Words. So many words. Way too many words to get through, and Shock was tired and miserable and just wanted to finish reading before they went to sleep.
‘It was then that Romblis noticed a marble in the corner of the room. Their old friend was standing, waiting, with a smile on their face. Despite all the troubles and obstacles, it was all going to be okay in the end…‘
A big tear fell and landed with a splat onto the page as Shock remembered the events of the week. The pressure that had brought them this far, but had not allowed them any further. It was alright for Romblis; characters in books always got a happy ending. But where was Shock’s? It was too easy to put on a front of strength when racing with your team, but the competition doesn’t stop for anyone, and individual competitions like these put a spotlight on every participating marble.
And it wasn’t like they had failed as badly as some marbles had, they reflected. They hadn’t had a DNF this week, and only came last once. But even Mandarin had so many successes that they were probably celebrating right now with the support of their entire team behind them. Where were the Thunderbolts? Off at a party, probably—that or training. But even that seemed more fun than the radiating isolation that came with being eliminated. To be honest, they had only just scraped by for most of the competition. Or that’s how it felt.
Shock slammed the book shut and wiped their eyes. It wasn’t right to say those things, even internally. They had done their best, and it hurt an indescribable amount, but they hadn’t done awfully. They were one of the final ten teams, and that was something, right?
The moon gazed down from on high, eerily peeking through empty windows and rippling through the darkness that crept along rooms where marbles slept. But like Shock, Mandarin was not asleep. They frowned at their laptop and paused, the sudden silence echoed in the absence of frantic typing.
“This is pointless,” they grumbled, turning to gaze out of the window, where they were met with nothing but the void of night staring back at them. Mandarin hadn’t spoken to any of their teammates yet, and had refused to check their phone. They were sure that their inbox would be full of supportive and reassuring messages; that’s the sort of team that the O’rangers were. But somehow, it didn’t feel right. Mandarin couldn’t let themselves have any excuse for the tragic week that had just passed and ended in elimination. Blow after blow, they had let everyone down and were not about to let anyone convince them otherwise. This was the price of strength, the price that came with being the oldest.
They turned back to the computer at the open document where they were writing a book. A book that was nowhere near completion, though they supposed that was somewhat comparable to their performance in the competition. So close, yet so far. Gone were the days of Mandarin’s successes, or so it seemed. What was the point? Their efforts never went anywhere, it was like walking backwards in the direction of nothing.
Mandarin rolled around the room in frustration. It was so difficult to describe the loneliness that surrounded them. Their team and family were far away, and nothing could distract them from the pain of defeat.
“Mandarin? Are you in there?”
Mandarin spun around in surprise, staring at the door. It sounded like… but it couldn’t be.
“Clementin?” They hurried to the door and opened it to a concerned looking Clementin who paused in the doorway in silence. For a moment, neither spoke, and Clementin looked afraid.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t know if…” they tried to say, but Mandarin didn’t respond and their expression didn’t change. Another minute passed in awkward silence before Clementin sighed and started speaking at great speed apologetically.
“I’m sorry, you’ve not been responding for hours and I was really worried about you so I flew over immediately and—I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have. I’m glad you’re okay but I’ll leave if you—”
Mandarin rolled over suddenly and barrelled into Clementin for a big hug.
“Thank you. I’m sorry, too.”
Credits
- Writer: Phoenix
- Editor: Evolution
- Artist: Phoenix
- Reference: Marble Survival 100: Races 78-84 Compilation | Jelle’s Marble Runs
- Release: 04/08/2024
Project Marblearth 