Billy dashes through the boost pads, passing Hailey and into the lead as Luigi. It is the second lap on the SNES Rainbow Road and Hailey, as Princess Peach, is struggling behind her brother in her pink four-wheeled cart. Both are neck to neck in terms of skills in Mario Kart, but Billy has the advantage in driving in contrast to Hailey's gaming experience. Drifting towards the corner she hits an item box for something useful. Watching the box spin, she silently begs for something useful to quickly take him out. Her eye's fell in disappointment as the spinning results into a single green shell hovering above.
Fuck! How am I gonna hit him with a damn green shell? Couldn't even at least give me three!
They approach a split path with thwomps and boost pads on opposite sides. This poses a problem for Hailey who needs to guess which direction he will take and ultimately use. Carefully aiming her cart behind Billy's, she focuses her vision like her life depends on it. Hailey can feel her heart beating rapidly by now as drops of sweat move down the side of her forehead. She notices his cart tilt to the right. Immediately adjusting her cart in the direction ahead of his, she releases the green shell chasing after him. After what felt like a long minute, the shell strikes Luigi's vehicle, flipping him high into the air and landing under a thwomp rising above him.
"You're cheating Hailey!!! You've never made a shot like that before!!!" Yelled Billy.
"Quit your whining boy." Hailey chuckles.
Billy's shaking eyes grow wide with panic. He frantically smashes his fingers against the controller to escape the thwomp's incoming blow to no avail. The thwomp collapses onto Luigi forcing another couple seconds for his character to recover from. Billy lets out a long-disappointed sigh as he waits.
Hailey quickly speeds past Billy into the final lap, smirking at her success. Approaching another item box, she acquires a set of bananas. Hailey almost dumped them without a second to consider her options. Rather than using them on Sandra, she keeps them on herself as a defensive measure against other shells. Proceeding closer and closer to the finish line, Hailey became overconfident while in first place as her siblings struggled to catch up to her.
"Ha Ha! Better watch out Hailey!" Sandra exclaims.
Hailey quickly peeks the corner of her screen at Sandra's who's currently playing Daisy. She has a blue shell above her character and is awaiting the moment to eliminate Hailey. Realizing the devastation it will bring to her, Hailey begs Sandra with a trembling voice not to launch the shell. "Oh shit! Sandra... sis... please, not like this..."
Sandra's eyes squint against her puffy cheeks, flashing a mischievous grin. Hailey can only watch in horror as Sandra releases the blue shell, soaring through the skies like a missile exploding on top of her. Hailey can only wait despite being merely a couple meters away from the finish line, only for Sandra to immediately pass her and end the race. The victory screen soon pops up to congratulate her.
Billy groaned in defeat as Sandra cheered at her surprise victory. Before this race, Hailey had mistakenly betted to tell them why she ended up in hospital despite their mother's apprehensiveness. But a bet is a bet and Hailey told them an edited story: being chased by a large monster and falling down a hill where she injured herself. They were minor for the most part, just some scratches, bruises, and a concussion.
"Ok, it's getting a little late guys. I'll cook up some dinner and then you can play some more on the Switch later." Hailey commanded. Billy and Sandra complained at first, but they remembered how angry their mother would get if they didn't eat by the time she arrived. After almost an hour of cooking, boiling, and straining, they sat at the table with a pot full of pasta in the middle. Packed full of spices with bits of beef and sausages, it filled the air with a wonderful scent and rumblings from their empty stomachs.
"Wow, not bad sis." Billy teased.
"Shut up. I poured my heart into this like mom." Hailey countered.
"Well, I can certainly tell you added more garlic in the sauce how I like it." Sandra said cheerfully.
"Well at least we have someone that appreciates my cooking. Otherwise, I would've added some Carolina Reapers in the pasta for your weak stomach." Hailey playfully threatened.
"Oh gee, then I might have to slice some in your sandwich." Billy countered back.
These bouts of empty threats are a regular routine for Hailey. They were nothing serious besides the few times they slapped each other. Other than that, they got along just fine. Sandra is the sister she adored compared to Billy and is just the person she'd complain or talk to from time to time. Oftentimes Sandra just hung around her room sitting idly by or talking about random stuff that came around.
A couple more minutes of arguing aroused another rumble once more from their hungry stomachs, rather than fight they continued to eat like nothing happened. "Hey Hailey, you're not gonna get something like cancer from that gas leak, would you? They didn't tell you what kind of chemicals you were exposed to. Did they?" Billy asks in the middle of dinner.
Hailey smiles, touched by his thoughtfulness and concern for her health. He was still a sweet younger brother, even if he was annoying and a little obnoxious from time to time. Although he was quickly maturing in high school, she didn't want him to worry and distract him from his studies through one of the most important years in his life.
"Don't worry guys. Like I said, they were only minor. And I'm pretty sure they would let me know any long-term effects on my health." Hailey answered.
"But what if they're lying. The doctor lied to me when they said how bad my acne would be at my checkup. Now I have to buy and apply skin care to my face often." Sandra replied, straining her voice.
Hailey bursted out laughing to which her siblings followed suit.
Classic Sandra, trying to lighten the mood when things get a little tense.
Hailey didn't want a stressful night and firmly confirmed a healthy condition currently and in the future.
"Its going to be alright, I have a good doctor at the hospital. Now finish up and wash the dishes, you guys can play without me." Hailey affirmed.