“Would too.”
Their playful bickering made the air feel light.The event ended up being bigger than I’d imagined, surrounding us with laughter and cheering.Every booth was alive with energy and color.The whole school was strung with banners and streamers in grey and yellow.Even our school mascot, Sugar Maple, was making her way around.She was a cute chibi maple tree mascot that was a big hit with the little kids.
We passed by the Sweet Steps Bake-Off where the culinary class was competing in a sweets competition, all sales raising money for prosthetics for kids.At the pool, The RippleRun Foundation had a challenge currently being manned by Justin and his teammates.Their booth sign proudly read:
“Sink or Swim Challenge”
$2 per toss—Land in a life buoy, make a difference!
Blue Buoy: $10 donation
Yellow Buoy: $20 donation
Red Buoy: $50 donation
All proceeds matched by Havenway Bank
Justin stood near the water in his dark blue swim team shirt, clipboard tucked under his arm, calling out scores while one of his teammates retrieved rings with a long net.The pool was filled with life buoys lazily drifting around, mostly a mix of blue and yellow ones.The smell of chlorine mingled with the sharp sweetness of kettle corn drifted from somewhere nearby.
When he spotted us, his face split into a grin.“About time you guys showed up!I was starting to think you’d skip the best booth here.”
Toby puffed up dramatically.“Excuse you, I’m here to fund the dreams of children everywhere.”
“By throwing things at them?”Bryan muttered, adjusting his glasses.
Justin smirked.“By throwing rings near them.Ideally at the buoys.It’s not that complicated.”
Justin handed Toby five neon-colored rings after taking a ten-dollar bill from him.“Red buoys’s the jackpot.”
Toby weighed one in his hand like it was a grenade.“What’s the best round?”
Justin looked at his clipboard.“Two for yellow, one for blue.No one has gotten a red yet.”
Made sense since red was the furthest away and smaller in size.There was only one of them compared to the other ones.
“Oh, challenge accepted,” Toby said grinning at me.“Wiles, back me up.Let’s make Havenway regret their generosity.”
I laughed, reaching into my pocket for a few bills.“Okay, I’m in.”
Bryan crossed his arms, clearly amused.“This I have to see.”
The first ring Toby threw bounced off the rim of the yellow buoy and skimmed across the water.Justin winced.“That’s twenty bucks of humiliation.”
Toby grinned.“That’s twenty bucks closer to success.”
I took my turn, lining up my shot.My first ring hit the edge of the blue buoy and slipped right in.
“Ten dollars by Havenway!”
I smiled.“Watch and learn,” I said, aiming the second ring.It flew nice and landed in the yellow one.
“That’s twenty dollars by Havenway,” Justin declared.
“So thirty total?”
Justin confirmed with a nod.
Bryan clapped lightly.“She’s singlehandedly saving the youth of America.”
