Luther expressed how tired he was of Freddy’s competitions. Freddy would turn lunch into a speed eating contest. Hangouts at the park turned into obstacle courses. Days at the pool became diving competitions.
So when Luther agreed to work with Freddy at the pool’s snack stand, he knew it would just be another competition.
“What’s today’s game?” Luther asked when he arrived at the snack stand.
“Who can sell the most Skittles? We have boxes of them taking up space. I want to clear them out.”
“Freddy, do you want to know the worst part of your competitions?” Luther asked, grabbing one of the Skittles boxes to prepare for the day.
“That I always win?” Freddy asked with a smile.
“That you always win,” Luther repeated, Freddy’s smile crumpling. “I don’t even like competing, but it’s not fun to constantly have to compete and then lose over and over.”
“Well, I’m just trying my best,” Freddy said, taken aback. In truth, Freddy was a sore loser. He threw tantrums. These tantrums were not pretty.
“Well, here’s a new rule for today,” Luther said. “We’ll play your Skittles game. You win— you get to work alone for the rest of the summer. You lose—we’ll keep working together.”
Freddy said nothing but grabbed a box of Skittles to start selling. Luther’s words rattled in Freddy’s head, fighting with Freddy’s competitive side. Now Freddy’s competitive nature and friendship with Luther competed. Who could win such a competition?
Freddy went to the edge of the pool with the box of Skittles, sat down and started opening all of the packages on the side of the deck. Once thousands of Skittles lined the pool, Freddy pushed them all over the edge. A rainbow of colors started filling the pool.
Instead of waiting for the lifeguard to see the rainbow and for the ensuing scandal to erupt, Freddy returned to Luther in the snack shop.
“Sold any skittles?” Freddy asked.
“One,” Luther said. “I see you already sold out.”
“Nope,” Freddy said. “You win the competition. I dumped my Skittles in the pool.”
“But aren’t we going to lose our jobs?” Luther said.
Freddy agreed they would most likely get fired, leaving Luther to wonder if he won anything that day.