A/N: Wassap WiR peeps! It's been a while since I was last here and it's all because I've been working on many things for you in the background. So for the first time ever, a sketchdump I posted on DA inspired me to write a new story. Usually, it's the other way around and I sketch doodles to go alongside a developing or an already-written fanfic. Sometimes to help promote the story, other times to give my readers a fun visual while they are reading. But not this time! Summertime is infamous for inspiring summer-themed creations, which is what I did this year. I drew up a fully-coloured sketchdump of the Sugar Rush racers hanging out at a swimming pool and you can find it under my DeviantArt alias MinionStuart2 as my 5th entry into the Kids Bein' Kids series. While making it, I found that I really wanted to write a story based on the scenes before me. If I can draw pictures, I can tell a story with them. And that's what this is! It was meant to be a short n' silly, light-hearted, one-chapter, quick-reading story all about kids having fun at the pool. But in typical BlueJetpack fashion, I couldn't hold back my growing ideas, and this little story grew to be just a bit bigger. I guess I'm not really destined to write simple one-shots anymore! But what remained consistent throughout the writing process was the theme: a celebration of childhood summer memories mixed with that familiar teen drama from all those classic poolside episodes in comic books and movies. Cliché plot elements, typical pool antics, etc. Let the kids be kids!
And just so you are aware, the racers behave like typical teenagers because, in my eyes, they are programmed to always be 10-yrs old, however, have the minds of 20-yrs-ish since their game has stood for that long. That's why some of these scenes will deal with stuff older kids usually deal with. Nothing inappropriate mind you, but more of a step up from what material I usually write. This will be as much of an experiment for me to see if I can write it as it is for you if you can like it.
I am in the process of creating a longer story that will focus on Adorabeezle and Jubileena. That will come further down the road, so I'm not gone, don't worry! But for now, I wanted to give you something for summertime before summer ends. Have fun!
Sweet Summer
July 24 – Aug 4/23
Chapter 1 – The Bet
"CANNONBALL!" roared Swizzle Malarkey. His announcement was appropriately followed roughly half a second later by a tremendous splash.
Although her deckchair stood well out of range, Taffyta Muttonfudge whipped off her sunglasses and shot a deathly glare his way. "Watch it!" she snarled.
It was the dog-days of summer and the city of Los Aburridos in sunny California was well into the hot month of July. Kids were off school, the restaurant business was booming, and parks, tennis courts, and baseball fields flourished with activity. Litwak's Family Fun Center and Arcade was no exception. Every day saw children eager to play Mr. Litwak's beloved and carefully-preserved games as a way of celebrating their summer freedom. Plus, the building had air conditioning thanks to the newly-installed heat pump. A sizable fraction of the visitors dropping in were really just looking for a way to escape the baking sun outside and find some other form of entertainment. Owing to this alone, the arcade easily doubled its average revenue. Summertime was a good time.
But Mr. Litwak had big summer plans this year. And those plans involved a week-long holiday with his son and grandchildren in Hawaii. For exactly one week and two days, the arcade would be closed while he took a well-earned vacation.
And that meant a vacation for his hard-working employees whom he had no idea about.
The video game residents of the arcade didn't have the same sense of the usual going-ons in the human world. Things like changing seasons, weather patterns, or even simple day/night settings weren't a thing in their virtual worlds and they didn't have routine items like elementary school or government work to tend to. The only responsibility they had was to perform their assigned duties according to their programming and make the players happy. And the summer break period guaranteed more work on a daily basis.
But thanks to their programming as avatars in the form of young kids, the Sugar Rush racers could somehow sense when summer was in the air, along with the rightful obligation to feel a little more relaxed than usual in their sugary veins.
The daily races and quarter-alerts may have been off for over a week, but President Vanellope von Schweetz's schedule was packed. Today was only Saturday, the first day of Litwak's (and their) summer vacation, and she had spent the majority of it slaying the dance floor with Ralph in Dance Dance Revolution and helping Calhoun take down Cy-Bugs at the military shooting range. It was now late Saturday afternoon, and Ralph had Bad-Anon to attend. Vanellope had plans of her own. She was throwing a pool party for the racers.
