*Chapter 3*
"What am I going to do about her," Ralph urged quietly to Rancis through a hard sigh. He carefully slipped off his large, crossed stripe wedding ring and made sure it was safe and sound in the front pocket of his overalls; he never wore it during game day in fear of breaking it.
"Tessa? Or Vanellope?" Rancis wondered with a small snicker. Ralph slumped his shoulders and let his aimless gaze wander the brilliant, bright Sugar Rush sky above their heads as they made their way towards the racing arena.
"Both of them," Ralph sighed. He closed his eyes tight, though he continued to walk.
"Well," Rancis sighed, "I think Tessa is a bit of a late bloomer… Remember the rough patch Taffyta and I went through with Penny two months ago?"
"Barely," Ralph spat as he furrowed his eyebrows and glared a smile in Rancis's direction, "I maybe saw her pout once. Tessa, on the other hand..."
"Each self programmed and raised gamer is different," Rancis shrugged with a wide, almost apologetic smile up towards Ralph, "Looks like Tessa is going through her rebellious phase a little late."
"And just in time for Academy," Ralph said, though his words were dipped in dry sarcasm. Rancis pat his large, lower arm.
"Don't worry," Rancis eased, "Penny and Tammy seem to keep her grounded. Tessa has a huge core of family to keep everything in check."
"Thanks," Ralph sighed as his eyes met with the glistening race arena. The game cabinet chimed the thirty minute until open arcade time.
"I can tell you're stressed about Tessa going off to Academy," Rancis eased as gently as he could. Ralph exhaled yet another raspy sigh.
"I don't think I'm as stressed as Vanellope is," Ralph grumbled as he idly scratched his chest, "I just have this bad feeling. It seems as if Tessa isn't ready for the responsibility."
"She's a wrecker," Rancis wrinkled his nose, though his tone lead to suggest his thoughts were purely complimentary, "She's stubborn, tough, and though she may be a bit of a late bloomer, she is dedicated. I know that once she gets into the groove of things and finds her feet, she will do great."
"You're just saying that," Ralph muttered as he playfully eyed Rancis in pure annoyance; Rancis largely rolled his eyes.
"Do you want my opinion or not?" Rancis laughed as he gestured his arms outwards, though he winced and idly glanced up at the sky, "Sheesh… It's starting to get hot. Looks like it's the season to race without our proper jackets, again."
"Come to my game," Ralph stated dully, "It's dark, cold, damp… Perfect for hulling away and being a stubborn wrecker."
"Oh, come now, Ralph," Rancis barked, he largely glowered in Ralph's direction in pure, apologetic dismay, "You know I meant no harm by that… Tessa is very smart, and very sharp. I suggest you talk to her."
"She'll only push me and Vanellope away," Ralph urged, "That's why Vanellope is so testy, lately. She has tried, one more than one occasion, to get Tessa to open up. All it's doing is pushing her away."
"So let her come to you," Rancis advised gently, the two reached the crossroads to both the arena and Sugar Rush's long, rainbow road exit. The two slowly stopped and faced each other. Their eyes met in a string of almost exhausted glee. Rancis puffed his chest out slightly to take in a slow, readied breath, "Everything will be fine."
"Maybe letting them off the leash a little bit will show her that we trust them," Ralph shrugged a little, though he stole a worried glance towards the castle.
"Fake it 'till you make it," Rancis chuckled. He finally nudged Ralph's large arm and took a step or two away, "They'll be fine, alright? They're safe in Sugar Rush. Just take it easy."
"Thanks," Ralph sighed with a small shrug and a nod, "You too."
Ralph gently waved goodbye to Rancis. He returned the gesture and slowly turned heel to head to the grumbling, excitable racing arena. Ralph held his breath and watched Rancis confidently stroll away. He furrowed his eyebrows and wondered if him, Tafyta and Penny ever had any issues within their small, family unit. He cocked an eyebrow and figured being a wrecker came with loud arguments, blunt opinions and brash attitude for display. Before he could think on it too hard, he shook his head clear of his worrisome thoughts and slowly began to trudge up the hill to Sugar Rush's exit.
"Alright, princess," Tessa grumbled as she eyed her cousin. Tessa was lazily straddled on her powerful bike. She was more than ready to go as Penny traipsed across the garage in a nervous way.
"User, I have no idea where Oliver went," Penny assured nervously as she neared Tessa, "I-I'm glad I changed out of my dress."
"Yeah, ten eons later," Tessa spat with a wide, annoyed grin. She pat the back, single seat of her bike with her large hand and widened her eyes in excitement, "C'mon!"
"Alright," Penny sighed. She finally took a seat behind Tessa and wrapped her arms around her middle, "Just please promise me we won't run into our parents."
"I won't go anywhere near the Sugar Rush tracks," Tessa assured as she gripped the handles of her bike. She could feel her heart begin to race with excitement again as she glanced down at the key in the ignition, "Besides... What harm would it do if a human saw us."
"I don't think we should chance it," Penny grumbled as she lazily rested her chin on her cousin's shoulder. Tessa smiled and tenderly elbowed Penny's ribs, which caused her to cringe and let out a small, annoyed giggle.
"Let's ride," Tessa muttered as she turned the key to her bike.
