Chapter 6: Look Out!

All the racers were at the speedway by dawn save for Gloyd, Jerry, and Vanellope. Gloyd was with the safety team at the Caramel Swamp, checking for danger spots where accidents could occur. Jerry was briefing the marshmallow marshals on the rezoned course.

And Vanellope? She was still fast asleep, dreaming about her crush, Jerry, when Sour Bill knocked on her room door, rousing her from her pleasant dreams. "President, you're going to be late for the arcade opening!"

Vanellope glanced at her cocoa clock. "Leaping lollipops! I'm very, very late!" she thought. She threw on her hoodie and leggings and rushed out the door. As she raced out the front door, Sour Bill tapped her shoulder with her cart keys. "You might want to take these along", he said.

Rolling her eyes, Vanellope snatched the keys away and jumped into her cart thinking dreamily about Jerry when she noticed Sour Bill still standing and watching her. She turned around and gave Sour Bill a steely glare. He quickly shut the castle door. Vanellope started steaming again about last night.

Ralph had followed through with his threat of using broccoli on her when she had ignored him and kept up her pursuit of Sour Bill. She had cornered Sour Bill, when he threatened to tell Ralph about this matter. That had stumped her for a few moments. As she was trying to decide what to do, Ralph had grabbed her from behind, stuffed a whole broccoli into her mouth, and marched her off to bed. She spat out the broccoli almost immediately, but the taste had lingered even after she had brushed her teeth with her favorite peppermint toothpaste three times! Vanellope frowned grimly as she plotted her revenge on Sour Bill.

At the Lounge, Taffyta was sitting quietly on her own again. Jubileena tried to cheer her up but didn't really get anywhere. Minty sat down beside her and asked, "What's wrong, Taff?"

With a sigh, Taffyta answered, "You saw how Vanellope was yesterday. She deliberately skipped me. She still hates me and I don't think there's anything I can do to change it."

Crumbelina asked, "Is there anything we can do to help? Vanellope's behavior is just not right!"

Taffyta replied, "Thanks, but I don't think she'd listen to any one of you."

Jubileena asked, half-jokingly, "What about Jerry?"

Everyone turned to look at her. She stammered, "Uhhh…never mind."

Minty cried, "No! That's a great idea. If anyone can get through to Vanellope, it'd be Jerry!"

Swizzle remarked, "You got that right. You should have heard the two of them last night! Taffyta, you should talk to Jerry."

Suddenly, a voice from behind them spoke. "Talk to me about what?"

Everyone jumped and spun around to see Jerry standing in the doorway.

Swizzle was the first to speak. "Hey Jerry! You're done already?"

Jerry jumped as Gloyd snapped from behind him, "He'd better be! His job is a piece of cake compared to what I've been doing."

Crumbelina said soothingly, "Thanks for checking up on the safety crews, Gloyd. It really is an important and difficult job."

Gloyd smiled shyly, saying, "Oh, it wasn't really that hard."

Everyone jumped again as Vanellope spoke from outside. "Hey! Racers! Why aren't you getting ready? The arcade's open!"

Everyone dashed outside and jumped into their carts just as the quarter alert sounded. Vanellope called over to Jerry, "The course?"

Jerry nodded, smiling. She looked over to Gloyd who nodded and turned his eyes back to the screen.

Two kids, a boy and a girl, were preparing to race. The girl chose Vanellope immediately while the boy, surprised to see Jerry, leaned over and spoke to the girl, saying, "Look, Bri! There's a new racer."

The girl replied, "Strange! I thought this machine hasn't been upgraded yet. What's he doing there?"

Curious, the boy selected Jerry. Vanellope and Jerry smiled at each other as the count-off began.

"3, 2, 1, GO!"

Vanellope and Jerry roared into the lead with Candlehead and Crumbelina hot on their exhaust. Taffyta was battling with Adorabeezle for fifth. It stayed this way until they reached the Gumball Gully. The racers darted in and out of the gumballs but a few were not so lucky. Candlehead and Jubileena were among those knocked out.

The Sugar Cubes soon came into sight and the players aimed right for them. The girl, Bri, picked up Hot Fudge, a powerup which laid down a sticky and slippery trail of boiling fudge. The boy picked up Sweet Seekers and took aim at the girl, but ran into trouble with the fudge before he could fire. The girl laughed and shot off toward the Snowcone Mountains. The boy quickly freed himself and picked off Gloyd, Snowanna, and Minty who had nipped in front of him. He resumed his chase determinedly.

Vanellope and her player, Bri, were having a great time as only Adorabeezle could keep up with them in the wintry conditions. Vanellope drifted around the corners smoothly under her player's expert handling and soon entered Caramel Swamp.

Meanwhile, Jerry was steadily hunting down Crumbelina who was struggling to keep her car under control. Jerry's player skillfully nicked Crumbelina's right rear wheel as he passed her on the outside, sending her spinning off the track, crashing into the side of the mountain. Jerry immediately showed his displeasure at the sneaky move by braking, slowing his cart down. He glanced behind him to make sure Crumbelina was okay. To his horror, an avalanche was rumbling down the mountain straight toward Crumbelina! He screamed at the top of his lungs, "LOOK OUT, CRUMBELINA!"

She looked up from trying to free her cart, stuck in a snowdrift. Seeing the avalanche, she screamed!