Minty and the Bird

"Minty, not so hard!"

"Minty, no so fast!"

"Minty, can't you be a bit more careful?"

These were things that were commonly said by the other racers in Sugar Rush. These were things commonly heard by Minty Zaki.

It wasn't an unknown fact; Minty was the toughest racer in the entire land. She would stop at nothing to make sure what she had planned out was done or that nothing stood in her way but for a lot of her friends, this type of attitude was taken OFF the track.

The young girl meant no harm by her actions but more often than not, the others would find themselves caught in the middle of whatever action Minty was doing. She was always so energetic, always so ready to go that sometimes she forgot to stop and let the others catch up.

"Come on! We're wasting time!"

"Legs…hurting."

"Must…..rest!"

"Need….CUPCAKES!"

The other racers always wondered….

Would Minty EVER stop?

One day, Minty awoke early to see what was happening out in the village. She jumped out of bed, got herself cleaned up and ran into her sister's rooms.

"Sticky! Torvald! Up n' at 'em!"

"Nooooo….." Torvald moaned, burying her face in a pillow.

"I need five more minuets!" said Sticky, pulling the covers over her body.

"C'mon, c'mon! If we waste any more time, who knows what we could miss!"

Begrudgingly, the other two candy sisters lurched their way with Minty.

"YA-HOOOO!"

But like always, there was no way they could keep up with the oldest Mint sister.

By lunch time, Sticky and Torvald were EXHAUSTED.

"Minty, can't we go hooome?" asked Sticky, yawning.

"Home? We can't go home! Not yet!" said Minty.

"Don't ya wanna rest? Take a break or somethin'?" asked Torvald.

"Not with the way I'm feelin' today!" laughed Minty, standing tall and proud "Maybe we should hit the tracks! I always wanted ta try out that new bumper move I've been plannin'!"

BUMPER MOVE?

Not good.

Sticky and Torvald looked at each other; they knew nothing good was to come from this.

"Eh-heh, s-sorry Mintz but…."

"But what?"

Torvald took ahold of Sticky's hand and began pulling her away "We need ta check with somethin' over at Crumbellina's house! I-It'll take all day!"

"Urgh, FINE." Said Minty "I'll see you guys later then."

With Sticky and Torvald gone, Minty decided that perhaps she should get together with some of the other racers. She walked around and after a while she found Gloyd and Snowanna kicking a ball together in the fields. They spotted the girl coming up to them….

"Hey guys!"

And instantly froze.

They were trapped.

Minty smirked at the two "Got room for one more?"

Not five minuets had gone by before Minty had run CIRCLES around both racers, Snowanna and Gloyd haplessly DIZZY on the fields as Minty kicked the ball around as if it were nothing.

"Watch this!" the girl said a laugh "This is my SUPER DELUX PEPPERMINT KICK!"

It was if all the powers of the heaven had gathered together and unleashed their full strength within Minty. All she did was draw back a foot.

"AH-HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

And with one mighty kick, the ball went sailing….

Sailing…

Sailing….

"Ha-HA! Look at it go!"

Sailing…

*KA-CRASH!*

"MY ROOM!"

Right into Vanellope's room.

The three racers stood as still as statues at the sound, not only because Minty had broken yet ANOTHER window but also because the candy palace was SO FAR AWAY yet they could still hear the crash and Vanellope's cries of shock.

And by now, Minty knew she was in trouble.

"Oops."

A few moments later, Minty rushed to the candy palace and as she saw, the damage that she had done was a lot bigger than she thought. She had just assumed that the ball had gone through Vanellope's window but with such speed, the thing not only broke the glass but it BOUNCED off the wall, leaving a HUGE dent!

CRASHED out the door!

SAILED down the halls!

HIT several candy guards along the way!

BROKE a few statues!

All before finally ending up wedged in the hedge bush.

"I knew somethin' like this would happen…." Whispered Gloyd, trying to back away before he got in trouble.

"Vanellope, I'm sorry!" said Minty "I didn't think things were gonna end up THAT bad…."

Vanellope could do nothing but look at the damage and sigh "It's no problem, Mintz….No problem at all."

Minty gave an embarrassed apology again and left with the others, her head down a bit.

