Happy Holidays, cursiell_4!

[goe_mod]

Title - The Exchange
Summary - The Them were having fun at the amusement park, but the prize they wanted was snatched from their fingers. Now, they are on a double mission - win back the prize, and enjoy themselves.
Rating - G
Author note - thank you cursiell_4 for the excellent prompt! I had great fun writing it, and I hope you will enjoy reading it.

The Them strolled through the colourful gates, trying to pretend they were not impressed. When you are 15 years old, being impressed is just not cool, and The Them were as cool as it gets. And if Brian was too busy staring at the costumes of the giant chess and almost bumped into a wall, or Adam stopped in his tracks for just a brief second as he saw the rope ladder, the others hadn't mentioned it. Besides, Wensleydale was too busy crunching numbers in his head, trying to estimate the electricity bill of such an establishment, and Pepper had eyes only for the go-karts.

It was not the first time they had been to an amusement park – Tadfield was not that provincial. But it was the first time in a long time, and they were determined to make the most of their time there, before each had to return home and have a boring, healthy dinner.

"Let's start with the go-karts!" Pepper shouted in excitement, turning a few heads. She ignored them and focused on the people that really mattered to her.

"I want to do the giant chess," countered Brian. To their surprised looks, he reasoned: "It looks fun." That was a valid argument, as the chess pieces on the board got to dress the part. Brian thought that the queen had the best outfit, but felt it was too early to go into details.

Wensleydale, of course, had already announced in advance which activities he would like to participate in, so the rest knew he wanted to try the cheese race. Usually sport, or at least sport more active than playing Nintendo, was not his first choice, but even he had to succumb to the family tradition.

Adam, on the other hand, wanted something completely different. "Let's do the rope ladder. There is even a prize for the one who climbs the highest out of five people." They all gazed at the promised prize, a small disco ball, just like they wanted for the quarry, and agreed to start with it. Even Pepper, who was keen on trying the go-kart, agreed to wait until after they had won the prize.

There was no question of who would do it – out of the four of them, Adam was the most flexible, and thus the best fit for the assignment. Besides, ever since that one day in late August, he permitted himself to meddle with reality one time per year, and now seemed like the perfect time.

They headed together to the machine, and stood aside silently, assessing its mechanism and how to succeed. They watched the first three contenders, who managed to reach only the second step, each accompanied by a different music, and smiled in satisfaction. If the competition was that easy, maybe Adam wouldn’t even have to use his powers. After conferring in hushed tones and coming up with a lot of advice, with varied amounts of relevance, Adam paid to the operator and took his place at the bottom of the ladder.

The first step had been easy, but he expected that and continued to climb to the second and the third step without seemly effort. Encouraged by his success, Adam tried to climb to the fourth step, and had nearly managed to do so when the ladder flipped under him, and he fell on the cushioned floor. Still, The Them congratulated him, sure of their success. It wasn't as if anyone could compete with that, right?

After a few minutes of waiting, Pepper told that much to the operator. "Can we have the prize now? Adam," she pointed at her friend, his chest puffed with pride, "had reached the third level, something no one else managed to do, and no one else is coming. I would have tried it,” she added in annoyance, “but the silly regulation dictates only one participant from each group.”

"I'm sorry, but those are the rules. You don't want me to lose my job, right?" The Them, who up to a moment ago were about to storm the booth and take the prize with force, if necessary, nodded in guilt. "You know what," the operator said when they saw their genuine distress, "wait a few more minutes, and if no one comes, I will give you the prize. Is that acceptable?"

They nodded again, this time with more hope. Walking away without the prize was not an option, so all they had to do was wait a few more minutes. The group settled more comfortably on the nearby bench, and soon started to discuss their next step. With voices high and emotions even higher, they nearly missed the kid who approached the booth, until they heard the familiar music.

Four heads turned at one towards the ladder, where a kid was testing his abilities. And not just any kid – it was their nemesis, Greasy Johnson. In the years following the Armagedon't the hatred between the rival gangs had cooled down a bit, but it was still there. And now, they watched with disbelief as their adversary sneaked his way on the ladder.

By the time they noticed him he was already past the first step, but that was to be expected. Nobody fell that early, it would have been too disheartening to fail so early, and the machine was built cleverly enough to give the illusion of an option to succeed. Now he was already on the second step, where he stopped to assess his way to the next. After a few moments Greasy inhaled deeply, and started to advance towards the next one. His leg slipped and The Them were about to cheer, but he managed to recover and arrived successfully.

