After the Ice Dash ended, Billy found Smoggy in the Hazers’ common room as usual, slumped dejectedly against the couch watching local news play no louder than a hum.
“Hello, Billy,” Smoggy greeted them, not turning their gaze from the TV. If Smoggy wasn’t interested in talking they would have had no qualms ignoring them entirely, so Billy took that as an invitation to make themself comfortable on the couch adjacent to their Hazers equivalent.
“I watched the final,” continued Smoggy. “Congratulations.”
Billy smiled. They’d left their bronze medal with Mallard and the team, but even now the pride was warm in their heart. “Thanks. Sorry you couldn’t be there.”
“It’s fine.” Of course it wasn’t- Billy wasn’t much for emotional intuition, but even they could tell it was far from fine. That sort of feigned detachment was ultimately par for the course with Smoggy, though. “Shame that Swifty won, though.” As was the barely-disguised bitterness.
“At least they seemed happy about it.” Truthfully, Smoggy wasn’t alone in coming to resent the Speeders. It being Swifty in particular brought back memories of P-Mine Tunnel, too. At least this time there’d been someone cushioning the blow.
Smoggy dialed down the volume on the TV. “Probably because it’s Swifty’s first individual gold.”
Oh? “You don’t usually remember that sort of thing.”
“If you don’t keep an eye on the Speeders, you’ll be in big trouble.”
The same is true about the Hazers, you know, Billy thought, but didn’t say. All that sneaking up from behind during races… “Well, it was Ruzzy I should have been keeping an eye on. Swifty was a lost cause.”
Smoggy thought for a second. “You’re not alone in losing to Ruzzy,” they said eventually, just a hint of heat to the words.
“It even happened to Rapidly,” agreed Billy, nodding.
“And me,” Smoggy grumbled. “This is just Arctic Circuit all over again, but without Clementin…”
Billy did their best to muster a neutral expression at the mention of Clementin’s name. The last thing Smoggy needed or wanted was to be dragged into their problems.
Smoggy didn’t seem to notice either way, continuing unabated. “…but if I was strong enough, I would’ve shoved Starry back.”
“It’s Starry’s fault, really,” agreed Billy mindlessly.
“Speaking of Ruzzy, do you know where they went?” Smoggy asked.
“Something about going to get burgers.”
With a sigh, Smoggy leaned back against the couch. “Figures.”
LOCATION: Glidavik
DATE: 02/12/24
ESTABLISHMENT: Far North Burgers & Grill
ORDERED: Double Goat Burger, Tato Wedges, Cheese Nuggets & Cheese Dip with Orange Soda
VENUE RATING: Immediate plus for being warm. Glidavik is freezing! Anyway, it’s a nice place, slick and super clean, but a bit less personal than some places I’ve eaten at. Chairs were comfortable enough. Spacious interior and nice staff. Must be popular with the locals, as most of the other customers weren’t wearing team gear and they didn’t notice me. Nice to be anonymous for a bit. 4.5/5
FOOD RATING: Glidavikians sure love their cheese! My burger had cheese, my cheese nuggets had cheese, and my cheese dip had… cheese. I’m surprised there was no cheese in my soda. Rezzy gave me some of their fried pickles and there was cheese dust on that too, but besides the cheese overabundance it was good. Goat has a really unique flavor- it was either that or lamb. Generic buns & cheese nuggets didn’t have much flavor, but the “tato” wedges were well-seasoned. All nicely cooked. 3.25/5
FINAL RANKING: 3.875/5
In the wake of the redone Halfpipe medal ceremony, the Solar Flares were bunched together in the shadow of the podium steps. They howled like hyenas, flailing their medals around and talking in ecstatic tones. Jump rolled over slowly, as if they would be sucked into the energetic vortex if they moved too quickly.
A marble turned — Flare, the captain. As Jump smiled in greeting, Flare’s face lit up. Professionalism abandoned in the heat of the moment, they pranced over like a deer. They shook Jump around and grinned when they reached each other, stars in their eyes. “We did it! I knew we did!”
“Yeah, you did!” Jump laughed. “I’m glad the appeal worked out.”
“Yeah! Part of me was worried nothing would change, but it turned out it was just a little mistake. Still, our first Marble League medal! I’m so happy! And you guys were great out there, too; it looked like you were flying!”
“Sure felt like it,” Jump said.
“I know, it was so much fun! It made me kinda dizzy, though; I guess that’s why I didn’t notice the score discrepancy immediately. Going back and forth and back and forth like that…”
“Yeah, definitely,” Jump replied. They got the feeling they would be here for a while.
“Oh hey, don’t you think it’s funny that our teams got medals in this event when we’re both from such warm places? If it snowed in Meteorine, the world might as well be over! I don’t know if it fits as well for the Ducks, it can get pretty cold in… are they from Bermenghank or Draklin?”
“Oh, I think they’re fr—” Jump started to answer.
