Chapter 10: An Autumn Afternoon
Thanking Master Fu for the tea and for the advice, Marinette decided to head back to school. With a new perspective, she was going to make sure that she would never again blame Manon for anything bad that would happen to her, no matter how much she wanted. Sighing, she used the power to teleport herself back to school, appearing behind a bush that was in the school's garden. Heading inside, she checked her watch to see how much time had passed since she teleported herself to the Garden. To her surprise, only a minute had gone by. The time she spent talking to Master Fu felt so long, that she thought that once she came back, she would only have a minute or two to go back to the classroom. She had just entered the school's courtyard, when out of the blue, someone appeared in front of her. She tried to stop, but it was no use; there was a small collision, and the person who had appeared out of nowhere ended up on the floor, while Marinette managed to stay on her feet Looking down, she saw that the person who had bumped into her was none other than Adrien, who was now on the floor.
"Oh, my gosh! Adrien!" -Marinette exclaimed, seeing the blond on the floor. –"Are you alright?"
"I'm okay. Cats always land on their feet." –Adrien said, as she helped him get up.
"Maybe, but I think this time you didn't land on your feet, kitty-cat." -she joked, when suddenly, she realized what she had told Adrien. She was talking to him, just like when they were both in their Ladybug and Chat Noir outfits. –"Oops, I mean… sorry, about that. -" -she apologized. –"I better be careful with what I say to Adrien at school. If people hear us talk like this, they might make the connection between us and the Miraculous Team."
"It's okay, it happens. I should've watched where I was going too." -Adrien apologized himself.
"Still, sorry about it." -Marinette blushed lightly. –"He looks so handsome today. Don't know why, but he does." -she thought to herself.
"Like I said, it's okay." -Adrien told her. –"How can she look so beautiful, even after what happened to her this morning?… She looked like a wet dog, when I looked out the classroom and saw how she arrived at school, and now look at her. She must have another magical ability that we don't know about… That's the only possible explanation." -he thought to himself, without realizing he had been staring at the blue-haired girl for a couple of seconds, without uttering a single word. –"Uh… so, how did the exam go for you?"
"Lousy… I'm going to have to ask Miss Bustier to do an extra-curricular work to get a better grade in Biology." -Marinette confessed to him. –"What about you? How did it go?"
"It could've been better. The last question was really tricky… like the ones Miss Mendeleiev likes to give us in our Chemistry exams, you know?" -Adrien answered her. –"But the rest, were pretty easy."
"I bet… they would have been easy for me too, if I hadn't been so tired to study." -Marinette said with her head down.
"It was that bad, huh?" -Adrien asked her.
"It was." -she waved her head.
Their conversation was cut short, when Alya and Nino showed up together from the middle of the crowd that assembled around them in the courtyard.
"Do you mind if I borrow Marinette for a little while, Adrien?" -Alya asked him, interrupting the conversation.
"Uh, sure." -Adrien answered her.
"Come on, girl. There's something I need to ask you." -Alya said, as she dragged Marinette by the wrist, into the middle of the crowd.
"Guess she left you hanging, bro." -Nino joked.
"Looks like it." -Adrien admitted. –"If Plagg was here, he would probably be telling a joke about this."
"You want me to tell you a joke instead of him, then?" -Nino joked with him.
"No, thanks." -Adrien said.
"Okay, okay. Now, seriously, she likes you, bro." -Nino told him.
"Yeah, that I know, Nino." -Adrien smiled, as he blushed a little.
"If so, then, why don't you tell her?"
"Not just yet. I'm an old-fashioned guy. I want to get to know Marinette better, before I tell her that I like her." -Adrien told him. –"Besides, I'm a little bit shy, and you know it."
"For a guy who's used to walk on a runway and getting his face on every billboard and kiosk in the city, being shy would be the last thing a person would think about you." -Nino joked about it. –"You should be more impulsive, like your feline persona, or me, for example."
"You?!" -Adrien laughed. –"And why is that?"
