sweet tooth - karl jacobs

chapter 15- sunset

"that was fun, wasn't it?" karl says to me as we make our way to the next challenge.

"if 'fun' is being handcuffed to someone and digging through a bunch of sticky candy, then yeah! loads of fun!" i respond sarcastically. karl rolls his eyes as we continue walking.

though i won't admit it to him, i actually did have fun. though the feeling was unpleasant when my head was under a bunch of candy, seeing the look on that man's face when the two of us won him a car was priceless, and i wouldn't trade it for the world.

the next room is filled with lollipops. specifically, mystery flavored lollipop dum dum's. i remember always choosing that specific lollipop as a kid, mostly because i loved the element of surprise that came with it. it would make my day if the lollipop turned out to be blue raspberry or cream soda. but then there was always the chance it would be bubblegum flavored... ew.

there are four contestants sitting at a long table, each with a large pile of lollipops in front of them. jimmy says that whoever finds a sour apple lollipop first, would win $20,000.

my jaw drops, and karl laughs at my reaction.

"twenty grand for a gamble?" i gasp as i look at karl. jimmy catches my reaction and chuckles, pointing at me. the cameras point to me, with my mouth still hanging open and karl cracking up next to me.

"can you guys tell it's haven's first time on the channel?" jimmy asks.

"is it that obvious?" chandler responds sarcastically.

karl's hand reaches under my chin and he pushes up, closing my mouth.

"you're gonna attract flies, blondie," he says. my lips tighten into a straight line once he removes his hand.

"whatever," i reply. "you're crazy for not having my exact reaction."

"not crazy. just used to it."

while the four contestants frantically go through lollipops, jimmy casually tells the cameras about some sponsor. i laugh at how casual he sounds while four teenagers behind him are panicking over lollipops.

"I GOT IT!" the boy on the far right shouts as he stands up. in his hand is a green lollipop, and jimmy nods.

"congrats! here's your twenty grand!" jimmy hands the boy two briefcases full of money. "what do you think you're gonna do with this money?"

"definitely gonna put it away for college."

"very smart choice. onto the next challenge!"

"in this room, we have two of the strongest jawbreakers in the world!" jimmy announces. "and we're going to see who can break it first- haven or nolan!"

jimmy drags both nolan and i to the huge jawbreakers that are placed next to each other in the middle of the room. nolan and i look at each other with shocked faces.

"i wasn't warned about this!" i shout.

"neither was i, but i'm not complaining because i know i can win this!" nolan shoots back. i narrow my eyes at him and groan.

"whoever breaks their jawbreaker first wins $10,000!" jimmy tells us. my eyes go wide and nolan laughs.

"maybe i'll go easy on you for your first challenge to win yourself money..." nolan starts. "but maybe i won't!"

"i don't need you to go easy on me, noodle arms," i counter. "i'm gonna win either way."

karl whistles and chandler mutters a "sheesh..."

when jimmy tells us to start, nolan and i both desperately try to break open our jawbreakers. but it's not working. in fact, it feels like they're breaking US.