor Kevin.

Reaching them Jayden hugged his mom first then Damian and Lyssa. After that, he gave Simon a high five while proudly showing off his trophy. If it was up to him this would be the first of many trophies. "you better win the next one!" Simon said jokingly. Although this was said in jest they were all thinking the same thing.

"He can only get better from here on out!"

After a post-race discussion with Kevin and James Jayden managed to explain his lack of pace. In response to this Kevin made plans to fine-tune the setup of the kart. He was shocked during the race by Jaydens sudden drop in pace but his shock turned into a pleasant surprise when he saw him drive around the issues and hold on to his second place. He was now fired up! The best way to show the team and his own skills as an engineer was to give Jayden a kart that was tailor-made for his driving style and his talent. The next race was in two weeks time but Kevin wanted to really work on the setup. To do this he arranged with James to have Jayden drive the kart next weekend for a test session. They would use a full day to figure out a perfect setup for most tracks.

While the podium ceremonies for the other cla.s.ses were coming to an end Jayden was walking around looking at other teams and their Karts. He was admiring a KZ1 cla.s.s kart when Vincent tapped him on the shoulder. They had not spoken each other after their clash in the last amateur race and Jayden felt awkward being suddenly approached by him.

Vincent reached for a handshake "Congratulations" he said as Jayden shook his hand. Vincent had finished the race in 5th place dropping behind Octavia and even Scott. Jayden saw Vincent wanted to say something else but was struggling with something. "I think I was lucky today. If it was any other track you would have all easily gotten pa.s.sed me! I need to improve if I want to catch up to Stephen when we race again." he said hoping this would remove the awkwardness between them. It did work to some degree but hearing Jayden mention Stephen's name Vincent's face turned ugly.

"I actually came to warn you for Stephen. You looked quite friendly with each other but I would look out if I were you. He uses everyone he can for his own gain and only befriends people that are useful to his plans!" It was obvious Vincent did not harbor any good feelings for Stephen.

"It can't be that bad, right?!"Jayden asked. "Just keep him at a distance. I had to learn this the hard way!" Vincent leaving Jayden those last words left.

Looking at Vincent's retreating back Jayden was confused. He had no way to respond to this but it did not actually matter. Stephen was his rival on track as was Vincent. Being friends with any of them never crossed his mind.