Chapter 50: Vengeful Challenge
The next day, in the morning, Diddy went out to pick more bananas, but not before looking out the window of Mr. Pinky again and then realizing that he still didn't appear... That was getting more worrisome.
On the other hand, Dixie also went out for some bananas, and then returned to the house to eat. Diddy was also accompanying her between times, although they spoke almost nothing. Then, they returned to the house and ate the bananas.
Later, it was time to leave and go to continue with the ship, although to tell the truth, neither of them had the intention of going at all, with much more reason for what happened the day before. Even so, they would have to go, since that day they were going to plan how and when they would undertake the long-awaited trip... although the two of them didn't even expect it anymore.
"We have to leave now," Diddy said to Dixie. "Do you want to go?"
"I won't go today," Dixie replied earnestly, sitting in her hammock. "If you want, just you."
"Are you sure? Today they'll tell us when we are leaving and those details."
"Yes, I don't want to go," Dixie said, turning around. "I don't want to see any of them."
"Okay. So... I'll come back later," Diddy replied before heading to the door, but then stopped to speak to Dixie one more time. "Uhh... You still... don't want to talk?"
"No," Dixie replied with a lowered look. "I still don't feel well to talk, Diddy."
Diddy knew that Dixie was still not feeling quite right, so he decided not to bother her for the time being. Still, he wished they could fix things with her as soon as possible; he didn't want to be on bad terms for something he wasn't to blame.
Then, Diddy got out of the house and began to head back to the site of the ship, although he was quite upset when he remembered what happened the day before.
"Hey! Little monkey!" said someone behind Diddy.
Diddy, being a couple of meters from the house, turned to look and found a tall and thin ape wearing short clothes and a cap, and also carrying a purse.
"How are you? I'm a mail courier," said the ape, showing him a red plaque with gold letters. "This is Mr. Pinky Kong's house?"
"Uh, yes... why?" Diddy replied with some strangeness.
"He sent this letter to his two students: Diddy Kong and Dixie Kong," he replied, pulling out an envelope and handing it to Diddy. "You must be Diddy Kong, right?"
"Yes, it's me. Thank you," Diddy replied, taking the envelope. Suddenly... a little air of hope returned. "Wait a minute. So, you know where Mr. Pinky is?!"
"Oh, yes, he told you he went to a meeting at a school, right? He sent me to tell you that he'll still stay a few days there and not to worry about him... Well, that's all. Goodbye, monkey."
The courier ape said goodbye and left. Diddy felt a little relief instantly after receiving news from Mr. Pinky.
"Okay, thank you!" Diddy replied before leaving as well.
Diddy continued on his way and, in the meantime, opened the envelope containing the letter sent by Mr. Pinky. He read it on the way and, indeed, it was the teacher's handwriting. It read:
"Greetings, Mr. Diddy and Miss Dixie:
I hope you're well. I'm writing to inform you that I had some problems to solve, so I'll still be here until next week, so you'll have to get food yourselves, I know you can. Don't worry about me, I'm fine and everything is fine around here. And don't worry, there are no hurricanes in this area, and I'll arrive in time to take you back to DK Island as soon as everything passes. Behave well and take care of yourselves, kids.
Pinky Kong"
The letter ended with the signature of the teacher, besides the date of the previous day, the address of his house and the name of the island where he had gone. Finally, it had a stamp that said "Hurricane Island Post Office", and came in conjunction with a large-scale map indicating that island.
Diddy got a wide smile and took small leaps of excitement after reading it; at least he already knew that Mr. Pinky was fine and, just as they wanted to think about it, he had just had to stay away longer. Then, he continued walking until he reached the site where the ship was almost finished.
Meanwhile, Dixie had stayed at home. She decided to spend some time on the last terrace to think for a moment. She was in doubt about whether to believe Diddy and how things happened.
Dixie wanted to be calm and not be filled with insecurities or negative thoughts about Diddy. She wanted to trust him, she wanted to believe his version of the event, but at the same time... she didn't want to be wrong either, as she had seen him with Jenny with her own eyes as if he was kissing her this time. Even though she didn't want to go that day where the others would continue with the ship, she was gaining a huge urge to want to go, rather to go and see what would happen to Diddy. But at the same time, she didn't want to... She was afraid of encountering something that would only hurt her more... Or maybe, if it was a good idea to go, she thought.
Diddy arrived at the construction site again. There were all the kongs along with their four... friends? Although to tell the truth, Diddy wasn't at all happy to see them... In fact, it had already sometimes crossed his mind to give up such a plan to return to DK Island with them and better wait for the hurricanes to pass so that Mr. Pinky would take them more safely.
Suddenly, the kong children began to notice his presence and began to greet him.
"Hi, Diddy!" Ricky greeted him cheerfully along with the other three of the group.
"Hi," Diddy replied with a forced smile. He was trying to restrain himself so as not to bring out everything he heard them talk about the night before. "Do we still have to finish that ship?"
