"Hey, Rosa?" Thomas asked, his wispy voice echoing through the cavernous valley as he stared at the night sky, thousands of shimmery stars meeting his state.
"Yes, babe?" Rosa asked in return, reclining against her comfy straw chair.
Thomas mentally braced himself for a forceful no and then continued. "Well, I know we've only started dating, but what do you think of a couple challenge? It could really help us bond together, you know! And if we win, well... that'd be great!" Thomas said energetically, sending his fist into the air for emphasis.
"You know what, sure! I don't care if we win or not because it'll still be fun. You know that, right, babe?" Rosa asked warningly, tearing her gaze away from the night sky.
Both of them stared at each other for a moment until Thomas blushed, embarrassed. They both knew that Thomas was the very competitive type.
And while Thomas knew he shouldn't have, he lied to his girlfriend. "Yeah, I'll take it easy." But Thomas knew that he would not walk away from that competition as a loser.
-
A sheet of pale cream paper hung for dear life on the textured wall of a mailbox. It blew and blew in the wind, the edge of the paper flying up and floating back down. A useless nail hung at the top of the paper, and slowly but surely the paper tore around the hole as the wind blew stronger and stronger.
And, just within a few seconds, the paper gave way and tore entirely, finally flying free, and allowing the wind to control its course...
"Aww Coco, please don't eat the paper! You'll get a stomach ache!" Devin cried out, snatching the wrinkled paper from Coco's talons. Squealing angrily, Coco reached out and tried to rip the paper out of Devin's sturdy grip.
"Yeah, Coco! Devin only wants the best for you!" The friendly voice of a woman drifted comfortably through the air. It was Theodora, wearing a bright purple cardigan and a cloudy white skirt that tightly hugged her legs.
She smiled, revealing her pearly white teeth, and looped her arm around Devin's, grinning fondly at him. Glancing down at the paper in her boyfriend's hand, Theodora frowned curiously.
"What does it say?"
"I don't know. Probably nothing important." Crumpling the paper into a ball, Devin winked, and swung back his arm, preparing to shoot.
"No, wait! Let me see it!" Theodora cried, digging her sharp fingernails in between Devin's fingers, taking the paper out of his grasp.
Unfolding the paper, Theodora held it in front of her eyes, and read. "Oh wow! It's a local couple contest! But only 3 couples are allowed to participate," Theodora said dismayed and smiled sadly.
"Do you want to apply?" Devin asked, noticing Theodora's discouraged expression.
Like the lights that flipped on in the dark, Theodora's huge smile brought a sense of peace to Devin. Her smile always lit up the room, and it made Devin want to smile himself.
"You'd participate with me?" Theodora cried out shrilly, jumping up and down in happiness. Devin nodded, and Theodora grinned wider. "OH MY GOODNESS! YES!"
-
It was a calm, peaceful day. The sky was blue, and there wasn't a cloud in sight. The green grass swished under Kailey's bare feet as she ran through the tall weeds, Justinian following desperately like a stray dog.
"How many times do I have to tell you to not follow me?" Kailey asked, continuing her jog across the park. She panted heavily, and sweat dropped across her brow.
"You never answered my question!" Justinian cried, his legs faltering as he struggled to keep up with the swift college woman.
"Well, isn't it obvious? I just got done beating the sense into you, and now you want to go out with me."
Shifting awkwardly, Justinian looked to the side. "You're just stating the facts! I really would just like a yes or no answer, if that's alright with you."
Kailey rolled her eyes, and ran faster, leaving Justinian hanging in the dust. Resting his arms on his knees, Justinian fell on the ground, and yelled out.
"Hey! Wait for me!"
10 Minutes Later...
As a crowd cheered in front of her, Kailey looked up. She hadn't brought her glasses, but she saw two couples on a stage, and a loud spokesperson with a microphone announcing something about a "couple competition." But suddenly, all eyes turned to her as the spokesperson pointed in her direction.
"Hey, you two!" A commanding voice boomed through the air as Kailey turned around to see who was behind her.
And... it was none other than Justinian. After all, who else would it have been? Nobody else would waste the time or energy chasing after her for some dumb question that they already knew the answer to.
"Yes?" Justinian asked, resting an arm on Kailey's shoulders as he breathed heavily.
"Oh, you guys are already so cute! Audience, why don't we give them a hand? I think we finally have our third couple to participate!" The mic said overhead, causing the crowd to stir and push them forcefully onto the stage.
There were a few shouts from Kailey about the fact that they weren't a couple, but Justinian just beamed and denied what she was saying.
And as Kailey began to recognize some of her friends in the crowd, a low rumble rolled through the audience.
"Kailey!" They shouted in unison, and soon enough, the crowd had pushed Kailey and Justinian aboard the wooden planks that made up the stage. In Kailey's opinion, this was a complete waste of time. She could be finishing her run and starting on her homework by now.
But, this wasn't the worst of her luck. As Kailey glanced to the side to see who her competitors were, her eyes widened.
The competitors were none other than Thomas and Rosa and Theodora and Devin.