Chapter 8 – Swizzle's Keytar Beach Extravaganza
"Gloyd?"
At the sound of the sudden voice, Gloyd blinked out of his thoughts and twisted his head around.
It was Vanellope. Standing at the doorway, the fabric shine of her spotless black jacket reflected the light of the lava lamps. She was watching him with a worried face.
"Oh…hey," he mumbled, letting go of Crumbelina's hand.
The girl gave him a tiny sympathetic smile as she ventured inside and dragged a second chair over to sit next to him. "Guess you quit Hide and Seek to visit her too, huh?"
Gloyd said nothing; he simply looked at her in silence, then back to Crumbelina.
"Who were you talking to just now?" Vanellope asked.
"No one," he answered loftily.
Feeling unsure of what to say or do at the moment, Vanellope resigned to simply keeping Gloyd company as she too gazed at the silent and solitary body of Crumbelina. She then peered back up at Gloyd; the boy was looking sad again, despite having been given the reassurance that he would be okay. She understood perfectly why, though. While that collective heart-to-heart on the stairwell had been the source of hope for him, it still didn't ease Crumbelina's current state. It didn't mean that she would be okay. And it wasn't easy to see any kind of hope when your unconscious friend was lying right in front of you like this.
Working up the strength to do something for him, Vanellope settled for placing her hand on Gloyd's back and rubbing it soothingly; not an easy gesture when she quickly noticed that her spiked bracelet, the one Butcher Boy had found for her months ago, was poking at him, so she hastily removed it, and like the gloves, let it drop to the floor.
With the spikes off her wrist, she applied the unhindered soothing motions along Gloyd's back. All this did was make him sigh, but at least he was acknowledging that she was here. Noting how red and swollen his eyes were looking, clearly fresh from crying, Vanellope decided best not to ask. Instead, her mind began to wander.
"I still remember that huge slumber party she invited me and the girls to, shortly after our memories came back," she said at last. "There was popcorn and pillow fights…and nail polish, hair braiding, and makeovers…and all that girly girl stuff that I hate with passion."
"But…" she said thoughtfully, "...it didn't matter to me how many times they styled my hair or how much blush Candlehead smothered on my cheeks. I just felt so…so…"
Gloyd lifted his head slowly and took his eyes off Crumbelina to look at her. "Happy?" he suggested quietly.
Vanellope nodded. "Yeah. I was happy that I wasn't alone anymore. I had friends. And Crumbelina was so nice to me. That was the first night I really got to know her. It was one of my happiest memories with her."
A new feeling slowly filled Gloyd's sugar-coated mind as he recalled seven years ago how happy Vanellope had indeed been even within just the first week of welcoming her into their circle. It also brought back some disturbing memories of how he had used to mistreat her, which he quickly shook off. He didn't want to deal with guilty feelings anymore. He shifted his body around to face Vanellope properly, really starting to appreciate for the first time that she was here.
"Well, I'm happy too, Vanellope," he told her in a cracked, yet determined voice. "I'm glad that things worked out so well for you. Even after we treated you like dirt for so long, I'm glad we're friends. And I'm really glad you came back to see us tonight. I missed you."
The raven-black haired girl smiled a sad little smile, letting her hand rest on his back. "Me too, Gloydster."
A few minutes of silence filled the room.
"Did you ever wonder why Crumbelina wears hearts?" Vanellope quizzed.
Gloyd looked at her. "I…I thought that was just part of her costume design."
"I thought so too," Vanellope murmured. "But TobiKomi had some really clever minds. Just like Adorabeezle's stars means that she's a star athlete, and Jubileena's the sweet cherry on any dessert, and Candlehead's the light in everyone's life, Crumbelina has a hidden motif too. She proved to me that she's not just a fancy face in the crowd. I found out that her biggest goal in life wasn't to win as many races as possible. It was to make friends with everyone she could. She loves people and listening to what they have to say. She was so thrilled to befriend me, especially after she used to bully me for 15 years."
"And," she added cautiously, "she once told me that…you were going to be her biggest challenge to befriend. I can see it took a while, but I'm glad it finally happened."
