The euphoria Momo felt from crossing the line in P1 hadn’t simmered down, despite several hours passing since the climax of the Tumult Turnpike Grand Prix. In the weekly team debrief after each race, Coach Momomomomo and the Marbula pair were typically laser-focused on the next steps; always looking for how to maximise the following result.
However, quite contrarily, the marbles had all loosened up this time around — clearly revelling in the thrill of their first victory of the season. Momo was admiring the team’s Marbula poster plastered on the wall of their garage at the race — while Mimo’s admiration was more directed at their fellow racer themself.
“Finally, my nickname holds true,” said Momo, smiling at the thought. “I’m now truly a winning dumpling.”
“You always were,” replied the Coach. “This is your first victory, but your mindset was always one to win. It’s just that now we get to enjoy this shiny new trophy along with it,” they continued, holding Momo’s race-winning trophy out of pride.
The marbles rolled out of the garage, looking to take pictures with their friends, Team Primary. Both teams were delighted by each other’s success this weekend, with the Tumult Turnpike GP becoming the first ever Momary finish on the top two steps of the podium.
Momo thought about all the criticism regarding their inclusion in S4 after their disappointing previous season. Almost on cue, Mimo spoke:
“You’re here to stay now, Momo. We’re so proud.”
Royal rolled away from the podium quickly after pictures were taken. They were hoping to catch up to Blue Eye after their fourth place finish. Royal themselves had taken their third consecutive podium finish, holding onto third after a late charge from the Cat’s Eye. After searching for a minute, they finally caught up with Blue Eye in the pits.
“Hey Blue! Great race today!” Called Royal. Blue Eye turned around quickly, and smiled when they saw who it was.
“Thanks, Royal. You too!” They replied, “I was so close to taking third,” Blue Eye finished with a chuckle. They rolled over to join Royal.
“Anytime. Feel free to join me, there’s always room for more blue on the podium. Just make sure you stay behind me,” Royal said with a smile.
“We’ll see about the last part,” Blue Eye retorted, as the two laughed.
“Well, I should probably get back to my team, they’re probably wondering where I rolled off to,” Royal said as they began to roll away, “I’ll see you around.”
“Sounds good. Congrats on the medal!” Blue Eye responded as the two parted ways.
As Royal came to the stadium exit, they thought about their career to this point. With just 9 races under their belt, some people were beginning to say that they were the best on the circuit. Royal finally had the chance to make a mark on the world, but the best part was the fact that, since their win at the O’raceway, those expectations had become fuel. And that fuel made the ride all the more fun.
The streets of Hunluen, usually bustling, were quiet now.
The rain beat down upon the roof of the café as Aryp sipped a cup of tea and gazed out the window. They had chosen a small, quiet place deliberately. It was a little shop they’d never been to before and had found from Clutter’s recommendation.
The excitement of the race was fresh in their mind, and midway through the season, they’d decided they needed to take this chance to step back a little. Aryp turned back to their teammate who took a glance at them up from their cup of coffee.
“So,” Rima cast a glance over to a flickering lightbulb “What drags you all the way out here instead of going with the other racers?”
“Didn’t feel like it.” Aryp replied simply while watching the rain trace down the window.
“There’s gotta be something else on your mind. C’mon, I know you, you love winning.” Rima chuckled.
“That’s exactly it.” Aryp paused to take a sip of tea, “I love winning.”
Rima gave a quizzical glance. “We all do, isn’t that the whole point of competing…?”
“I guess, but my point is it’s far too easy to get caught up on points and medals and forget that there’s life outside all that. You forget that you have worth outside victory. And I don’t want you, or anyone, to fall into that.”
Aryp rolled over to the window to watch the lights reflect off of raindrops and then continued, “I’ve been successful, and sometimes I worry about whether I’d be worth anything if I wasn’t… So I started coming to places like this to remind myself that there’s life outside medals.”
There was a pause as Rima took a sip of their coffee. “…Huh. Yeah, I guess I see what you mean. We could all do to be a little kinder to ourselves sometimes.”
“Agreed. And speaking of, don’t worry about paying. It’s my treat.”
With that, the two returned to silence as the rain finally began to let up.
Credits
- Writers: Mystic, PippinPlover, Ramen Powder
- Editor: GhostDM
- Photographer: Jelle’s Marble Runs
- Reference: Marbula One S4 GP5 Tumult Turnpike RACE – Jelle’s Marble Runs
- Release: 02/06/2023
Project Marblearth 