Chapter 2 – Eye Candy

Adorabeezle Winterpop's head rose from the cola and gave a brief shake to clear the excess droplets off, followed by a satisfied sigh from her swim. Naturally programmed to be acclimatized to the colder weather, she preferred her winter sports, but that by no means restricted her from indulging in what summer fun had to offer. A long time ago in another timeline would find her crazy for even getting her hair wet. Opinions change over time. Having just swam a good number of lengths on her own, the athletic racer's body, coded to be extra durable for such strenuous activity, was ordering her to rest awhile.

Hoisting herself up on to the pink wafer deck and letting her pale legs dangle in the soft drink, the winter-themed girl scanned the area for her best friends.

Not far away, Jubileena Bing-Bing was snorkeling around Candlehead like a shark circling in on its prey, and said prey breaking the shark-allusion by laughing uncontrollably. At the snack bar, Minty Zaki was ordering something.

The blue, red, and green racers had been best buds for a long time, yet had different tastes in almost everything. One of those things was their stance on swimming attire.

Jubileena wore a bright red ruffled bikini with a skirted bottom that mimicked her racing skirt. The cherry-themed racer was always eager to put it on as a change from her everyday clothes and signifying her permission to goof off. Confident, giggly, and out-going, she loved to use it to swim, or simply show off to her male companions. Jubi wasn't a flirt, but even she couldn't resist playing with the boys, even though she was well aware that all of them had their ideal partners already.

Tomboy Minty was the complete opposite. She was the most self-conscious about her body, and now that she was baring more skin than usual, her pickiness and unease had increased three-fold. A little ironic given that she always jogged in running shorts. Though all the racers were programmed with the appearance of a roughly ten-year-old child, Minty constantly felt her body must have been rendered incorrectly, giving her unsightly legs, wide hips, and a fat tummy. Her swimsuit, like Jubileena's came in two pieces, but was a little more conservative with green and gold lining. No matter how much her friends tried to reassure her that she looked perfectly good, Minty was too stubborn to see any different.

Adorabeezle on the other hand, didn't share either of her friend's perspectives. She had the attitude of "this is a swimsuit for a girl, I'm a girl, I will wear it, and that's all there is". She wore a sleek navy-blue flyback one-piece of premium make that had red lining and a couple of white stars, the kind of swimsuit that a star-athlete like herself would wear. Whatever got the job done was good enough for Adorabeezle.

She watched as Minty trudged over to her, a candied apple in hand and a slump in her step. A pair of green goggles rested atop her bangs. She definitely wasn't looking happy.

"As soon as I eat this, I'm going home," she declared as she sat down beside Adorabeezle.

"No, you're not," Adorabeezle countered immediately. "This party's barely started."

"Good, then no one will miss me," Minty grumbled, sucking on the golden glaze of the green apple. She tugged uncomfortably on her bottoms before glaring at the snack she was holding. "Why am I even eating this? I won't fit into my clothes anymore!"

She tossed the half-eaten apple over her shoulder with disgust, but Adorabeezle quickly caught it.

"We're video game characters, Mints," she insisted, trying to hand the rescued snack back to its owner. "It's not in the code to change sizes."

Minty glared at her. "Fine, I'll stay if I can wrap myself in my towel."

Adorabeezle smiled, quite used to all this. "C'mon, Minty, we go through this every summer. When are ya gonna start listening to us and realize there's nothing wrong with the way you look? We're all programmed with the same base model and you know it."

"But that doesn't mean we're programmed with the same opinions on ourselves," whined Minty. She rubbed her bare arms and scrunched up into a ball as if trying to hide herself from anyone's view. "You don't even care how you look, Adora. What's your secret to blissful happiness?"

The blue-haired girl shrugged. "I just don't care. I'm here to have fun with my friends and enjoy my days off. Worrying about my appearance isn't on my agenda."

Minty let out a very long and very heavy groaning sigh. "Wish it was all that simple for me."

Just then, an orange-tipped snorkel came bobbing towards them and with a splash, Jubileena's head popped out to the surface, her crimson pigtails positively soaked and hanging down her head like two soggy paintbrushes dripping with cola. "What's the matter, Minty?" she asked, having sensed a glum state from far away.

"The usual," Adorabeezle replied.

"I'm fat," Minty complained.

Removing her mask, Jubi swam over and hoisted herself up, sandwiching Minty in between them. "Aw, cheer up, Mints!" she sang encouragingly. "You look adorable. I love your swimsuit!"

"Why can't I be confident like Taffyta or Crumbelina?" the tomboy instantly vented. "Or even you, Jubi."