In the backyard of her castle was Princess Vanellope's private swimming pool. Being the royal figurehead of a video game had its mighty advantages, for the developers had used the liberty of the virtual world to design the biggest and most ridiculously-constructed oasis ever, the kind that would likely only exist in the human world as an expensive Barbie playset. A wide shallow end fed into great lengths of deeper areas with a peaceful lazy-river splitting off the main branch to stretch all around the pool through a miniature tropical jungle of candied bushes, taffy palm trees, and volcanic rock candy to sell the exotic environment. The river then rejoined the rest of the pool and it all ended in the massive deep end where a high diving board stood ready. Colourful waterslides twisted this way and that like floating gummy worms coupled with timed fountains. There was not a drop of water to be found; instead, it was all sparkling blue raspberry-cola. The pool ladders were striped candy canes and the deck was pure pink strawberry wafer. Definitely a Barbie playset.
Looking very ready for her summer vacation in a mint-green one-piece swimsuit with a subtle white lining design, Vanellope looked down at Taffyta, who, after barking at Swizzle, had settled back into her lounging position on the popsicle-stick chair she had set up next to the pool as if nothing had happened. The president scrunched up her face.
"This is probably a wasted effort, Taff, but lemme just try to dig some logic outta your strawberry-filled head," she said. "You nag me for days to throw a pool party, talk about it nonstop after I gave it the green light, and now that it's finally happening, all ya wanna do is lie around on a chair?"
Taffyta barely gave her a glance. "Um, yeah," she answered, as if Vanellope's question was the most obvious in the world. "Why do you think I wanted a pool party?"
"Adoy…to swim?" Vanellope drew out dramatically, stepping over to a certain spot on the deck to teasingly block the sun from Taffyta's face.
"In your dreams. I'll get my hair wet," Taffyta said flatly as she tried to lean her face out of Vanellope's shadow.
Vanellope threw her hands up to the air. "Your hair is supposed to get wet at a pool party!" she exclaimed. "In fact, all of you is supposed to get wet! You're wearing a swimsuit for malted milk ball's sake!"
It was true, for no longer was Taffyta dressed in her default stylish jacket, glittery dress, striped tights, racing gloves, and iconic strawberry hat. All of it had been replaced by a hot pink bikini, white flip flops, and a visor that matched the green brim of her hat.
Taffyta adjusted her top and rolled her eyes. "No offense, Van, but your knowledge in the fashion department needs serious catching up. This suit does not get wet. And neither does my hair. I'm not here to soak in cola; I'm here to soak up some rays."
As if waiting for that cue, she whisked out a neatly-folded candy wrapper with a very reflective surface that she now held open to aim the lemon sun's artificial beam on herself. Not easy to achieve when being concealed in Vanellope's shadow.
"But Taffyta," Vanellope said as patiently as she could, "if all you wanna do is catch a tan, why do you want to do it at my pool? Can't you do that on your front lawn or something?"
"It's 'cuz she likes the ambulance!" a cheerful and innocent voice piped up before Taffyta could reply. Candlehead came bouncing up to them, having just changed into her pink pattered one-piece suit and was now busily slipping her arms into a pair of yellow sponge cake water wings. Tufts of green hair were poking out from beneath the pink polka-dotted bathing cap she wore and the burning candle normally found atop her frosted hat was strapped to the side of it with a piece of licorice.
Taffyta removed her sunglasses to slap herself in the face. "Ambiance, Candlehead."
Then she smirked. "And that's exactly it, Van. It's the setting. I can't relax to the max without the right scene. Speaking of which, are you really going to remodel this place? It's not that eye-watering."
Vanellope glanced around at the pink that saturated the acres of pool deck she was standing on. "I may not share your taste in clothes, Taffyta, but I know what my tastebuds are tellin' me when they taste this castle," she said. "And they're telling me that all this pink is out of style! No offense of course, my dear friendo, but it's an eyesore having to wake up to it every morning. In a few months, all this pink gets remodeled with chocolate wafer, so enjoy it while you can. I'll save you a chunk so you can build yourself a fancy porch."
A reluctant sigh escaped Taffyta's mouth at her failed final attempt to convince Vanellope to keep the pink pool. "Fine. In that case, would you be so kind, my dear friendo to shovel your butt out of the rays my delicate skin rightfully needs?"
Vanellope snickered as she stepped aside, allowing Taffyta to bask in the virtual lemon sun once more. She watched as her friend settled back in the chair, flipped her sunglasses back on, and positioned her tanning wrapper in just the right spot.
She had to give Taffyta some credit though. The party had barely started and it looked as though Taffyta was already getting what she wanted most out of it. As Vanellope strolled over to the changing rooms, she could see the other racers emerging out of them with eager faces and their own colourful swimsuits on. Giant balloons were strung on the marshmallow tiki torches that would be set alight when the sun disappeared and strings of gumdrop lights were draped along the towering palm trees of green taffy leaves and candy stalks. At the king-sized snack bar and buffet laden with towers of pastries and mountains of candy, Sour Bill was setting up a portable barbeque. And between two gigantic fondue-trimmed speakers, Sugar Rush's very own DJ Licious Waferhead was already getting his turntables ready to mix some sick beats.
