"Ready?" Catherine, leaning over the water tub, stared unblinkingly at the girl across from her.
"Of course. But you, are you ready to lose and collect candy for me?" The other girl retorted defiantly.
"Ha, I just hope you won't run away after losing. All these people here are witnesses!" Catherine shot back.
"Alright, ladies, we're about to start." The young man standing by was the one who had provided the tub and apples, and he found the bet between a five-year-old and an eleven-year-old very amusing.
"Ready—begin!" At the young man's signal, Catherine stretched her neck and went for one of the apples. Unfortunately, she wasn't skilled enough and it slipped away. Her opponent had also missed, so Catherine took a breath and aimed for another apple. This time, she pushed it to the edge of the tub, bit it gently, and carefully lifted it out of the water like a seal.
Lifting the apple out of the water counted as a success. Catherine quickly placed the apple aside and glanced at her little opponent, who was still struggling with her first apple. Delighted, Catherine moved to bite her second apple. However, in her eagerness, she missed several times, allowing the apple to slip away, and her opponent seized the opportunity to bite an apple using the push Catherine had given it.
Catherine was frustrated by this and hastened her actions. But this was a game of skill, not speed, and her quick movements only resulted in more misses. Meanwhile, the little girl successfully bit a second apple. Catherine was getting anxious. There were only two apples left in the tub, and if the girl bit one more, she would win. Catherine didn't want to lose to someone six years younger than her.
At that moment, she felt her neck and waist aching from bending over, as her shorter opponent had a height advantage. This is unfair! Catherine grumbled. She saw the girl carefully pushing one of the remaining apples to the edge and about to bite it. Catherine quickly pushed her own apple, colliding with the girl's apple and knocking it away.
The little girl looked at her in surprise, but Catherine, unconcerned, resumed chasing another apple. After all, the rules didn't prohibit interfering with each other. However, she soon tasted her opponent's retaliation. Just as she pushed an apple to the edge, another apple bumped into it, knocking it away.
Catherine glared angrily at the little girl, who smugly glared back. Thus began a game of sabotage. Neither could bite an apple, and the watching "monsters" started laughing. Jessica, watching, couldn't help but cover her eyes: Cathy, you fool, don't you know this stalemate is bad for you?
Catherine knew this too. Bending over was far more tiring for her, and the girl only needed one more apple to win, while she needed both remaining apples. But she had a trick up her sleeve. After pushing an apple to bump the girl's apple again, the apple she pushed floated back on the water's ripples. Catherine, waiting, gently bit it, easily lifting it out of the water. She set it aside and quickly went after the last apple.
The whole process took only about ten seconds. The girl didn't have time to bump the apple back before Catherine had already lifted it out. This was Catherine's little trick. During the sabotage, she had targeted a specific apple and nibbled at it each time she pushed it, creating two small indentations. After several tries, biting it became much easier.
The competition grew more intense. Whoever bit the last apple would win, and both Catherine and the little girl kept trying to snatch the apple from each other. It became a battle of endurance.
Catherine was increasingly frustrated. Her neck and waist were aching, and she needed to end the game quickly. So, she decided to use her little trick again, even though it was risky.
Once, twice, the apple's surface began to show small nibbles. Catherine controlled her strength well, not breaking the skin completely, so the little girl didn't seem to notice. As the apple floated back towards her, Catherine was about to repeat her trick when the girl suddenly came around to her side. With a small push of her mouth, she knocked the apple away. Catherine was stunned, and before she could react, her lips met the cold, wet lips of the girl. Almost simultaneously, a small tongue slipped into her mouth, swirling around. Catherine stared at the girl in shock, her mind going blank, completely frozen.
Then, as the girl pulled her down, Catherine's nose dipped into the water. Water rushed into her nose, making her quickly straighten up and cough loudly. In that moment, the little girl had already bitten the last apple.
"Damn it!" Catherine cursed softly, breathing heavily and blushing. She didn't complain about the girl's tactics but was furious that the girl had used a "French kiss" to outmaneuver her! The little girl might not know what it meant, but for Catherine, it was her first time experiencing this in her "forty" years, and she felt both embarrassed and confused.
"Alright, Cathy, a loss is a loss. It's no big deal," Jessica approached, wiping the water from Catherine's face with a handkerchief. Jessica hadn't seen the whole incident, only that Catherine lost, so she was quick to console her.
"Little girl, there's no shame in this. There are always winners and losers in a contest."
"Yes, age is not an advantage in this game."
Some of the onlookers also tried to comfort her. Catherine forced a smile and nodded, then sighed.
The little girl, having dried her face, walked over to Catherine, chest puffed out confidently. "You lost."
Catherine gritted her teeth but forced herself to stay calm. "Alright, where do you want to start?"
"Let's start with that house over there!" The girl pointed across the street, then suddenly asked, "By the way, should I call you Holly Parker or Annie Parker?"
"I'm neither Holly Parker nor Annie Parker. Listen, kid, I don't care who you are, so don't try to figure out who I am. I'll give you every bit of candy and coin I collect tonight before bed!" Catherine snapped, then turned to glare at Jessica, who was pulling at her sleeve. "What is it, Jess?"
Jessica shrugged helplessly. "Cathy, she's asking if you're Holly Parker or Annie Parker."
"Damn it, Jess, don't you know who I..." Catherine stopped mid-sentence, suddenly realizing something. She turned sharply to look at the little girl.
The girl shrugged, grinning. "I really liked your 'The Parent Trap'."
Catherine's mouth dropped open. She didn't quite have the mindset of a celebrity, even though her role in "The Parent Trap" had made her known among her peers. This was the first time she'd been recognized on the street at night.
She quickly scanned the area. The other "monsters" were too busy with their own antics to have heard anything. She breathed a sigh of relief and looked back at the girl, feeling a bit exasperated. She couldn't stay angry. Sighing, she said, "Alright, I'm Catherine Mason."
"Nice to meet you, Catherine," the girl responded maturely, extending her hand. "I've done a few commercials. Maybe I'll do movies too. I'm Lindsay Lohan."
Catherine raised an eyebrow, internally noting yet another girl with Hollywood dreams. She shook Lindsay's hand. "Nice to meet you, Lin—"
Her words stopped short, and she stared at Lindsay, speechless. The girl, puzzled, touched her own face and asked cautiously, "What's wrong?"
"Nothing, nothing at all," Catherine replied in a strange tone. If this were a comic, her eyes would be popping out of her head! There was nothing more absurd than having the original star of "The Parent Trap" standing in front of her, saying she liked the movie.
Catherine glanced sideways at Lindsay, who was shaking hands with Jessica. No wonder she had felt a sense of familiarity—the red hair and features were unmistakably Lindsay Lohan's. Catherine suddenly felt like crying. This was too much; it felt like a mockery!
Then she remembered something. Lindsay was known to be openly lesbian in her past life, and they had just shared a "French kiss"... Oh, God! Catherine felt a wave of dizziness. Although she didn't feel disgusted, the realization that her first "French kiss" had been taken like this was overwhelming.