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Another busy day. Mother sat, resting her head, cupped within her hands. Earlier, she had been back and forth helping the sudden wave that swept through her establishment. An onslaught of customers. Gladly the buzz had since died down.
Mother’s Paint Shop. Home of the snazziest, most vibrant colours in ModNation; run entirely by one person. She had yet to even sell a single bland colour; the public were infatuated with colourful karts, that’s for sure. It was always great to have some kind of popularity, however, these days she felt like she’d bitten off more than she could chew.
The shop was all but empty now. Most shelves laid bare par from the select few that still house one or two less popular colours. She was close to wrapping up her shift, although she didn’t…not just yet.
Ding!
Her face lit up as she snapped from her thoughts and trailed her view to the noise.
Entering the store, a teal mod wearing a red hat. He Adjusted his headset as he almost automatically approached the section for the orange and blue paint. Without a second's glance, he picked up the last two gallons, firmly placing them on the counter. He sternly gave off the slightest, most confident smirk.
“Hello Chief.” Mother smiled welcomely towards her favourite customer. ”Let me guess, the usual?”
“Yup. Grazed my paint job sideswiping some wannabe racers.” He gloated, leaning on the side of the counter.
Mother furrowed her brow, frowning slightly. The chief blinked before looking away.
“C’mon, Chief, I’ve told you. You’ve gotta be more careful.”
“Careful-smerful. I know what I’m doing…” Chief rolled his eyes, looking down.
She had always worried, one day, that the racer’s recklessness could get himself or others hurt. She would hate to lose someone to something so avoidable. Besides, sideswiping wasn’t mandatory, instead a passed on party trick new to the racing game. She knew Chief could win without it but he was always a pain to argue with.
”How’s the shop? Is bein’ my sponsor doing good enough for ya?”
Mother blinked as the conversation suddenly shifted. She giggled, a little awkwardly.
It was true, ever since the Chief suggested a sponsorship, Mother’s paint shop was as popular as it had ever been. It’s funny how much a sticker could bring sales…
“It’s been great! I’ve never had this many customers before.” She smiled, “I’ll admit, it can be a lot sometimes.”
“I guessed. If you need me to lend a hand, I’m all ears.” Chief offered, “Don’t get much to do whilst my kart isn’t in need-a repair.”
“Isn’t your big race soon?” Mother already knew about the MRC finale. It was all her customers would talk about…
There had been so many new rookies in the mix, it was most likely the freshest MRC for new racers to make themselves known. Chief seemed to be one of the only racers with a few races already under his belt. Albeit, smaller more local races that never got much coverage.
“Yeah, Crazy Crater. I heard it’s a real ’doozy’.” He huffed, “Don’t care what they say though. I’m going to win.”
Chief had been flying through the competition, leaving almost everyone in the dust. The only real threat was the rookie Espresso, armed with his pet monkey. The racer seemed to have picked Chief as a rival of sorts. Although, the Chief sees it as more of a friendship than a fight.
“How about that other fella?” Mother then pondered, “Espresso?”
Chief paused for a moment, frowning.
”I just… I hope you’re both going to be alright with whoever wins.” She adds. “Don’t want you both to break up over a race or something…”
“What are you getting at? Of course not…” Chief glared slightly. “Yeah…I suppose I might feel bad about beating him but hey, fair is fair, right? We just need to drive our best and may the best driver win after all…”
She smiled, “At least you’ve got good sportsmanship.”
”Will do me good, when I win…” Chief smugly gazed to the sky.
Mother began to ring up Chief’s order. “Anything else or just those two gallons of paint?”
”Na, just them. I’ve still gotta make my kart distract the other drivers on track. They wouldn’t have seen such vibrancy with a fresh coat like this…” He shrugs and then mutters,“Like moths to a light.”
Mother giggled again. “That will be ten ninety-nine.” She had finally finished marking the price on the till. However, before Chief could respond, she gave an additional wink, “I even added a slight ’Chief-only’ discount.”
“Oh wow, really! You shouldn’t have!” Chief replied in a tone that almost sounded like this was a regular occurrence. He reached towards his pocket and pulled out his wallet, handing the amount over. “Keep the change. Gotta nuff pennies as it is.”
She smiled and took the money, filing it into the register. “Thank you for shopping at Mother’s Paint Shop, as always.”
“And thank you for always servin’ the best!” Chief left the store with a small chime after.
Mother’s eyes trailed as he walked past the window and towards the race kart parked beside the curve.
Chief was looking over his kart fondly, running his hand over the hood. Soon enough, Mother watched as he shot off, driving out of the view of the small store window.