A Little Rain and Some Sunshine

Something About Her

There was a knock on his shutter. Jackson woke up with a half awake half angered and tired expression. Who could this be and who ever it was they were in for it. Nobody just wakes him up like this. What time was it?  It looked to be four in the morning. He finally opened the shutter, ready to talk down onto whoever was waking him up. It was...Mater?

"Come on boy. I wanna show you something. I want to teach ya how to tip tractors."

Jackson squinted at him. 

"What????"

"It'll help with your racing. Trust me!"

UGH...NO way...

"Hey Storm let's go have some fun for a bit?" Cruz asked smiling brightly at him. 

"No way. You're all crazy. I'm going back to bed." Jackson was about to shut his door. 

"You aren't up for a challenge Storm?" Cruz teased him. 

She knows how Jackson never turns down a challenge. 

"What is...tractor tipping...???" Jackson asked as the three cars rode off into the moonlight. 

"Well it's uh-the most greatest thing ever invented. You'll see!" Mater shouted. 

Jackson sighed. He had a feeling this was going to be some dumb hillbilly game. He had more important things to do. Like sleep. He was pissed off at how easy it was for Cruz to persuade him into doing this. Finally they made it to the wide green pasture where all the tractors were sound asleep. 

"Look Ramirez, after we're done with this...whatever it is...I'm heading back home."

Cruz looked almost hurt as he said that to her. 

"You're...going to leave already?" She asked

"Yeah." He said in his monotone voice and kept going. 

Mater was giving a demonstration on how to tip the sleeping tractors. When they fell they made the loudest funniest sound. Cruz was laughing hysterically. Jackson wasn't moved at all by this. 

"Okay I'm leaving." Jackson said but then Cruz stopped him.

"It's okay to have fun once in a while, you know?"

"Yeah maybe if you're a child." Jackson said and meant it as an insult.

"What's wrong with being a child?" Cruz asked. 

"What's wrong with having fun? Don't you ever wish to be a kid sometimes?" 

Jackson stared at her. Oh if she only knew. He regretted ever coming to this forsaken, hillbilly dumpster of a town. She pleaded him with her eyes. He then remembered Lightning McQueen warning him not to make her cry and he really didn't want to deal with him at all. 

"Fine." Jackson said turning around. He was ready to do this. 

"Okay bud, go over there and start tippin'! Whoever tips the most and don't get caught, wins! Now get 'er done!!!" Mater calls out to them.

"What do you mean by not getting caught?" Jackson paused.

"Haha! I'm gonna beat you!" Cruz had already started tipping a tractor. Jackson chased after her and forgot what he was supposed to do. He then found a tractor and copied what Cruz did to the other one that she found. He tipped his first tractor. He cringed at the sound. Cruz laughed very whisper-like at him but he was not one bit amused. As she left to tip another one, they heard a loud roar.