Chapter 6 - Reflections and armadillos
Morning had arrived in Wumpa Island. Almost everyone had woken up early except Crash, who did it at 10:00AM. It was understandable, since he hadn't slept well during this month. While getting up from his bed, the orange bandicoot recalled that they had visitors, so he decided to be presentable before going down for breakfast.
While taking a shower, Crash thought of Tawna, whose memory saddened him. Deep down, he felt like he was the only responsible for the relationship failing. However, today the pain was less than expected. Since Megumi comforted him the day before, he didn't felt as defeated as before.
"What's happening to me?" he thought to himself. "Every time I'm close to her, I feel better and calm... despite what happened to me. Why is that? Perhaps…?"
Crash thought about the possibility that he was beginning to have feelings for the blue-haired bandicoot, but he quickly pulled that thought out of his head.
"No, that's impossible" he thought. "She is my friend and just wants to help me, nothing more."
After taking the shower, brushing his teeth and putting on his classic blue pants with brown shoes, Crash left his room. As he descended the stairs, he noticed several delicious smells in the air.
When he arrived in the living room, the bandicoot hero spotted Megumi in one of the armchairs. She had Polar resting on her lap while stroking his head. On the small table in the center of the room, there was a Wumpa fruit cake with a cup of hot cocoa.
"Oh, hello Crash!" Megumi said cheerfully upon noticing his presence. "How did you sleep?"
"Very well. Thank you" Crash smiled at her. "Where are the others?"
"They're preparing lunch and snacks for today's activity, except Ami. She had to leave early for some important issues. But don't worry, she'll be back in time to go with us" the blue-haired bandicoot avoided mentioning Tawna's affair, since she didn't want to depress him.
"I'm glad to hear that, but… what about that cake?" he said while pointing to the food.
"It's your breakfast, Crash. Coco prepared it just now to have more time with the other meal. Enjoy!"
"Thank you" Crash said as he sat down for breakfast.
When the bandicoot hero tasted a bite of the cake, he glanced at Megumi stroking Polar, who seemed to be very relaxed and happy. Crash couldn't help feeling some tenderness at that scene. "I see you're good with animals" he smiled.
"More or less" Megumi said as she continued to caress Polar, "but it is Liz who has more experience."
"She? I don't believe it."
"Oh, come on" the blue-haired bandicoot laughed. "She may behave a little smug at times, but she loves animals. That's why she was selected to be Polar and Pura's trophy girl."
"Good point" Crash said. "And now that you mention that, Megumi: How did you end up being the one who gave trophies to Cortex and N. Gin?"
"Maybe because I'm a scientist, just like them" she said quietly, but her face soon changed to a more awkward expression. "However, they never liked me, especially Dr. Cortex. He told me himself that without evil or ambition, I would never serve to be scientist. I would only be a failure..."
"Ignore him. He's just a jerk" Crash tried to cheer her up. "Believe me, someone who defeated him three times is telling you that, and I'm not that smart. Heh, heh."
"Well, you're right at one point" Megumi smiled at him playfully. "You're not that smart."
"Hey!" he pretended to be offended. "Look who's talking, the most innocent of the group."
"I'm just kidding, Crash" she said while both bandicoots shared some laughs about the little joke.
Crash prepared to eat another bite of his Wumpa fruit cake, but then he thought that maybe Megumi would want to try it. "Do you want some?" he offered her a piece.
"You're very kind, Crash, but that's not necessary" Megumi smiled at him for the nice gesture. "We all just breakfast recently. You are the only one missing."
"Oh, I understand" he replied. "With your permission."
"It's your own house" she laughed. "Go ahead, you don't need to ask me for permission."
Crash indicated a thumb up and continued quietly with his breakfast. As for Megumi, he kept stroking the little relaxed bear.
At the same time, in the kitchen, the other girls were preparing food for the trip. Isabella made jam and tuna sandwiches, Coco was filling bottles with Wumpa fruit juices, and Liz was baking biscuits for dessert. Megumi initially wanted to help, but the others thought it would be a better idea for her to keep Crash company when he woke up.