"Maybe I laid it on a bit too hard this time?"

"MAYBE?!" shouted Gloyd, stunned that Minty was acting as if she were unaware of what happened "Had we not been layin' on tha ground, ya could have busted our skulls with that thing!"

"What are ya sayin'?!" Minty growled at the jack-o-lantern boy "Is it MY fault that ya can't keep up with me?!"

Snowanna knew a fight was starting to brew "Guys?"

"We can't keep up because how can ANYONE keep up with a green colored, mint-scented FREIGHT TRAIN?!"

"Guys!"

Minty moved closer, puffing her chest out "This comin' from the guy who acts as if NUTHIN scares him! Ya scared of a lil ball, hmmm?!"

"GUYS!"

"I'm not SCARED! Unlike YOU, I actually value lives!"

"WHAT'S THAT SUPPOSED TA MEAN?!"

"GUYS!"

Snowanna dove in-between the two and shoved them away from each other. Even if things were not going that well, she was not about to have a brawl on her hands.

"Okay, okay. We get it Gloyd…." Snowanna said, a miffed tone in her voice "But Minty didn't mean it, I'm certain of it."

"Yeah, tell 'em, Snowy!" said Minyt "I mean, YOU don't think I'm too rough do ya?"

Minty could see some of the color draining from Snowanna's face but also her HAIR as well.

What could she say?

Snowanna didn't have to say ANYTHING to Minty at that point. The girl was well aware what her face meant. As if Snowanna's fearful face wasn't bad enough, the angry glare Gloyd was giving her only added salt to the wound.

Minty could not deny the facts any longer.

Her friends were scared of her.

And that was something that did not sit with the racer at all.

"Ya know somethin'?" Minty frowned, crossing her arms "Ya guys can say whatever ya want, but I know KNOW I'm not some mean...big….URGH! Don't act like I can't slow down or whatever it is ya guys are mad at me for!"

"Mad? Who said I was mad?" blinked Snowanna.

"Minty? Bein' GENTLE? HA, that'll be the day!"

"I can be more carin' than YA!" pointed Minty "At least I don't go around prankin' people on PURPOSE!"

"Ya call 'em pranks…." Gloyd said rather tartly "I call them works of ART."

Minty was in no mood to argue with Gloyd after what had been exchange and with that, she turned and left, stomping off in anger. Had she actually looked back for a second, she would have caught Snowanna beaning Gloyd upside his head.

"OW! What was THAT for?"

"You know the reason."

Off Minty went, grumping all the way down the path.

"Stupid guys. They say I'm too much?" she said to herself "S'not my fault they can't keep up."

The girl kicked a stone, watching it bounce off a candy-cane tree. She was alone now, no one there to really say anything to her but even if all her friends were there, would they have any courage to tell her the truth? She remembered how Snowanna reacted, how uncertain she looked to tell the truth.

Gloyd wasn't holding anything back when it came to the truth but granted, it wasn't as if he and the girl actually got along.

It wasn't as if Gloyd really hid the truth from ANYONE as a matter of fact.

"Man, this stinks…" she mumbled, sitting on a rock "Is there anyone here that doesn't think I'm gonna wallop them into a pulp or somethin'? I mean, is it MY fault that I'm-?"

*Peep!*

"Peep?"

*Peep!*

Minty looked all around for the source of the sound. She looked high, she looked low but saw nothing. She scratched her head, putting a hand to her ear.

"Hellooooo?" she called out "I'm not goin' nuts am I?"

*Peep!*

Minty walked down the path, the sound growing closer and as she looked into the bushes she say it.

A tiny, yellow marshmallow bird.

Her eyes grew wide as she looked at the tiny thing, wings so small and weak, legs unable to hold it up, body so rolly-polly round that it could do nothing but waddle.

*Peep!*

"Where did you come from?" Minty said, as she picked the chick up as gently as she could. She then looked into the trees. There was no nest, as least from where she was standing. Had it fallen from somewhere else? Had someone taken it.

"Oh, if only candy could talk…." Minty said, only realizing what she had said a second later "I mean…well, ya know what I mean right lil guy?"

