Chapter 11: Contest

"You can't be serious! Don't tell me you're actually considering employing this…child!?" The woman demanded amongst the shock.

"Yelena. Mind your tone. After all, you're the one who recommended him to me. This would be a good chance to see what he can do." The boss said in an authoritative tone, apparently having had enough of her attitude.

"But what if the kid breaks something or worse…destroys it." The now identified Yelena tried to reason with the man, this time being careful with her tone. Despite that, he spoke with the same tone as before.

"If he breaks something, isn't that why you're here. After all, this is an auto repair shop and you all work here. Fixing anything he breaks should be a piece of cake for you." The boss said to Yelena, shutting down any argument she might have had.

'So that's why she's so opposed to it. She already brought someone forward to take the job but now he will have to compete for it. I can't bring myself to feel sorry for your future unemployment.' He said as he thoroughly examined the man he was supposed to compete with.

Now that there were no more arguments, the boss used the opportunity to explain the contest.

"It's very simple really. You'll each be given a vehicle to work on. We won't tell you what the problem with them is. Your job is to find out the problem and fix it accordingly." The man explained.

"Also you'll be provided with someone to assist you. Of course they won't do the job for you. They are only allowed to do exactly what you specify. You can't just tell them to fix it for you." He finished explaining with a neutral look.

After hearing the rules and what we were to do, Ren grew a confident smile.

"Not a problem!" He declared easily with a smirk. Everyone then turned to Sora who had yet to answer. His answer was short and straight to the point.

"When do we start?" That was all he asked before they were lead to a small collection of cars.

Some of them looked like fine but the others clearly looked out of order. Whether or not they were working at all, he wouldn't find out because ten minutes later he and Ren found themselves in front of two vehicles with the hoods open.

"These two beauties are yours to work on." The boss said, gesturing to the two cars with a smile.

They were cars of the same brand and model, the only difference being their colors.

'What a coincidence.' Sora though dryly.

From the distance he stood at, he could see the engine and the other parts inside that were usually covered. He instinctively understood each part and their uses.

'This is the power of this skill. This is going to be easy.' He thought, already noting the few problems he could see from there.

"Alright! We don't have all day so let's get started. Pick anyone among them to assist you." The boss announced. Without wasting time, Ren spoke up.

"I pick her!" He said quickly, pointing at Yelena who smiled and walked to stand beside him. The boss narrowed his eyes at that but didn't say much on it.

"Is that so? Now, it seems I forgot to ask. What is your name?" He said to Sora who answered blankly.

"Sora."

"Now Sora, who do you choose?" He asked the boy.

Sora looked at Ren and Yelena who had smug smiles on their faces and scoffed internally.

'Just how shameless can you be?' He thought before looking at the other workers present.

They all looked uneasy as his eyes swept past them as if nervous that he would pick them. It may be subconscious but they'd rather work with an adult than a child.

To their surprise, Sora's eyes didn't stop as he looked past all of them. His eyes locked in on a very young man at the end of the room who was wiping a timing belt that now looked as good as new.

"A-are you sure?" The boss manage to ask in shock. The other employees were no different as their expression showed various levels of shock.

"He's just a cleaning staff." The man said trying to persuade him but his words fell on deaf ears.

"I'm sure." Sora said confidently.

'Since you're so smug, I'll allow you to face not only defeat but shame and humiliation.' He thought as the boss called the young man over. He looked even younger than Ren. He couldn't be more than twenty twenty years old.

After explaining that he would assisting Sora, the two pairs were assigned their vehicles and put to work.

"Now you may begin." The boss said as Ren and Yelena strutted to the car they were assigned. Sora looked to the man who was assigned to him.

"What's your name?" He asked the nervous man.

"I-it's R-renji." He stuttered out.

"I'll only say this once. Pull yourself together, we have work to do." Sora said as he walked forward to the car.

"R-right!" Renji said, taking a toolbox and following Sora. Sora didn't bring his tools with him so he had to use the ones provided for him, not that it made any difference.

He looked into the hood and notes the first few problems that he could catch at a glance.

'The terminals of the battery are overheated and burnt. The oxygen sensors are old and worn out and the radiator is leaking.' He noted. He put his hand into the hood and checked a few other things to see any other problems he might have missed.

'The spark plugs are bound to be overheated and need to be changed. Oil has spilled into the windshield washing fluid reservoir. The engine itself isn't bad.' He thought as he made his final observations.

"We'll start with the spark plug. Pass the extension bar." He said, holding his hand out. A moment later, the requested object was in his palm.

He calmly pulled off the wire plug from the engine. He fitted the extension bar into the hole and requested for another tool.

"Socket wrench." This time, the response was instant as not even two seconds later, a socket wrench was in his palm.

Using the socket wrench and the extension bar, he slowly removed the spark plug from its housing.

'Just as I thought. It's burnt.' He thought as he held it in his hands.

"Renji, get me a few spark plugs and a lubricant." He demanded. It would take about a minute for Renji to fetch those items so Sora used that chance to take a peek at Yelena and Ren.

He was confused on how to feel as he looked over at them. On one hand he expected it but on the other hand he didn't think it would happen.

From what he could see, Yelena was doing most of the work, with Ren only being the one to assist her.

'I can't say I didn't expect it.' He thought with a shake of his head.

He looked over at the boss who also saw this but didn't say a word and simply watched in silence.

It was at that moment that Renji returned with the plugs and lubricant.

Applying a small amount of lubricant on the plug, Sora inserted the new plug and tightened it in place. He repeated the same process for other three plugs before dropping the used ones in a pile by the side.

'This is just the start. Now onto the next.' He thought before looking at Renji who seemed more confident than when they started.

"Bring me one of the spare batteries. Get baking soda and and some gloves while you're at it." He told Renji who didn't hesitate to set out and search for those items.

The boss who stood at the back observed Sora working with a small smile.

'It seems like I was right. He has potential!' He thought as a happy glint appeared in his eyes.

"You! Get me a chair. We're going to be here for a while." He said, pointing at one of the employees who watched the contest as he continued watching.