"Mmm..." Coco groaned at the good smell coming from the oven. "Those biscuits smell pretty well, Liz."
"If you are satisfied with the simple smell, just wait to try them" the brunette bandicoot said proudly. "You won't want to waste a crumb. Right, Isabella?"
Liz got no response, which caught her attention and Coco's. Both noticed that the blonde and tall bandicoot was distracted with the sandwiches, but her face showed concern, as if some thought was bothering her.
"Isabella?" Coco placed her hand on her friend's shoulder, waking her from her thoughts. "What's wrong?"
"Oh... I'm sorry, girls" she apologized. "I'm worried about Ami. We shouldn't let her go alone knowing that Pinstripe could be there."
"Oh, come on" Liz tried to cheer her up. "She is the strongest and most athletic of us. Ami alone could kick the butt of anyone who tries to harm her. Besides, according to Tawna, Pinstripe has changed, so he can't do anything even if he wanted to."
"I hope you're right..." Isabella said still a little insecure, but continued to prepare the sandwiches.
Coco was a bit annoyed for hearing the names of Tawna and Pinstripe. She was still resentful to them for how they hurt her brother, but she decided to downplay the matter for now. Crash was starting to feel better with the company of the girls, especially with Megumi, and that was what mattered now.
Meanwhile, at the main office of the Nitro Squad circuit, Ami was meeting with Tawna. The green-haired bandicut had just handed the resignation letters to her former leader, who was signing them.
The atmosphere in the office was quite depressing. Neither of them wanted this to happen, but there was no going back.
"Alright, Ami" said Tawna, whose voice denoted some sadness. "All that remains is to file the letters so it's clear that you and the others are no longer part of the group."
"Okay..." said Ami, who also found this situation difficult. "I'm sorry that I can't stay, but the girls and I are going to do activities with Crash and the others. I asked them to wait for me because of this."
"Don't worry..." Tawna said. "I know I have no right to ask, but how is Crash?"
"A little better" Ami replied. "But Aku Aku said that this kind of wounds takes time to heal, so we will keep him company constantly."
"I see..." Tawna felt terrible. She knew from the beginning that Crash was going to be harmed, but she never thought that the consequences of her actions would be worse than expected; not until her friends faced her the previous day. Since she knew about the engagement ring, guilt had begun to consume her.
"Tawna, I don't understand" the green-haired bandicoot was still perplexed by what happened yesterday. "It's fine that you don't feel the same about him, but a letter is not an honest method for these cases and you know it. Only cowards do something like that. Why didn't you end the relationship in person?"
"I..." the blonde bandicoot had tears gathering in her eyes. She was about to explode. "I..."
"Tawna?" Ami noticed the state of her friend.
"Because I'm a coward! Okay?! Is that what you wanted to hear?!" she finally exploded. "Believe me, I thought about it, but I knew that the things I said in the letter were too hard for him! I couldn't imagine his face if I tell him directly! I… I couldn't! I was afraid!"
Tawna cried loudly as she sat in one of the office chairs and covered her face with her hands. Although she did not regret being with Pinstripe, she was angry at herself for hurting Crash.
Ami felt sorry for her former leader. Despite she was still disappointed of her, deep down she still cared about her. But, as Isabella said, the issue of Crash and Pinstripe was something that Tawna had to solve on her own, so she decided to give her advice.
"Tawna, listen" Ami knelt to stare at her. "You'll have to talk with Crash."
"I can't..." the blonde bandicoot said in tears and still covering her face.
"Easy, I don't mean to do it right now, but in the future" Ami rested her hand on the sad blonde bandicoot's shoulder. "He's not ready to speak at the moment either. Besides, Coco wouldn't allow it; she is still furious with you. It is best to wait a while until things calm down and Crash overcomes the break. That way, you two can talk quietly; not to resume the relationship, but to make peace. It's something you both must do to move on."
