Why be a hero when you can have cocoa?

Chapter 6

He chuckled. "What? You wanna win for your girlfriend there?" he nudged his head at Mia who was still staring at the stuffed monkey with awe.

"She's not my girlfriend," I glared at him as he saw right through me. "I was just wondering what I have to do to get the biggest prize."

The dude shrugged. "Whatever man. All you have to do it shoot the giant alien boss when it comes out and all his little minions."

"That's it?"

He smirked. "That's it."

"How much?"

"Ten shots for a dollar."

I paid the man a buck and grabbed one of the BB guns. He flipped a switch which made little monsters start moving across the back of the stand. I aimed my gun, firing at every monster the came out hitting every one until the boss came out. Then I aimed straight at the bullseye and fired. The BB hit its mark but the alien didn't go down and the game ended. "Hey!" I shouted. "That's a cheap trick! I hit right in the middle!"

The man gave a knowing smirk and pulled down a tiny kitten plushie. "Sorry man, that's the game. I'll still give you a prize for the rest of them." and handed me the plush.

I sighed in defeat and turned back to Mia plushie in hand. She was smiling at me with soft eyes and took the toy from my hand. "You did good," she said. "And I like the cat too."

I was about to say something when the vendor guy shouted, "Hey, girl! You wanna give it a shot?"

Mia shook her head. "Oh no! I'm not any good at those kinds of games!" she answered.

"Oh come on! Give it a try!" He persisted. He pulled a dollar out of his wallet and stuck it in the box where he kept the rest of his money. "Here, I'll pay for it"

Mia looked between me and man, before finally saying, "Okay, but like I said. I'm not very good" She grabbed one of the guns off the counter and aimed the gun before nodding she was ready. The man flipped the game back to life and we watched Mia try to hit the monsters, missing every. Single. One. She would hit them but they wouldn't go down. When the game was over her face was serious and I swear I heard her whisper, "Got it."

"Damn girl! You weren't lying! You're a terrible shot!" He laughed. "You didn't even hit one of the little guys!"

Mia looked at him with a shy smile. "Um, is it okay if I try again?"

"Sure lady! Hell I'll let this one be free too just to watch you fail again!"

Mia took her scarf off and put it on the table before taking up the gun again. This time she widened her stance and aimed the gun. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath before opening them again; they were sharp now. She nodded to the vendor, the game came back to life one last time and she took fire. This time she hit all five monsters down with a single shot and when the boss came up she unloaded the gun at the center hitting the same spot over and over again. We all watched as it dropped down with the rest of the props. End game.

We all stared at her in shock. The man looked like he swallowed a ton of nails. Mia put down the gun and smiled at the guy with a sickly sweet smile. "I guess I got lucky that round," she stated. "May I have my prize now?"

The guy quickly took down the overly big gorilla and handed it to her in shock. The damn toy was as big as she was! All I could see is her feet under the toy and her head poking out from the side with a big grin. "Ready to try the other games?" I quickly nodded. She grabbed her scarf and we made our way down deeper into the park.

After a few more games and rides our arms were full of prizes and I had somehow gotten the over sized monkey on my back. Mia looked happy as ever and whenever she spotted a new game or ride she instantly wanted to try it, jumping up and down like a little kid on christmas. Not only that but we've been walking around for hours and I'm starting to get really hungry. "Hey Mia, why don't we sit down somewhere and get something to eat?"

She looked back at me with surprise. "You sure? We still haven't ridden the Screaming Death. I hear it's really good."

"Maybe later, I really need to rest my feet," I said. How can this girl walk around in those shoes for so long and not get tired?

Mia shrugged and looked around. "There's a little cafe over there if you wanna get some coffee too."

"That sounds wonderful," I thought out loud.

By the time we got to the little shop Mia had already ordered herself some cocoa and cookies and I got a mocha and sandwich and sat down in a booth.Mia was surrounded by bags of her winnings and I had the monkey sitting next to me. She was looking at all her toys and prizes, most of them being the number one prize out of the bunch. There was aliens and monsters that she called cute. One was a bright pink teddy bear with sharp claws covered in blood. It was about the size of a five year old and I swear it keeps staring at me.

By the time we were comfortable our orders were served to our table. Mia with her sweets and me with my food. Mia thanked him for the food and smiled at the heart shape made into her steamed milk. The waiter serving us gave me a wink as he walked away back to the counter, saying "You have a cute girlfriend." and officially left.

Mia took a bite of the cookie and stopped. She stared at it hard for a few moments, then grabbed a notebook out of her bag and started taking notes.

"Whatcha writing?" I asked.

Without looking up she mumbled under her breath, "Notes on the cookie. They did good on the chemical compound to make them rise but the flavor is off slightly. They most likely didn't make it themselves, instead they got a manufacturer to send them premade."

I stared at her in shock. "You got all of that out of one bite?"

"No," she said finally looking at me. "You can't smell any baked goods in the shop. Only coffee and other drinks. And from further notes, you can notice they don't even have an oven, so the best option to choose is that they get their food premade."

Holy shit, she got all of that in less than five minutes. "That's fucking amazing Mia."

She shrugged and took a sip of her cocoa and frowned. "This is just the powder crap. Not a good choice in cafes today," she mumbled.

"Have you ever thought of becoming a detective? You seem like you would be great at it."

Mia looked at me in shock, like a big secret of hers was found out. She looked away to the left and sort of hid her face. "Um, not really."

I knew she was lying. Mia was like an open book, even at school. I would never tell her though. She'd probably kick my face in again if I did. I shifted in my seat and took a bite of my sandwich. Mia was right, it does taste artificial. Like it was packaged. "Why not?" I asked. "They need people like you on the force.You're an amazing shot, you can detect really fucking good, and you're really pretty. Plus, isn't your dad a cop?"

She flinched at me mentioning her father. Did I strike something. "That's sort of the reason I don't wanna be one," she said.

"Oh, come on!" I insisted. "You'd be just like your dad! Fighting crime and making sure bad guys get the justice they deserve." She stared down at her food for a few minutes longer before getting up and start to gather her things. I stood up with her. "Did I say something wrong?" I asked. "We don't have to talk about it if you don't want."

She picked up the monkey and her purse last before looking back at me with a sad smile. "I lost track of time. I really need to go home. I'll see you at school okay?" with that she practically flew out the door and out of sight. I don't think I've ever seen a person run that fast.

"Um, sir?"

I turned around to find the waiter that served us. "Yeah?"

She handed me a stuffed bear with a little heart stitched on the chest. "You girlfriend forgot this."