for, liar

Chapter 69

We're able to get plenty of use out of the wristbands by the time ten o'clock strikes. I start to feel ill and realize we haven't even eaten yet so now would be the perfect time to stop with the rides, although I'm loving every single one of them.

"We should get something to eat. I'm feeling dizzy." I whisper to Miles as we step off the sky ride for the fifth time to get to the other half of the fairgrounds.

Thank God this side is where all the food is at.

"Anything in particular you want to try?" He asks and starts heading that way.

I didn't want anything too greasy because that will only make me feel grosser. I guess I chose the wrong place to eat to try to avoid grease. Everything at the fair is soaked in it.

"Is there anything that is at least mildly healthy?"

He laughs and shakes his head. "Definitely not but you can get some protein from corn dogs or teriyaki chicken kebabs."

We make a few stops at different vendors. Miles stacks up on a bucket of french fries, a giant corn dog, and a large soda for the both of us. He buys me one of the teriyaki chicken sticks and we walk for a few minutes to find a place to sit. There's tables at every corner which are mostly occupied. Miles ends up finally finding one off in the distance away from everyone, just the way I had hoped.

"The games are around the corner so whenever we finish eating we can go check those out to finish off the night. Just don't be sad when I kick your ass in the water game." He takes a handful of fries from the bucket to shove into his mouth.

I roll my eyes with a smile. "I have no idea what that even is so yeah, obviously you're going to kick my ass. I'm sure there's something I'll be good at!"

There's absolutely nothing I'm good at. We've played almost every single damn game in this stupid fucking fair. I have not won a single game and Miles is carrying around two handfuls of plushies that I have to assist because he ran out of hands.

"You almost won that duck game, though! That was super close!" He encourages me.

It wasn't close at all. The four year old next to us ended up getting the giant stuffed lobster I wanted.

"Can we just play that water thing now? I'm ready to get my ass kicked again as if I already wasn't depressed enough."

I'm not that angry about it. I've accepted that the many talents I haven't discovered yet just don't consist of rigged fair games.

We should've played his favorite game first because now I know for sure I don't have a chance at winning with this one. I can be mature for once and accept my loss.

Miles sets his various prizes on the ground next to the seats and hops on the stool in front of the water guns. He pats the spot next to him, urging me to get on. I really don't want to play this but I am not going to be a sore loser. He went out of his way to take me out here and literally paid for everything, so the least I can do is play some water gun game. It's more embarrassing to be mad about losing than actually the loss itself.

"Okay, so the concept is simple. Once the buzzer goes off, press down the red buttons and aim at the center black dot. It'll start raising the attached stuffed animal. The first one to reach the top gets the prize." He explains to me before the worker can even get over to us.

Two more kids join our game, making it even less of a chance to get the dumb looking yellow monkey.

"Alright, fingers on the trigger. In 3...2...1..."

The buzzer goes off and the water shoots out the front of everyone's gun. I'm pretty sure the trigger buttons don't do anything and water shoots out of it regardless of what you push down.

Miles is super focused that I watch him instead and almost forget I was playing too. I quickly aim my gun and stare at the black dot. I already fucked this up so when the final buzzer goes off and "winner" flashes over Miles' station, I'm not surprised. He was right though, he's really good at this game. Everyone was way too far behind. I know I came in last place.

I laugh to myself and hold my hand up to give him a high five. He smiles at me and smacks my hand with his. The worker hands him the ugly ass yellow monkey.

"How do we get the bigger prizes?" He asks him.

"You have to win three more times and you can trade in for the bigger ones." He tells him.

He looks at me and smirks. "Which big stuffed animal do you want? Still the lobster?" He asks.

"Miles, the lobster is not worth playing 3 more games."

The game is five dollars per person. By the time he wins the lobster, he would be spending way more than its actual worth.

"But you want it so it is worth playing." He says, slapping another ten on the counter.

"At least let me sit out! No need in wasting the extra fifteen bucks for me when one of us is going to lose every time. One of us being me."

He pouts and nods, seeming to understand my reasoning. The worker hands him back a five and sets up the game for the next round. Way more people start coming down to join and I'm starting to get nervous that he may not win.

Boy, was I wrong. He wipes the floor clean every single round. Kids are complaining and crying to their parents each time the buzzer goes off declaring Miles the winner. The worker is laughing his ass off in disbelief that this guy is relentless when it comes to a freaking water squirt game.

"Holy hell, dude. I didn't think you could do it. Which prize do you want?" He asks him.

Miles points up to the giant red lobster hanging at the top. The worker climbs up on the counter to get it down to give to him. He excitedly turns to me and offers it over. This is a token of his love, I'm sure, so I take it with gratitude and thank him.

"What's your secret? Do you know how to override the rigged games or something?" I ask him.

We start walking with our enormous collection of cheap stuffed animals. I really do love the lobster though. Being a loser was actually worth it this time.

"Kind of. I actually used to work here with my friends for like two years when I was in high school. A lot of downtime to play and figure out exactly how they work. Some would call it cheating, I call it adapting." He replies.

I laugh a little. "That must've been fun."

"Oh, it was! My buddies would get so angry at me because I got way too good and none of them could ever win."

He actually mentioned his friends. They are real! It can't be too intrusive to his personal life to ask about them.

Revised;