"I understand..." Tawna tried to calm down and looked directly at her friend while wiping her own tears. "And ... is there any chance that you could return to the Nitro Squad?"
"You know we can't do that, not as long as Pinstripe is the team's promoter" Ami replied sadly. "He has done many bad things and was a loyal minion of Dr. Cortex. I'm sorry, but we don't want him in our lives. He doesn't inspire us trust."
Tawna was disappointed by that answer, but she understood it, so she decided to make a final gesture to her friends. She proceeded to take out a bag under the desk and offered it to the green-haired bandicoot.
"At least… could you tell the girls that I'm so sorry for treating all of you badly and… taking this?" she said while handing the bag to her friend.
Ami glanced to see the content and was surprised by what she saw. "Our motorsport suits?" she asked. "Why are you giving them to me?"
"I made those suits specifically for all of you" Tawna said. "I don't want other people to use them. They belong to you."
"Tawna..." Ami felt doubtful. "I don't know..."
"Please" she insisted. "At least keep them as souvenirs."
Ami felt that she could not refuse Tawna's request. As much as she was disappointed with her, She didn't want to be too hard.
"Okay" Ami said with a slight smile. "I'll keep them, at least so you know how much you and the team meant for us."
"Thanks" Tawna smiled back.
The conversation was interrupted when someone was heard entering the office. It was Pinstripe, who was surprised to see the green-haired bandicoot.
"What's going on here?" he asked.
"Nothing, dear" Tawna said. "Ami only came to leave the resignation letters and take some things."
"Exactly" Ami said calmly, despite the presence of the potoroo was causing her much discomfort. "I was leaving anyway."
"I see" Pinstripe said.
Suddenly, Tawna's phone rang. It was an important call about interviews for the Nitro Squad, so she had to answer it.
"I'm sorry. I have to answer" she apologized. "Bye… Ami."
After the blonde bandicoot left the room and walked through the halls, Pinstripe faced Ami with an arrogant attitude.
"I hope you don't come back here" he said. "My girl does not deserve to have such a rabble as her friends. I can give her everything she need. Got it? She's mine."
Ami was enraged by that comment but, instead of hitting Pinstripe, she grabbed him tightly from the neck of his suit and pulled him toward her with a hostile look.
"Now listen to me, you filthy rat!" Ami threatened him in a firm tone and pointed at him with her finger. "The next time you talk to me like that again, I'll have you swallow your own tie! Understood?! I don't know what do you pretend with Tawna, but I warn you: she is not an object, so you better treat her with respect, because if I get to know that you've hurt her... I'll go for you... and you will regret it. You may have tricked her, but not us."
Without further ado, Ami abruptly released Pinstripe and left the office with the motorsport suits. The potoroo denoted irritation on his face because of the green-haired bandicoot's threats. He doesn't tolerate anyone giving him orders, except Cortex or Uka Uka, but he had to swallow his pride.
"Damn you" Pinstripe thought, referring to Ami. "Youse the one who will regret it. Once all this is over, I'll turn you and your friends into the sluts of my men. We'll see who laughs last."
After a jungle trip without any inconvenience, Ami returned to the Bandicoot siblings' home. She met with Coco, Aku Aku and the other girls in the living room to talk.
To make sure Crash didn't hear the conversation, Aku Aku asked him, Polar and the other pets to check the deposits of all the karts. If they were going to run in Crash Cove for a while, they should be full.
"So... is it official?" Isabella asked with disappointment.
"Yes..." Ami admitted. "We're out of the team, but that is not the worst."
"Why do you say that?" Coco asked.
"Pinstripe hasn't changed anything at all" Ami tried to hide her anger. "He's still the same asshole as before. He didn't only call us 'rabble', but he claimed Tawna as if she was his property. Apparently, he only pretends to be good when she is present."
"Bastard..." Liz said angrily, referring to the potoroo. "He is a damn hypocrite."
"Don't worry, Liz" Isabella said. "Sooner or later, Tawna will find it out. A liar always falls easier than a lame, and Pinstripe won't be an exception. I'm sure of that."