Pepper managed to catch Adam’s eye and winked at him. He nodded and winked back, while Greasy examined the ladder as if it would give him the answer how to pass it. After a stressful moment he nodded to himself, so focused on his mission he hadn't even noticed the small crowd that started to gather near the machine.

Pepper held her breath and waited to see what would happen, and much to her (and the rest of The Them’s) dismay, he arrived safely to the fourth step, accompanied by the cheerful music and the cheers of the crowd.

The problem with winks is they are not a reliable form of communication.

Pepper had meant to transmit something along the lines of “use your powers, Adam, and make him fall”, and as far as she was concerned, Adam’s answer had been “you are absolutely right, we can’t let him win.”

Whereas Adam, on the other hand, had thought that Pepper’s wink was more on the lines of “he will fall by himself so save your powers for later”. Therefore, his own wink meant “you are absolutely right, this is not worth it.”

The subtleties of all this were quite lost on Greasy, who was distracted by all the noise and thought that they were just being their normal kind of weird. Besides, he was too busy enjoying the rare sight of so many people who, for once, wished him success and were not waiting for his downfall. Unconsciously he put his hand through hair, trying to smooth a loose strand, but that changed his posture enough to make him slip and fall unceremoniously into the cushions that Adam had met not too long before.

The crowd cheered and shouted in encouragement, while The Them stood in frozen silence. The operator turned towards the cupboard and rampaged it for several moments until he cried out in triumph. He turned back towards Greasy, and handed him the prize, along with a wide smile and a healthy pat on the kid's shoulder. Greasy recovered from his stupor, the small prize almost dwarfed in his big palms, mumbled a silent "thank you", and walked away hurriedly, the crowd closing behind him and the prize.

"Well," said Adam, "it looks like we have to change our plans."

"Yes," agreed Pepper without a fight, a behaviour reserved only for the direst times. "There is no way Greasy wants it, and we want it, so it should be ours." That made sense, and the rest nodded.

"But how, exactly, are we going to convince him?" As always, Wensleydale was the one to use logic.

"We can take it from him. It's four against one, it can't be that hard."

Brian was not pleased with this plan. "I don't think it will work, Adam. And besides, he won it fair and square. Stealing it would be wrong."

The group returned to sit on the bench, racking their brains for a way to get the prize from Greasy. After a few moments of silence, Pepper huffed in annoyance and rose. “We are already here, so we might as well make the best out of it. The cheese race is going to start in a few minutes, Wensleydale. Do you really want to sit here and sulk, instead of enjoying yourself?”

“I would not say that running down a hill while chasing a block of cheese is my definition of enjoyment, Pepper, this is merely a family tradition I must carry on,” he answered in a serious tone.

“That's settled then, we will do the cheese race,” said Pepper as she started walking towards the hill, not bothering to look back and make sure the others were following her. She knew they would.

As the name suggests, the race started on a hill. It was not a big one, mind you, but the gang were happy they reached the top. It also offered some lovely views of their surroundings, and they took a moment to watch the rest of the attractions of the park.

“There are Anathema and Newt, at the darts booth!” called Brian, surprised to see them there. “Aren’t they a bit too old for these kinds of games?”

“One is never too old to enjoy themselves,” answered Adam in a tone that settled the issue, and the rest of the group watched the couple in amusement.

“Attention all participants, last chance to sign up!” The operator's shout tore them from their thoughts, and Wensleydale hurried to approach them.

“Yes, sorry, that will be me.” He paid for his entry, and received in return a wheel of cheese.

“The rules are simple,” the operator shouted, despite the fact that all the competitors were hanging on to every word he said. “Roll the cheese all the way down, and don’t lift it. If I see someone carrying it with their hands,” their gaze swept the dozen or so competitors, “they will be disqualified. Is that clear?”

“Yes,” shouted all the competitors, Wensleydale included. The operator seemed to be satisfied, because they raised a small flag, yellow and shaped like a slice of cheese, and held it high dramatically. “Three, two, one… Go!” they yelled and lowered the flag, signalling the start of the competition.

Wensleydale was quick to react, and was among the first to leave the start line and start the race down the hill. His advantage didn’t lasted long, though, because the others caught up fairly quickly. It was a tight race all the way to the bottom, including a few low blows and cheese rolls that were kicked away from the race track, and in a few moments it was all over.

Unfortunately, and not because of lack of effort, Wensleydale had reached only third place. When the rest of The Them met him, he did not seem as upset as they feared he would be. In fact, he was quite thrilled by his success. “Did you see me? I used some very complicated calculations, and managed to control the cheese direction almost perfectly!”