Adorabeezle silently glanced over at Taffyta who was still sun-tanning in the same spot she had claimed upon arriving here. Then her blue eyes passed over to the far end of the pool near the lemonade fountain where Crumbelina was reading a book. Both girls seemed to be perfectly at ease showing off her body, for both had chosen swimsuits of the more minimally-attired category today. She wondered if Gloyd had noticed yet.

"Everyone's allowed to feel different about their bodies," Jubileena soothed kindly, her melodic voice chiming. "We may be programmed to be shaped and proportioned the same way, but that doesn't matter! The important thing to remember is that you're unique and beautiful in your own special way!"

"C'mon, girlfriend, listen to your good buddy Jubi and your pal Adora," Adorabeezle put in. "Embrace your looks! Make 'em your own! And don't tell me you can't just 'cuz you have two cousins who are modeled after ya."

Minty was silent as she took another lick of her candied apple. "Do you think…do you think Torvy and Sticks feel the same way about their bodies?" she mumbled.

"Well, definitely not in Torvald's case," Adorabeezle said as she eyed Torvald Batterbutter, who was currently engaged in a rowdy splash fight with Swizzle and Sticky Wipplesnit just across the pool from them. The golden-haired girl wore a strapless orange bikini as she laughed with her friends in the melee.

"Torvald's pretty confident alright," giggled Jubileena. "Her insecurities are all in her racing techniques. And Sticky is…well, she's shy about everything. But she's perfectly okay! Just like you are, Minty."

"And," Adorabeezle said with a sudden sly grin, "do you think Swizzle chose you over all the girls for your looks alone? He picked you for your bright green personality."

At this, Minty perked for the first time since she got here. "Yeah. He did, didn't he? I know he did."

"So why would he think any differently of you now?" Jubi reasoned.

"Why would we think differently of you?" Adorabeezle added. "You're overthinking this bod-biz, girlfriend. Break out of the mopey fudge-works and go have some fun! This is the first day of summer vacation! Make it last. Move that booty of yours and go play with Swizzle. He's bound to shower you with compliments."

"Fun in the sun is the way that it's done!" Jubi cheered with her rhyming tongue, giving Minty's shoulders a playful shake. From behind her back, she whipped out a red instant-bake polaroid camera that she spun around to face them. "Say cheesecake!"

A loud snap and bright flash that blinded all three of them was followed by Jubileena waving a photograph in the air and declaring loudly, "That's a keeper!"

Adorabeezle rubbed her eyes. "Every picture you take is a keeper to you, Jubi."

"Okay, okay, you girls win," Minty said, brushing Jubi's hands off, but a smile finally appearing. "Thanks." Finishing the rest of her apple, she slipped her goggles on and dropped herself into the cola. Jubi beamed happily as she and Adorabeezle watched their green-haired friend swim off to join her cousins and boyfriend.

"You think we finally got it through her sweet n'sour head or are we gonna have to do this all over again next year?" Adorabeezle muttered.

"Hard to say," Jubi answered, stowing her camera and her newest photograph safely away. "Minty is always a dynamic soul. Maybe a little too dynamic…but that's why she's got us!"

Then she spotted her own palette-swap, Citrusella Flugpucker, lounging in the pool further off with her arms resting nonchalantly against the pink deck and big shiny sunglasses on. Unlike Minty, Citrusella was clearly well into enjoying her vacation as she bopped her head to the lively party beats without a care in the world.

"I'm gonna go chill with Stella for a while. See ya later, Dora!" Jubi chirped as she plopped back into the cola with a splash and paddled over to her sister.

Adorabeezle wasn't alone for long at the arrival of another visitor. She grinned as she watched a head of wet magenta hair swimming up to her.

"Hiya, Sia!" she greeted her twin, sliding into the cola to join her. "So what d'ya wanna do? Race me to the diving board? Or hit the snack bar for ice cream?"

Nougetsia smiled and blinked twice.

"Ice cream it is! Was hopin' you'd say that, sis. Race ya there!"

And the two winter-themed racers swam quickly away.

"I gotta say, Gloydster, I was getting' worried about you back there. You never pass up poolside pranks."

Swizzle had eventually found Gloyd with Rancis' help, and now the three best friends were relaxing, each upon a brightly-painted popsicle stick chair stationed on one of the mini-islands dotted around Vanellope's huge pool. Almost completely hidden away by a thick grove of candy bushes and a single taffy palm tree, the only way they could be seen would be if someone floated by along the lazy-river that ran right in front of them at their feet.

Both Rancis and Swizzle were kicking back with dark sunglasses on. Gloyd, however, shuffled in his chair, trying to get comfortable. His own sunglasses sat lopsided atop his brown hair. "Ah, don't worry about me, Swizz," he said as casually as he could. "Just had an upset stomach, that's all. I'm fine. Besides, Torvald looked pretty happy when you promised her the big gun."