"And speaking of Tawna..." Ami said as she grabbed the bag and handed it to the others. "She told me that she feels so sorry for how she treated us and that she wanted to give us these as a farewell."
"Wait, are those..." Isabella was surprised when she took out the contents of the bag.
"Our motorsport suits!" Megumi said.
"Yes" Ami said. "She wanted us to keep them as souvenirs."
The others felt moved by Tawna's gesture. They did not expect something like this after what happened yesterday. However, Coco was feeling nothing but anger at the time. Hearing about her brother's ex stirred her stomach.
"How is she, by the way?" Aku Aku asked.
"Not very well" Ami replied. "She told me that she wrote the letter because she was afraid of Crash's reaction. She literally broke into tears and admitted her blame for the damage she caused to him."
"And does that even matter?!" Coco said very angry, getting everyone's attention. "It doesn't matter if she's sorry or not! She has already hurt my brother, and I will never forgive her!"
"Coco, calm down" Aku Aku said. "Holding a grudge won't do you any good, it will only destroy you emotionally."
"I don't care!" Coco complained. "I don't want to forgive her. I can't... My brother didn't deserve that..."
The others noticed that Coco had watery eyes. Megumi wanted to go to comfort her, but Isabella stopped the blue-haired bandicoot, indicating she'll take care this time.
The blonde bandicoot approached her little friend and hugged her. "Coco, Aku Aku is right" she said in a warm tone. "You can't hold a grudge against Tawna forever. You'll have to forgive her. It's for you own good."
"Exactly" Ami said with calm in her voice. "Also, Crash and Tawna will have to talk sooner or later to make amends, and it would be nice if you accept that."
"I… I don't know" Coco was doubtful, but then she saw the worried eyes of Aku Aku and her friends, especially Isabella, who was still hugging her. She still didn't feel able to forgive the woman who broke her brother's heart so cruelly, but she didn't want to disappoint her loved ones either. "Can I take some time to think about it, please?"
"Sure" Isabella smiled and wiped away a tear from her friend's face. "No need to hurry."
"Thank you" Coco smiled back.
Everyone was happy to see that Coco had also made progress in their own healing stage. Although she was still angry, the fact that she rethinks to forgive Tawna was a great step forward.
The moment was interrupted when they hear that Crash had entered the house. Ami put the motorsport suits back in the bag so he wouldn't see them and everyone tried to pretend naturalness, because they felt he wasn't ready to talk about his ex-girlfriend's affair.
"Guys, the karts already have their deposits full" Crash said, accompanied by Polar and the other pets. "Do you want to go now?"
"Sounds good for me" Coco smiled as he grabbed the picnic basket with all the food inside and some objects. "Let's go."
In a matter of milliseconds, the six bandicoots and the three pets were teleported along with their karts by Aku Aku to Crash Cove. The weather was sunny, there were almost no clouds in the sky and the wind blew softly. It was a perfect day.
Ami inhaled and exhaled deeply; she was looking forward to this day. "You had a great idea, Crash" she said happily. "I can't wait to set foot on the throttle."
"Thank you, Ami" he said. "But I'm afraid that I didn't think it carefully. My circuit is not very big."
"It's okay, big brother. We've already thought about that" Coco smiled at him. "We'll do a team tournament of three. The circuit will be held five times, each with five laps. The higher the racer's position, the more points it will receive. The team that gets the most points after the five courses will be the winner."
"And how do we decide who goes with who?" Ami asked.
"With this" Liz took a small bag from the picnic box. "Here are nine papers with the names of the blue, red and green teams. Each one will take out a paper, and that way the teams will be assigned. Now, form a row."
After everyone took a paper, the teams were distributed as follows: the blue team was made up by Coco, Liz and Baby T; the red by Crash, Megumi and Pura; and the green by Ami, Isabella and Polar.
"Crash, Pura, we are on the same team!" Megumi jumped in excitement and surrounded them both with her arms, bothering Pura a little. "Isn't this exciting?"