"Because I asked Alya to be girlfriend on out very first date." -Nino said deadpanned.
"Yeah, and from what I know, she told you no." -Adrien laughed. –"In fact, you asked her so many times, that I think she only said yes, because she was tired of hearing you ask the same question, over and over." -he joked.
"Nah, she's just making hard to get, that's all." -Nino laughed. –"But that's not the point, bro. The point is, sometimes you need to dive right in, without caring about the risks." -he told him. –"Trust me, it's worth it."
If there was one thing that was true about Nino, was that his advices were most of the times right. And while he kept giving advices to Adrien, Alya had dragged Marinette out of there, thinking she needed help. It was only when they finished climbing the stairs to the first floor that Alya finally stopped, and Marinette could ask her what was going on.
"Why did you do that for?" -Marinette asked her friend.
"Sorry, but the way you ignored everyone in your path when you came out of the exam, and then say that you were going to the Garden, and a couple of seconds later, you're in front of Adrien… well, I thought you might need some help." -Alya admitted. She really thought Marinette was in trouble.
"Actually, I already went to the Garden of the Ancients and came back, and for your information, I'm not stressed or anything else, anymore. Plus, I was having a conversation, a very good conversation with Adrien." -Marinette smiled.
"What?! Really?! You, Marinette Dupain-Cheng were talking to Adrien Agreste, without stuttering and without making funny faces?!" -Alya exclaimed, slightly shocked by the reveal. –"Who are you, and what did you do with my best-friend?" -she asked her, joking..
"I know, I'm as surprised as you are." -Marinette declared. –"I only do talk with him like that when we're both being our other selves, if you know what I mean?" -she said.
"I'm starting to think that you are getting better at controlling your feelings for Adrien." -Alya told her, always with a big smile on her face. –"That first date of yours must have done wonders for your relationship."
"If you're saying that just so I tell you what happened in that first date, forget it. I wasn't born yesterday, you know?" -Marinette playfully raised her an eyebrow. –"Great, now I'm talking like your kwami." -she admitted.
"Well, you can't blame a girl for trying." -Alya admitted, chuckling lightly. –"But tell me, what did you do in the Garden of the Ancients that made you so relieved?"
"Oh, I talked to Master Fu, and…"
Marinette told Alya what she told Master Fu, as well as the advices he had given her. She knew that her friend had been stressed, but she never imagined that she blamed Manon for what happened, even if her heart told her not to. Still, she was relieved to know that Master Fu had advised her to take it easy and find other ways to deal with all the stress she had accumulated in her system. Marinette also told her about what he had told her to deal with Manon.
"Whoa, girl, you really needed to chill." -Alya told her, and Marinette waved her head. –"So, what are you going to do about Manon? I know you are going to follow Master Fu's advice and all, but how exactly, are you going to do it?"
"Oh well, I've got a couple of ideas." -Marinette said. –"And you are going to help me with it." -she told Alya, surprising her.
"Me?! How?"
"Oh, you'll see…" -Marinette said, with a wicked smile on her face, which made Alya fear the worst.
The following day, having the day off, Marinette set in motion her plan to treat Manon the same way she did someone her own age. took advantage of Manon. Taking advantage of only having classes until midday, she decided to take Manon to a carnival that had just opened near the Place de la Bastille. Alya, who had nothing to do that afternoon joined them. She had taken Master Fu's advice in consideration, and decided to treat Manon as if she and her had the same age. And to do that, she was going to let her decide what they were going to do on that afternoon. And there were so many things to do in that carnival. From the usual merry-go-round and the giant Ferris-wheel to the countless food stands, and the game booths where you could try and win all kinds of prizes, the hard part was to decide what do first.
Though it was a week day, there were a lot of people in that carnival. Most of them were tourists that were passing by, but you could see many locals too. The music coming out of the speakers that were strategically placed around the place echoed and gave the whole carnival an even livelier and more colourful feeling. The girls recognized the music as being the one that was played on the circus, whenever the clowns showed up.