This new information slowly melted into the fabric of Gloyd's mind as he looked down at the floor, his gaze landing on one of the indigo racing gloves that Vanellope had dropped earlier. "Yeah…so am I."
A heavy sigh escaped him. "But I wish I had what you had," he admitted. "You got to be Crumbelina's friend for six years. You've got tons of memories with her. I only just started a month ago…before this happened. But we coulda' had way longer than that. Way more months. Years even."
Intense regret of wasted opportunities twisted his stomach, thinking of all the time he could have had with Lina, such time that was now lost and never returning.
"Even when we were just racers in the same game," he mumbled, "I always secretly wanted to be friends with her. I just…didn't know how to talk to her, I guess. All I ended up doing was pranking her, just like I did to everyone else. I guess I never really knew what I was missing out on…I just did the only thing I knew how to do."
"Or maybe you were hoping she would notice you."
Vanellope's suggestion froze his mind for a brief second.
"Maybe…" he mumbled, wilting slowly in his seat.
All went silent until Vanellope ventured again.
"Does she really call you 'Pumpkin Pie'?"
Gloyd went red. "Yeah. Why?"
"Nothing," Vanellope shrugged, though the light amusement in her tone was evident. "Just curious."
And then she asked another question, one that she didn't think Gloyd would mind answering and had been racking her mind ever since she had learned that Crumbelina's code box had been disabled.
"What I don't understand is…if you guys have been updated and outfitted with graphic enhancements and glittery shine for a whole month now…how come none of you noticed that Crumbelina hadn't been updated all this time?"
Gloyd grew very quiet as he pondered this. "I don't know…I guess it's 'cuz Crumbelina always looks…nice. She's always given off this metallic shine like a freshly polished peppermint made of solid gold. And Litwak gave us the updated program while we were sleeping. It came in the middle of the night…we were all updated in a blink of an eye…"
Sensing that he was going nowhere with this, he looked over at her feebly. "Look, Vanellope, I don't know why I didn't notice that she hadn't updated with the rest of us. Maybe I'm just blind. Maybe I'm not observant enough…"
"Or maybe it's 'cuz she's already beautiful."
Gloyd stopped in befuddled confusion when Vanellope interrupted him. "What?"
Vanellope nodded, now starting to piece the mystery into a clearer picture. "Gloyd, it's no secret that Crumbelina is one of the prettiest girls in the game, if not the prettiest," she told him truthfully. "Even Taffyta admits that. She was designed that way from the drawing board. I can't speak for anyone else, but I think I know why you at least didn't notice that she wasn't updated."
"You do?" he asked, though a fragment of his mind could already see where this was headed.
"Yeah," she said, nodding again. "You say that you started befriending Crumbelina a month ago. But the update happened just before that, didn't it? So you had just started to look at Crumbelina a lot more. But you couldn't tell that she wasn't upgraded in appearance because what you saw off of her was an upgrade to you already."
A weird choice of words, but Gloyd completely understood what Vanellope was telling him. He also understood what she was implying, which made his stomach churn uncomfortably.
"Okay, fine, I think Crumbelina is the prettiest girl ever," he conceded, trying to hide a growing blush by looking away. "So, yeah, just seeing her face more in a single month than I had in the past 22 years was enough eye-candy for me. Enough that I didn't notice that she was supposed to be prettier than that…"
He stopped talking when he heard a muffled giggle. Looking back to Vanellope, he could see that she was struggling to hold back an amused grin. Gloyd wanted to be annoyed, but oddly found that he couldn't.
"Please don't tell anyone I said that," he begged.
Vanellope smiled gently. "Your secret's safe with me, Gloyd."
Crafty, snarky, and playfully rebellious she might be, but Gloyd would never deny that Vanellope was surprisingly mature when it really mattered. She truly was a great friend. One whom he had missed very much. Taking this to heart, he gratefully put on his crooked toothy smile for her. It seemed like forever since he had last felt like doing that.