Vanellope von Schweetz was a natural party animal, so that meant she did not throw parties whenever she wanted…she threw BIG parties whenever she wanted.
"Five gold coins says Taff will be toasted harder than a burnt snickerdoodle by the time party's over," she whispered to Rancis Fluggerbutter, who has just stepped out onto the deck.
Rancis, wearing peanut butter-brown swimming trunks with a yellow stripe and a towel draped over his shoulders, peered over to the sun-tanning Taffyta and grinned. "Our skin isn't coded to change, Vanellope. Taffyta won't tan no matter how hard she tries. But I will bet you five coins that her hair gets wet by the time party's over."
"Deal," she said, slapping his hand.
"I can hear you over there!" Taffyta shouted without moving an inch.
Then Candlehead scampered up to them. "Vanellope, where are the donut tubes?"
"Right over at the snack bar, Candi," she answered, pointing to the tall pretzel-stick structure that occupied an entire corner of the deck. Just tell the pool attendant…we baked one with extra sprinkles on it just for you!"
"Oh goody! Thanks, Van! You're the best!" Candlehead cheered, hugging Vanellope very tightly before running off to claim her donut.
Rancis ran a hand through his blond swirl. "Why did she request a donut again?"
"Wake up and sniff the powdered sugar, Rance," Vanellope sneered, crossing her arms. "You know why. Same reason she's got the silly water wings on."
It took Rancis exactly two seconds to clue in. "Oh right. The candle."
Candlehead was very careful when she wanted to be…such as when she needed to ensure her precious candle did not get wet.
Life didn't have to give Swizzle Malarkey too much in order to be happy. He had his racing career, which meant he had the ability to move fast every day and show off his sweet skills to a crowd that adored him. He lived in a land literally made of candy. And best of all, most of his neighbours consisted of a pack of beautiful girls. What more could the Swizz ask for?
He was the first one to hit the cola for Vanellope's pool party. The moment following his mandatory official-start-of-summer-vacation cannonball, he exploded to the surface and shook the blue liquid out of his wild, and now sopping wet, green hair. "WOO-HOO! Summer vacay is ON, dudes!" he whooped in satisfaction. "That felt sweet."
Then he heard Taffyta yelling at him from the other side of the pool. It was like music to his ears. "Even sweeter," he snickered. As long as he and Gloyd were attending the party, Taffyta would get her own taste of the cola later.
Pretty soon, he was joined by Torvald Batterbutter and Sticky Wipplesnit, and the trio spend around 20 minutes tossing a gummy beach ball around. Then they settled against the pink wafer edge, letting the cola lap at their necks.
"I'm tellin' ya, girls," Swizzle simmered with arms behind his head, "this R&R in the ol' SR is what the doctor ordered. The Swizz needs to his dose of vacay. y'know."
Torvald eyed him with mild interest. "The way you live, Swizzle, every day is your vacay."
"I know! Pretty sweet way to live, amiright?" Swizzle closed his eyes, letting the sun shine on his wet face as he took in the music from Waferhead's mixing table, the pulsating beat of the bouncy music ricocheting off the towers of Vanellope's castle. "I love getting my racing game on, but it's times like this when I require a break from the extreme thrills and just put my feet up." He lifted a foot out of the cola as if to prove his point.
But Torvald frowned. "A break? Honestly, Swizz, you have no problem getting your game on," she huffed, now sounding a little hurt. "Some of us have to put in a lot more effort to even come close to the leaderboard. It'll take a miracle for me to actually make it."
It wasn't a secret that Torvald and the other palette-swapped racers were the weakest of the roster, being coded with lower stats and rarely ever making the leaderboard. They could still train though, and sometimes made it very close to the top nine from extra efforts. A bit on the resentful side of her status, Torvald had always harboured a mild jealousy towards her primary racer-counterparts. But unwilling to simply accept her weaker state, she channeled her frustrations into a drive to practice her racing techniques that could sometimes get a little intense. While she was grateful that Swizzle was one of her personal coaches and biggest supporters, hearing him being so casual over the thing she wanted most was a little insulting.
The daredevil opened an eye at the golden-haired girl who had looked away from him with crossed arms. "Hey, c'mon. Torvs," he said in a smooth, yet kind voice. "I didn't mean it like that. You know I have gals like you at the top of my mind. And you know that you're just as much a racer as the rest of us. We're still on for some good ol' fashioned practice runs tomorrow in Sour Patch Gulch. You'll be tearing up chocolate ripple till the cotton candy comes home, I guarantee! Sorry if I sounded a tad insensitive back there," he added with a tone drop.
