“…you really don’t have to do this.”
“Are you kidding?! Two bronzes in a row, Orangin?! Keeping us in championship contention?! I have no choice but to—-good evening, I—yes, I’m doing outstanding, how are you?… Amazing. I’m calling to ask if you sell gluten-free donuts.”
Clementin and Orangin, ever the dynamic duo, waited as the traffic in front of them advanced along Galakonur’s Starlit Street. Clementin declined Quasar’s invitation to dinner for obvious reasons. They rented a car, picked up Orangin, and now were at their third donut joint in search of gluten-free products.
“Oh, darn. That’s okay, do you at least sell gluten-free bagels?”
“Clem, I’m allergic to sesame too.”
“Oh, right…sorry, marb, thanks for your help.” Hanging up the phone, Clem reclined in the driver’s seat and sighed. “I just…wanted to do something to celebrate you. We wouldn’t be on the verge of repeating if you hadn’t carried us to the last race.”
“Carried us?” Orangin laughed. “Without your win at Misty Mountain, I wouldn’t have felt motivated to even try.”
“You know, not to be sappy. But we make such a good pair. There’s no other athlete I would rather be racing with than you,” Clem said.
“Well,” Orangin beamed. “You believed in me from the start, you know. And I’ve believed in you. Once you started believing in yourself…there was nothing we couldn’t accomplish. That was what pushed me to try harder.”
Clem, caught in the middle of dialing yet another phone number, looked up, sighing. “When you said you didn’t think we had a chance to repeat—”
“Oh, I lied so hard. Talk about stirring the pot. We’re the most disruptive duo in all of marble sports, and if there’s anyone who can beat the odds and win a repeat championship, why can’t it be us?”
With traffic clear in front of them, Clem put their phone down, turned on their blinker, and headed towards the speedway. “I think we should get a head start on this week. Get the first flight back to Orlango. Hit the Raceway.”
“I couldn’t agree more,” Orangin said, grabbing their phone and dialing home. “Hey, Kinnowin? We’ll be back tomorrow morning. Mind ordering some Bonkin’ for when we’re home? …Clem’s favorites. Put it on my card.”
Quasar and Starry were out of the city soon after the podium ceremony. After their first Marbula One silver medal on the home track, Quasar was a bit too excited to stay put. Before they left, Coach Black Hole simply instructed them, “Don’t get lost! We still have another race you know!” They both knew their coach was simply teasing.
It would be nearly impossible for either of them to get lost in Galakonur; they had lived there nearly their whole lives. The teammates looked up to see the stars peek through the darkness as they entered the city square. At night, the lights go out for five minutes on the hour to let the stars be seen at their brightest. Besides Isle Hyu, few places were better for watching the night sky.
“This place looks way cooler on race night when you’ve just come off the podium,” Quasar said as they rolled down the sidewalks of their hometown.
“I would have to agree,” Starry replied, “There’s nothing quite like watching the stars and feeling like one too.”
“You would know,” Quasar said with a chuckle, “Being a star is kind of your thing. I just hope that one day, I might be able to catch up,” Quasar’s smile softened some. Starry looked down from the sky to their teammate.
“Catch up? Come on Quasar, you don’t need to catch up. If you were behind, you wouldn’t be here with me. Don’t forget that you’re one of the best in the world. Not everyone is good enough to have a silver medal, you know.”
“I don’t know. That was a fun race, but I can’t help but feel like I could’ve changed our season if I was just a little bit better,” Quasar said, beginning to look back down as well.
“Hey, that’s no way to look at it. I think you need to stop feeling like you’re in the shadows and realize you’re part of the light. You’re not just Pulsar’s sibling, you’re a fully-fledged member of Team Galactic. You’re family, Quasar, and that’s all I could ask for in a teammate.”
The two sat in silence for a moment. Quasar looked back up before giving Starry a hug.
“You know, for being a star, you sure know how to make others feel like one too,” they said.
“Nah, I don’t need to make you feel like a star,” Starry replied, “Because you are one.”
Aryp is used to the whole team greeting them after every race, and they first felt let down with no one in sight after the Stardust Accelerator. But Coach Secondary took them straight from the podium back to the garage.
Aryp could not see a thing as they fumbled down a dark hallway until suddenly there was light. “SURPRISE!”
Aryp looked again now that the lights flipped on, as each of their teammates jumped out from their various hiding spots.
“Huh? It’s not my birthday, what’s this for? Why are you all here?” Aryp asked with a bit of confusion over this whole situation.
“Well,” Prim rolled out from behind a chair, “We have something for you. Rima?”
“On it.” Rima grabbed something from their bag. It was… Something. The object they were handing to Aryp looked like an entire craft store card on a piece of cardstock. Glitter, ribbons, fake flowers, and what must’ve been an entire stick’s worth of hot glue coated the surface.
“We all added our own touch to it. I hope you like it, we got so excited that we may have gotten in a bit of a rush.” Mary chimed in.
“I like it, and I don’t mean to be rude, but what exactly is this?” Aryp held the object up to the light.
“It’s a card! We made it to celebrate your final race of the season. Go on and open it!” Imar tilted from side to side, hardly able to contain their excitement.
They obliged, opening it to see the messages written for them.
Congratulations on the win! I’m sure there will be more to come. It’s Prime Time! – Mary
You’re showing Marblearth what it’s like to race with flying colors! – Imar
You’re hard carrying us to a bright and beautiful future! – Prim
Here’s to the best teammate I could ask for. You Red, Yellow, Blew us all away! – Rima
“Oh, you all, come here!” Aryp pulled the whole group into a hug. “I could never wish for a better team than you.”
Credits
- Writers: Mystic, PippinPlover, Stynth
- Copyeditors & Editors: Fouc, Stynth
- Photographer: Jelle’s Marble Runs
- Reference: Marbula One S4 GP9 Stardust Accelerator RACE – Jelle’s Marble Runs
- Release: 30/06/2023
Project Marblearth 