Plinko Booth - Summer Star Festival Booth

Pierre did not like relying on luck where skill could be used. It was inefficient and, as a member of a secret organization, dangerous. With that in mind, he had taken stock of all the possible booths before they opened and carefully crafted a plan of attack based on which ones he was most likely to win. Instead of aimlessly going from booth to booth and hoping for the best, he would have a clear chance at winning at several select ones. He had anticipated drawbacks, sure, but nothing could have prepared him for….

“And so I said, ‘Is that for me?’ And he just smiled in that little- well, you know the way, when he’s shy about something-”

…. This.

Reuben, his cousin and coworker, had appeared out of nowhere to discuss, at length, the moment he had just shared with Dubhe, another coworker of theirs. Reuben had been head over heelies for the man for what seemed like eternity, but Pierre had never seen him this excited. It was like his cousin could not stop talking if he wanted to, and, if it was not too rude to think, he did not seem to want to. His ramblings were distracting though, taking Piere’s mind off of the games as he automatically tried to pay more attention to what his teammate was saying than what he himself was doing. It was affecting his plans much more than he was comfortable with, but he had no idea how to politely say such.

It wasn’t that he was mad at Reuben, or that he did not want to listen to his cousin’s rare show of genuine happiness. No, it was just poor timing, and Pierre was having trouble deciding what to prioritize. On one hand, Reuben hid his true emotions very well, and it was uncommon for him to proudly express himself like this. Pierre did not want to take that away from him, and it was actually nice seeing him be so open about his feelings. On the other hand, however, the Summer Star Festival only came once a year, and he hated missing out on something so special. (And if a childish part of him wanted to enjoy this thing he never got to have growing up, well, who could really judge him?)

If only there was a way to enjoy both without his divided attention causing problems….

“... and I asked him who his favorite character was, and he said he liked Sayori the most, which is cool because she is also my favori- oh! Hey, Pierre, look at this.” Reuben tugged on his sleeve, guiding him to a booth. “It doesn’t even have a line!”

It was true, they were able to walk right into the rectangular tent without having to waste any time waiting, which Pierre decided was reason enough to give it a shot. Prizes rested on shelves by the walls, the lights were on, and there was a game set up in the middle. 

And yet … there was nobody there. No booth owner to guide them or look after the tent. It seemed like someone had set everything up, only to leave without closing it back down. 

The two shared a concerned look. Pierre gestured to the entrance, and Reuben slipped out without a word to get security. Better safe than sorry.

Meanwhile, he took to examining the inside of the booth. Everything was pristine: no signs of a struggle. Many of the footprints just led back and forth from the entrance to the game, sometimes taking a turn to the prizes before leaving. Nothing out of the ordinary … except for the pair that went behind the game itself.

Cautiously, Pierre walked up to the game. It was a wooden board with nails sticking out of it. The word “PLINKO” was painted on the top in red, and there were dividers at the bottom of the board with numbers written in each section. A quick glance around revealed no ball or puck to actually play the game with. Maybe the owner took it with them? He peered around the corner of the board….

“Hi.”

…. To reveal a Terralin hiding behind it.

They scampered up to the top of the board, puck in hand. Scratching nervously at the back of their neck, they explained,

“I-I’m Riley, uhhh he/him. You drop this in at the top.” 

Despite the silver hair covering half of his face, Riley threw the puck at Pierre with surprising accuracy. He caught it, looking it over for a moment before glancing back at the … booth owner?

They stared at each other for a long, extremely uncomfortable moment. 

“Are you going to drop it in?”

“Are you the booth owner?”

Of course, they both had spoken up at the same time. Pierre sighed.

Riley answered first. “Yeah, I just. Um.” He seemed to struggle with the words until finally settling on a very quiet, “It’s comfortable back here.”

“.... Fair enough. Could you wait here a second?” Pierre set the puck down and headed out to grab Reuben before he brought security in and gave the poor kid a heart attack.

“I … can’t leave? I have to look over the- and you’re already gone.”

Just a few minutes later, he was back to the booth, cousin in tow. Riley popped back out of his hiding spot upon their arrival, ears flattening as Reuben stepped in.

“Oh, you brought more people. Hi. I’m Riley.” He did not sound too pleased at the new company. Reuben gave his default charming smile and introduced himself, but it only seemed to stress Riley out more. 

Pierre picked the puck back up to play when, suddenly, he had an idea. He turned to his cousin, trying to hide the smirk that wanted to break out onto his face as he put his devious scheme into motion.

“Now what were you saying about Dubhe’s favorite character?”

“Hm? Oh! Well, okay, so you know how that announcement just came out about….”

Pierre slid the puck in at the top and watched it plink against the nails. Now, he was able to play the game and still give a majority of his attention to Reuben. 

Maybe, just maybe, luck-based games had their perks.