Obtusely Oblivious
The new engine sputters to life when it's finally installed and her kart is actually beginning to take shape. Toadette sanded her way through the rust of the kart, filled any of the pits left behind with body filler, and primed until her arms were numb. She's left with a bare steel pipe frame ready to be painted.
She's already decided on the perfect color. She had spent more time flipping through swatches of various shades of pink than the time she's spent working on the kart. When she found the exact shade she dreamt of having; she jumped on the first opportunity to order it.
Strangely enough, Iggy sometimes pops into the garage to ask about his engine like he's a worried parent asking about his child. It leaves her with an uneasiness in the pit of her stomach. It's like he's impatiently waiting for her to tell him it finally exploded and laugh in her face. Luckily, that has yet to happen.
Today, Iggy decides to overstay his welcome. He leans over, examining her work with a finger hooked under her chin. He nods his head understandingly like he knows the purpose of her decisions without her need to explain herself.
It's…nice? Yet alarming, because despite her contempt and distrust, despite how much he grates her nerves to dust; she wants to be recognized for her work by someone worthy enough to understand the complexity of mechanics. And to be recognized by a genius in said world would do wonders for her confidence.
"I see you tweaked my masterpiece." He clicks his tongue. "Insulting a Koopa's hard work. It doesn't look like it goes very fast anymore, does it?"
She grunts, searching for her torque wrench. Where did she put it? She'd been too exhausted from helping the princess with last minute preparations for the opening ceremonies taking place in less than two months to do much of anything yesterday. She took notes, made phone calls, and then took a much needed nap that dragged into the next day.
Iggy seems to notice her frantic searching because he bends down and plucks the wrench from a pile of discarded parts and hands it to her. A smile of appreciation graces her round face then she remembers who she's smiling at, and drops it as quickly. She pretends it never happened.
With the wrench in hand, Toadette goes to tighten the replacement bolt she feels is too loose. Before modifying it, the engine went too fast for her liking; she had cut down the speed by a quarter or two.
"If it goes too fast then I won't have good handling and I want to prioritize that over speed," she finally answers, satisfied when the bolt doesn't jiggle too much when she tests its strength.
Iggy nods his head. "What about acceleration?"
"It's another main focus of mine which is why I settled with the smaller wheels." She gestures to the red wheels still untouched, sitting pretty and new beside the kart. The bonus of choosing red wheels is how well it'll match the color she wishes to paint her kart. Nothing is more vivid and eye-catching than the color red. Well, besides pink.
"You'll be pushed everywhere." Iggy smiles at the thought, an evil glint in his eyes. She narrows her eyes at him, guessing his devious plans before he says them.
"They'll have to catch me first after I'm cutting corners like I'm cutting a piece of cake," she proclaims. She pauses her work, realizing something. She directs an incredulous gaze to Iggy. "Wait, why are you here?"
"Well," he bites down on his lip to cage in his bubbly giggles. She has no idea what's so funny about her question. "Roy kinda kicked me out of our shared garage after the whole glitter bomb incident. I can't work there unless he's gone. A command straight from Lord Bowser himself. There's no way to get around it."
"Sounds like it's your fault," she responds, her voice drenched with insensitivity. The Koopaling won't find any sympathy from her.
"No, Roy should really pay attention to what he leaves in his tool box. Who keeps glitter bombs there? It's a really stupid place to leave one."
She snorts out a dry laugh. "That doesn't explain why you're in this particular garage."
He shrugs, though he barely raises his shoulders like the action bores him.
"I may also be hiding from Prince Junior. He keeps bugging me about his kart and demands I help him. This is the last place he'd look." He places a claw to his heart and sticks his snout in the air haughtily. "I am a very sought after Koopa whenever it comes to technology and machines."
"Good for you," she mutters.
He chuckles. Then there's sweet, sweet silence. Silence is such a rarity with him floating around her garage that she actually finds herself enjoying it. She sinks into a calming state of mind, tinkering at her kart and daydreaming about the finished product. Iggy butts in with a passing comment about a bolt on the pipe frame being too loose and her serene mood combusts.
She sends him a glare for ruining her vivid daydreaming about a pretty gold trophy with her name carved on it, but finds he's right. Of course he is. She sighs under her breath, adjusting the bolt she forgot to tighten when she replaced the old rusty one for a new one.
"With all the advice I'm giving you; you should really pay me," Iggy comments with a gratifying smile. She mocks him under her breath by repeating his words in a shrill tone, stepping away from her kart.
"I never asked for your advice," she retorts coolly, brushing past him towards the other side of the garage.
"Touché."
She knows the smile he's wearing on his stupid face and she refuses to be forced to look at it again. Toadette decides to ignore him. If she pretends he's not there, maybe he'll leave.
She waddles over to the package she set on the bench earlier. She grabs the light box, bringing it down to her height and opens it. She shoves the pastel packing peanuts out of her way to search for her buried treasure.
Her brand new steering wheel glistens when it sees the light. She picks it up and admires the sleek shine and fine black leather then returns to her kart. Iggy blows out an appreciative whistle. For some reason, Toadette finds herself grinning at this.
She eagerly returns to her kart, shoes squeaking at hasty speeds. She pops the wheel into place and adjusts it to ensure it does its job. She knows when the kart gets painted she'll have to take it off but she's so excited she can't contain herself. Just seeing the kart take shape stirs up the excitement in her chest.
She takes a few minutes to admire her work. She runs her hands against the pipe frames smooth surface and then switches to the steering wheel, turning it a few times for fun. She giggles to herself, imagining the stunned face of Toad and the pride in the princess' eyes when she shows them the finished project.
During her happy combination of humming, daydreaming and appraising her kart, she turns her head with her hands on her hips prepared to gloat about her accomplishments only to find Iggy gone. When did that happen?
She sighs, shoulders slouching but uncertain why she suddenly feels a wave of disappointment. It couldn't possibly be because he's gone? She snorts dryly then bursts into hysterical laughter at the very insane and impossible idea.
Yeah, right.
Shhh. I hate this one. I've been pretending it hasn't been done for two days. I dunno.
I am with Toadette: Acceleration and Handling Speed. As a frequent The Mario of the Kart VIII player; I don't go for the insanely fast characters. Wario and Waluigi, who? DK, what?
Iggy on the standard bike with those purdy little red wheels and rainbow glider as he scraps his feet against the road because he's tall is all I need. Larry and Mr. Scooty are for special occasions.
Bikes are better than karts. It's a fact.