It was only when he did so that Vanellope suddenly caught an alarming sight that sent all receptors of her code on alert. She looked a little more closely at the boy, filled with a new concern.
"What the heck?"
Gloyd didn't see it coming, but the next thing he knew, Vanellope had grasped his mouth and cranked his jaws wide open, taking him by complete surprise.
"'Anellope, wat er you doing?" he garbled, trying to rock his mouth free from her hands.
She ignored him as her eyes explored inside, subsequently widening in shock from what she found. "Gloyd, are you…are you missing some teeth?"
Gloyd roughly pushed Vanellope's hands away. "I don't wanna talk about it," he brushed off lamely, rubbing his jaw and feeling annoyed by the rude invasion of his mouth.
Vanellope squinted suspiciously at him. There was definitely two, maybe even three, dark gaps in his whites that she had only just noticed now that she was up close to him, but seeing how reluctant he was for her to pry about it after she had literally pryed his mouth open, and feeling that he was already suffering plenty enough tonight, she decided to let it slide…for now.
More silence. Until…
"Gloyd?"
"I said I don't wanna talk about it."
"That's not what I was getting at."
He looked over at her. "Oh. Well, what is it then?"
Vanellope paused and then sighed, returning to her gentle tone once more. "Look, I get you're upset. And I know you wish that you could have had more time with Crumbelina. More time to make happy memories with her like me and the rest of the racers. But let me ask you something: in that single month, you told us that you hung out with her almost every night when the arcade closed up…
…so you gotta have a happiest memory with Crumbelina during then, right?"
Gloyd looked at his feet when she asked this. Though he made no movements, the look in his eye told Vanellope that he was thinking.
"Well…yeah. Yeah, I do. It happened, like, a couple of weeks after she and I became friends. Swizzle was finally ready to show off his keytar…"
2 weeks ago:
Who doesn't love an evening beach party?
It was Sugar Rush's turn to host the arcade's Friday night social gathering. They decided to take tonight's party to Sandy Candy Beach, one of the most beautiful landmarks in the game that looked ten times better following their big update. Panoramic seaside views stretched far out into the virtual horizon with golden-brown sugar sand and a shimmering ocean of blue Kool-Aid teaming with schools of Swedish Fish that leapt in graceful arcs over the roaring waves. Towering palm trees of green taffy leaves were abundant with chocolate coconuts, marshmallow bananas, and juicy gummi mangos. And the whole place was accessible via a gingerbread boardwalk running through a tall grove of lollipop grass.
The sunset lazily bathed the whole beach with its soothing glow to make the ocean sparkle and the sand glisten. The air was warm, and the sweet breeze was cool to the touch. Under Taffyta's direction, the racers had outdone themselves with the party decorations, food, and entertainment. But hey, when you live in a game made completely out of candy, none of these are very hard to put together. Long fold-up tables were laden with delicious sweets of all varieties, including Jubileena's homemade cherry pies, Adorabeezle's finest popsicles, and Crumbelina's most exquisite Italian treats. Colourful umbrellas towered happily in various spots while beach towels were draped over the sand for anyone wanting to admire the evening sky painted with streaks of vibrant pink and orange. A dozen pinatas hung on licorice strings from the trees for a good old-fashioned mixture of candy and violence. Candlehead had set up at least 40 everlasting birthday candles on tall peppermint stick poles all over the beach. And finally, a big stage of gingersnap boards stood in the centre.
As the melodic sounds of steel drums and Snownanna's ukulele filled the air, every game character kicked back, relaxing after their busy week of quarter alerts. Some of them had even gone out of their way to change into something more suitable for an evening beach blowout. Jubileena and Sonic were performing the hula up on the stage. The little Angel Kids were on their backs making sand-angels. An intense 4-on-4 volleyball tournament was well underway with Swizzle, Minty, Q*bert, and Zangief playing against Ralph, Calhoun, Adorabeezle, and Peter Pepper. And Felix, donning a floral Hawaiian shirt, was currently blindfolded as he tried to whack a suspended pinata while Taffyta, Candlehead, and Rancis cheered him on. Even grumpy Sour Bill seemed to be enjoying himself as he stretched out on a beach blanket.
