A Tale of Two Rivals

Discussing the Fallarbor Contest Winner

It was right around then that a really wide grin spread across Soledad's face as though she had just remembered something funny. I could feel my eyebrow quirk up at her giant grin as I had waited for her to explain.

Soledad: Speaking of winners...

What was she even talking about? Where was she even going with this term she had begun with? What could she possibly have been getting at with...?

Oh.

It was right then and there that the realization of just where she was attempting to steer any further conversation had hit me in the head harder than a Hariyama's Arm Thrust attack combined with a Blaziken's Brick Break attack.

The world had suddenly made sense once again. I did not really want to have such a conversation, though.

I had to force myself to yawn at the starting topic. Then, I pretended to look at a watch I was not even wearing followed by the clock on the wall.

Yours Truly: Wow, is it really almost midnight, already?

I pretended to be surprised by the time, along with pretending to be drowsier than I actually was.

Yours Truly (continued): I guess I really should get going and get to bed, and soon. Got a busy day ahead of me tomorrow; gotta shower, then pack, and finally head out if I wanna be able to check out on time and hit the road. Bye-bye, Sol_

Soledad: Not so fast, Drew.

Soledad admonished this idea of mine, though.

Soledad: You're so not allowed to leave this conversation for the excuse of just going to bed, mister. You're gonna stay right there in your seat and listen to what I have to say about the winner of the Fallarbor Contest, and you're gonna listen well.

I just groaned at Soledad and grabbed my mug.

Yours Truly: Why do you even care so much about talking to me about her?

It was more of a rhetorical question than anything else. I even tried to drink a bit more of my tea, which had since become lukewarm and was just not as good as it had been when I had first brewed it due to the decrease in its temperature. Soledad answered my rhetorical question, anyway.

Soledad: I care so much about talking to you about May because you seem like you care so much about her.

That alarming reminder made me almost choke on my tea.

Yours Truly: You can believe whatever you wanna believe about it. I still say that I'll forget her in due time.

Soledad: Regardless of how touchy you get about it, I still wanna talk about May. I watched the whole contest, you know... on Live TV, from start to finish. Of course, I also rewatched a lot of certain parts of it online, as well. You're the only one in who was in that contest that I know, and I really wanna know the firsthand details.

Yours Truly: Can we please do this some other time? I really feel like I need to get to bed, like right now.

I already could no longer tell whether I was asking or begging for Soledad to let me go to bed, and it was probably the latter of the two. I did not care if I was begging for something from Soledad anymore. I just wanted to go to bed and forget this conversation or postpone its occurrence at the very least.

Soledad finally waved her right hand up in the air, dismissing my plea.

Soledad: It won't take too long. You just have to state a few of the key facts about it, maybe answer a question or two. You know, easy stuff like that.

Yours Truly: Alright, fine. Just a few, and don't you dare make it weird. So, help me if you make it weird, I swear on my mother's parents' graves that I'm gonna hang up on you, Soledad.