The Big Win

by Winter Morgan

  Although the fishing tournament was to take place the next morning, D. J. was already dressed for the event. He carried a tackle box and wore a waterproof vest, rainboots, and a sun hat.

  “I’m so excited to host the event on Furtopia. Thank you for inviting me here, Janey,” D. J. said. “It’s so nice getting to meet all the contestants before the competition.”

  “We’re so excited to meet you,” Happy said. “I’ve always wanted to be in a fishing competition.”

  “They are a lot of fun,” Janey said.

  “Yes,” D. J. said. “I’ve hosted so many competitions and everyone always has a good time.”

  “What about the ones who come in last place?” Alana asked.

  “There’s always someone who comes in last. A lot of time a bunch of participants tie for last place,” D. J. said. “And there are folks who lose and the next time they enter the competition they win. It’s all just good fun.”

  This comment made Alana feel better and, for the first time, she was actually looking forward to the competition.

  The next morning, she awoke early and was one of the first contestants to arrive at the competition.

  “Welcome,” D. J. greeted her. He stood next to Janey, who was helping him prepare for the competition. Janey and Bobby put the first, second, and third place trophies on a small table. Alana looked at the trophies and wondered if she could win one.

  Happy jogged over. “Am I late? I was just trying to get my cardio in before the competition started.”

  “Nope,” D. J. said. “You’re right on time.”

  Lars and Carl strolled over to the shore. Carl yawned and said, “Is there time for a quick nap before the competition starts?”

  “I’m afraid not.” D. J. looked at his watch. “It’s about to begin shortly.”

  Feathers called out, “Wait for me!”

  “Of course,” D. J. said.

  “And me!” Wayne sprinted to the shore.

  Tick and Tock showed up and stood by the trophy table. Tick said, “We will buy the fish you catch.”

  “We have great prices for fish,” Tock added.

  “Looks like everything is all set. Get your fishing rods out,” D. J. announced. “Let’s begin.”

  Bobby walked over to Alana. “You’re going to do a great job,” he said. “You worked very hard and you’ve seriously improved your fishing skills. I’m proud of you.”

  “Thank you,” Alana said.

  D. J. started the timer and Alana cast her line into the clear blue ocean water and hoped a fish would bite. She felt a pull, but Alana’s palms were sweaty, and the fishing rod almost slipped out of her hand. “At least I caught one fish,” Alana thought as she placed the sea bass into her bucket.

  CHAPTER 15

  COUNTING WHAT YOU CAUGHT

  There were two minutes left and Alana had caught three fish. If she kept up at this pace, she would catch nine fish. She looked over at Janey, who pulled two fish off a single hook, and started to panic. It was obvious Janey was going to win, but Alana hoped she wouldn’t come in last place. As her heart pounded, Alana took a deep breath and reminded herself to have fun. Once she stopped focusing on what the other contestants were catching or where she placed in the competition, she started to enjoy herself, and Alana even caught two fish at once. She piled the fish into the bucket. When D. J. announced that the competition was over, Alana was shocked to see that her bucket was overflowing with fish.

  Alana quickly turned around to see if she could spot her time-traveling self, hiding behind the tree, but she was already gone. She couldn’t believe she had traveled into the future to prepare for this competition and that she had contemplated using special bait. She was glad she didn’t use the bait.

  “Tick and Tock will help me count the fish,” D. J. said as he asked everyone to step back from their buckets.

  Bobby looked over at Alana’s bucket and smiled. “I knew you’d do well.”

  “I know,” Alana said proudly. “I was able to catch all these fish without using the bait.”

  “See? All you needed to do was practice,” Bobby said.

  “You were a great coach,” Alana replied.

  Happy ran over to Alana. “I don’t think you came in last place. I saw your bucket and it was so full of fish. I didn’t catch too many, but that’s okay. You win some, you lose some.”

  The group waited patiently for the results, but they felt like it was taking an eternity. Alana watched as Tick, Tock, and D. J. pulled the fish from each bucket and counted what everyone had caught.