It was not until much later when all the pinatas had been busted to smithereens and the tiki coconut flames surrounding the stage were replaced with several coloured gumdrop lights to form an improvised techno-lighting system, akin to those big LED setups found in Dance Dance Revolution. Everyone gathered as Swizzle Malarkey, sporting a slick pair of shades, took to the stage with a glossy keytar in hand. According to the daredevil racer, his friends from Dance Dance Revolution had gifted this to him during one of his and Minty's frequent visits, and he had taken to it instantly, learning how to master the keys and treating it with almost as much adoration as his Tongue Twister. A marvel of musical technology, it boosted a turquoise-blue finish with a shiny red trim. Its neck hosted a series of rainbow plated control pads and a coloured glow emitted from the keyboard every time a note was struck. The thing complemented Swizzle's psychedelic kart of twisty colours remarkably well, so it was no wonder why he loved it.
Watching his best friend stroll confidently into the spotlight, Gloyd smiled, knowing this was where Swizzle belonged. Plus, now Crumbelina and Snownanna weren't the only musicians in Sugar Rush. But even now, Lina had still not told anyone else about her secret talent.
Standing at the centre of the stage with Candlehead joining him at his left and Jubileena at his right, Swizzle spoke boisterously into the mic.
"All right, my dudes! The Swizz is in the house, ready to tickle these 'lectric ivories!" he laughed with zeal and vigor. The crowd clapped and whooped for him, and the crowd-loving Swizzle Malarkey ate it all up. "Oh yeah, you're an awesome bunch tonight! Now this first one goes out to a very special gal. And even those these lyrics will make no lollipop lickin' sense coming from my mouth since she's already mine…I still like to think of us when I let them loose."
In the crowd, Minty's smile seemed to glow upon her blushing face.
But that was nothing compared to the electric blue that shone from the keytar as Swizzle released his modernized power jams to fill the beach with a dazzling show of coloured light and sound. Smirking with approval over the crowd's appropriate reaction, he proceeded to belt out a cover of 'Take On Me' with Candlehead and Jubileena providing backup vocals in perfect harmony.
We're talking away
I don't know what I'm to say
I'll say it anyway
Today's another day to find you
Shying away
I'll be coming for your love, okay?
Take on me
Take me on
I'll be gone
In a day or twoooooooo…
Characters from games of all sorts were grooving to Swizzle's performance, having a wild time. Gloyd was among them, letting the beat overtake him until he felt someone tap his shoulder. Twisting his head around, he saw Crumbelina. She was looking very pretty indeed, having chosen a different outfit for the occasion. Beneath her golden racing jacket, she wore a sundress that seemed to emit a rich bronze shine in the lights, greatly enhancing her fine features. It reached just above her knees, and had an intricate drizzle tracery and white accents along the edges. Aside from that, Gloyd spotted her familiar matching cinnamon hair buns, boots, and drizzle-brimmed cap. One other difference in her appearance caught his attention: a jade fondue flower tucked neatly in her hair. She looked amazing.
"Hey, Lina!" he greeted her merrily over the music. "Wanna jam?"
She smiled and took him by the arm. "Come walk with me," was all she said.
A little taken aback he was of course, but he obeyed. Gloyd never questioned Crumbelina's motives. She always knew what she was doing.
As they navigated through the dancing crowd, Gloyd swore he could hear giggling coming from behind his back. Whether it was from Minty, Adorabeezle, or someone from another game, he knew that it was directed at him and Crumbelina. This notion made him scowl with disgust. It was always irritating to him whenever his friends caught him wandering off with her, yet Crumbelina never seemed to mind. Sometimes, he wished she did.
Luckily, his irritation didn't last long, for it seemed to stay with the party as they left the gathering. Before long, they found themselves strolling along the boardwalk that stretched along the golden beach. The sounds of music and laughter gradually grew fainter until they were all but a gentle echo. And the whole time, Gloyd simply walked alongside her, holding back from asking where they were going and why she had wanted to bring him.