"The ship? It's already finished!" Mandy exclaimed with excitement. "Today we'll not do anything, rather we'll celebrate. And later, we'll plan our trip."
"Really?" Diddy said, pretending to be excited.
"Yeah, so today is a celebration!" Ricky added before giving him a little push. "Come on, stay with us today! By the way... where's Dixie? Ah, don't tell me that-"
"She didn't come," Diddy interrupted, suppressing his urge to yell at them, while also looking sideways at Jenny.
"Oh… because of yesterday's event, right?" Melvyn asked him with an apparent mocking smile. "Are you fighting or something?"
"It's none of your business!" Diddy exclaimed, forcing a smile and raising his voice a little.
"Hey! Calm down, buddy!" Ricky replied with a laugh. "You'll fix it, and if not, you know... there are many girls in the world."
Diddy was on the verge of arguing with them and telling them the truths to their faces, but he knew that another public scandal would be made at that moment, so he just held back.
On the other hand, Dixie was also present... but hidden. She had hidden behind the bushes to see what might happen that day. She knew it wasn't right what she was doing and felt guilty about it, but she couldn't resist her curiosity to see what Diddy could do. Between moments, she also began to observe the ship, which was already finished... although Dixie didn't want to go on that trip anymore either.
Meanwhile, Diddy was still reunited with the quartet and some of the other kong children. The four had brought sweets and fruit drinks again; apparently, it was another celebration like the previous time. But in turn, Diddy was tormented by the other kong children in the herd with uncomfortable questions related to the previous day's event: they asked him if he had broken up with Dixie or if they were on bad terms because of it, or worse, if he now liked Jenny; questions that only made Diddy quite uncomfortable, and to which, he answered them with a simple "no", without wanting to give more details.
Later, Diddy went for a few sweets and then for a fruit juice, although this time... he did it looking everywhere around him, because to his bad luck, whenever he went to look for or take something, Jenny appeared to him and she began to insinuate to him against his will. Luckily, nothing happened this time, so Diddy was going to return calmly to the others… or at least that's what he thought at first.
"Diddy, how are you?!" Jenny appeared behind him, giving him a little push.
Diddy, still holding the fruit drink, began to run and walk away. But she stopped him by pulling his arm and making him spill some of the drink.
"Hey, don't go, why are you like this?" Jenny said in a mocking tone. "What? Are you in a bad mood about Dixie?"
"Urgh! It's all your fault, Jenny!" Diddy replied, pointing at her and raising his voice little by little to speak to her straight ahead. "You don't care about Dixie, you don't understand anything, you chase me every time you can, and with what you did yesterday you crossed the line, seriously! And not just you. Ricky, Melvyn and Mandy are also planning everything, you all want to separate Dixie and me! You are fakes-"
"Hey, calm down!" Jenny interrupted, downplaying what he was saying. "It was a single kiss, are you going to tell me you didn't like it?"
"Urgh, Jenny!" Diddy exclaimed, very angry and losing his patience. "You just treat me like I'm a toy; you think you have the right to do with me what you want, but no-"
"Hey, hey, wait a minute!" interrupted Jenny calming him down and patting him on the back. "Look, Diddy, I have only one thing to tell you: you're going to meet a lot of girls better than Dixie someday. So, it's absurd that you're just fallen for one girl and-"
"Wait, Jenny! I also have something to tell you before you repeat the same thing to me as Ricky and Melvyn," Diddy interrupted before answering with a sneer. "Get your own boyfriend first!"
Instantly, Jenny was furious with it and gave a couple of continuous slaps to Diddy's face.
"But why are you hitting me?!" Diddy exclaimed, pulling away the hits.
Then, Diddy managed to dodge her before she continued, and then ran out as fast as he could, although he could not run as fast because he also carried the cup with fruit juice.
"Hey! Diddy!" said Ricky and company, appearing on the way. Diddy stopped immediately, and so did Jenny. "Ahh, now you're with Jenny, huh?" Ricky added mischievously.
"No, no and no!"Diddy exclaimed, with his patience exhausted. "Leave me alone! Let Dixie and me be happy! I know you four want to look us bad and-"
"Hey, Diddy, calm down!" Ricky interrupted with a little laugh. "What are you talking about?! You have been very weird today!"
"What's wrong, Diddy?" Melvyn added mockingly. "Don't know whether to stay with Dixie or Jenny?"
Diddy had enough of all their distasteful comments and prepared to bring out everything he heard from them once for all.
"All of you…"
"Hey, what are you doing here?" interrupted one of the other kong children, arriving on the scene.
"Nothing, we were just talking to Diddy," Ricky replied with a shrug and downplaying Diddy's mood. "Come on, let's play something!"
Diddy was exploding with anger inside. He couldn't say anything to the four of them, as more children from the rest of the herd started arriving and he didn't want to make a public fuss.
"Let's play challenges!" Melvyn suggested excitedly.