And coincidentally, there was a circus on the farer side of the carnival. The big top was red and yellow, shaking lightly because of the wind. Their biggest attraction were the clowns. When she saw the poster announcing the show, Manon immediately asked Marinette and Alya if they could go see the show.
"Can we, please?" -Manon asked the two of them.
"Well, I don't see why not." -Alya said. –"What do you think, Marinette?"
"Well, I think that since Manon is the one who decides on what we're going to do today, then, if she wants to go to the circus, then will go to the circus." -Marinette answered. -"Unless, of course, you want to go to the movies instead." -she asked Manon, always smiling.
"No, I want to go to the circus!" -Manon exclaimed.
"Okay, then the circus it is." -Marinette declared, as she looked at the show's schedule, and saw that the next show would be in two hours. –"But, since we have time before the show starts, let's do something else. Where do you want to go?"
"I want some cotton candy! And some ice cream and popcorn, and funnel cakes, and hot dogs, and …" -Manon kept exclaiming, saying just about every kind of carny food there was around.
"There's the Manon I know…" -she sighed to herself. –"Okay, okay, Manon, one thing at the time, okay? Let's get some cotton candy first, and after we finish it, we'll decide what to try next. And then, let's see what else we can do around here, okay?"
"Alright." -she waved her head.
"Let's get you the biggest cotton candy in the stand, what do you say?" -Alya asked her.
"Yes!" -Manon exclaimed, as she started running towards the cotton candy booth, where an old lady was spinning a very large one. Watching it being made was almost hypnotic, because it was fascinating to see just how simple sugar was turned into those pink sugary strings. The girls' kwamis, who were listening to the girl's shouts of joy, told both Alya and Marinette that they also wanted cotton candy.
"It's going to be great to taste cotton candy again." -Tikki said.
"It's been too long since I tasted it too." -Trixx admitted.
"How's that possible? Cotton candy was only invented in the end of 19th century. You guys have been asleep for far longer than that." -Marinette said.
"It may have been invented to be sold on mass production, but believe me when I say there was already cotton candy in Italy in the early 15th century." -Trixx said. –"And the two of us happened to know a confectioner who did the best cotton candy we ever tasted." -she declared.
"Indeed. He was the father of two of our previous holders, Paola and Anna Bellafiore." -Tikki said. –"Oh, I really miss those days, when they offered us that delicious treat, after one of our battles." -she sighed, remembering it.
"Thank God we don't get fat, otherwise, after spending years eating that, we would have gained several pounds." -Trixx joked, as she too remembered about it.
"Really? Well, you two are going to fill us in about that story later. Because now, we're going to get some cotton candy." -Alya said, as they arrived at the cotton candy stand, where Manon kept jumping out of joy, as she watched the cotton candy being made.
On such a beautiful Autumn day, Rose wanted to be outside, enjoying that afternoon that felt more like a summer afternoon with its gentle warm breeze. But, that was not going to happen. The blonde had ballet practice and she needed to focus on what she was doing. Unfortunately, her head was somewhere else, instead of practice. Her head was way up in the clouds, thinking about a certain Goth girl with black and purple hair, who happened to be her best friend. Yes, once more, she was thinking about Juleka. She had told herself, that it was best for them to just remain friends. But the more she said those words to herself, the more she felt they were pure rubbish.
"Miss Lavillant! Miss Lavillant! Miss Lavillant! Are you hearing me?!" -her teacher
The voice brought her back to reality, and the voice belonged to none other than her ballet teacher, Katherina Duskin. Miss Duskin was known for being the harshest teacher in that ballet school. She had won an Olympic Gold medal when she was younger, and because of it, she had made her mission to uphold the values which made her win that medal. And to do that, she was ruthless in every way. She would not allow anyone in her class to take things lightly, and Rose was about to find out just how.
"Oh, I'm sorry… my mind was somewhere else." -the blonde apologized herself.