  Feathers walked over to Alana. “Are you planning on selling all of your fish? I ask this because I was hoping you could donate a few to the museum.”

  “Of course,” Alana said, and then asked, “What about the fish you caught?”

  “I only caught two and I wanted to have a few more fish in the museum,” Feathers replied.

  D. J. tallied all the fish and called out, “We will announce the winners.”

  Everyone crowded around the table that housed the three trophies. D. J. called out, “The third place winner is Lars.”

  Lars received his trophy and everyone cheered.

  “The second place winner is Alana,” D. J. announced.

  Alana couldn’t believe D. J. had called her name. Everyone cheered, but Alana could hear Bobby’s voice over the applause. “I knew you could do it,” he yelled.

  D. J. picked up the first place trophy. “The first place trophy goes to Janey.”

  As the crowd cheered, Janey took her trophy and said, “Now I’m going to place this on the shelf in my new house. I am so glad I moved to Furtopia. Everyone made me feel so welcome here, and I’m so thankful for that. I also hope this will be the first of many fishing competitions to be held on Furtopia. D. J., do you plan on coming back?”

  “Of course! Look at all the skilled fishermen on this island. I’m impressed with each of you. Also the last twenty-four hours on Furtopia has been so much fun. In fact, I’m going to stay for the party.”

  “What party?” Lars asked.

  Alana was shocked that D. J. had mentioned the surprise party. Alana hoped he didn’t mention the pool. She hoped they could keep that a surprise, since the party was only a day away.

  “The one I plan on throwing tonight to celebrate Janey winning the fishing tournament,” D. J. said as he tried to get himself out of trouble.

  “Nobody told me about it,” Lars said.

  “I think we assumed everyone would want to have a celebration. Sorry if I forgot to tell you,” Janey said.

  “It’s going to be a beach party,” D. J. said, and then added that they would also do some night fishing.

  Feathers remarked, “That’s great because I want to get some rare fish for the museum and there’s a better chance of catching them at night.”

  Tick and Tock announced that they were prepared to buy any fish and offer plenty of bells in return. Before Alana sold her fish, she handed three to Feathers. “This is for the museum.”

  “You are so generous. How can I ever repay you?” Feathers asked.

  “There’s no need. The museum is one of my favorite places on the island and I just want you to have everything you need to make it the best museum,” Alana replied.

  “Thank you,” Feathers said with a smile.

  As the gang sold their fish to Tick and Tock, they found themselves overflowing with bells.

  “We’re rich!” Happy exclaimed, as she put the shiny new bells in her pocket and said to Alana, “Normally I would have spent all these bells on clothes at the tailor shop, but I think I’m going to save them.”

  “Maybe you should spend some of these bells on a present for Lars,” Alana said in a whisper.

  “Good idea! What do you think he wants?” Happy asked.

  “Let’s go to the store and pick out something for him,” Alana suggested.

  Alana and Happy walked to the center of town, with Alana clutching her second place trophy wi
th a big smile on her face.

  CHAPTER 16

  NIGHT FISHING

  Alana didn’t have time to celebrate with an evening of night fishing and dancing, because she had to get everything ready for Lars’s surprise party. Happy, Carl, Bobby, and Janey decided to meet at Alana’s house before they went night fishing, to go over the last details.

  “How are we going to get Lars over to the pool?” Alana asked.

  Janey suggested, “Why don’t I have him over for dinner? When he arrives, I’ll ask him to take a walk and we’ll walk to the pool. We can have everyone at the pool and when we show up, you can all shout ‘Surprise!’”

  “That sounds like a great plan,” Happy said.

  “The hard part,” Carl said with a yawn, “will be setting everything up without Lars noticing. How are we going to get balloons, a piñata, and a tray full of cupcakes from Alana’s house to the pool without Lars noticing?”

  “I have an idea,” Happy said. “I can ask him to soak in the rays with me at the beach. You know how much Lars loves the beach. You guys can move everything over to the pool while I’m with Lars.”

