CHAPTER 2

It's been proven by SCIENCE that when you're expecting something at the end of the work day, the forces of time will make sure the day goes by at an exceedingly slower pace.

It was definitely a slow day at the arcade, but it felt way more apparent because all Felix could think about was his need to sneak past his girlfriend as soon as the arcade closed. It pained Felix to not be able to put the gamers on pause so he could make a run for it. When you have a sergeant for a girlfriend, getting things past her is no simple task.

The plan seemed simple enough, and it ran through his head all day! Thanks to Vanellope, word traveled quickly that this evening would host an extravagant Presidential Party in the Sugar Rush castle! Vanellope played it off as being an annual sort of event, but time would tell whether Calhoun would fall for that quite so easily.

Prior to the start of the arcade day, Vanellope sent a special messenger out to Hero's Duty to make sure the Sergeant personally knew about the event, and would attend promptly at the exact time stated by this special messenger.

Back in Hero's Duty, the Sarge was brushing her teeth and preparing for another day of battle. It had been a fairly lousy night, as she had wanted to spend the night at Felix's, but he had politely declined – stating something about having some work to catch up on. She never used to terribly mind sleeping alone, but lacking her little cuddle buddy of a boyfriend made the nights especially cold.

Her mind was wandering about what Felix could possibly have to work on, when the doorbell rang. Her eyebrows peaked in confusion as she looked at her watch – who would come to the door so close to the arcade opening?

She opened the door, toothbrush still in her mouth like an old time boss with a cigar. Her hands were on the doorframe as she looked around to see no one.

"Ahem," A low and monotone voice came from around the vicinity of her feet.

Calhoun's eyes widened as she looked straight down, "Oh, it's you .. uh .. Bob?"

"Bill, Sour Bill, Ma'am," he glared in response, though it would be impossible to tell whether he was any more irritated than usual. Sour Bill was a green sour candy with floating hands and feet. He was King Candy's servant, and now that Vanellope was the rightful ruler, she decided to let him keep his job. She did enjoy embarrassing him to ridiculous extents – so he currently was wearing a ridiculous royal hat, holding out a trumpet and a shiny scroll.

He blew into his trumpet, though it came off as lame and monotone as his voice. He then bluntly let the instrument drop to the ground as he used both hands to unravel a scroll. His uninterested voice continued, "President Von Schweetz humbly requests your mandatory attendance at the Sugar Plumb Ball tonight at 7:30 PM sharp."

"Mandatory," the Sergeant mumbled through her toothpaste, "She would. Well – is Felix going? I'll go if he's there."

Sour Bill didn't skip a beat, "Your boyfriend will be there, though he requested to meet you there. Also," he briefly turned around and walked around the corner – bringing back a cart full of dry cleaned clothing hanging on a candy cane rack, "The President has requested me to add that she, and I quote, 'Knows you like – don't really care for getting dressed up, but being fancy is required and she handpicked these fancy numbers in hopes of making Felix's jaw drop'."

Calhoun stared at Sour Bill and groaned through her toothpaste covered teeth, "Fine, fine. Tell the Princess I'll be there with – bells on," she sighed and grabbed the cart and pushed it into her room. It was stashed with a number of dresses, they weren't too "girly" or frilly, as that was definitely not Vanellope's (nor Calhoun's) taste. Instead they had a classy and sexy appeal to them, but with little bits of candy to decorate. It was kind of embarrassing to be dressed by a little girl, but Calhoun decided to accept the gesture without complaint - for now.

She turned back to Sour Bill, "Anything else, Warhead? Why such a last minute razzle dazzle show? The kid never seemed to be the type to push for a fancy shindig at a moments notice."

The ball of sour shrugged, as uninterested as ever, "I'm just doing my job, ma'am."

She nodded, "Right, carry on, and see you later," she gave a mock salute as she closed the door and went back into her apartment. She glanced at the clock, followed by glancing at the rack of dresses, she let out an audible sarcastic, "Huzzah," before heading back to the bathroom to finish getting ready for work.

Calhoun was certainly a classy lady, but she would rather privately dress up for her man rather than having to put on a show for the whole arcade. And knowing how extravagant Vanellope liked to be now that everyone liked the glitch, Calhoun was mentally preparing for extravagant.

After leaving Calhoun's apartment, Sour Bill visited the men that worked for her. He didn't seem to even so much as flinch at their size.

"Why should we care about a little brat's candy coated ball?" Kohut laughed, using a rag to shine one of his massive weapons.

The large men snorted with laughter, appreciating the moment to pick on Vanellope while Calhoun was not around. Lately, they had become the target of her pranks.

Sour Bill rolled his eyes, "Vanellope is having this party for a proposal," and the laughs immediately ceased - everyone understood what was being referred to.

"The Sarge is gettin' married?" They whispered amongst themselves.

"Don't let her find out," Sour Bill stated simply as he began to leave, "And arrive at the party promptly by 7 PM, as ordered by President Von Schweetz. Or she'll have your head."