*Peep!*

Minty knew she couldn't just leave the chick in the forest. It was going to get dark soon and with the creatures that roamed the forest at night, the thing wouldn't stand a chance.

What to do?

What to do?

Sometime later, Sticky and Torvald returned home.

"I hope Minty isn't upset…" Sticky said in a sad tone "I know it wasn't right to just leave her like that but I was so tired."

"I think she'll understand." Said Torvald, carrying a basket of caramel crumble muffins, straight from Crumbellina's kitchen "An' if she doesn't at first, I think THESE should work out."

The two looked around the house and were relieved to find that Minty had indeed come home before they did. They could hear some noises in the kitchen and as they moved in, they saw Minty standing on the counter, looking through the cupboards.

"Minty, we're glad to see you home safe, sis!" said Sticky.

"Hmm? Yeah." Said Minty, shaking a box of rice "Say, is this any good?"

"Um, excuse me?" asked Torvald.

"Do we have any…any-?"

Minty thought for a second, rubbing her chin "Maybe sunflower seeds? I think we might have somma those left over!"

"Minty, we have something for you."

Minty turned around and smiled, gracefully flipping off the counter onto the floor "Yeah, what is it?"

Sticky held the basket of muffins before her sister "Just something we thought you'd enjoy."

"Aw, yeah! Ya bet I'm gonna like this!" said Minty, taking the basket "Thanks guys! This is PERFECT!"

Sticky and Torvald beamed in pride but did not watch her sister once again returning to the cupboards.

"We just wanted to let you know that you're always on our minds." Said Sticky "Even though we couldn't join you, we-!"

Sticky stopped when she saw Minty dumping the muffins onto a large plate, taking the basket and cloth covering it with her.

"Heh, this is great!"

Minty darted from the room, leaving her sisters dumbfounded. The two heard a slam from her door and there they stood alone in the kitchen.

"Um….maybe she IS upset?"

The door reopened, Minty pushing between the other two girls and grabbing a muffin off the plate.

One bite was heaven.

"Mmmmm, these are great! Aren't ya gonna have any?"

Once minty had returned to her room, her focus was put on something else.

"There ya go!"

Something much more important.

Hidden carefully in her closet was the little bird, a tiny makeshift nest made for it from the basket and a few other things that Minty had managed to gather together.

"I have a heated blanket Candlehead gave me." Minty smiled "That should keep ya warm! An' here!"

Minty crumbled up some of her muffin, putting the pieces in front of the bird. Its tiny beak pecked at the chunks for a moment or two before going in for the gusto.

"Heh, nice ta see creatures with good taste!"

For the next few days, Minty had her hands full. If she wasn't racing, she was caring for the little bird but it was something that the others did not know. They had always wondered what was distracting Minty or why she kept asking for left over cake crumbs and bread crust but before they could get a reply, she had taken off faster than they could catch her.

Even Sticky and Torvald had no idea what was going on. When they try to question her, Minty would always shush them and go on about how it was important to keep quiet.

Quiet?

Since when was Minty ever one to be QUIET?

After a while, the others began to brush off their suspicions on the girl. After all, who were they to act so nosey, especially when Minty seemed a lot brighter than normal.

Slightly distracted, but she was smiling brighter than before.

All of these actions struck one person as odd though.

Gloyd.

"What is she doin'?" the boy always asked to himself when he saw Minty rushing from bakeries with bags upon bags of crust. There was no way she could have been taking those home for herself.

Gloyd just had to find out.

One day, Minty returned to her closet again to check upon the bird.

"Hello there!" she chirped, the bird tweeting happily "Ya look a lot better now! Maybe its gettin' time for ya ta go outside!"

The bird tugged on Minty's sleeves, its beak trying to nibble through the cloth.

"No fussin'!" the girl laughed "Ya hafta leave tha nest someday!"

*KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!*

"Who could that be?" the girl said as she stood up.

Sticky and Torvald were already gone so unless they had come back for something….

"Hello? Anyone?" the girl said, seeing no one before her "Is anyone there?"

She looked over, a note in the postal box.

"Ah. A letter for me?"

Dear Minty, I need some help over by the garage.

~Vanellope

"Seems I have some work ta do!" Minty smiled powerfully but she ran back into the room and made certain that the bird was safe "Don't fly off! I'll be back with some pie crust for tonight!"