Almost, that was the key word. At least he still got a consolation prize - not as big as the first and second prizes¹, but a small cheese cutting board, made of real wood. They all stared at it in disappointment, as Wensleydale examined the board before shoving it to his bag.

---

¹ A mouse doll and a key chain with a plastic cheese roll, which Pepper was secretly happy they hadn’t received those environmental hazards.

“Where do you want to go now?” asked Wensleydale, satisfied now that he’d participated in the traditional family activity and fulfilled his duties.

“The giant chess board” shouted Brian, as Pepper screamed, just as loud, “To the go-karts!” They looked daggers at each other, and both turned to Adam, deferring the decision to him. Adam took a few moments to consider all the variables, much to the annoyance of his friends.

After what seemed like forever for his friends, but was probably closer to half a minute, he said in a quiet and nonnegotiable voice: “We will start with the go-kart, and do the giant chess board later. That will give Wensleydale time to rest, and Brian time to decide which pion he wants to be.” All nodded in agreement (though, from past experience, once Adam decided on a plan it was nearly impossible to change his mind), and they went to the race track.

It was the most beautiful thing Pepper had ever seen in all her life. It was the first of many go-karts (and race courses) she would see over the course of her life as a successful car racer, and now, as she stood there and valiantly ignored how small, dirty, and crowded it was, she could feel a wide smile stretching her cheeks.

She ran towards the entrance, stopped only for the operator who insisted on giving her safety instructions and a helmet (both a waste, in her opinion). Finally, she was allowed to squeeze into one of the small cars and start driving. After a (not) surprisingly short amount of time she got the hang of it, and really started to enjoy herself. Her car zoomed past all the others, bypassing even youths who were much older and more experienced than her.

Time flew by, almost as fast as her car, and much too soon it ended and she had to leave the place. Officially, it was not a contest, so there were no prizes to give, but the operator had seen her enthusiasm and wanted to encourage her. Pepper took a final look at the place, and turned to leave the place with her friends, but the operator left their booth and marched towards them. “Here.” The open palm held a miniature of a black car, a creature of beauty like Pepper had never seen before. “Take this, for good luck.”

She looked at them, emotions piling up so high in her throat she momentarily was unable to speak (a rare occurrence, if you ask the rest of the group). Her thankful smile was probably enough, because the operator carefully passed her the miniature, and went back silently. She gazed in it with wonder, but eventually shook herself. “Guys, I have the most amazing idea!”

“Playing the giant chess board!” Brian called, loud enough to turn a few heads around them, but he paid them no attention. After all, the only people he cared about were The Them. Much to his dismay, that was not what Pepper had in mind.

“I know how to get the prize we wanted from Greasy,” she exclaimed, and in the momentary excitement, even Brian forgot he was the only one who still hadn’t done that activity he wanted.

Wensleydale methodically cleaned his (already clean) glasses, and asked, not without preface, “And how exactly are we going to do that?”

That was the moment Pepper had been waiting for, and with much pride at her idea, she answered confidently: “We can swap our prizes!”

Adam considered that, torn between his annoyance that Pepper had thought of a good idea and not him, and his desire to get the mini disco ball. He decided to choose a line of questioning that wouldn’t annoy her too much, hopefully. “And what do we have to offer him? I can hardly believe he will want a stupid cheese board.”

“Hey, that board is not stupid!” Wensleydale objected, more out of pride for the fact he’d earned it, fair and square, than with the actual prize. If he was honest with himself, he hadn’t really wanted that thing (though it had felt nice to win).

“Maybe we don’t want it, but I know someone who does.” She searched in the crowd near them, and after spotting her target, started walking purposely towards the food stands. The others looked at each other, but without any better ideas how to get what they wanted, decided to follow Pepper.

As the rest caught up with her, they discovered she was in the middle of a hushed conversation with Anathema and Newt. “I believe we have something you want,” she said to the woman, all business and without a hint of humour.

Anathema pulled something from her bag, and waved it in front of Pepper’s eyes, as if she was trying to hypnotise her. “Everything comes with a price, youngling. Where is my reward?”

Nonplussed, and without breaking eye contact, Pepper stretched her hand towards Wensleydale and said in a low voice, “The cheese board, please.” As if forced by magic, the boy took his prize from behind his back and handed it to Pepper, who in turn gave it to Anathema. The older woman stopped waving the object in her hand, and gave it to Pepper in exchange for the board.