“But anyway, I’ve been waiting for this forever! I was wondering if it’d ever happen, y’know. And I can’t wait to see what my family will say! My friends, too. I know one of them said they have the League playing on their work TV pretty much 24/7 now. They must’ve seen, right? No way they didn’t. Oh, and—”
As Flare kept going, Jump began to think that if they never stopped them, they would talk themself to death. With another marble, they might have been irritated, but here, it was endearing. It felt as if they were peering back in time, at themself in the beginning of Surculo. Back then, Jump felt the same all-consuming joy that Flare was feeling. Eventually, time and experience eroded it into something more reasonable, but it had been a long, long time since Jump last saw it in its purest form.
At some point, Flare started to slow down and trail off, after going into detail about some dish their parents made that they couldn’t wait to eat again. They stared at the snow on the ground.
Jump’s brow furrowed. “Are you—”
With no warning, Flare exploded into tears. The force of their sobs shook their body; wails bubbled from their throat.
“Woah, hey, it’s alright,” Jump murmured, more than shocked at the sudden switch. They rolled a bit closer.
Flare only wept harder. They wheezed, trying to get a breath in. Tears glistened on their cheeks and made little dots in the snow below. They met Jump’s worried look with one of realization.
“W-we really did it…” they croaked.
Jump’s gaze softened. They pulled Flare in for a hug. “You sure did. Make sure to cherish it, okay?”
There was a small nod against their side, now wet with tears and snot.
“Well, 9th isn’t ideal, but it’ll do. Way to make things work, everyone.”
9th in what? What’d just happened? The team had just been at the top of the slope to retry their run, and then–
“You hanging in there, Momomomo? Sounded like you were in a bit of pain during the run… hope you’re doing alright now.”
Their eyes turned upwards, their teammates reduced to blurry silhouettes of green in front of a clouded afternoon sky that managed to harbor bright and colorful stars at this hour. They could barely focus on how impossible something like that should be. Snowflake Slope was spinning and everything hurt.
“Hey, are you okay!?” the voice asked, inklings of panic obvious in their words nearly drowned out by high pitched ringing. “What’s wrong!?”
Momomomo opened their mouth to say something – but nothing followed, not even a lie about how they felt perfectly fine as their consciousness flickered. “…’m okay,” they managed to slur out before wincing as a torrent of pain crashed over them.
“S-someone, help! Something’s wrong with them! Hang in there, please!”
They couldn’t. It was too much.
Everything went black.
Things couldn’t be more different between now and nearly seven years ago. Back then, Team Momo had sunk to the penultimate position in the standings after Bobsled, with the three healthy team members in disarray over how to save a season that had barely started. Now, the team stood on the provisional podium’s second step and in prime position to steal the lead away with another good showing.
Momomomo laughed to themself between sips of hot chocolate. Team Momo won Bobsled of all events and returned in one piece. It seemed too ironic to be the truth, yet here they were, surrounded by their closest friends all proudly adorning gold medals that perfectly matched the beaming smiles they’ve had all day.
“You all look so good in gold,” they spoke up. “Way to kill off a narrative, huh?”
“Oh, you have no idea,” Momo answered with a laugh. “I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’m so ready to not be pitied anymore because of one fluke back in 2018.”
Momomomo hummed in agreement as they adjusted the blanket around them. A tiny tap against their side followed. When they looked to see what had bumped them, they saw Mimo, holding out their medal towards them.
“Do you want this?” Mimo quietly asked. “I feel bad that you couldn’t get the gold you deserved so much because of what you went through and I got one in your place, so–”
“Of course not! This is the gold you deserve for being so brave and stepping in back in 2018.” They gingerly shoved the medal away. “Wear it proudly.”
“I agree,” Momomo chimed in. “Why does it matter who technically won a medal and who didn’t? At the end of the day, no matter who wins what, it helps all of us.”
Momo nodded. “At the end of the season, they’re not gonna ask anything about who did the hardest work or how we did the work. Nothing about the technicalities of our medals or who deserves the credit more than the others.” They took a moment to collect themselves. “All they’ll look at is points… and they’ll see us at the top of the standings.”
The room went silent at the declaration. Finally, Mo asked, “Are you saying we’re gonna do it this time? For real?”
Before the captain could respond, it was Momomomo who spoke up. “We will. We’ve already changed the narrative surrounding this event, so why not change the narrative around this season?”
Within one of the medals, they saw their reflection in gold; maybe it was a sign of things to come.
“…we’re not retreading our winter tragedy again. The story’s changing this year, whether the others want it to or not.”
Credits
- Writers: Evolution, Millim, Momoikkai
- Copyeditors/Editors: Millim, Toffeeshop
- Artist: Piney
- References: Marble League 2024 E1 Ice Dash | Jelle’s Marble Runs, Marble League 2024 E2 Halfpipe | Jelle’s Marble Runs, Marble League 2024 E3 Bobsled | Jelle’s Marble Runs
- Release: 11/12/2024
Project Marblearth 