"Sure... if you say so" Crash said with an intense blush on his face.
"They don't know what they've gotten into" Isabella said as she burst out laughing loudly along with Ami when they saw the scene, since Megumi could sometimes be a bit cloying.
"Very well, I think it's my turn" Aku Aku said. "Racers, get ready!"
All, at the starting line, were organized in rows of three, each with a member of a different team. Aku Aku used his magical powers to make the traffic light, the boxes of items and the ones of Wumpa fruit to appear.
The traffic light began to turn on the three red lights. When it reached the green light, everyone went out in their karts at high speed.
The races were quite even between Crash and Ami, who did not hesitate to throw items to each other. The bandicoot hero was impressed by the skills of his green-haired friend; it seemed she had trained hard. In fact, each of them took two first places.
Coco felt a little frustrated to see that her team will be in last place, because they couldn't cope with those two. However, she remembered that the important thing was that her brother had fun, which made her happy since it seemed to be working.
Almost fifteen minutes had passed, and the nine runners were on the last lap of the fifth repetition of the circuit. Ami was leading, whose team had 28 points; followed by Crash, who was 30. Whoever won of these two, would grant victory to their respective team. Both were approaching to the finish line.
"I'm sorry, Crash! Victory is for us!" Ami shouted with confidence.
"That's what you think!" Crash shouted. "Take this!"
Crash launched the last missile he had left, sending Ami to fly through the air and preventing her from getting through the first Turbo Pad of the end.
"NO!" she screamed in frustration after bouncing and watching the orange bandicoot overtake her.
After successfully taking advantage of the two Turbo Pads, Crash crossed the finish line, followed by Ami.
"YEE-HAW!" Crash shouted with joy while braking his kart.
"Damn…" Ami complained.
Everyone else reached the line not far from the two bandicoots and Aku Aku appeared in front of everyone. "Alright, the red team wins by 39 points, followed by the green with 34 and the blue with 22."
Pura expanded his arms in joy; Polar and Baby T were sad when they heard the result; Ami and Liz showed frustration over their faces; and Isabella made a tantrum, which she got embarrassed of when she noticed that everyone was watching her.
Megumi and Crash, on the other hand, got out of the karts and hugged each other as they jumped and shouted for joy. However, they soon realized how close they were and blushed as they turned to stare each other. The others were expectant at the scene.
"You... you did it pretty well... Crash" said Megumi with some shyness.
"You too... Megumi" said Crash, who shared the same attitude.
They both stared for a few moments with their faces flushed, until they heard a strange noise.
"What the…?" Coco was perplexed, since these noises came from her own kart. She got off to check what was happening, but when she opened the rear hood, she had to pull away when a small black cloud came out of the engine compartment. "Oh, great… It broke down. I'll have to repair it."
"Don't worry, Coco" Isabella said as she picked up the sleeves of her jumpsuit. "Leave it to me."
The blonde bandicoot took a detailed look inside the rear compartment of the pink kart. Coco had a confused look about it, since she didn't know what her friend intended.
Crash was just as confused as his sister, but he didn't realize he was still hugging Megumi.
"Umm... Crash..." the blue-haired bandicoot said while still blushing. "You can let me go now."
"Wha…?!" the bandicut hero realized what was happening and immediately released his friend, flushed with shame. "Oops... I'm sorry... Heh, heh."
"Bingo! I found the problem" Isabella said. "It will take only a few seconds."
The others were expectant while the blonde bandicoot moved parts, cables and other objects. It only took about twenty seconds before taking her hands out of the compartment.
"Okay. Try it now." Isabella smiled as she wiped the dirt off her hands with a rag.
Coco sat in her kart and tried to turn it on. The engine started running at full power. "Woah!" she exclaimed with surprise. "You fixed it, but how?"
"I have knowledge of mechanics" Isabella said proudly. "In fact, I was the mechanic of the Nitro Squad, so don't be surprised."