They were a good distance from the party as Crumbelina led them off the boarded walkway to step onto the rich sand and come to a stop right near the ocean's edge, the tide of Kool-Aid pulling back and forth in slow intervals. She sat down on a chocolate yule log, and Gloyd mimicked her, now sitting next to his friend.
The sounds of the tide running along the sand and the music of the party echoing from afar created a most soothing atmosphere. Gloyd felt oddly relaxed; ever since he and Lina had become friends about half a month ago, he had been feeling much better than he had been for a long time.
"What are we doing over here?" he asked, curiosity getting the better of him.
She shrugged. "I just felt like having a little peace and quiet. The party is lovely…but so is this. I just love this update so much. Isn't the beach simply gorgeous at sunset?" Slipping elegantly out of her boots and socks, she let her bare feet touch down into the sparkling sand.
He shrugged back. "I guess so," he answered loftily. Crumbelina was a quiet girl, much the opposite of Snowanna, and him in fact. He wondered how such opposites could be friends. And he was rather impartial to beaches; they weren't as exciting to him as places like Sour Patch Gulch or the Crystalized Caramel Caverns, but since he knew that Lina loved the beach, by all means, he would go with her if she wanted to. And hey, the beach was kind of cool. He kicked off his boots and socks to let his own toes wiggle into the sand. It felt soothing.
A piece of his mind, however, wondered why she had asked him to accompany her on her quest to seek a moment of solitude.
By now, the setting sun had dipped its way down to the horizon, steadily savouring its final lasting appearance before handing its stage to the moon.
"Check this out," he said, plucking a carefully-selected chocolate pebble near their bare feet. Making sure she was watching him, he expertly slung it out to the sugary waters before them. Whisking like a freshly launched Sweet Seeker, it disappeared into the bright orange sun, skimming the ocean's surface over and over, leaving elegant ripples in their wake. It was one of the few things Gloyd knew how to do that could be considered 'elegant'. Even he admitted that.
Crumbelina watched the disappearing stone, during which Gloyd stole a glance at her and sizzled triumphantly; he could see that she was impressed.
"Wow, what was that…20 skips?" she asked incredulously.
"Twenty-two," Gloyd answered, sounding very smug indeed. No one could skip candy stones like he could.
But then his tone changed rapidly. "But, uh, that doesn't matter. 'Cuz who's countin', right? Not me, no way!" he said rather hastily.
Crumbelina gazed at him, staying silent for only a brief moment. "Why do you do that?"
Her question caught him off-guard. "Do what?" he asked, his senses immediately on high alert that he had done something to upset her. "What'd I do? Did I do something wrong?"
Being programmed as a prankster and a troublemaker by coded nature, Gloyd was used to being in the wrong and breaking the rules, but he definitely didn't want to wrong Lina. He suddenly stopped babbling when she unexpectedly brought a dainty finger right to his lips, halting his tongue instantly.
"Shh," she shushed him curtly, yet gently. "You didn't do anything wrong. I just wanted to know because…well, lately I've noticed whenever you and I get together after the races that you're so confident and happy, but then you become nervous out of the blue. What's up with that?"
Gloyd's eyes slowly followed her finger as she lowered her hand, then they raised up to meet her gaze. He knew that there was no point in hiding anything from Lina; she was too clever to fall for any lame excuse that he could think of on the spot if he were to try. So he came clean before her.
"Well, it's just that…we're friends now," he mumbled quietly, his eyes now boring deeply into the sand. "But I don't want to mess up. I don't want to lose you as my friend. I'm still new at this, y'know?"
He gazed out to sea, which seemed to glow a mix of pink and orange. "All my life, I've pulled pranks and caused trouble. I only had Swizz and Rancis as my pals. Making friends is still kinda hard for me. Now that you and I are friends, I've been trying really hard to do and say the right thing. And be someone you'd want to keep as a friend. I don't want to upset you. I just want you to be happy," he admitted, fidgeting nervously with the zipper of his orange jacket.
