“Ahh! No!” I screamed as a water balloon hurtled past me, just missing hitting me in the side I sighed in relief as it hit the ground and shattered at impact.

Expecting another one to come speeding at me in a few seconds I skipped behind a tree, and then peered around the bark, waiting for the owner of the water balloon to appear.

“You should just give up now Lailah, you know you’ll never beat me.” Michael sauntered into view, wearing blue jeans which is unusual for him and a white button up shirt; he was completely dry evidence that he was indeed the master of water balloon fights. Me myself, I was drenched from head to toe, but I wasn’t going to give up yet.

“You think so? Well ha! You just missed me” I sassed him sticking out my tongue, Michael smirked “Well I won’t miss next time” Gosh, someone was little full of themselves today. I needed to fix that.

“Are you suuureeee about that?” The whole while we talked Michael had kept walking closer and closer until he was only a few feet away from me, he had a smug but slightly puzzled look on his face

“Yes I’m suuuree about-” I never gave him time to finish instead I jumped backwards with a big grin on my face, making sure that I would be out of harm’s way.

“NOW, MAC!” I screamed and Macaulay who had been sitting up in the tree the whole time with a bucket of water, don’t ask me if that’s possibly, there are some HUGE tree’s in Neverland with branches thick enough for you to comfortably lie down on. Anyway Mac dumped the bucket of water down out of the tree and right onto Michael.   

And the look on Michael’s face, PRICELESS.  The water cascaded down and him and he stood there, no longer dry and it seems the water washed that smug look right off his face. Mac shimmied down the tree and to my side, “ Team Mac 25, team Michael….zerrroooo” Mac made the zero gesture with his hand and we both doubled over while Michael gaped at us, unbelieving.

Finally he reacted “You Cheaters! CHEATERS I can’t believe you Mac, double crosser” Of course that made me laugh even more “Just admit you lost Michael, don’t be a sore loser”

Michael lurched forward “I’m gonna get you two rascals!” he yelled with mock-anger and I giggled even louder before saying “Mike doesn’t take to losing that well does he?” Mac grinned at me and shook his head “Nope.” Michael growled and Mac and I dashed for the house, laughing the whole way and occasionally almost tripping with Michael right on our heels.

I thought we were going to make it, I could see the huge house rolling into view, but Michael was fast and pretty soon I did trip, Mac however kept making a beeline for the house, “Wait! Where are you going!” I called out in protest “Wait for me…MAC!” Mac turned and ran backwards looking down at me and saluting me “See Ya!” he yelled with a smirk. Unbelievable I scrambled back to my feet, I could hear Michael closing in on me.

“NOOO!” I screamed feeling him grab me by my arm, his grip strong “No get off me!” I turned to Michael and tried to give him a serious face but I just couldn’t stop smiling. In the process of chasing us, or maybe just in the water balloon fight I’m not sure, Michael’s fedora had flown off his head and was now lying in the grass somewhere out here. His dark curly hair was all over the place, framing his face as he stared down at me, smirking “Gotcha, no one to save you now.”

I wriggled trying to break free but to no use, Michael began to tickle me mercilously and of course I struggled even harder.

“Hahahaaha….No, hahahaa STOP IT” This was the bad thing about being so ticklish, and he knew where my worst spots where, Michael grinned at me, his brown eyes dancing with amusement “Who’s the undisputable, unbeatable KING at water balloon and super soaker fights?” Oh, he was pure evilness.

I couldn’t take much more of this tickling either.

“I…” I gasped “I am.” Michael tickled me even more furiously “Wrong answer”

“Hahahahaha Okay! Okay YOU are, I admit it, you are King Applehead the best there is at water balloon fights and water gun fights and we can never beat you.”

At least not today.  Michael let go off me and I glared at him the whole while, trying to catch my breath.

He looked at me with wide, innocent eyes “There, that wasn’t so hard now was it?”

“Yes!” I said dramatically staggering down to the cool green grass “It was…the most TERRIBLE thing that I’ve ever been through in my entireee life” Michael rolled his eyes at me, then glanced up at the sky, the sun was just starting to set up in the sky, casting pink, and orange, dusty red and rich golden across the sky.

“Come on, we had better head inside to dry off and then Mac’s waiting for us in the theater.”

I agreed with that, it was movie night and I knew Mac was going to try and pick the movie we watched because he was the first one that got to the theater.  I turned to Michael with a playful grin

“Maybe I can’t beat you at water balloon fights but I can beat you at racing.”

Michael laughed and shook his head “If you say so, Lailah.”

“I can!”

“What do you bet then?”

“Hmmm, How about your James Brown Record?”

“NO!”

“Okay ready? On your mark…Get set…GO!”

“CHEATER!!!”