Orlango (14/9/24)
In spite of how much the world around it had changed, Orlango remained best known for its cozy countryside vibes thanks to the many small towns and farms surrounding the city. It was a place where family and hard work had been cornerstones of the culture for generations, and there was no real reason to abandon those long-standing values even as modernity encroached over the years.
Such values were the antithesis of the tourist-beloved theme park in the middle of the city. The massive park in the middle of a city advertised nothing but happiness and magic to all who rolled through its gates, and the smiles of the many joyful visitors stood as proof to those claims.
Billy was not one of those joyful visitors.
They took a deep breath, in and out. It was going to be okay, they reassured themself. Even if their family wasn’t here with them and they were one social interaction away from breaking down, it was going to be okay. Mimo and Rima would come back any moment now and–
“Excuse me, would you take our picture?”
An unknown voice snapped Billy out of their thoughts. The asker of the question was not anyone special; an ordinary tourist with an ordinary family.
“S-sure,” Billy barely squeaked out while being handed the tourist’s phone. “Do you want the castle in the background?”
“Of course.”
Once the large castle was in-frame, the camera shutter went off many times in succession. Billy didn’t even bother to check if the photos looked good or if someone had blinked; they simply wanted this over with.
“Hey, thanks,” the tourist said, taking their phone back. “Really appreciate it.”
All Billy managed in response was a weak nod. Hopefully the conversation was close to ending.
“Wait, you look like Billy. Are you Billy? The one from the race yesterday?”
Billy’s eyes went wide in shock. “U-um–”
“No way! You’re sooooo cool when you race!” The tourist got a little closer. “Y’know, I was really worried you wouldn’t come back for this season… but you did and you showed ’em all why they should’ve never doubted you! Can I get a picture with you? Please?”
Billy opened their mouth to object, but all that came out was strained little squeaks. If only Mallard or Bombay or anyone else was here to chase this overwhelmingly excited fan off so they could go back to trying to enjoy this awful place–
“Hey, Billy! We’re back!”
They turned around to see Mimo and Rima approaching them. The two of them sported matching lanyards coated in metal pins that loudly clattered around and matching hats.
“Is this your group?” The tourist backed off. “I should leave you to enjoy the rest of the night. Thanks again for taking our picture!” The tourist turned away and started on their way elsewhere.
Rima gave Billy a nudge. “We picked a good time to save you, huh? Sorry for ditching you like that.” They gave a playful glance to Mimo. “Blame Mimo. Prioritizing overpriced little trinkets over a race winner’s wellbeing… how cruel of them.”
“They were on sale!” Mimo pouted. “You know how expensive everything here is!”
Billy could only sigh in response. As much as they hated the massive crowds and the overwhelming bustle of the park, having their fellow podium finishers nearby put them at ease.
“Have you been having a good time?” Rima asked, an uncharacteristic softness in their voice. “I know a fully-paid trip to a busy theme park isn’t the sort of thing you’d want for putting on a good show yesterday, but I hope you’re making the best of it.”
With a sigh, Billy nodded. “It’s okay… at least you two are here now.”
“And at least they’re closing soon,” Mimo added with a laugh towards the night sky. “Should be a lot more quiet if we wanna squeeze in something at the last moment.”
“That sounds nice,” Billy managed. “Any ideas?”
Rima looked around as if trying to find something to do. “We could get some more dessert, we could do some more shopping, or maybe go on some of the rides we haven’t hit up yet. Or we could always leave right now if you’re sick of this place. No shame in calling it a day.”
Billy looked up towards the starless sky, where colorful light displays from far-off fireworks were beginning to fill the darkness. “Now that you bring it up… I want to go on that one ride again. That rollercoaster with the weird and misleading name… Fatal Deathcoaster or something?”
Mimo’s expression lit up. “No way, you wanna go on that ride again!? I was literally thinking the same thing!” They turned to Rima with stars in their eyes. “You should go on it with us this time, Rima! It’s so much fun!”
“Oh! Umm… I’m good!” Rima refuted, looking considerably paler than usual out of nowhere. “W-who’s gonna watch your bags while you’re on the ride? Someone might steal all your overpriced gift shop stuff! That would be terrible, so I’m not gonna let that happen!”
“They keep our stuff safe on the ride, though.” Mimo gave a glance to Rima. “Is Rima, the self-proclaimed coolest racer this season, scared to go on the rollercoaster?”
Rima flinched at the accusation. “S-scared!? I don’t know what scared means! I’m just trying to be a good friend and make sure your bags don’t magically disappear while you’re out there risking your lives for supposed fun! You two are the ones who proved your doubters wrong, so the least you deserve is not having to worry about your stuff getting stolen!”
Mimo rolled their eyes before turning to Billy. “Y’know, I’m happy you’re back. Nobody should have ever doubted you.”
“Couldn’t you say the same thing about yourself, Mimo?”
“Maybe you could say that.” Mimo stared upwards. “We could pick this up later if you want. The ride line isn’t gonna get any shorter if we keep standing here and talking about our doubters. So instead of doing that, you wanna get our Fatal Deathcoaster on?”
For the first time all day, Billy’s laugh matched the happiness that’d surrounded them all day. “Sounds like a plan to me.”
