Chapter 13: Festival of feuds (part 2)
Garnet and their team bounced from their seats, and took off into the crowd.
"What do you guys want to do first?" Red asked, latching onto Garnet's and Greeny's shoulder.
"Whatever we do, it has to be within an hour, we can't be late," Greeny observed.
"Let's do that one," the afro gem suggested, pointing her finger towards the nearest booth.
Lining the booth, were toys of giant flying leopards, yellow giraffes, and pink whales. The gem trio stood in awe of the prize choices.
"How much to play?" Garnet asked, leaning her head over the booth counter.
Below, was a pink colored mineral with short curly hair.
"Oh hello Garnet, and boys!" Mrs. Calcite greeted, standing up.
"How much is it to play?" the boys repeated in unison.
"The competitors get to play for free! All you need to do is hit the bulls eye, and you can pick your prize,"
The boys gave Garnet a devious smile.
"Red's got this," Greeny concluded, winking.
"Alright, can I have a ball?" Red asked, outstretching his hand.
Mrs. Calcite gently placed a yellow ball into his hand, and stepped out of the way. Carefully, Red, rubbed his hand over the ball, and squeezed it. The gem closed his eyes, and got into pitching stance. With one swift movement, the gem releases the ball, that left a streak of fore behind. The yellow ball zoomed into the middle of the target leaving behind a large flaming dot.
"Our prize?" Green asked, leaning over the counter.
"Wow Red, you've really been training, pick the one you want," Mrs. Calcite complimented.
"How about that one?" Garnet suggested while tipping her head.
In the corner of the the booth was a large yellow giraffe, with brown spots, and black hoofs. It had a dopey little smile, that made Garnet laugh. On the inside of course. The boys exchanged glances and nodded.
"Yeah, that one," the boys agreed.
The teacher reached for the toy and passed it onto the gem kids.
"Thanks!" they all shouted in unison.
The kids hit a few more booths, taking in a bounty of balloon hats, beaded necklaces, and traditional foods like pie, bread, and pumpkins.
"How are we going to keep this stuff safe during the competition?" Red asked, struggling under the weight if their prizes.
"Look, our parents are over there," Greeny pointed out.
Sitting at a wooden bench, was the Alex brother's father along with Garnet's grandma.
"Can you guys hold this, we have to go compete," Garnet explained.
"Sure sweetie, we'll watch your stuff," Mama Coral agreed.
In one swift movement, the gem kids dumped their prizes on their mineral guardians, and ran into the crowd.
"Guess we'll have to take a trip home huh?" Mama Coral teased.
Being a man of few words, the Alex's brother's dad nodded with a grin.
In the crowd, the gem children did their best to navigate through the heavy amounts of people. Once again, the trumpets sounded, signalling the competitors to the start.
"We gotta move guys!" Green shouted, grabbing a hold of his teammates.
The green Alex brother bent down and leaped into the air, flinging Garnet and Red to the starting point. Before he reached the ground, Greeny shape shifted into a humming bird, and flew after his teammates.
The gem trio made it just in time to hear the event being called.
"The first event is a challenge of corporation, teamwork and balance. Each team will be given a pole, and a tightrope to walk on. As you can see, the starting point is were you stand, and the end is at the entrance to the fair, across the grounds. Everyone uses the same rope same pole, and they have to cross the finish line together. As you get further to the entrance, the walk will become more rigorous, and challenging. No weapons or shape shifting or you'll be disqualified. No touching the ground either. Competitors to the start".
"I'll hold the pole," Greeny volunteered.
"Alright, just don't drop us, that fall looks pretty far," Red Alex said, gazing past the rope.
Green Alex bent down and lifted the gray pole from the ground. Slowly and Carefully, Garnet climbed onto the left side, and did a one armed had stand. Red simply sat down on his side of the pole. Luckily for Greeny, Garnet and Red weighted about the same, so the pole was almost balanced. Steadily, Greeny placed one foot after the other, until he was at the starting point. Under him, minerals and gems alike cheered on their favorite teams.
"Good luck Garnet!" Amber yelled across the starting line.
"You're going to need it," Obsidian mumbled under his breath.
Garnet ignored him but kept concentrating.
" Ready... Set... Go!" a crack of the gun went off, sending the gem kids into a slow paced race.
Greeny tip toed on the rope, and tilted the pole to keep the group in of no were, a watermelon slice comes crashing into Greeny's face. Greeny's knees begin to wobble, and Red and Garnet fight their to regain balance.
"Greeny what the heck!" Red yelled.
"Its not me! They're throwing stuff!" Greeny complained while dodging a rock to the foot.
"Green, just keep moving, me and Red will defend," Garnet concluded, as she placed her feet onto the pole.
The gem trio were more than half way there, trailing behind 3 other team. The objects flew, while Red and Garnet slapped away the projectiles. A ball came towards Greeny, but this time he was ready. Greeny cocked his head back quickly, and dodged the ball. The object was moving at such a fast speed that it hit someone on a different gem team. The gem holding the pole, staggered in his spot and tipped the pole to far to one side, dropping his teammates on the ground.
"No! This is all your fault!" the gem holding the pole wailed.
The other teams's rope began to wobble and shake, until the line was cut from under him.
"Team five is out!" the announced yelled over the loud speaker.
"Sorry!" Greeny apologized.
"Don't be sorry, just keep moving!" Red Alex growled.
The end of the rope was almost near, as the objects being thrown increased in size. Garnet and Red bounced on and off of the pole, kicking away the objects aimed towards Green. Every time their feet left the pole, Green was left with the possibility of dropping the pole.
"Guys stop jumping! You're messing me up!" the green gem demanded.
"We have a winner!" the announcer bellowed.
Garnet's team looked ahead to see Amber and her group glide over the finish line.
"Greeny we need to move!" Garnet ordered.
"Well you two try tight rope walking! It's harder than it looks," Green retorted.
"We need to make it too the next round, move faster!" Red snarled.
Green quickened his pace, causing the rope to wobble a bit more. Right before the team reached the finish line, a raspberry pie slammed right into Greeny's head. For a quick second, the pole slipped from Green's grasp, making Red and Garnet loose their balance.
"Team 4 has crossed the finish line, and moving onto round 2!" the announcer said.
But the gems were to mad to realize they passed.
"I can't believe you two! You were suppose to be defending me! We could have lost if I wasn't so close to the finish line," Greeny snapped.
"Me and Garnet can't guard your back Greeny!" Red yelled.
"Maybe if you'd pay attention you would have!"
"I'm sorry, I was to busy not falling to my death!"
"You would have lived! Stop being a wimp!"
"STOP FIGHTING!" Garnet boomed.
The boys quickly closed their mouths.
"This fighting is tearing the team apart. You want to win, right?"
The boys solemnly nodded.
"Then we have to do this together, no matter what,"
Garnet wrapped her arms around the twins, and brought them in for a group hug.