Page 21 of Fern's Date with Destiny
He flicked the scroll open, nearly backhanding Cody on the nose, and rattled off the teams.“Okay, so we’ve got Dustin with Fern, Charity with Shim, and?—”
Before he could continue, Dustin raised both hands.“Whoa, no, no.I want Charity.No offense, Fern, but she’s the only one who won’t drop me on my ass.”
Fern fake gasped.“Wow, Dustin.Betrayal, like a dagger right to the heart.”
Charity just preened.“Smart man.”
Zach rolled his eyes.“Fine.Dustin and Charity.Shim and Amanda—you’re welcome.Which leaves you—” he pointed at Cody and Fern “—to babysit each other.Try not to break anything that costs money, okay?”
Cody shot Fern a sidelong grin.“Guess you’re stuck with me, sweetheart.”
Her answering smile cranked up the heat in his chest like a sunbeam.“Oh, the hardship.”
Zach brandished the scroll like a royal decree.“Task One: Ping Pong Panic.Rules are simple.Each pair bounces the ball back and forth as long as you can.Max time is two minutes.If more than one team hits two minutes total, we break the tie by going again and counting total bounces.Got it?”
What he got was a chorus of good-natured groans.
Still, Fern raised her paddle like a rapier.“Got it.We’re about to win.”
Dustin pointed at her dramatically.“You drop everything.I don’t trust you.”
Fern stuck her tongue out.“This is why you’re not my partner, traitor.”
Amanda snickered at Shim’s side.Shim puffed up like a rooster.Cody bit back another laugh.
“On my whistle.”Zach yelled.“Go.”
Paddles flashed.Balls bounced.
Twice— Three times?—
They didn’t even have time to develop a rhythm before disaster struck.
Fern hit the ball a little too hard then squealed when Cody’s overzealous save deflected their ball straight into the back of Dustin’s head.Dustin flailed, his paddle swinging, and Charity shrieked.The errant shot sent their ball ricocheting off Shim’s thigh.Amanda, halfway through a giggle fit, fumbled so hard her paddle smacked her own knee.
Only Shim and Amanda managed a half-decent run, mostly because Shim hovered so close he body-blocked every stray bounce.
Zach wheezed with laughter, clipboard shaking.“Okay, corporate is screwed.Next up is Balloon Herding.You have two minutes to corral as many balloons into your pen as you can, using only pool noodles.No hands, no cheating, no mercy.Ready?”
Cody leaned down, voice low at Fern’s ear as they shuffled to where an enormous mound of brightly coloured balloons waited at the start line.“We’re doomed, aren’t we?”
She bumped his hip with hers, eyes sparkling.“Never say die.”
Zach’s whistlesplit the air, and suddenly everyone was swinging foam noodles at rogue balloons like underpaid circus clowns.
Fern lunged for a pink balloon that bobbed just out of reach.Cody dove after another, narrowly missing her by inches before skidding sideways on the dusty arena floor.
“Too slow, cowboy!”she taunted, batting a purple balloon straight into their pen.
He spun around and bonked his noodle lightly against her rear.“Don’t sass your teammate.”
She stuck her tongue out only to yelp when a blue balloon bounced off her forehead.Cody’s noodle whapped it back into play with ninja precision.
Nearby, Dustin was yelling instructions at Charity.“No, left!No,yourleft?—”
Charity whirled and pinged him square in the ribs with her noodle.“I know my left, you walking disaster!”
Shim and Amanda were the only calm ones.She giggled every time Shim barked, “Stay on target, we almost got ‘em!”as if they were defusing bombs instead of wrangling dollar store balloons.