Om (21/9/24)
If there was anything more exciting than race day at the Momotorway, it was the relaxing day at the beach that followed. Having a beach at a race venue made it easy to instantly forget about the increasing pressure of the season the moment you rolled onto the sand and locked eyes with the waves that gently ebbed and flowed in a way that deeply contrasted the less than gentle nature of competition.
Wespy took in a breath of lightly salted breeze that passed by. It was strange that a mountainous region could play host to the sorts of things they’d only experience in the most tropical of cities – but it struck them as stranger than the city would decide to place a racetrack right along the perimeters of such a natural rarity. It made de-stressing after a race easy, though, so they weren’t going to complain.
They looked around the endless expanse of sand and surf. A few of their fellow racers had made the trip out here as well, enough to where a majority of their post-race day was composed of talking to familiar faces about the race instead of typical beach activities. With how many conversations they’ve had today, they were sure they could safely shift their focus from post-race talks to soaking up the last of what summer had to offer.
“Hey, Wespy.”
Wespy jumped at the out of nowhere greeting. When they looked to the source of the voice, it took them by even more surprise to see Swifty right next to them, settled atop a colorful beach towel underneath an umbrella with an expression far too miserable for a sunny day.
“Don’t scare me like that!” Wespy laughed nervously. “Didn’t see you there…. anyways, how have you been doing?”
Swifty scoffed. “I think you know how I’m doing.”
“Right…” Wespy sighed before continuing, “Are you enjoying the beach at least?”
“It’s fine. It would be a lot better if I wasn’t in the situation I’m in, but what can you do about that?” They took a sip of the drink they were holding; it looked like some sort of fruit blend.
Silence came between the two marbles, only the crashing of the waves against the sand daring to break it. There were a bunch of things Wespy wanted to ask, yet nothing came out every time they wanted to speak. Finally, they managed, “What exactly is this “situation” you’re in?”
“None of your business,” Swifty immediately responded.
Wespy’s expression fell. “What if I want it to be my business? Keeping your problems to yourself won’t help you. I’m okay with hearing you out.”
“I said, none of your business–”
Wespy didn’t say anything in response, but they got closer to Swifty and their expression grew curious.
Swifty took another sip of their drink before sighing. “Fine. If you wanna get wrapped up in our problems so badly, I guess I could entertain you…”
“What sort of title defense is this!? You’re gonna have to step it up at some point!”
Another concluded race meant another week of having to hear out Speedy’s endless woes about the season so far. They were warranted, of course; the only team to have ever repeated an M1 championship couldn’t afford these sorts of results if another title was the goal. But a racer who’d yet to place in the top half of a race had no right to complain about their teammate doing as poorly as them.
“Maybe you should consider your own suggestion,” Swifty responded. “Don’t act like we’re Team Primary and you’re single-handedly carrying the team!”
“Can you two stop bickering?”
Swifty turned their attention away from Speedy and towards Quickly. Their expression was hard to decipher, but it was absolutely the furthest thing from anything positive.
Speedy sent a glare to Swifty. “Maybe if Swifty acted like they wanted to win, this wouldn’t be–”
“Let me talk to them. You go do something else. Call Rapidly if you really need to vent,” Quickly interrupted. Speedy immediately backed away and left the area.
Swifty cautiously locked gazes with Quickly. “Coach? What’s all this about–”
“Swifty, I’m going to say this more politely than Speedy did: get your act together.”
“…wow,” is all Wespy had to say.
“Aren’t you glad you’re not on my team?” Swifty remarked between sips of the drink. “Told you it was none of your business.”
Wespy turned their gaze to the indistinguishable horizon that separated the sky and the water. “Is there anything I could do to help? I feel like I should help you.”
“I don’t think there’s anything you can do except hope I suddenly remember how to race properly. But I’m sure you’d hate that since us doing poorly is a reason for all of you to celebrate,” Swifty sighed. “It’s a lose-lose situation.”
“You know I don’t celebrate the downfall of my friends,” Wespy asserted.
The silence returned to the beach. Without thinking, Wespy got a little closer to Swifty, putting themself in the shadow of the umbrella and making themself comfortable on the sand. Swifty looked towards them, but said nothing – though their expression undoubtedly asked what Wespy was doing.
“I don’t think I can help you in any truly meaningful way,” Wespy started, “but maybe it would help you feel better in the moment if you weren’t alone. Nobody should feel alone.”
Swifty looked away. “You don’t have to–”
“But I want to. You seem to forget that not everyone hates you just because you’re on the team you’re on.” Wespy saw Swifty open their mouth, likely to object to the claim, but nothing came out.
The gentle sounds of waves and far off laughter from other beachgoers were much welcome substitutes to the heavy conversation that preceded it – maybe that was them in some other universe, finally having fun after all the hard work this week, but something in them decided simply sitting in the sand and existing with someone was just as rewarding.
Credits
- Writer: Momoikkai
- Copyeditors/Editors: Evolution, Millim
- Artist: Evolution
- Reference: Marbula One S5 GP3 O’raceway Race | Jelle’s Marble Runs; Marbula One S5 GP4 Momotorway Race | Jelle’s Marble Runs
- Release: 03/10/2024
Project Marblearth 