  “This sounds like the best plan ever,” Janey said. “I’m so glad I moved to Furtopia and am able to be part of this community. I feel like I have so many best friends here and everyone really cares about each other.”

  Alana smiled. She was also glad Janey was here. Alana couldn’t believe how much she had grown to like Janey. At first, she was jealous of Lars and Janey’s friendship, but now she understood that the more friends you had, the better off you were. When they were done planning the last details for the party, the group made their way to the shore for an evening of celebration and night fishing.

  When they arrived at the shore, Lars was fishing beside D. J. Lars asked, “Where were you guys? I thought I was the only one who was showing up!”

  “Sorry we’re late,” Janey said, and she pulled out her fishing rod and cast her line into the water.

  “We were all a bit tired from the competition,” Alana explained.

  The sun had set and there was only a faint glow of the moon peeking out from the clouds. She felt a sprinkle of water on her arm. Alana asked, “Did anyone else feel a raindrop?”

  “Yes,” Happy said. “It’s drizzling.”

  Tick, Tock, and Wayne arrived and were ready to build a big bonfire. Wayne said, “I don’t think the bonfire is going to work. The rain will put it out.”

  Feathers raced toward the water in the dark. “Did you catch anything? Did you find any rare fish?”

  “Not yet,” Janey said.

  The rain began to fall harder and everyone pulled out their rain slickers. “I’m so upset that we can’t have a bonfire,” D. J. remarked.

  The only one who was excited about the rain was Feathers. “You know that you find the rarest and best fish during a night rainstorm. I really hope we catch a coelacanth. So far, I have one in the museum, thanks to Alana, and I’d love to have another one.”

  Thunder boomed and lighting was seen skimming the water’s surface. D. J. suggested they end the night fishing celebration. “I think this might be too dangerous.”

  “Why doesn’t everyone come back to my house and we can celebrate there?” Alana suggested, but then she remembered that her home was filled with all the supplies for Lars’s party and regretted inviting everyone.

  “That sounds like a great idea!” Happy exclaimed.

  Fortunately, at that very moment, the rain stopped. “Wait,” Alana said, “I don’t feel any raindrops.”

  “Me neither,” Carl said.

  The light from the moon lit up the sea as the clouds parted and the rain stopped. Wayne, Tick, and Tock started to make a bonfire on the beach. Avis and Tavis walked over to the group. Avis was carrying a tape deck and she placed it on the sand.

  “Anyone up for a dance party?” Tavis asked.

  “We wore our party dresses!” Avis exclaimed. Both Tavis and Avis were dressed in purple dresses and wore big bows atop their heads.

  “I will dance in a minute,” Feathers said as he stood on the shore. “I want to see if I can catch a coelacanth.”

  Alana walked over to Feathers. “This isn’t a time to focus on goals. It’s a time to have fun. I promise that I will go night fishing with you at another time and we will try to catch a coelacanth.”

  Feathers smiled. “You’re right. Tonight is a time for celebrations. We just hosted our first fishing tournament and soon D. J. will be leaving to host other tournaments around the universe, and we should enjoy this fun night alongside him.”

  “That’s the spirit!” Alana grabbed his hand and they danced on the sandy beach.

  As the clouds parted, more stars appeared in the night sky, illuminating the beach. The gang danced as they celebrated the first fishing competition on Furtopia. Alana wondered what other fun events might happen on this island. She smiled as she danced alongside all of her friends. Tomorrow, they would have a second celebration for Lars’s birthday. There was less than twenty-four hours before Lars’s party and she hoped they would all be able to keep it a secret until then.

  CHAPTER 17

  CELEBRATIONS

  In the morning, Alana just wanted to stay in bed. She had spent most of the night dancing on the beach with her friends and she didn’t have the energy to get up. She still had a lot to do to prepare for Lars’s party, but she could barely keep her eyes open. Alana decided to sleep a bit longer and hoped that would do the trick.

  She awoke to a knock at her door. She looked over at her clock. It was after eleven, and she still hadn’t started on the cupcakes and filled the piñata. She climbed out of bed, and with a yawn, opened the front door.