Torvald uncrossed her arms. "It's fine. I get it. You're just excited for this summer break, aren't ya?"
"Sure am, dude. But no days off are gonna keep me from making sure you're fit for the track!" Swizzle answered boisterously. "That's a promise that you can keep, free of charge!"
"And me too, right?" Sticky asked tentatively. Shy and timid, it took a lot of effort for the turquoise-haired girl to speak up. Like Torvald, she was also in need of assistance.
"Absotively, Sticks!" the boy said with a grin. Extending his arms out, he wrapped them playfully around the girls' shoulders at each of his sides. "Just stick with the Swizz and ya got nothin' to fear, ladies. He'll get you to the top of that roster slate like twin cherries on a hot fudge sundae! Just remember: life can be one cool party if you choose to make it."
Sticky giggled while Torvald rolled her eyes, but with amusement on her face.
"I'm thinking we practice some casual drifting for tomorrow's lesson," mused Swizzle in deep consideration. "They come in real handy on Soft Serve Speedway's unforgiving turns."
"Thanks for your help, Swizzle," Torvald said. "We really appreciate it. But…might wanna ease on the closeness or Minty will have your head on a candy skewer."
Swizzle simply laughed. "No need to worry 'bout that, dude," he breezed. "Minty knows me. I know her. And it always ends with me sweeping her up in my arms. Speaking of which, where the Hershey's is she?"
"Over there," Sticky answered, pointing to towards the snack bar. A mane of familiar green hair stood at the large bar top, awaiting her order. Aside from the colour, she looked just like Torvald and Sticky. "She's not looking happy though."
Torvald shrugged. "Eh, our cousin is probably just moody about being in a swimsuit…again. Ya better have something ready to say to her, Swizz."
"Way ahead of you, Gold-stuff," answered Swizzle. "She'll get the whole Swizz-biz. The full snack-cake package! What else is new?"
Just then, Gloyd Orangeboar walked past them. He looked lost.
"That's new," muttered Sticky quietly.
"Yo, dude!" Swizzle called, twisting his head around to look up at the boy in orange swim trunks. "Y'all set for some wild cola fun later? We got some pretty fish who need to return to the sea!"
Sticky gulped. Torvald frowned. "Don't tell me you brought your stupid cola guns again," she groaned.
The cola guns in question referred to, of course, ordinary toy guns familiar to the human world as water guns…except in Sugar Rush, they would be used to spray the resource they had most available to them.
"How else are Gloydster and I supposed to have any fun?" Swizzle taunted with a wicked grin. "Right dude? You beat me in three fair Random Rosters in a row, so the big gun's got your name written on it this year!"
But Gloyd didn't looks so enthusiastic. While they had been talking, he had glanced over to the far side of the pool. Close to where Taffyta was sun-tanning, Jubileena Bing-Bing and Crumbelina DiCaramello were laying out their towels. Crumbelina had spotted him looking their way and had given him a small wave. He hadn't waved back, instead quickly averting his eyes elsewhere.
"Bro, didj'a hear me? Ya all set for some target practice?" Swizzle asked him.
"Ehh…not right now, Swizz," he responded distractedly. "You start without me. I, uh…gotta go."
And then he left. Swizzle's smile collapsed. Gloyd had never refused to join him in soaking the girls with weapons.
"Something's wrong," he said immediately. "Better go see what's bogging him down." He started to get up, but Torvald suddenly held him back.
"Or," she said with a sly grin, "you wait a while to give Gloyd some space…and let someone else aim the big gun this year."
Swizzle raised an eyebrow. "Someone else? You mean you wanna take Gloyd's place?"
"You do, Torvy?" Sticky asked, her eyes bulging.
Torvald's grin stretched wider. "Why not? Mrs. Calhoun will be proud to see her training put to good use. And if I get the trigger this year, that means I have a way of fighting back if I get splattered!"
Swizzle smirked. "I like the gumption, Gold-stuff! Alrighty, you just got promoted!"
"Sweet," said Torvald. And with that, she promptly splashed Swizzle with a face-full of cola.
"Oh, you wanna play like that, do ya? Take this!" laughed Swizzle as he splashed her back.
"Oh boy," Sticky sighed quietly as she tried to shield herself from the wet fire. And under her breath, she mumbled, "I wonder what's wrong with Gloyd…"