"And when exactly are you planning to launch the attacks?" Rancis asked.

A colourful pile of plastic cola guns stood next to Swizzle, each one just waiting to be filled with cola. "When they least expect, of course," the green-haired boy answered simply, clutching a yellow and blue pistol as he admired it from all angles. "Otherwise, what would be the point of calling 'em pranks?"

Gloyd would have normally been a part of this conversation since the topic did centre around his favourite hobby after all. Pranks were his banana bread and peanut butter. But for some reason, he said nothing. He simply put on his sunglasses and stared pointedly up at the pale green sky.

Swizzle seemed to read his mind. "Would you relax already, dude?" he breezed. "C'mon, we're living the high life here! Vanellope's parties always bring down the gingerbread house. Look at what we got: ice cream on demand and babes in bikinis! Everywhere you look, it's candy for the stomach and for the eyes. This is literally paradise!"

"I hate to agree with you Swizzle, but…you're actually kinda right," Rancis said with a grin. "This is fun."

Still, Gloyd said nothing.

At that very moment, two figures appeared along the slow-moving channel in front of the boys. The first was Snowanna Rainbeau, whose ice-fro hair – normally a perfect colourful sphere – now hung freely down her head thanks to the properties of being weighed down with cola. Her purple swimsuit had an intricate orange floral design that matched her racing T-shirt. The other figure was Crumbelina DiCaramello, whose hair was somehow still dry and done up in her usual twin cinnamon buns. She wore a beige visor with a drizzled brim identical to the one found on her cap.

Both girls were hugging a marshmallow floatie as they drifted lazily along. Snowanna was talking a mile-a-minute.

"…and so I said to the delivery-cookie, 'Look pal, I know what I ordered: a deluxe peppermint pizza with strawberry jellybeans, sprinkled cookie crumbs, and extra chocolate sauce. This thing has lime jelly beans and definitely no extra sauce. I am not paying for that, ya Dunkaroo!"

"Oh, the very nerve," Crumbelina hummed calmly. "I'm sure it was a mistake."

"What wasn't a mistake was him trying to make me pay full-price for it. That joint is run by a bunch of Dum-Dums, girl. And I don't mean that literally."

So intent on ranting about the poor service quality of Dum-Dumino's Pizza, Snowanna didn't notice the three boys sitting right there, watching them drift past like they were floats in a town parade. Crumbelina, however, glanced over and saw Gloyd. Just before she and Snowanna disappeared around the bushes, she gave him another small wave like she had earlier and turned away with a slight smile on her face.

And like earlier, Gloyd didn't wave back. In fact, he didn't even flinch as he kept facing up to the sky. Behind the darkness of his sunglasses though, his eyes followed the girl with the cinnamon buns until she vanished from sight.

It was the snickering that brought him back to virtual reality. He turned to the source of the annoying sound.

Swizzle was aiming a wicked grin towards him. "What was that supposed to be?" he asked.

"What was what supposed to be?" Gloyd asked back, looking upwards again.

"You could'a waved back to her," Rancis suggested in an amused tone.

"Who? I didn't see nobody," Gloyd muttered.

"Gloyd, ya total lollipop sucker, we saw ya makin' eyes at her as she floated on by! You do realize those sunglasses aren't perfectly tinted, right?" sneered Swizzle.

The Halloween-themed racer's cheeks went orange. Yes, he did realize that…now.

Swizzle laughed mischievously. "I get it now, dude. Now it makes sense why ya didn't want to play earlier."

"I don't follow ya, Swizz."

"He means you're distracted by Crumbelina DiCaramello," Rancis explained helpfully.

"More than distracted, Rance! And I thought the display cupcakes at the Bakery had the biggest googly eyes in this game," Swizzle teased.

Gloyd looked away angrily. "Once again, I have no idea what you're talkin' about," he growled.

"But now I know what you were talkin' about when you said you had an upset stomach!" said Swizzle, leaning forward in his chair pointedly. "Your stomach was feeling all jumpy inside, wasn't it, Gloydster? The kind of jumpy that feels like butterfly cookies and gummy beetles mixed in one package that sends you on a one-way trip into the cotton candy clouds…and it only happens when the lady of your dreams steps into the water–"

"Shut up, Swizz," Gloyd snapped. He got out of his chair, his cheeks practically burning. "I'm going for a jellydog. See ya' losers later."

Without another word said, he stomped off in a huff…

…and promptly stepped right off the deck and into the lazy-river like a rock. KER-SPLASH.

