The six collectively opened the bottles and took a small sip out of it. Immediately, the sweet liquid fell onto their tongues and shot them into a dream land. It was as if they could hear the sound of church bells ringing in their minds, their souls being purified and called to the heavens. Every drop of the rainbow water was sweet like honey but also soothing so they would never get sick of the taste.
In no time, the children emptied the 600ml bottles of water. Even Frank who disliked drinking water drank it all in one go.
"Wow! It's so good!" Diana exclaimed. Her foul mood blown away in the face of delicacies.
"How is it so sweet even after being in so much water?" Yasmin pondered.
"Sherry and Dylan ate it by itself. It must have been like eating a sugar cube or sweeter." George commented.
"I want more." Fiona longing said.
"I don't like sweet things, but I like this." Dawn said.
"It might just be worth putting up with the running just to be able to get the whole fruit." Frank claimed.
The children all latched onto the phrase. That's right! If they tag Dylan, then they'll be able to eat the whole thing. One drop makes so much, they'll have enough for months! The children cast greedy gazes at Dylan.
"Can, can I also join in your game?" Dawn coughed and shamefully asked.
Sherry looked at Dylan who nodded. "Sure, but then you'll also have to do the horse stance." Sherry warned. She believed that collective punishments were crucial in building a team so even though Dawn hadn't participated yesterday, she also had to do the punishment.
Dawn nodded. She didn't mind doing the punishment. Of course she would come to regret this later but right now her only thoughts were on the fairy's drop. Dylan switched on his instructor mode and wore a foxy smile. He spoke to Sherry and crossed his arms in a domineering manner.
"Get into a single file line. We'll be doing warm ups first." Sherry translated.
The children lined up in a neat row side by side. They copied Dylan's movements and stretched out their muscles. They also did push ups, star jumps and
"Now that you're all warmed up, it's time to do your part of the deal." Sherry's calm voice echoed. The children were suddenly reminded of it. They froze in place before immediately getting into position. One by one, the children got into positions that looked like they were sitting in invisible chairs. Their legs shook and trembled under their own weight and were unstable. They started to feel a burn in their legs after awhile, but they endured from pride and the desire to not be the first to drop out.
Actually, the fairy's drop that they had just consumed also played a part in this. It healed their muscle pain and also filled them with strength in the form of mana. It was just that the children weren't aware of how to utilise mana so they weren't able to use up the fairy's drop effectively and so its effect could only show up in this manner.
Eventually, however, someone finally dropped out. Fiona fell onto her bottom with a sigh and pouted. "My legs hurt."
Soon after, as if she was waiting for this, Diana also sat on the ground. She stretched her legs out and looked up at the sky. "All this just for a single drop of delicious and sweet and mouth watering fruit. Totally worth it."
"Ah!" It was George's turn to quit now. "I wanted to at least be in top three." He sulked.
"I quit." Yasmin calmly stood up and announced. She rubbed her calves with an unchanging expression and silently watched the others soldier on.
Frank and Dawn were battling it out. Dawn didn't want to lose to someone one year younger than her and Frank didn't want to lose to a girl. They stood still in position until their faces got red and the trembling of their legs resembled that of a newborn calf. The stares of the others pierced them and reminded them not to lose.
"What's wrong Frank? You look like you're going die." Dawn said condescendingly and trash talked.
Frank's veins bulged. "I think you're the one who needs help. You should put away that stupid pride of your's and give up."
"Oh really? Who was the one complaining earlier about his muscle pain?"
"You!" Frank had no good comeback. "Idiot! Idiot! Idiot!" He resorted to plain taunting.
Dawn simply harrumphed and ignored him, knowing that her tactics have worked. Sure enough, Frank began to lose balance and fell to the ground. A second later, Dawn also gave up and sat down. They both rubbed their legs in attempt to sooth the burn they felt.
Dylan clapped. "You did great." He complimented in English. But his signature evil smile was one his face, sending chills down the children's spines.
"You only lasted ten minutes each on average. He says you still own him fifty minutes each." Sherry translated the rest for the children with a strange expression.
The children stiffened up. They already tried so hard but still wasn't enough? Urgh, they reluctantly stood up and tried again. This time, they lasted longer and the order in which they dropped out were different. Frank and Dawn dropped out first this time due to wearing themselves out earlier and Yasmin was first with George second. Diana was third and Fiona fourth.
"Hey, can we take a break?" Diana asked.
"Sure." Dylan amiably agreed. He knew it was good to have breaks in short intervals to prevent dehydration and exhaustion.
After a short break, the children did the horse stances again and finished off the promised hour in about two hours and a half. They had another break to eat lunch and began to play again.
This time, they played on the playground. The children and Sherry would go up on the playground and try to avoid Dylan. If he caught anyone, they could immediately go to jail. If someone tagged a person in jail, they were allowed to go free and Dylan had to catch them again. Once Dylan catches everyone, it is game over. However, Dylan was not allowed to climb the equipment.
Despite the disadvantage, Dylan was able to quickly catch a few children. They were able to escape prison a few times when he was preoccupied but he always managed to catch them again. He demonstrated superb agility and motion skills and always knew where his prey was headed. The children often found themselves caught off guard by the sudden appearance of Dylan.
Eventually, Dylan caught all the children. They sat on the spinny thingy that was the jail and cheered for Sherry as she nimbly avoided Dylan.
"Go Sherry! You got this!"
"Whoooo! Sherry!"
"Save us, Sherry!"
"Faster, faster, faster!"
"Good luck!"
"Climb up! He'll never get to you!"
Sherry tried her best. She climb the equipment and jumped away when Dylan approached. She was like a monkey in a jungle and always managed to escape. But Dylan was also fast. He was quick on his feet and sneaked up behind Sherry. Before she knew it, she could feel a gentle tap on her back and the game was over.
"Aww! We were so close." Fiona complained.
"You're so fast, Sherry! I thought you were lazy like me but you weren't." Diana added.
"Hehe, you thought wrong." Sherry replied.
It was getting late. The children all waved goodbye and went to their respective homes. Sherry and Dylan also went back, satisfied to be able to move their bodies and break routine.