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The teens all look around as they walk in the park. "See, aren't you glad we came ?" Liz says as she looks up at Conrad

"How is this any less hot than it would be inside ?"

"Because you have the magical sea breeze to cool you down."

"Cool breeze, my ass." River scoffs, "I need some ice cream. Now."

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The teens walked up the steps of the boardwalk, ice cream in hand.

"You know, I'm kind of a natural introvert, so I can't tell if this place is horrifying or if it's just, like, my lizard brain in action." Skye says

"It's fun, I promise." Belly says

"Fun ? Because I seem to remember the last time we were here, Liz was crying." Jeremiah says. "She was 14 and Conrad beat her at Shoot Your Shot. And her penalty was to ride the Tower of Terror."

"Yep." Conrad says

"Liz, you were so scared, you threw up."

"I was sick." She tries

"Sick with fear." Dakota says with a mouth full of ice cream. "Mom had to throw out your clothes and carry you home in a caftan."

Liz laughs as Jeremiah nods.

"Susannah used to force my mom to come here when they were kids. My mom always hated it, but Susannah loved it so much, so..." Skye says

"You know what else my mom loved ?" Conrad says, "The beach house."

Skye sighs, "My mom's not evil, Conrad." The teens lean against the railing on the boardwalk. "And your mom wasn't a saint."

"What did you just say ?" Liz frowns. River frowns as she sits up, but Dakota grabs her arm before she could move.

"Skye, have you ever played Shoot Your Shot ?" Belly says changing the subject.

"No, and I'm-I'm fine keeping it that way."

"Well, do you want to watch Liz beat Conrad's ass ?"

"She could not do that." He shakes his head as he looks down at his ice cream. Steven and Dakota chuckle.

"I wouldn't hate watching that." Skye tries to smile at Liz. The girl ignores her.

"You think you still got it, Conrad ?" Dakota says

"Okay, no, please, not another Great Boardwalk Showdown." Steven says

"Why not ? Why not ?" Belly smiles

"No. What are you doing ?"

"So, they used to do this big tournament on the boardwalk every year when they were kids. I would get a, um, a riveting play-by-play as soon as Belly got home." Taylor says

"Well, yeah, every year until Lizzie and Conrad got too competitive. And then my mom banned us from ever playing again." Dakota says as Conrad nods with a smile.

"Are you down, Jere ?" Conrad asks

"Uh... Hell yeah. Let's do it."

"Whoa, yes. Yes." Steven says as the boys fist bump.

"I should actually, um, head out." Skye says

"No, you should stay." Conrad says lowly. "It's fun."

"It's too late. You're already on our team." Belly says as she points towards Liz.

"Fine. You win. But I don't do high fives. I'm not going to, like, whoop in the air. I don't trash talk. The corners of my mouth might turn up just a little bit, but I'm not gonna smile." Skye points. River scoffs

"Deal."

"Deal."

"Lizzie, you're mighty quiet over there ?" Dakota teases. The girl looks up as she squints.

"We need a team captain." Belly says. Steven pokes at her side as Jeremiah eggs him on.

"You know what ? I think Liz is reaching that old age where she's too slow to compete now." Conrad says.

"Oh !" Steven and Jeremiah yell as Liz turns to Conrad with furrowed brows.

"Oh !" Dakota yells, "Bad knees. Bad knees."

"First of all, we're the same fucking age." Liz points, "And second of all," She turns to Conrad, "I'm gonna kick your ass."

The boys start yelling again as the girls laugh. Conrad smiles as he holds eye contact with Liz.

"So then what's the prize ?" River says

"Losers have to buy the winners the biggest bag of candy of their choosing." Jeremiah says

"Really ? Candy ?" River frowns, "That's so lame. I mean, can't we think of something, like, better ?"

"Candy's always been the prize." Jeremiah says. "I mean, it was Liz's choice, obviously."

"Well, fine. Fine. We can play the games. But... we start at the arcade because it is hot as balls out here." Steven says. "Okay ?"

"True that."

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The teens finish their ice cream and run towards the arcade. Liz makes it there first, with Conrad right on her tail. She swings the door open and he holds it up behind her. River and Dakota make it next. River shoves Dakota away causing the boy to hit the wall.

"Ow, what the fuck ? You're not even playing. You're score keeper." He groans. River laughs as she swings the door open. He runs after her as everyone else runs in.

The first game is laser tag. It was the girls against the boys. As they're putting their vest on, the boys start taunting. Taylor and Belly jump up and bump chests and start yelling. This causes the boys to start screaming at the girls. Liz and River scream back at them.

"Fuck you guys !" Conrad yells.

Liz yells back at him as she sticks up the middle finger. He and Dakota do it back as Belly and Taylor get louder.

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"All right, everyone. All right." River says, "The games are best of five rounds. The first and last
rounds, everyone plays. The middle rounds, it's a one-on-one competition, so choose your best fighter."

"Probably not gonna be me." Skye says

"Hey, don't sell yourself short, all right ?" Belly says. Liz sighs as River rolls her eyes

"Okay."

"All right, you losers ready ?" Dakota yells

"Three, two, one. Go !" Jeremiah yells as they all run off

"Let's go !"

"First to 21 wins !"

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Liz is looking all around her as she looks for one of the boys. She looks up and sees Conrad and Jeremiah cornering Skye. She hurries and reaches over the wall and shoots at Jeremiah.

"Oh, dang it ! You got me !" He says as he runs off.

The game goes on with each team scoring points back and forth. Liz looks up and sees that Conrad's team is up by two points.

"Shit." She mutters. Just as she says this she sees Dakota passing. She ducks down as he passes right beside her. She jumps out and shoots him in the back.

"No !" He yells.

She jumps up and down, "Yes. You stupid loser." She says as she points for exaggeration.

"Next hit wins it all !" They hear Steven yell. They both run off to find someone else.

Liz is running around looking for someone as she comes face to face with Conrad. She goes to shoot him as Jeremiah comes rushing from the side. He picks up her and spins her. "No !" She yells

"Get her, get her, get her !" He yells as Conrad shoots her. He sets her down as the air horn goes off. Signaling that the game was over.

Liz groans as Conrad and Jeremiah hug in excitement.

"Yeah !"

"We won ! Yes !"

"Yeah !" Steven yells

"Good game !"

"In your face ! Game won !"

"Are you kidding me ?!" Dakota yells as he and Conrad high five. They yell in each other's faces as Jeremiah laughs.

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"Hey, you know what ? Don't worry. We'll get them next time." Belly says as they walk out of the building.

" "Get them next time"?" Conrad says. "I think we're playing Capture the Flag next. And if I remember correctly..."

"Oh, yes. I got this, bro." Steven says

"All right. I need a pee break." Taylor says as she walks off.

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