"Well, then you better stop thinking about what you were thinking, and focus on what you should be doing in class, Miss Lavillant." -Miss Duskin told her with a cold and emotionless voice. -"Now, everyone, once again, plié!"
Miss Duskin used a cane to mark the rhythm. She kept saying that a ballerina should be able to dance just by feeling the beat with her body. Every time she tapped the cane on the polished wooden floor, she expected every one of her students to perform the move she wanted them to perform, without any kind of mistakes.
Everything was going smoothly, as Miss Duskin started the music, while marking the rhythm with her cane. But, once more, Rose did not do what she was supposed to. Missing a step, she almost knocked one of her colleagues into the ground. This, earned her a reprimand from Miss Duskin, who was beginning to be fed up with her mistakes. Looking at Rose, the blonde could tell that she was furious.
"Miss Lavillant… I don't know what's going on with you today, but I suggest that you either get your head on the game, or you can leave earlier! We're not here to play, and I'm sure you know that. Now, focus, or otherwise, leave!" -she scolded her.
Duskin's harsh words felt like knives carving into her body. Still, no matter how harsh they were, they were not harsher than the fact that she could not take Juleka out of her mind. The more she tried to ignore the fact, the harder it was for her to focus on anything else, right then. The way she was feeling right then, the only thing she wanted was to hit the showers, change her clothes and go somewhere where she could be alone with her thoughts. But, deep inside of her, something stopped her from doing that. She did not know what it was, if it was her stubbornness or her pride as a ballet dancer, but she was not going to let that horrible woman's words get to her, no matter how much of an emotional wreck she was then.
"Yes, Miss Duskin." -she said, as she placed herself in position. –"I'm not going to let you get me down… Juleka wouldn't want me to do that." -she thought to herself, once again thinking of the Goth girl. Still, this time, she was going to use the rage she was feeling for not having told her the truth, to fuel her concentration and show her teacher that she was not there to play around.
Juleka herself was having the same kind of problem as Rose. But unlike her, who was getting a lecture from her ballet teacher, Juleka was hearing her mother trying to impinge some clothes to her. When her mother, Edith, told her that she was going shopping and wanted her opinion, Juleka should have told her that she already had plans for the afternoon, because that speech, was nothing more than a trick to get her to go to buy clothes she was not going to wear, because they were not her style.
"Juleka, honey, you should really try this one. It's so beautiful." -Edith told her, as she showed her a beautiful green and black sweater with a small round neckline. –"Juleka? Juleka?! Are you even listening to what I'm saying to you?"
"Uh, what?" -she asked.
"Juleka… this sweater, you should try it." -Edith insisted.
"Mom, that's not my style." -Juleka told her. The Goth was the exact opposite of her mother in just about everything. A person who did not know them, would never say they were mother and daughter. Juleka was more like her father, because they had the same tastes. Even physically, they shared the same black hair and height. The only thing she and her mother shared were the eyes, which were the same eye colour. Apart from it, they were as different as the day is from the night. –"Besides, I thought we came here to check out some clothes for you, not me."
"Oh, and we did. But there's no harm in checking something for you." -her mother insisted on the matter. More and more, Juleka felt that they were there to check out clothes for her and not for Edith. –"Besides, you've got to stop wearing so much black in your clothes."
"Mom! There's nothing wrong with my clothes. Just because most of them are black, that doesn't mean they are all the same."
"I'm not saying that. It's just that, wearing black clothes all the time, makes it look like you're always sad and depressed." -she told Juleka.
No matter how many times she told her mother, she just would not understand that just because she wore black all the time, it did not mean she was sad or depressed. It was just her favourite colour, along with purple and magenta. She felt safe wearing those colours.