Swizzle clutched his sides from his laughter while Rancis raised his sunglasses. "I give that dive a 3."

"Nah, make it a 2," the daredevil snickered. "Smooth landing, Gloyd!" he called out to his best friend, who was now floating away with half his orange face hidden beneath the blue surface. "You're just lucky Jubileena wasn't here to capture that."

He turned to Rancis once Gloyd was out of sight. "I bet ten gold coins that he's gonna be weird like this all night."

"No sense in betting against me, 'cuz I think the same," Rancis answered. "Besides, I already got a bet goin' on with Vanellope."

"What terms, dude?"

"Five coins says Taffyta's hair gets wet by before the party ends. Think you can help me win it?"

"Do ya have to ask?" Swizzle grinned, pulling a red and blue cola gun out from the pile. "Don't worry, Rancis, your pockets will be jingling before you can say 'Posh and Prankster'!"

Sour Bill was Vanellope's loyal assistant who dutifully performed whatever task the president assigned him without complaint. Sure, he had a comment or two to mutter beneath his breath, but that was mostly just to include his own two-cents into a matter with his own unenthused monotone voice. He never rebelled against orders, for he knew in his hardened centre that Vanellope was a good and honest leader, and he was much happier to serve next to her compared to his miserable life with King Candy. Every day found him silently grateful that he was no longer treated as a footstool.

Though they were rare and far between, there were a few roles that Bill actually enjoyed doing, and out of all things, one of them happened to be making jellydogs, a popular Sugar Rush delicacy that was nothing more than a grilled jelly bean on a bun. Every racer knew what they were and loved them. Although he never disclosed the reason, perhaps that was why Bill always volunteered for this job whenever Vanellope threw her parties.

"Wasn't expecting to see this many frowns today…first the gold girl, then the gold girl's green sister, and now the orange boy. Being mopey is my specialty," Sour Bill drawled in an observant flat tone as he turned a jelly bean over on the grill set before him.

"I'm not frowning," frowned Gloyd as he clutched a plate with an empty bun on it. "I'm just hungry. You can't expect me to party down on an empty stomach."

Bill didn't respond as he used a pair of tongs to lift a perfectly grilled blue jelly bean off the grill and into Gloyd's waiting bun. "Want Skittle-relish on that, kid?"

Before Gloyd could answer, movement caught his attention that made him go mute. It was Crumbelina again, appearing from behind a tall cluster of donuts sitting on one of the buffet tables not far from where he stood. Now out of the cola, she was standing in full view for him to see. Her bikini was slightly more revealing than the others that had received Gloyd's passing glances throughout the day, but upon closer inspection, he noticed she wore it in three pieces: the top, bottoms, and some kind of light material wrapped and knotted around her waist to form like a loose skirt. It was the same colour as her swimsuit and even had a single gold line that reminded him of the gold streaks in her hair. Speaking of her hair, it was perfectly dry with her usual buns still done up. A small jade-orange fondue flower was tucked neatly near her visor.

Crumbelina's back was towards him and she was seemingly not aware of his presence or the fact that he was looking at her. With one hand holding a plate topped with a red velvet cupcake and a cream puff, her other hand was selecting a candy skewer from the pail in front of her, twisting it around to inspect it thoroughly. Such a sight made Gloyd smile with amusement inside; Crumbelina was always so meticulous over everything. She would only take a skewer if it had just the right candies that met her taste and were shaped correctly. How such a fussy girl could find so little wrong with him was just…

"I take that as a 'no' for relish?"

Sour Bill's groaning voice broke into his mind, snapping him back. "Um…uh, I mean, yeah, relish…sure. Thanks," he stuttered.

Of course, Crumbelina knew Gloyd was there, as it was why she had sneaked her way over to the buffet in the first place. And she also knew his eyes were on her. That made a part of her feel pleased, but the other part of her – the part that was currently steering her brain – was very keen on figuring out what had been going on with him after he had failed to wave back at her twice today. Then again, she thought she might have a good idea why…she had picked this swimsuit for today's party with him in mind after all. Perhaps it was more distracting than she had anticipated.

As she edged herself just a little closer towards Bill's barbeque, her heart sank with disappointment as Gloyd collected his jellydog and walked quickly away.

There he goes again. What is his deal? she thought to herself. Is he actually avoiding me?

"Jellydog, miss?"

Crumbelina blinked. She took her eyes off the boy walking away from her to look at Bill. "Oh...yes, all right," she sighed.

She would figure it out, one way or another.

Sour Bill looked at her and then at the departing Gloyd. Then he rolled his large bored eyes. "Kids," he muttered, tossing a couple more jellybeans on the grill.