Loser Lessons

Forget Love - I'd Rather Fall in Chocolate! (Part One)

“Carson?” I called out, looking around for him. He was nowhere to be found.

Who invites someone to their house and then doesn’t show up?

I wandered around his empty home; there was no sign of life. When my Dad dropped me off I had walked up to the front door, knocked, and when no one answered I realized that there was a note that said ‘come in, it’s unlocked’. So I did as it said, and here I was inside Carson’s house, without Carson… it was weird.

“What the heck?” I muttered to myself, appearing in his kitchen. It was a nice, modern looking kitchen with stainless steel appliances. I continued on through it to a living room. It looked really nice and neat, except where the couches had been taken apart and the cushions were set up in some sort of fort. It must have been something his sister set up to play tea party or something.

                Maybe he’s upstairs, I decide. So I look around for the staircase. When I finally found it I’m about to climb it, but then I see it…a small green and orange Nerf gun, laying on the stairs with a piece of paper on it. I cautiously pick up the slip of paper and read it:

                ‘You are currently under surveillance. This is your weapon. It is fully loaded. Prepare to be ambushed.’ And then underneath all that it said, ‘PS:  Annie, you pump the thing on the top (pull it back) and then pull the trigger.’

                I scowled at the note for a second before the words of it sunk in… I was about to be ambushed. I snatched the gun up in my hand as quickly as possible before I heard the loud warrior cry from above me. My head whipped up and I saw as Carson leaped out from a doorway with his own Nerf gun in his hand, aimed right at me. I let out a scream before turning on my heel and sprinting the opposite direction. I ran into the kitchen, sliding in on my socks, and hid behind the kitchen island in the middle of the floor. Pressing my back against the wood, I took a deep breath, preparing myself for battle.

                Hearing some noise coming from the other room, I peeked around the corner and then tiptoed towards the living room. I stayed close to the ground as I peered around the wall; I saw a shadow move across the opposite wall. Carson had to be in there.

                I pulled my head back out of sight, and slowly pulled back the pump on the top of my weapon, it made a small click sound to notify that it was ready for destruction.

                For the briefest moment, I wondered why the heck I was doing this. Wasn’t this childish? I mean really, what kind of teenager has a Nerf gun fight with another teenager just because they can?

                I shrugged my questions off, now was not the time to worry about it.

Now…it was time for battle.

I took a deep breath, rising up onto the balls of my feet, and then I pushed my body forward and screamed, “FOR NARNIA!”

                As I ran into the room, I realized there was no one else in there. I spun around, checking to see if Carson would appear from behind. He wasn’t there, either. I lowered my weapon just the slightest… and that was my first mistake.

                “AND FOR ASLAN!”

                I heard the click of the gun, and my body dove to the ground. The small foam dart hit the wall right where my head had just been. Crawling as fast as I could, I got behind a sofa and ducked my head. I peeked up over the edge, Carson had disappeared again. But I would not make the same mistake twice.