The Parrot Predicament

Chapter 8

The next day was Saturday. The Saturday. The Saturday that would determine whether or not I would face consequences for my nefarious crime.

"You better not lose," Lexy said on our way to the festival. "I swear to God, if you lose, and we can't get our hands on $2,000..."

"Don't worry, I got this," I said confidently as Lexy merged onto the freeway.

"Yeah," Alice chimed in. "Emma is amazing at video games. Like, she's as good at video games as I am at art."

"And as Tiff is at baking," I added.

Lexy smiled. "Tiff is pretty good at baking."

I furrowed my brow, bit my lip, and managed to keep my mouth shut.

"I'm sure you'd know all about that." Alice grinned.

Lexy turned pink at those words. I did not know why.

But I did know I hadn't touched a controller since the Noah fiasco five days ago. And Noah, as much as I hated him, had a high chance of winning. I swallowed as Lexy pulled into the parking lot.

The convention took place inside a large, fancy hotel. Booths were lined up against two adjacent walls, where vendors sold games and related merchandise. There was a room filled with arcade games for people to casually enjoy, though you had to pay to play. Another room had a scheduled panel going on. And of course, there was a room where the tournament was scheduled to start.

Lexy, Alice, and I all made our way through the crowd, and found a line in front of a registration table. Judging by the "contest entrants here" sign at the front of the line, I assumed that I had to join the line. While we waited, Alice looked around wildly. Trying to see if she could get a glimpse of Cameron Brook, no doubt.

"So you decided to show your face," a familiar voice said, from behind us. I turned around and of course it was Noah. "I can't believe you think you have a chance of winning."

"She does." Alice eyed him warily. "Who are you?"

"An acquaintance," I said. "Nothing more."

Lexy folded her arms, head tilted as she looked at him, and then at me. "Aren't you, like, dating this guy?"

Noah and I scrunched our noses.

Lexy nodded. "You two broke up, and are now competing against each other. Wonderful." She turned to me. "Do you stand a chance against him?"

I said yes at the same time Noah said no.

"Alright." Lexy turned to Noah. "What will it take to get you to drop out of the competition?"

Noah spent a moment taking in Lexy's curvy figure while stroking his chin. "Go out with me, and I'll consider it."

Lexy curled her lip at him. "I'm gay, you creep."

My mouth fell. Lexy was gay? This was news to me. Not that there was anything wrong with it, of course. It made me think of Tiffany, who came out to me as bisexual freshman year. I wondered if Lexy knew that. Maybe that's why they became friends. They bonded over being gay.

Noah didn't seem offended by this, opting to shrug his shoulders instead. "I'm not dropping out then."

"Next!" a woman from the table called for me.

The contest would be a process of elimination. Sixteen people had signed up total. Two people would compete against each other to see who could beat the level of a game the fastest. A round with fighting games would follow. The top four would then play a kart racing game against each other, and the winner would go home with $2,000.