"You're such an idiot."
The sound of her amused voice prompted him to look at her again, and when he did, he saw that she was smiling at him. She moved closer to lay a hand on his shoulder.
"I'm already happy, Gloyd," she hummed, her Italian accent already helping to calm his nerves. "You don't need to act or try any differently when you're around me."
Gloyd felt relieved, yet a little tense at the same time. "I don't?"
He watched as she then tilted her head and batted her eyelashes, making his heart flutter. "Of course not, you cinnamon roll. Don't be so insecure…you'll always be my friend, because I like you for who you are, not who you try to be. And we won't fall apart that easily either. Friendship is much stronger than that. Have a little more trust in yourself. And in me."
Gloyd blushed lightly in embarrassment as his mind briefly reflected on all of his previous anxious efforts to maintain his relatively new bond with the girl whenever he or she paid the other a visit after their races to hang out and talk about their day. But he found himself smiling at her in return as his worries seemed to evaporate on the spot from her assurance that their friendship was not as fragile as he made it out to be. Lina could always make him feel better with just her words.
"Okay," he said, gaining a bit of his confidence back. "I'll stop trying so hard to make you happy. I'll just be me...it's what I'm good at, right?"
That earned him a small chuckle from the girl. "Right."
She then surprised him when she leaned in closely and placed her other hand over his heart. "Don't try, Pumpkin Pie," she said resolutely. "Just be who you are. I advised you to change yourself that night on the balcony, but I meant for you to change your attitude. Not who you are inside."
She gave his chest a gentle pat as if to emphasize this. "Just stay your true dorky self, and I'll always be happy."
Her face was now very close to his. He looked into her sparkling honey-amber eyes and nodded. "I can do that."
His cinnamon haired-bunned friend smiled a soft beautiful smile that made his programming bounce with a spike of energy. The sugar particles embedded in her jade flower's pixelated coating and the elegance of her dress, combined with the shine of her golden jacket seemed to make her dazzle so vibrantly in the sunlight.
Gloyd felt himself blushing again, but this time because she was sitting so close to him. Nowadays, Crumbelina didn't seem to mind getting right up to him…not that he minded either, but it did make him feel a little giddy in the head. He was still confused by their instant closeness, as if they had been buddies forever. But just like all other times, he chose not to address this. Instead, he decided to enjoy it while it lasted.
That is, until his brain caught up to him. "Wait, did you just say I was dorky?"
Crumbelina smirked. "You gotta be faster than that, Sugar Belle."
Her remark made him roll his eyes in annoyance. "I really hate it when you do that to me, you know that?"
"Why do you think I love to do it?"
She giggled while Gloyd just sat there, feeling flustered, yet strangely content all the same. Making people laugh was a part of his code…yet Lina was the very first person he had met who seemed to find things about him that were funny when he wasn't even trying to get her to laugh. And while this was a mystery that he definitely wanted to solve one day, there was a staple that was always constant to him: Lina was happy and he got to hear her make that cute little laugh of hers.
That alone made it worth not bothering to figure out why right away.
Taking her hands off of him, Crumbelina then shrugged off her jacket, letting it fall to the sand and granting Gloyd a chance to get a proper look at her in her dress. The prankster smirked in satisfaction as his eyes played all over her; Taffyta's diva-star status had nothing on Lina, who had always been programmed with the best fashion sense. The present moment was no exception to that.
"You, um…look good tonight," he offered.
The Italian racer smirked. "Well, aren't you just the sweet talker," she said, giving his arm a playful nudge with her shoulder. Then she picked up another chocolate pebble. "Show me how to skip 22," she requested, turning it around in her fingers.
Gloyd smiled too, feeling better about things. "Oh, well, first of all, it's all about the pebble you pick. No, not that one, try this one. It's all in the shape and the weight, see? Then what you gotta do is…"
The sounds of Swizzle's rocking performance of John Legend's 'Start a Fire' filled the sugary beachside air as Gloyd taught Lina the secrets to skipping a perfect candy stone with only the setting sun for company.