  Lars stood in the doorway. “Alana, do you want to go to the beach with me? I feel like everyone is busy and I am so bored.”

  “I can’t,” Alana said. “I’m also busy.”

  “Why is everyone so busy? What’s going on?”

  “I think we were all preoccupied with the fishing competition and once that was over, we realized we had a lot of crafting projects and stuff we had put aside. Or at least that’s how it is for me. I know Happy wanted to go to the beach.”

  “Okay, but can you go for a little while? It doesn’t have to be for very long. I mean, today is a special day for me,” Lars said.

  “Yes, it’s your birthday,” Alana said. She felt bad. She didn’t want Lars to think that she had forgotten his birthday.

  “I feel like nobody remembered,” Lars said with a frown.

  “No, I didn’t forget. I bought you a hammock.”

  “Well you didn’t wish me a happy birthday when you opened the door. I thought my birthday was going to be more than adequate, but it’s turning out to be a disappointment.”

  Alana didn’t know what to say, so she replied, “Let’s go to the beach to celebrate your birthday, but I can only stay an hour. We should stop by Happy’s first and see if she wants to come.”

  “Okay, I guess an hour is fine,” Lars said.

  Alana and Lars didn’t have to go to Happy’s house, because the minute they stepped onto Alana’s front porch, Happy jogged past them.

  “Lars! I’m supposed to ask you if you wanted to go to the beach,” Happy said as she jogged in place.

  “You were supposed to ask me?” Lars was confused.

  “I’m sorry, that came out all wrong. What I mean is, do you want to go to the beach with me? Once I finish up my daily cardio, I want to spend the day soaking in the rays and Alana suggested you should go with me because she’s busy.”

  “I’m going to hang out at the beach for a bit because it’s Lars’s birthday and he wants to spend it at the beach,” Alana informed her.

  “Happy birthday, Lars! I bought you the best present. I can’t wait to give it to you at the—” Happy stopped talking and just jogged in place.

  “At the what?” Lars asked.

  “At the beach,” Happy replied. “I have to go home and get it.”<
br />
  Alana was happy that Lars didn’t ask any questions on the walk to the beach. Once they arrived, he picked a spot on the sand near the coconut tree and sat down. “I think I want to hang out here and then go for a swim.”

  “Do you want a coconut?” Alana asked as she picked one from the tree.

  “Of course. It will definitely make my birthday more than adequate.” Lars ate the coconut.

  As they sat underneath the shady coconut tree, Alana spotted a bottle that had washed up on the shore. She walked over and picked it up. “Lars,” Alana called out, “get up. It’s your birthday, so you should open the message in the bottle.”

  Lars got up. He unscrewed the top and took out the note. It said:

  Dear Stranger,

  I’m sending this to you because it’s the most awesome DIY project in the world and I had to share it with you. I’ve already shared it with all the residents of my amazing island, and they agree this project is super awesome. Here are the directions for making a ukulele.

  Signed,

  A DIY musician

  “I have all the materials to make this!” Alana said. “I’m going to make a ukulele for you. It will be my new birthday present.”

  “Thank you,” Lars said. “I’d love that.”

  Alana saw Happy jogging toward the beach with a balloon in hand. As she got closer, she began singing “Happy Birthday.” When she was finished, she said, “I love that my name is Happy, because when I celebrate birthdays with my friends, it’s really a HAPPY birthday.” She giggled when she said this and then handed the balloon to Lars.

  Lars tied the balloon to the tree. “This is beginning to feel like a birthday party.”

  When Lars said that Alana realized that she had so many things left to do for the party. “I’m sorry, I have to excuse myself, but I have a lot to do today.”

  Lars said he understood, and she sprinted home. She was excited to surprise Lars with his big birthday bash at the pool later that day.

  Chapter 18

  Another Year Older

  When the final cupcake was iced, the ukulele completed, and the piñata filled, Alana carried everything over to the pool. With each step she took to toward the pool, she looked around for Lars. She was finally able to exhale when she reached the pool without being seen. She hung up the piñata and placed the cupcakes on the table.