"If you just wore something more colourful from time to time…"
But she had lost her. Juleka had bigger problems to worry about than what her mom thought about the colours of her clothes. Plus, the awful pop music that was on the store's speakers was bad enough to make her wish she could just disappear. In her mind, she kept telling herself that she had the right thing by not telling Rose what her feelings for her really were. She kept replaying the whole chat they had on the Internet, remembering all the chances she had of telling her what she really felt, only to ignore those feelings, for the sake of their friendship. As these thoughts kept bouncing in her mind, Juleka's mom showed up with another piece of clothes for her to try on.
"And what about these jeans, honey?" -she asked the Goth girl, as she showed her a pair of baby-blue jeans with a white belt. Seeing them, Juleka immediately said no to them. –"But honey, these would look beautiful on you."
"Mom, please, I told you, I don't like that colour. I would rather use a burlap sack, than those." -Juleka declared brusquely.
Hearing her say that, Juleka's mom felt slightly offended by those words. But, she did not say anything. She was in too good of a humour to let one of her daughter's commentaries ruin what had been a good afternoon.
"Oh, don't be so dramatic, honey." -Edith told her daughter. –"Well, if you see anything that you like, let me know. I'm going to go and check those dresses over there for me." -she said, while walking towards the dresses.
"That woman is driving me crazy…" -Juleka thought to herself. From the face she was making, Tamara knew that she needed to calm herself down. Quickly exiting from Juleka's pocket and landing behind the girl's left ear, and then sliding down to her shoulder, always hidden by the girl's long hair, she said:
"You need to calm yourself down a little."
"You say that as if it was easy. You know how my mom is." -Juleka whispered at her.
"Yes, I do, and I understand that she's making you go insane, but, let her buy you something." -Tamara whispered back at her.
"But I don't like any of the clothes in this store, Tamara. They're not my style." -Juleka told her. Just from looking at the bright colours on most of the clothes, Juleka felt sick, like she had something bad for lunch.
"I know that. But, it would make your mom really happy." -the raven kwami told her. –"You wouldn't have to wear it every day. Just occasionally, and she would probably not complain so much about you always wearing the same colour." -she advised her.
The truth was, once more Tamara was right. Just because she did not like it, it did not mean she should hurt her mother's feelings. Though she valued her pride, she tried her best to never put it in front of what really mattered. Smiling towards her kwami, no words were needed to tell her that she was absolutely right, as always. Looking around for something that was her style, but at the same time was not, Juleka found a black and orange jacket that did not look half bad. Trying it, she went to her mom and told her that she wanted that jacket.
"Oh, it's nice. It's different from what you usually wear." -she told Juleka. –"See? There're more colours in life than just black, sweetie."
That comment, even if not meant to, upset Juleka. This made her think about how Rose never said anything bad about how she dressed or the colours she liked. It always led her to the same conclusion… she had made the biggest mistake in her life, when she did not tell the truth to Rose, and that was killing her from the inside.
Marinette and Alya had bought the three biggest cotton candies there were, and then went to check out the rest of the carnival. Every time Manon saw something she liked, she would beg them to either try it or for them to buy it for her. Though trying to keep the promise she had made to herself, Marinette had to say no quite a few times to little Manon, who tried her baby doll eyes trick on her, to make her do what she wanted. Still, the trick did not work, because Alya was present, and like always, the brunette proved to be the best, by having an alternative for when she did that.
"Now, Manon, if we buy you that, then later, we won't be able to buy you popcorn at the circus. And you do want to eat popcorn while watching the acrobats performing tricks, and the lions and tigers jumping through a ring fire, don't you?" -Alya asked her with a gentle voice.
"Yes, I do."
"Then, what are we going to do?" -Alya asked her.
"We're going to save the money for the popcorn." -Manon answered her.
"Good, very good." -Alya said. –"You know what? I think that you deserve a little treat for understanding that we can't buy everything." -she told her. –"I'm going to buy you a candy apple. You want one?"
"Yes!"
"Yes, what, Manon?" -Marinette asked her.
"Yes, please." -Manon answered politely.
"That's better." -Marinette smiled.
"You want one too? My treat." -Alya asked Marinette.