"Great! Thank you so much, Isabella!" Coco smiled at her. "In fact, seeing your mechanics skills, I would like to ask you something."
"What is it about?"
"I am working on another project in my spare time, and I could use the help of someone like you. Sure, only if you want. I don't want to spoil your vacation."
"It's okay, Coco. I would love it." Isabella winked at her. "That way, I can spend more time with you, even if we don't have more planned activities."
"Thanks" the little bandicoot happily hugged her friend.
"You're welcome."
Everyone was smiling while seeing the two friends sharing the cute moment. However, Ami spotted someone's silhouette on the high rocks of the circuit. She couldn't see who it was, but that person seemed to be... dancing. "Guys, who is up there?" she pointed out.
The others looked where the green-haired bandicoot pointed. When they approached a little, everyone knew that it was a known but strange bandicoot.
"It's Fake Crash!" Liz said. "What's he doing here?"
The strange bandicoot whit big eyebrows, teeth and ears wasn't even flinched by the presence of others. He was distracted by his dance, very different from Crash's.
"Tell me something, Coco. Did you also operate his brain like you did with your brother?" Megumi asked.
"No, I never offered him that because I have no interaction with him" she replied. "He's a complete puzzle. We always find him in the least expected place and performing that peculiar dance."
"If he could talk, maybe he would explain us about his origin" Isabella said.
"Good idea. Let me talk to him" Coco said as she approached the rocks where her brother-like bandicoot was dancing. "Hey, you!"
Fake Crash stopped dancing with a confused expression and turned his gaze down, where his 'original self' and the others were.
"Sorry for interrupting you!" Coco said. "I want to ask you something! Wouldn't you like to talk like us?!"
"My sister has a special machine for that!" Crash included himself in the conversation. "It worked perfectly with me! What do you say?!"
Fake Crash thought about it for a few moments, but he began to be scared of the fact that they were going to operate him with a machine, so he showed his tongue at the two siblings in rejection and ran out of the place.
"Woah..." Isabella was a little indignant. "How uncivilized."
The others gave a skeptical look at the blonde bandicoot, who seemed not to remember the tantrum she did a few moments ago.
"Ami, you were the one who gave trophies to that boy" Liz said. "You don't know anything about him?"
"If Crash doesn't know anything being his supposed counterpart, I least" she replied. "Besides, I had to give trophies to nine racers, while each of you only gave them to two. Do you think I had time enough to interact with so many people, especially when I hated most of them? Remember that this other Crash, Penta, Komodo Joe and Papu Papu were the only ones not evil."
"Tell me about it..." Megumi said, remembering her time as the girl who was giving the trophies to doctor Cortex and N. Gin.
"Anyway" Ami shot a defiant look to the orange bandicoot. "Crash, I want a rematch. This time I swear I'll win."
"Ha! We'll see that" Crash said confidently.
After a few hours of fun running around the circuit, it was time for lunch. Everyone had sat next to the right wall of the small cave, where the circuit's finish line was located. Not only did they protect themselves from the sun, but they had a good view of the waterfall that rose above the rocks.
While the six bandicoots and the three pets had lunch, Coco remembered something she wanted to discuss with one of her friends:
"Liz, there is something I wanted to ask you, if that's okay."
"What is it, Coco?" the brunette bandicoot asked.
"Why do you mention armadillos so much when you make fun of your opponents? Do you have something against them?"
That question took everyone by surprise, but the brunette bandicoot felt full confidence to reveal her secret.
"No, Coco" Liz said as she looked at the cave ceiling with a smile. "On the contrary; I have very nice memories of armadillos. Well... from one specific."
"You're going to tell them about Arvel, right?" Isabella said.
"Arvel? Who is that?" Crash asked as he sat on Megumi's right side. Both he and his sister wanted to know more.
"An armadillo, and my best childhood friend" Liz said with some nostalgia. "We always did everything together. We were inseparable."
"Interesting" Coco said curiously. "Tell us about him."
