SPLONK! Another miss.
Christina lobbed another Blue Bruce Juice at the rock protruding from the sea's calm surface.
CRACK! The fourth bottle hit, splashing the stone an unnatural blue before both the liquid and the broken bottle sank out of sight.
The speckled Tonu had come to the beach to cool down, but after two days of being alone and sunburnt, she was dreadfully bored. She'd bought three six-packs of juice from a shop--where the employee Krawk was unwilling to chat--and came up with her own throwing game: +10 points to hit the rock, +15 if the bottle hits and breaks, -5 if it only lands in water, and +20 if it hits anything else.
It never crossed her mind that this was littering.
Something colourful shimmered just beneath a wave. A fish or rubbish, perhaps? Christina aimed another bottle.
"Hey!" the thing called out in a loud voice.
Startled, the Tonu dropped the Bruce Juice on her own foot. "Ow!"
As the thing swam closer, she saw it was a pastel Lutari.
"What are you playing? May I join?" The Lutari smiled. "I'm Saxony. I live around here."
"I'm Christina," said the Tonu, still rubbing her foot in annoyance. "And no, you can't. These are mine." She waved her arm over the remaining juice bottles.
"Oh." Saxony looked thoughtful, then smiled again. "How about we play something else? If you win, I'll treat you to slushies at the shop over there." She pointed.
"What if I lose?" Chrstina glowered over her nose horn sceptically.
"Then you'll have to play a different game with me! How's that?"
"Deal." Christina said quickly. The rewards sounded so unbalanced in her favour, she didn't want Saxony to withdraw the offer. "What are we playing?"
The Lutari reached into the water and pulled up two objects to show Christina: a broken half of a Water Blasting Gun and a bent and discoloured Ona Ears Headband. "We'll use these!"
"Isn't that garbage?"
"I don't think so! Why would anyone put them here and not in the trash if they're garbage?" Saxony giggled. "Okay. We'll each take one and throw it in any direction we want. The other person has to grab it and run or swim back to this spot. Whoever's fastest wins."
"Fine." Christina kicked off her sandals and smoothed back her hair. "I'll take the watergun." The heavier item would fly farther and sink faster, she figured.
Saxony tossed her the broken toy and raised the headband. "Ready... Go!" She pitched the headband toward the sand.
The Tonu waited a split second and threw the watergun into the water. She began sprinting toward the headband. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see the Lutari swimming off in an unhurried pace. She was going to win!
Unexpectedly, something tripped her... |