"Well, if you're buying it, sure. But after eating all of this, I'll have to find a way to burn all those calories." -Marinette declared.
"You'll figure a way." -Alya joked about it.
The candy apples looked absolutely delicious. The glistening red caramel covering them made them look like they were a kind of exotic fruit, only destined to the most privileged of all. The more she looked at them, the more she wished her stomach could take more than just one, without getting a stomach ache. Paying the old lady that owned the booth, she then gave one to Manon, and then another to Marinette, who took a bite at it, savouring the sweet and sour treat. Waiting for Manon to look away, she then allowed Tikki to also take a small bite at the candy apple, and Alya did the same with Trixx. The scarlet kwami almost got her mouth glue to the caramel, and Marinette released her, just before Manon turned around. Another second, and she would have seen Tikki.
"So, how's the candy apple, Manon?"
"It's very good." -Manon said, as she took another bite at it. –"But, it's a little hard to eat it."
"Try and give small bites." -Marinette told her.
"Marinette's right, you know? If you take a big bite, you might get your teeth stuck in the caramel, and you don't want those pretty little white teeth of yours stuck on it, now do you?" -Alya told her playfully, as the resumed walking.
"No." -Manon giggled.
Walking around, they passed by several other booths, until reaching the part of the carnival where the carnival games were located. To their right was the Skeeball booth, while to their left was Whac-a-Mole, the Shooting Gallery, and the bucket and Ball Toss booth, among others. There were people in front of them all, trying to win all kinds of prizes, from stuffed animals to footballs. And in one of them, the High Striker, were two people the girls knew well, their friends, Ivan and Mylene, where Ivan was trying to win a prize for Mylene.
"Well, hello there, what are you guys doing here?" -Alya asked them, as the three of them approached them.
"What do you think? We're on a date." -Ivan answered her, as he grabbed the hammer and got ready to win a stuffed teddy bear for Mylene. –"And right now, I'm going to win me a teddy bear."
"Remember, you've got two tries." -the owner of the booth said.
Swinging the hammer in the air, he slammed the padding, making the puck go up the tower. It looked like the puck was going to hit the bell, but when it reached half the way, it started to slow down, until it stopped, coming back down. Seeing that, Ivan knew that the machine had to be rigged. He had used all his regular strength to hit the paddle, and that strength was usually enough to break a door open.
"Too bad, my boy." -the man told him. –"But, let's see if you're luckier this time." -he smirked, convinced that Ivan would not be able to do it.
"Alright, let's see then." -Ivan smirked. –"Get ready to see that puck and that bell go on a one-way trip to the Moon, buster." -he thought to himself.
This time, he was going to make use of his hidden strength, the same strength he displayed when he was Grizzly Bear. Though he could not make full use of it all when he was in his civilian form, he knew that it would still be enough to beat that rigged high striker. Taking another swing at the hammer, this time, when it landed on the padding, it felt like the earth shook for a mere moment, as the puck shot straight up, hitting the bell. The strength with which it hit was so much, that they all thought the bell was going to crack. The operator's jaw dropped, as he did not expect Ivan to win.
"You were right, I got luckier on the second turn." -Ivan smirked, as the man tried to understand how he had done it. –"And now, I think you owe this pretty lady here a teddy bear." -he said.
Still baffled by what happened, the man grabbed a huge teddy bear he had on the back of the booth, and gave it to Mylene. The stuffed animal looked a little like it had been on display for a little while now, but even so, it still looked brand-new. Looking at it, Mylene fell in love with it, because it reminded her of Ivan. Smiling, she gave him a big hug, as Manon said:
"You're really strong." -Manon told him.
"He eats his vegetables. That's why he's so strong." -Alya smiled. –"That, and a certain miraculous also gives him a boost of strength." -she thought to herself.
"Thanks." -Ivan thanked her.
"We're going to see the circus later." -Manon said innocently.
"So are we." -Mylene told her. –"I just love the circus."
"Why am I not surprised?" -Alya chuckled.
