The Royal Library steps were bathed in sunlight during the early evening, which made them a popular spot for people to hang out and relax, chat and eat pizza slices from the nearby cart. All Eli could hear from every direction was excited talk about the Glorious Race of Magical Beasts. The race took place every year, and each time the buzz around it got louder and louder. It seemed that the entire country got swept away in racing mania. Everyone except Eli and his nana, that is. The Glorious Race of Magical Beasts had cost them too dearly. Eli’s parents would still both be here if it wasn’t for the race.
But there was no avoiding it in Harmonia, especially as the event started there. The route varied every year, but it traditionally began in Harmonia, and there were always three checkpoints and three rounds. Spectators could watch footage of the race on the big screens that were currently being erected in the square, across from the fountains. Some of the busier cafes and restaurants had them too.
As he made his way down the steps, Eli tried not to listen to the racing talk and to think instead of happy things, like books and stamps and tortoises. He was tired from his early start, and from being on his feet all day, but there was no time to rest because in the evenings he waited tables at his nana’s restaurant.
Eli didn’t mind the work, normally – he was proud of the restaurant and glad to be a part of it – but tonight he would have preferred a different job, one that didn’t involve being around a lot of people talking about the race. It was even worse when customers realised or remembered that he and his grandmother were Fleets – related to the famous Lara and Theo Fleet, who had won so many races in their time. Before it all went wrong. Then they wanted to speak to Eli about them, asking questions and reminiscing about their best racing moments and asking Eli if he’d ever had any ambitions to enter the race himself. People always seemed disappointed when he said no. Of course the race had seemed thrilling and exciting to him once when he’d been very small, and perhaps for the briefest time he’d had dreams of entering, but when his parents died he vowed he’d never go anywhere near it. Far better to live a life