Both girls practically froze in time as Tessa's powerful bike suddenly growled and squealed to life. Penny's grip around her cousin tightened as her eyes bulged in slight fear. Tessa finally exhaled a knowing chuckle, though any noise she made was nearly inaudible because of her loud, excitable bike. She kicked the brake up and gently fumbled for the garage door button on the wall near her. The warehouse grumbled as the door let Sugar Rush's morning sun flood into the dusty place. She squint her eyes and peered out to the world, as if it was all hers for the taking. She exhaled a breath she forgot she was holding and gently gripped the handles. She let herself ease forward, though she was quick to pick up on how everything worked. With no effort, she glided out of the warehouse and around the side of the castle. She finally came to the gates and slipped through. She almost felt a twinge of nervousness hit her stomach as her tires suddenly were off of the castle's grounds. She furrowed her eyebrows and gently glanced back at their massive, looming and ominous castle. She nearly cringed, as if the castle had eyes that peered down at them in slight disappointment. She quickly shook her thoughts and peered out towards her destination. Big Green could be seen in the distance, swaying it's huge branches in the spring breeze. Tessa picked up the speed and felt her heart soar, Sugar Rush's sweet air eased through her code with lightning speed grace and adrenaline. Tessa knew her heart belonged in racing. She knew one daring race around the forest was worth getting in trouble for.
"If Oliver didn't hear all of that nonsense rocketing from the castle, I'd have to say he's deaf," Penny urged to Tessa over the whipping, cool breeze they endured. Tessa laughed and shook her head slightly, her auburn hair flicked around like wild fire.
"Hopefully he stays in that hiding place of his," Tessa called back to Penny.
The two girls shared in a few giggles as Tessa finally approached Big Green. Upon emerging into it's massive shadow, she slowed to a stop and leaned one of her larger feet to the ground to stop them completely. The two girls relaxed on the puttering, idle bike and gazed up at Big Green, as if to almost ask it permission for what they were about to do. The huge oak rustled and swayed it's massive vines and branches in the breeze. It was laced with spring time sugar puff flowers. Some of it's seeds drifted off in the wind. Tessa finally exhaled a hard sigh and peered past Big Green, down the dirt road she was itching to fly down. She tapped her large thumbs against the body of her grumbling bike and bit her bottom lip in contemplation.
"Time is of the essence, Tess," Penny reminded softly, Tessa simply nodded once in reply and remained motionless, though she inhaled a readied breath.
"Should we?" She wondered. For the first time all day, her voice softened to nervous curiosity as she peered over her shoulder to Penny. Penny slumped her shoulders and gave Tessa the death glare of all death glares.
"No, we should turn right back around and go back to the castle. Y'know, since we're already here and ready to go," Penny said nonchalantly before she threw out her arms, "Of course we should go!"
"A-Alright alright," Tessa grumbled and she shook her head and peered into the beautiful oasis.
The Evergreen Mint trees lightly swayed in the spring time breeze. They filled the cool air with a prick of freshly blossomed mint leaves and chocolate mint swirled bark. Tessa inhaled a deep breath of the smells around her and let them sink into every single last sense of hers. She reopened her eyes and stayed still. She knew she should probably take in this moment, for she knew if they were caught, seeing the light of day would be something that would be a mere memory to her. Before she could think too hard about her situation, she inhaled a deeper, more excitable breath and revved her engine. As she could feel Penny tighten her grip around her, she quickly tugged on the throttle and rocketed forward.
With the scent of freshly kicked up dirt under heel, the bike sped off at a fast speed. Tessa beamed a wide smile and let her instinct guide her way through the forest. Trees beyond trees shot past the two, and after awhile, Penny finally started to enjoy herself. Both girls laughed and wailed with excitement as they quickly turned fast corners, the tires skid through the dirt with ease. The brand new vehicle handled the world well, she knew Gloyd had given the bike everything it needed to sustain the wants of Sugar Rush's first, self programmed wrecker. Their hair wildly flicked around in the breeze as trees turned into green and brown blurs. With ease, she dodged bushes, boulders and critters alike. The forest was full of different kinds of terrain that challenged Tessa's minimal knowledge on driving, though she soared through and through.
With ease, Tessa steered the two off of the bumpy dirt road and into a small dip of a valley in the forest. As the tires hit the candy grass, it's engine eased up a bit. Tessa let up on the gas and let the bike practically fly through the hidden meadow of the forest. The trees practically smiled down at the two, as if to encourage their brave acts, to boast their colors and prove to them just how addicting Sugar Rush really is, that breaking the rules is what games were made for. Tessa smiled and squinted her eyes as the sun gently peeked through the trees, causing rays of it's luscious heat to hit the forest ground through particles of forest debris and pollen of sugar puff flowers. A wide smile continued to grace Tessa's face as she realized they haven't even scraped half of the forest yet.
As if her soul had recharged from their exciting experience, she set her eyes to what was ahead. She searched for the other end of the dirt path she had abandoned. It lay in wait, begging her to come forth and tear apart the dirt tracks once more. The trees swayed eagerly, as if to agree. She bit her bottom lip and tugged on the throttle again. Her bike jolted with excitement as they lunged towards their next adventure. She beamed as soon as her tires hit the dirt. With one, graceful movement, she properly steered her bike to harsh right with the sudden, winding dirt road. She straightened out her bike as it veered to the differences in terrain, though she widened her eyes in shock as to what was in the distance. She quickly slammed her foot on the brake and skid to a harsh, long winded stop. Her bike complained loudly from the sudden top speeds it had to urgently decline from. Her and Penny coughed and choked as chocolate dirt kicked up everywhere, though Tessa squinted through the fog and felt her shoulders slump and her heart drop as to who she was stopped a few yards in front of.