Minty went to her kart and took off….

But if only she had seen who was hiding in the bushes.

"Heheh, gotcha."

Rubber to road, Minty was in the village as fast as light but when she got to the track garage, there was no one there.

"Vanellope? Nelly? Ya hear?"

No reply.

Minty crossed her arms and huffed. Vanellope had said that she wanted to meet her. Why in Sugar Rush would she be late.

"C'mon, I don't have time for this!"

"Minty?"

The girl turned around but was surprised to see Jubileena at the door instead of the vanilla racer.

"Jubi? What's goin' on? Have ya seen Vanellope ANYWHERE?"

"Vanellope is with Ralph." Said Jubileena "She's been gone all day."

"But-!" Minty said "How-?!"

If Vanellope wasn't there.

Then….

Red.

That's all Minty could see.

But that red soon turned into ORANGE.

"GLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOYDE!"

Jubileena thought that a train had blown past her as she fell over to the ground! Minty was rushing on all cylinders in anger as she jumped into her kart and rushed home.

Gloyd had tricked her into getting out of the house and knowing how crafty he was, she knew he didn't just do this out of the blue. There had to be a reason behind it!

"When I get my hands on that rotten, pumpkin-faced brat-!"

Minty was clutching the steering wheel as she zoomed down the lanes, but her frantic driving wasn't just so she could wallop on Gloyd.

But to make certain that another guest at the house was safe.

Nearly skidding off road, Minty leapt out of the kart and PUNCHED the door off the hinges.

"GLOYD ORANGEBOAR! IF YA TOUCH ONE THING OF MINE, I'LL-!"

"OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW!"

Minty hit the floor as she heard a loud howl coming from her room but this wasn't a howl of something scary.

It was a howl of PAIN!

Forget being angry at Gloyd, it sounded like he needed HELP!

"Gloyd? GLOYD?!" the girl said in worry "Don't worry! I'll-!"

"IT BIT ME!"

Minty stood still at her door as she saw Gloyd in her room, wagging his finger which looked a bit sore at the end.

"What bit ya?"

"THAT!" Gloyd said, blushing in fury "That THING ya got in your closet!"

Minty looked down, seeing the tiny bird pecking about, flittering its wings.

It was obvious what had happened but Minty couldn't help but laugh at the thought. She walked over and gave Gloyd a friendly, but rough, slug in the shoulder.

"Guess tha lil guys is a chip off tha old block, huh?"

After helping Gloyd with his finger, Minty walked out towards the back. There were plenty of candy-cane trees growing around and Minty knew they would be a perfect home for her tiny bird.

"Let's go…." The girl smiled, gently tickling the bird on the head "Ya gotta fly sometime an' if this weren't a better day…"

Minty held out her hands towards the sky, the tiny bird walking on her palm cautiously. It looked back, almost as if to say it wasn't ready, that it wasn't sure.

But the smile on Minty's face reassured it.

It was time to flap its wings.

And after a few hesitant moments.

Off into the air it went.

Minty smiled as her little bird soared into the air and as it left, a sense of happiness swelled up inside her.

"Hey…"

The mint racer turned around, Gloyd looking down with his hands in his pocket.

"Look, Minty…."

"Yeah?"

"I'm….I'm sorry."

"For what?" asked Minty.

"I just wanted ta say I'm sorry for makin' it out that ya don't care 'bout people…" the boy sighed, though it was obvious he was a little annoyed "Ya really helped that lil guy out so…."

"Gloyd, don't sugar-coat it. I get what you're sayin'…." The girl snickered but Gloyd rolled his eyes.

"Sure 'bout that?"

"Yeah, I am." The girl laughed as she put her arm around the boy "But if ya really think I'm THAT good of takin' care of people maybe I should help YOU out!"

Gloyd blanched at the thought, ducking from under Minty's arm "Mintz, don't you DARE!"

"But Gloyd!" the girl smiled, cracking her knuckles "I have ta check out your finger! It might be INFECTED!"

Gloyd took off as fast as his feet could carry him but Minty was hot on his tail.

And up in the trees above was perched a little bird, watching the action below.

"MIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINTY!"