"Well, you'll see" Liz began to explain. "We were classmates since we were little and we attended primary and secondary school together. Arvel was quite shy with others but, thanks to the confidence I gave him, he was more open, even funny. In fact, he and I became very competitive."
"What do you mean?" Aku Aku asked.
"With each game or challenge we performed, we always looked at who was the best. It could be the most insignificant thing like a board game, running in the park or even a video game; but it was something that fueled our friendship even more. The funny thing is that there was an occasion when he joked calling my mother rodent."
"You mean… your mom is a rodent?" Crash asked.
"Yeah" Liz laughed at those memories. "The poor guy apologized a lot of times for that comment, but I took it as a joke; I know perfectly well that he would never do things with malice. In fact, I decided to return the joke one day when I beat him in an athletic competition. That's where my known phrase came from."
"Woah" Crash laughed loudly. "I hope he didn't feel offended."
"Hee hee, nothing of that. From that day on, the armadillo and rodent phrases became constant among us, like a habit. Many people didn't understand, but we didn't care. We had a lot of fun."
"How cute" Coco laughed imagining the touching scenes. "I guess calling the others' moms as armadillos fuels your funny memories with him, right?"
"Yes, basically."
"Are you still in contact with him?" Aku Aku asked.
"Well..." Liz got a little sad by that question. "Unfortunately not."
"Why?" Coco asked.
"When we finished high school, we took separate paths. I traveled to the United States to study modeling and he stayed in London. The last thing I knew was that... he was dating with somebody."
Noticing the air of disappointment in Liz's last sentence, Coco immediately understood what it was. "You felt more than just friendship for him, right?" she asked as she rested her hand on her friend's shoulder.
"It seems so..." Liz admitted. "But I didn't want to intrude on his relationship with that girl. Besides, I was in the other part of the world, so I decided to take distances. I never confessed what I felt for him."
The others felt empathy for the brunette bandicoot, especially Megumi. She knew perfectly what it was to be in love with someone who did not feel the same for her and live far away from him.
"I'm so sorry" Coco comforted her.
"It's okay" Liz smiled sadly. "I have good memories of him, and I keep that."
"But, at this point, you haven't been able to forget him. Am I right?" Ami said. "Haven't you tried dating other guys?"
"It's a waste of time, Ami" Liz replied in frustration. "Most of the men I have dated only think about taking me to the bed with them. They think that because I pose naked to the cameras I'm a kind of easy girl, which makes me very angry. That's why I miss Arvel. He was the only guy who respected me and didn't treat me like a mere object."
"Don't be discouraged, Liz" said Megumi. "You'll see how you find your soulmate. It's just a matter of time."
"I don't know, Megumi..."
"Trust me. We all have our soulmate somewhere in the world. You just have to believe and not lose hope."
Liz was still doubtful, but the positivity of her friend encouraged her in some way, so she decided to take her advice. "Okay, Megumi. I'll listen to you. At least for now" she said with a smile.
Without further ado, everyone continued with their lunch, except Crash, who was sitting on the right side of her blue-haired friend.
"Apparently, I'm not the only one in the group with a broken heart, huh?" Crash whispered in a sympathetic tone.
"So it seems, Crash" Megumi replied. "I guess she understands a little how you feel."
To show that she hasn't forgotten his delicate state, Megumi circled Crash with her right arm. The bandicoot hero felt comfortable with the warmth of his friend's gesture, so he let himself go and rested his head on her shoulder, almost pinking her cheek.
"This... this feels so good…" he thought. He had missed that kind of touch, one he had lost since Tawna left.
Coco was watching the scene in detail, and could only think of one thing while smiling: "It will definitely be a long month, especially for you, big brother."
Author's notes: At first, I planned to describe the first of the five races in detail, but I'm not very good at describing something like that. I'm sorry if you felt disappointed. ^_^'
If you have questions (other than spoilers), you can contact me on Twitter. My username is Phoenix074 (Phoenix0741).
Anyway, I hope you liked the chapter, and thank you all for your support. Until next time! :D