"Yeah, I think it's a great idea. Let's go!" added Ricky inviting them this time to all the boys and girls to play. "You play too, Diddy."
"Hey, first of all, do you know what day we're going to leave on the ship?" Diddy asked, shrugging and wanting a straight answer.
"Don't worry about that now," Mandy replied downplaying. "We'll plan it later. Now let's have fun."
The whole herd gathered, and then everyone sat in a round, including Diddy, who just sat watching the game while still drinking his fruit juice.
"Well, you know the rules," Ricky said to everyone present. "Whoever doesn't meet the challenge will eat five tree leaves!"
And then, just like last time, the game was carried out in the same way: they used two bubblegums to be able to choose the participant who proposed the challenge and the one who dared it. Everyone was actively involved, and most met the challenges; there were few who ate the leaves. The game was quite entertaining, much more if everyone was playing now. There ranged from challenges of strength or physical endurance to challenges of having some interaction with another participant. Diddy just watched all the challenges and that cheered him up a little bit.
On the other hand, Dixie was also nearby watching after she had left the ship, but she was obviously hiding, trying to see the game where the kong children were participating.
After several challenges later, it had been Diddy's turn to meet a challenge, and who proposed it was Melvyn, so Diddy already knew where the thing would go, so at once he was preparing to eat tree leaves.
"Okay, Diddy. Let's stop fighting and just dare," Melvyn said, challenging him. "I dare you to kiss any of the girls here now."
"Bah, forget it, Melvyn! He's not going to do it," Ricky interrupted, rolling his eyes and mockingly. "You know how Diddy is; he even on bad terms will want to be 'faithful' to his girlfriend."
"Oh, please! Let him do it," Melvyn insisted. "Come on, Diddy, take advantage now that you're free... If you want, kiss Jenny again; she loves you," he added mischievously.
Then, everyone began to encourage Diddy to do it, but he was resigned, since he already sensed that they were going to challenge him to that. He was even realizing that the attitude of his so-called friends was being quite annoying that day. Diddy, while drinking another sip of fruit juice, was about to get up to eat some leaves... But seconds later, he decided to change his mind.
"Okay, I accept the challenge!" Diddy announced, smiling firmly.
The whole herd looked at him with eyes wide open at such a surprising response from Diddy. Then, they began to murmur and show themselves with extreme curiosity.
Dixie, still hiding, was shocked to hear that about Diddy. Yes... she had just heard it just now, too.
"Are you serious, Diddy?" Ricky asked him, wanting to laugh and not believing him.
"Well, yes," Diddy replied, determined.
Everyone looked at each other confused and at the same time excited at what Diddy said, while he, for some reason, continued to show a face of being sure and determined.
"Well... if you say so," Melvyn said, shrugging and smiling, still not wanting to believe it. "Now choose which of the girls you'll kiss."
"Jenny!" Diddy pointed at her almost instantly.
Everyone screamed in shock at Diddy's response; that fact they didn't expect. Those in the quartet were confused and, at the same time, laughed at the astonishment as well.
Dixie, on the other hand, had become paralyzed and felt it start to burst inside. She wanted to get out and confront the situation, but she better hold back and decided to keep watching, even if she feared the worst.
"Are you okay, Diddy?" Mandy asked, looking at him strangely.
"Do you really plan to do it, Diddy?" Jenny asked, smiling and confused. "I haven't told you anything now."
"Yes, Jenny, isn't that what you wanted from me?" Diddy replied defiantly. "Now come here."
Jenny looked at him with enormous confusion trying not to laugh, but without thinking more, she walked towards Diddy and sat down in front of him.
"Well, Jenny, now close your eyes," Diddy said in a mischievous tone as he kept in front of her.
"Okay," Jenny replied, shrugging and smiling.
Everyone was extremely curious, and watched with total attention the shocking event that would be about to occur. Meanwhile, Dixie, from her hiding place, only trembled and covered her eyes so as not to look, but at the same time, she also wanted to look.
And then, Diddy with Jenny started to get closer and close their eyes... But then, Diddy opened one of his eyes, picked up his cup of fruit juice, and poured it straight into Jenny's face, making her react instantly.
"URGH, STUPID MONKEY!" Jenny shouted, wiping her eyes.
"Goodbye!" Diddy exclaimed quickly, before getting up and running.
"HEY, YOU HAVE TO RESPECT JENNY!" Ricky and Melvyn exclaimed, going to chase him. "COME BACK HERE!"
Diddy was running as fast as he could as he laughed out loud along the way at the trick he had just done. It was obvious that he wasn't going to dare such a challenge, but he felt the need to do something against it as the group of his "friends" did with him and with Dixie. Meanwhile, Ricky and Melvyn were following him, and then several kids of the herd joined in the chase.
On the other hand, Dixie only felt enormous relief to see that it had only been a bad play by Diddy. She was going to stay, but she decided to run to the house before Diddy could notice her...