"Well, when your dad's a performing actor and pretty much, everyone in the family is an artist in some way, it tends to rub on you too." -Mylene admitted. –"Plus, I'm a big fan of the jugglers and the fire eaters." -she declared.
"I like them too, but I'm a bigger fan of the lion and tiger tamers. They're so brave to be in the same cage as those animals." -Marinette said. Ever since she was a little girl, she loved to see the lions and tigers go through a ring of fire and perform other tricks, under the guidance of their tamer."
The conversation went on for a few more minutes, when Manon asked Marinette and Alya if she could go on the Ferris-wheel. The two of them told her that they could go, after they had finished talking with Ivan and Mylene. But, Manon was not going to give them the chance to do it. She kept insisting on the matter, that the girls decided to grant her, her wish, leaving both Mylene and Ivan to enjoy the rest of their date alone. As they headed to the Ferris-wheel, they waved the two love birds goodbye, telling them they would see them later.
"You know, you shouldn't have used your powers to get me this teddy, Ivan." –Mylene told him. She had noticed he had used them.
"I had to. That thing was rigged." -Ivan told her.
"Yeah, and rigging a machine, that's lower than a Beagle's belly!" -Muria exclaimed, from Ivan's pocket.
"I agree with him. Dishonesty is the worse policy there can be." -Pin agreed, as he showed up from inside Mylene's purse.
"Besides, you deserve it." -Ivan said, making Mylene giggle. Though they were not dating or anything she liked when he said those things to her. It made her feel special and good about herself.
"Alright, alright, I admit it, I would have ended up really sad if you hadn't win it for me. But now, you've got to let me win something for you." -Mylene said, insisting.
"Oh, you don't have to. Besides, us guys are the ones who are supposed to offer presents to girls." -Ivan told her.
"Oh, yeah? Well, then this girl here is going to prove you otherwise." -Mylene declared, as she looked around to see which booth she was going to try her luck. As her eyes checked every booth, she saw something she felt would be easy to win, ring toss. –"And I found just the game to do it."
Approaching the booth, a young woman incited them to try their luck. Smirking, Mylene told her that she was going to win something nice for Ivan. The woman, who was used to hearing that from just about everyone, ignored the commentary and went to explaining the rules to her. Once that was done, she gave her the rings, telling her that she had one go and in order to win a prize, she had to at least get one ring around a bottle. The more rings around one of the bottles, the bigger the prize was. Handing the teddy bear to Ivan, Mylene focused.
At that distance, the regular person would be lucky to get one of the rings around a bottle, unless of course, they had a terrific aim. Luckily, not only she had heightened eyesight, she also had an incredible aim due to her abilities as Forest Doe. Squinting her eyes, she threw the first ring and just like that, she placed it around a bottle. One by one, she threw them all, without missing a single target. The woman responsible for the booth was speechless as she daw Mylene doing that.
"There, easy peasy lemon squeezy." -Mylene giggled, while looking at Ivan, who smiled back at her. –"Well, what did I win?"
To her surprise, she won a huge stuffed white bunny rabbit with a beautiful blue ribbon on its head. Smiling, she gave it to Ivan, and said:
"There. Now, we're even. Give my teddy back." -Mylene smiled.
"You really are something else, Mylene." -Ivan admitted, as the two walked away from there.
"Oh, I bet you always say that to every cute girl you meet." -Mylene smiled, blushing a little.
"As far as I know, you're the cutest girl I know." -Ivan said, as he gently placed his arm around her shoulders, making her giggle lightly.
It seemed like that was going to be a perfect afternoon for the two of them, as well as the rest of the people that were around there. Little did they know, that trouble was on its way, and it had Hawk Moth written all over it.
This one took a little longer to complete, because I celebrated my birthday, and then I attended a cosplay convention the day after, which left me little time to write it. Still, it came out even better than I anticipated, and I can tell you that the next chapter will be written a lot faster. Hope you all like it.