Regrets
"You're a doofus and I wish you weren't my cousin!" Gwen fumed.
"You're a dweeb and I wish you weren't MY cousin!" Ben responded in kind. He began to storm away before he turned. "And you can take your dumb bear that I won for you last week!" He threw the stuffed animal at Gwen's feet.
"Who needs it, and who needs you!" Gwen shouted at the top of her lungs.
She observed Ben wandering away. She growled loudly. She picked up the bear.
"I didn't want this stupid thing anyway. I don't need bribes!" She approached the beds in the back of the RV and threw the stuffed bear onto the one that she slept on. "I wish I never had a cousin like Ben. He's nothing but trouble."
Gwen recalled the situation that had lead up to their heated argument. Ben had dropped Gwen's laptop on the kitchen seat and nearly broken it. Gwen had yelled at him. She was thankful it was still useable. Ben didn't even apologize. He accused her of leaving it unattended and sitting precariously on the table while he was trying to eat his breakfast cereal. She told him he was too careless. Anyone with a brain would be mindful of important technology.
Ben reminded her how she'd stepped on one of his handheld Sumo Slammer games and broken the screen. She told him that he shouldn't have left it lying on the floor. He accused her of not being careful enough to see where she was stepping. They began to shout at each other until their Grandfather forced them apart.
"Come on, you two! You need to calm down," their Grandfather encouraged.
Their Grandfather took them to a local carnival to blow off steam.
"Why don't you two have some fun and try not to murder each other while I'm checking out the flea market," he said.
"Easier said than done," Gwen muttered.
"I'm not hanging around with a dweeb. I'm going to have fun," Ben declared.
"What makes you think you're the king of fun here? I know how to have fun," Gwen said.
"You know how to ruin fun," Ben accused. "You'll never want to go on any of the rides I want to go on anyway." He departed.
"Oh yeah? I'll be first in line," Gwen stated.
Ben got into the line for the Super Slammer. He boarded the platform and ran to find a seat. Most had been taken. There was one open seat which he sat in without looking. "Oh yeah! Got it!"
"I'm trapped with a doofus!" Gwen complained beside him.
"WHAT? No way!" Ben groaned.
They rode the ride and had fun together anyway.
As they began to laugh, they each decided to stick together.
"Okay, I guess you're not the worst person to hang out with after all," Ben said.
"You either," Gwen said.
"Let's check out the games next," Ben said.
"Those are so rigged. It's statistically impossible to win anything from them, Ben. They're a waste of money," Gwen said.
"You're only saying that because you throw like a girl and could never hope to win anything," Ben teased.
"I DO NOT!" Gwen shouted.
"Prove it. I'll pay," Ben said as he took out cash from his pocket.
"Wow, you have money for once? Too bad you're going to blow it again," Gwen muttered. "At least I'll win a prize." She soon found herself at the game booths.
Gwen picked up a tennis ball. Ben mimicked her.
"One dollar. Three balls, three tries," said the game booth worker.
Ben threw two balls first. He missed twice. "Darn!"
"Told you!" Gwen threw two balls and missed twice as well. "That one bounced off the ring! I saw it!"
The game booth worked shrugged. "You have to knock the ring off completely. That's how the game works, kid."
Gwen threw her ball in anger and missed knocking the ring down. She huffed with her arms crossed. She observed Ben grinning with one ball left.
Ben stuck out his tongue and concentrated. He threw the ball as hard as he could. The ball knocked the ring off the post!
"Oh yeah! Who's the best!" Ben gloated.
"A winner! Pick a prize from the left row," said the booth worker.
Ben witnessed the many colorful prizes he could choose from. There were plush versions of many Sumo Slammers characters. He couldn't decide which one to pick. He wanted to rub his prize in Gwen's face. He turned and observed his cousin departing while looking upset. Ben paused.
"I haven't got all day, kid," said the booth worker.
"Okay, hang on." Ben glanced at multiple stuffed animals. "I'll take that one!"
Gwen sat alone at a bench. She didn't feel like having fun anymore. She wished she could curl up and disappear. "Ben always has to upstage me at everything!" She covered her face with her hands. She gasped when a shadow appeared and blocked her light. She looked up and witnessed Ben holding a cute purple stuffed bear.
"Why did you get that?" Gwen wondered. "You hate purple." Gwen was more annoyed since purple was her favorite color.
"I don't want it! I got it for you," Ben said. He handed her the bear. "I'm sorry for almost breaking your laptop and whatever."
Gwen held the stuffed bear and fought tears from showing. "Oh, Ben. You're not always a jerk."
Hours later, the Tennysons went to investigate a crime spree caused by mutated bears and discovered another scheme by Doctor Animo. He had mutated the giant bears with unnatural colors. One was blue and the other was red.
"I'm starting to HATE bears!" Gwen groaned.
"Then keep out of this and let a real hero do his work!" Ben ranted to her. He transformed into Heatblast. He ran to battle the Doctor's mutants.
"Maybe I SHOULD stay out of this and let you get torn apart by a giant mutant bear!" Gwen yelled. "You ungrateful jerk! I take back everything nice I've ever said about you!" She went to cast a spell anyway.
"Come on, kids! You need to work together as a family," their Grandfather begged them even as he dodged the bear's large claws. "We'll knock Animo from his mount and break his controlling machine."
Gwen observed the bears and Doctor Animo running into the woods. Ben followed them. She cast a flying spell and followed them also. She lost them in the thick brush before she heard multiple noises. One of them was Ben screaming in pain. Gwen became pale.
She followed the sound of bear roars. She became horrified upon seeing Ben pinned beneath a bear's large claws. Blood had pooled around his young body. She screamed when she witnessed their enemy gloating.
"I've done it! I've finally killed that punk brat. Now he'll never interrupt or thwart my plans EVER AGAIN!" Doctor Animo declared. He pointed to Gwen after noticing her. "And you're next, little girl!"
She screamed as the bears advanced upon her. "NO! I DON'T EVER WANT TO SEE ANOTHER BEAR AGAIN!"
She held out her hands and fired energy beams from them which struck the bears and knocked them into trees. She fought tears in her vision until she witnessed her cousin's killer upon a purple mutant bear.
She screamed again and blasted him with a huge energy spell which vaporized the bear and caused Doctor Animo to fly into a boulder. He was knocked out and broke an arm and leg when he hit the ground. He deserved far worse, but Gwen passed out before she could finish the job.
Days later, she woke up in hospital with her Grandfather sitting next to her.
"I'm sorry, Gwen," her Grandfather said. He couldn't hide his sadness. He removed something from a bag on the floor. "I brought you this. I know how much it meant to you." He handed her the stuffed purple bear.
Gwen held it while sobbing uncontrollably. She hated every bear except this one.
The End!