Chapter 186: Plan A to Z
When Slater heard from Atlas that Lola had promised the children an amusement park date, a "clever" plan quickly formed in his head. Clearly, his brother’s antics were not working. So, the genius in him must help.
An amusement park date?
Hah! Slater had seen so many in so many dramas. Easy peasy.
He could imagine Lola screaming on an extreme ride and unknowingly holding Atlas. Once the ride was over, her knees would wobble, and once she fell, Atlas would swoop in and catch her by the waist.
Just like any drama, a soft, romantic song would play as slow motion took effect.
That would surely make her horror-filled heart and his cold, frosty heart beat.
Then, as the ghosts scared them in horror booths, Lola would jump in shock into Atlas’s embrace, and his brother would save the day—rescue the damsel in distress. Another scenario: when they played those carnival games, Lola would surely mess it up—because that was his plan—and Atlas would ace it and win her the teddy bear she wanted.
Perfection.
By the end of this day, those two would be tying the knot... all thanks to him. Slater was convinced this would happen; if one plan failed, another would succeed. It was why he had set up all of this and even helped arrange the fireworks so the two of them would have a perfect first kiss by the end of the day.
But, as they say, holding onto expectations sometimes leads to greater disappointments. And Slater would have to be slapped by reality like a punishment. Because reality was far too different from what he had imagined.
On the rollercoaster, while everyone else was screaming for dear life, Lola and Atlas sat motionless in their seats. Atlas looked to the side, staring at the scenery as if he were on a cruise. As for Lola, she was yawning before letting out a deadpan sigh.
"Ahh...?"
Slater, who was seated in front, holding a small hand mirror, scrunched up his nose in dismay.
It’s okay, he told himself. I have a plan A to Z! Don’t give up, Slater! For the future of our family!
"Ahh~! Tickles — hihi~!"
Meanwhile, the twins, seated on either side of him, were giggling happily as if the rollercoaster itself was tickling them.
****
Next stop, the horror booth.
Screams and panic echoed through the dark paths as they—Lola, Atlas, the twins, and Slater—walked through the booth. Along with the screams were horrifying sounds designed to heighten the surprise.
But then—
"Waaaaah!" Someone jumped out from their side, roaring to scare the guests.
Sadly, the new visitors just stopped in their tracks and turned to him. None of them—even the children—jumped or flinched.
"Mister, your makeup is badly done," Chacha suddenly commented, then Second added, "And you shouldn’t shout like that. I don’t think vampires shout—they hiss like cats!"
Atlas cocked his head, studying the "ghost" from head to toe. "You should teach him how it’s done," he said, giving Lola a quick side-eye.
"Hmm." Lola rocked her head and shrugged. "Should I?"
"Mommy, you do better than them! I think you should open a class on how to scare people!" Second suggested. "Chacha and I will help you with the promotion!"
"Not a bad idea," Atlas nodded in satisfaction while Lola seriously considered it. The ghost’s makeup, after all, bothered her a lot.
Slater, standing behind them, gasped. Did they forget this was a horror booth?! How could these four suddenly start giving the poor ghost advice on how to improve?!
"Rawr!!"
Suddenly, another entity jumped from the other side. The second the family turned, the first ghost shook his head profusely, signaling him to retreat.
"They really need to improve this booth," Lola commented with disappointment, and the three—Atlas and the twins—nodded in agreement.
As for Slater: Plan B–FAILED.
Onto Plan C!
****
"You just have to pop the balloons, and if you get them all, you can take a stuffed toy of your choosing!" the staff member explained at one of the gaming booths.
Meanwhile, Slater stood to the side with a smirk. He crossed his arms, eyes darting between the four.
"This time, I’m sure it’s going to work," he muttered like a villain plotting. If no one knew about his plan, one would surely worry about the family. "There’s no way she could do this. Heh."
"Wow..." The twins were in awe as they looked at the stuffed toys displayed on the side.
Meanwhile, Lola smiled at the twins. "Should we try this?"
"Mhm!" they nodded excitedly, shot their father a look, and pointed at the stuffed toys. "We want that!"
Atlas stared at the board where the balloons were. He had been to amusement parks before with his children, and from what he could remember, these balloons weren’t that... tiny. They were the size of grapes. And they weren’t supposed to be placed in impossible locations with big gaps between them.
It was obvious this game didn’t want anyone to win.
"What a horrible marketing strategy," he murmured, shifting his eyes to Lola. "Do you want any of those?"
"Nope, but the kids want them all."
He nodded, readjusting his position as he faced the booth. Lola stood beside him, staring at the tiny balloons.
"Kids, take a step back." Lola stretched her neck from side to side and rolled her shoulders back. "Your father and I will handle this for a second."
"Yey~!" The twins clapped happily and jumped aside.
Slater, on the other hand, narrowed his eyes, watching Lola and Atlas. She stretched her neck and shoulders while Atlas removed his watch and put it in their pocket.
"Wait... why are those two..." he trailed off, mouth opening and closing in disbelief. "Why the hell do they look so serious?"
He flinched when Lola and Atlas picked up the fake guns and started shooting.
Bang!
Bang!
Lola handled the left side while Atlas wiped out all the grape-sized balloons on the right. Not a single one was missed.
"Wow," Lola shot him a look. "You’re good."
Atlas gave her a side-eye. "I’m impressed as well," then shot the staff member a glance. "Won’t you change the board or add more balloons?"
"Huh??" The staff member, still dazed by how seriously the parents were taking the game, gulped.
"They want all the stuffed toys," Lola tipped her head toward the twins. "We’ll play more."
"Please, mister~! Hurry up~!" the twins cheered. "We still have tons of games to play~!"
Hey, taking all the prizes... isn’t that too much? The staff thought, but no rules were limiting the number of games. So long as they were willing to pay, and Lola and Atlas were very willing.
In the end, Lola and Atlas walked away as proud parents, their children hugging their chosen stuffed toys while the rest were sent to the office to be claimed later.
As for Slater, he watched them go, his heart sinking. "What... what just happened?"