AGAINST THE RULES

Chapter 12

Win triumphantly draws an X.
He grins from ear to ear. And starts doing a little triumphant dance.

"And they say you always let me win!" He continues dancing. "I am the champion! I am the champion!" 

"It's tic tac toe. It's not the World Cup," Bright scoffs.

"And yet, you still lost five times in a row," Win teases, shaking his hips to a song no one else can hear.

"Fine. You win the last Oreo." 

Win plucks the now sandy cookie with relish and pops it whole into his mouth. "Tenk foo," he says.

Win pulls out his phone and begins looking through the films saved on his phone. "As tic tac toe king and champion, I royal decree a James Bond film marathon."

"We can't do that!" Bright protests.

"Well, I also have Cars 1 and 2. Do you like that better?"

"We can't marathon anything. We might run out of battery. Our powerbanks are running low as it is."

"So what if we run out of battery?"

"Win, we're stranded on an island. Our phones are important."

"Important? There is no mobile signal anywhere."

Bright gets up. "You watch, I'll go and find some signal, Your Majesty." He does a fake curtsy.

Win looks confused. "Where?"

Bright shrugs. "I was planning to see if I could get any signal on top of a tree."

"On top of a tree?"

"It's worth a try."

"Bright, can you fly? Do you have super powers you have been keeping from me?"

Bright glares at Win. "Haha."

"Did you forget about your arm? You can't even open a bag of chips. How are you planning to climb a tree?"

Bright could explain himself but instead he shrugs.
Somehow Win gets it.

Win gives a loud sigh. "I can climb the tree. But afterwards, we are watching Lightning Mcqueen."

"I thought you wanted to watch James Bond?"

"I changed my mind. And you owe me, so you can't complain."

- - -

Even with two working arms, climbing coconut trees that were slick with rain proved to be ridiculously impossible.

Win has tried to climb one several times and nothing. He would not even get three inches off the ground before he'd slide back down.

He turns to Bright, huffing and puffing. "This is futile."

"What if we use a shirt as a harness?"

"I am not destroying my shirt for this," Win says.

Without a moment of hesitation, Bright removes his.

Win rolls his eyes. Of course, Mr. Sexy Six-Pack Perfect Chest was willing to go shirtless.

Bright hands Win his shirt and Win proceeds to wrap it around the tree. He hoists it up with his arms, stretches it, and tries to get his feet planted firmly on the tree trunk. All his muscles strain at the effort.

He gets one foot up and then another. 'Oh my God,' he thinks. 'This may actually work.'

He moves his arms upwards slowly and tries to take one more step, when both his feet slip down, his chest hits the trunk, and the shirt rips.