Both women continued to look at each other, while the boys (and man) looked at them, not sure how to react in the face of this power struggle. Suddenly both women broke into a laughing fit, and needed a few breaths to relax and regain their composure.

“Thank you, Pepper, I needed that laugh,” mumbled Anathema between hiccups. “And that board, it will be perfect for our next fondant night. Right, Newt?”

“Yes, you were actually doing us a favour. You would not believe the amount of antique shops we've been to, but none had what we wanted. Just the other day…” Newt launched into a long and elaborated report of the interior design of the last shop they visited, much to the disdain of The Them. Luckily, Anathema saw their expressions, and gave them a way out.

“I think I saw Greasy passing by.” She pointed towards the carousel. “Go on, don’t let him get away.”

The gang hurried away from the couple, before Newt could share more details. Being an adult can be so boring, why do people fuss about it so much? They did not have too much time to think about it, or even examine whatever it was that Anathema had given them, when they ran into the last person they normally wanted to see on a joyous evening, who was also the object of their search tonight - their nemesis, Greasy Johnson.

Now he was not alone, but surrounded by the other members of his gang. All eight nodded to each other, succumbing to their English manners but not liking it one bit. The tower bell rang, and the silence that surrounded them afterwards was just as deafening. A flock of crows hid the sun, casting great shadows upon the earth, their shrieks heard clearly inside the quiet bubble that seemed to encompass both groups.

Wind gushed by, carrying with it scents from far and strange places, provoking feelings of yearning and longing for places they've never been to. A single, shiny bag of Salt and Vinegar Walker’s tumbled in the wind, a lone ray of light reflected from its shiny surface. Brian caught the package with a skilled hand, and started eating the remains.

“What are you doing?” asked Wensleydale scandalously. They all knew Brian was not hygienic, but that was a bit too much, even for him.

“Yes, Brian,” asked Greasy in a mocking voice, “what are you doing?”

Brian stopped eating long enough to answer: “Having fun. As if you know what that is.”

“Enough of that,” Adam intervened, “we all came here to have fun. And being with you lot,” his gaze engulfed his rivals, “is not part of it. But, we do have a proposal to make.”

“To bugger off, I hope,” said Greasy to the snickers of his friends.

“Your company is not pleasant,” Pepper burst. “Will you let Adam speak, so we can go our separate ways?”

Greasy rose his hands in mock surrender. “Fine. What do you want?”

“An exchange. We want the disco ball you won, and in return you will get another prize.”

“Really? What can you offer us?”

Without looking, Adam drew from Pepper’s bag the item Anathema had given them before. He hadn’t had the chance to examine it before, and now was not the time. “You will like it, more than the disco ball. Do we have a deal?”

The other kid put his hand into his jacket’s pocket and toyed with something, The Them could only hope it was indeed the sought-after disco ball, and that it was still in one piece. The rest of the Johnsonites looked at their leader, but he paid them no attention. It wasn't as if their opinions mattered, so there was no point in listening to their input to begin with.

“Fine,” he said after a period of time that seemed to The Them like forever. In fact, it was closer to the amount of time needed for the operator in the near booth to tie balloons to the shelves. A gunshot echoed, followed by the sound of an exploding balloon, and Greasy smiled. It was not a pleasant one. “Let’s do the exchange.”

Adam and Greasy walked towards each other, till only a step separated between them. Both raised their hands with their palms still closed, and opened it when they heard the next gunshot. Adam stared at the disco ball for a moment, almost in disbelief that it was unharmed, but recovered quickly and grabbed it from Greasy’s hand. Only that short touch shook Greasy from his stupor, and he also grabbed the prize from the other’s hand.

Now safely in his possession, Greasy looked at the fake rock, perfect for his new aquarium. “Thank you, losers,” he said in a mocking voice, though this time less convincing than before. “Let’s go.” This was aimed at his gang, who marched after him, stepping away from The Them.

“Can we now go to the giant chess, please?” Brian pleaded. “A game is about to begin!”

The Them started walking towards there, discussing their positions. Brian wanted the queen’s position, and they all agreed he would look amazing in that outfit, and, miraculously enough, it was still up for grabs². Pepper left no place to debate about her position as a rook, and none of the boys dared to argue with her. Nobody wanted to be the horse, for reasons they couldn’t explain, but luckily there were still many other positions to fill, and they bickered good-naturedly all the way there.

---

² Adam might have chosen that moment for his yearly use of power. Or maybe not? Best not to speculate.