People Squawk ‘Bout the Way You Talk
C.B is abruptly woken up by a loud banging on his door, the distinct ear piercing sound of Greaseballs voice on the other side.
“Caboose, wake your ass up! You’re late!”
He can also hear the much kinder voice of Dinah, asking Greasball to stop yelling so loud. It’s nice to hear her being more confident in herself. That’s one of the only good things that came of the Race Night fiasco.
The banging on the door is getting louder and the hinges have started to creak in a concerning way. So C.B rolls out of bed, pulling on his work clothes as fast as possible. His skates aren’t tied, and his shoulder pieces are askew when he unlocks and opens the door.
“Alright! I’m awake! Stop making a ruckus, the night train is trying to sleep!”
Greaseball looks down at the caboose, unimpressed.
“Since when has this yard had a night train? And if it does, why do you care about it?”
Dinah taps Greaseball on the shoulder, gaining his attention and giving C.B a moment to adjust his shoulder pieces and tie his skates.
“Sweetheart, we do have a night train. The engine is this old steam engine named Asmodeus, it has five cars. And one of the cars is a brake car, so it’s not that strange that C.B knows them.”
Greaseball thinks for a moment, you can almost hear the gears turning in his head.
“Ah. Okay. But that doesn’t relate to why you’re late!”
C.B finishes tying his skates and stands back up.
“I couldn’t sleep last night and went to talk to one of the night cars! I accidentally broke my alarm clock last week, and I haven’t gotten around to fixing it yet. It happens!”
Greaseball is about to start yelling again when Dinah puts her hand up, effectively shutting him up.
“Alright, let’s cool down a little gentlemen. My dear, I mentioned C.B being late because I was worried about him maybe being sick! It was not a reason for you to almost break down the door of one of my best friends! Now why don’t you go back to your cars and trucks and plan for the day, while C.B and I make our way back at our own speed?”
She finishes her statement by pressing a kiss to Greaseballs cheek, leaving a smudged lipstick mark. The diesel engine doesn’t even try to argue, only sweeping his beautiful girlfriend into a proper kiss that leaves her smiling and C.B gagging. Greaseball then rolls away, quickly picking up speed. Dinah then turns to C.B, grabbing him by the shoulders and shaking him back and forth.
“Why were you actually sleeping late? Did you have someone over? I have to know!!”
C.B lets himself get manhandled a little before he wrangles himself out of Dinah’s grasp.
“I didn’t have anyone over, I swear! I really was having trouble sleeping and asked Cecil the sitting car for advice! He always has to sleep during the day, so he knows the best tricks!”
Dinah does not let go of C.B’s shoulders for a few seconds. She stares at him with suspicion, trying to discern if he’s lying.
“Fine. But why couldn’t you sleep? You usually go to bed at like eight and rise with the sun!”
C.B stares directly at the ground, refusing to make eye contact with Dinah as he mumbles his answer.
“What? You’re speaking too quietly, I can’t hear you.”
He groans in frustration, letting his head flop backwards as Dinah shakes him again.
“I was thinking about how much I hate Electra! Alright?!”
Dinah abruptly lets go of C.B, taking a step back, pirouetting, and turns back to face C.B.
“THAT’S WHAT KEPT YOU AWAKE?! Are you actually kidding me?! C.B! You were lying awake, seething, because of Electra?!”
C.B nods grumpily, still not wanting to look directly at his friend.
“They just keep showing up wherever I am, and it’s distracting me from work, causing the freights to hate me even more than they already do. Cecil gave me some advice though, so I have a plan to get them back.”
Dinah obviously demands to know the plan in excruciating detail, while they roll together towards the meeting place for the trains. She asks questions, criticizes the stupid parts, and offers some of her own ideas. At some point while listening to C.B rant, she came to a similar conclusion that Cecil did, and mentally applauds him for pushing C.B in the right direction.
Once C.B is done detailing his revenge plan, they’ve arrived at the center of the train yard, appropriately nicknamed “the meeting grounds”. Dustin waves to the approaching pair, Flat Top pulling his hand out of the air mid-wave. Dinah rolls her eyes and drags C.B over to the rest of the coaches, Ashley smiling softly at them. But she could just be smiling from how Buffy is leaning against her, talking about some gossip she heard. Dinah sits down next to Pearl, motioning to C.B to sit next to her.
“Okay, from what I know, Electra and their components usually show up at around midday, which is in about fifteen minutes. Let’s wait until then!”
C.B throws himself down next to her, crossing his arms and staring at the track that Electra usually comes rolling in on. The sun shines overhead, it’s a beautiful clear early winter day. It’s cold enough to bring color to your cheeks, but not cold enough to where your breath is visible.
C.B loves this kind of weather, it’s pretty fitting for his plan actually. A beautiful day to manipulate Electra into befriending and trusting him. And then boom! Pull the rug out beneath them and tell the world about the dirt they try to hide! It’s perfect, it’s a long game, it will be devastating!
C.B giggles evilly to himself, rubbing his hands together. He then feels a light slap against the back of his head, Dinah points over to the track that he was staring at just a moment before. And there. A tall shining engine, mohawk sparking with static energy, heart monitor steadily drawing out the engine's pulse. Long face with incredible face paint and long lashes, hands resting on their hips as they calmly roll forward. Electra scans the gathering of trains, eyes finally locking on C.B. He hitches a breath. And now the game begins.