Powering Through Peppers

It was a brisk winter morning, and Arugala, Izara and Peep were looking for an excuse to stay out of the cold. Thus they found themselves at the carnival, a warm respite and an exciting opportunity for some entertainment. They arrived with no clear goal, merely meandering and enjoying the marvels.

 “I want to check out the competitions and games, they sound like a lot of fun.” Peep suggested, gesturing towards the aerospace wing, abuzz with activity. Izara nodded eagerly, prancing ahead and watching the queues forming.

 “Oh but we should hurry then, it’s so busy here.” She noted. Peep and Argula trotted behind as she lead the charge, weaving through the crowd. An impressive array of carnival games had been set up, most already being thoroughly enjoyed by carnival guests. A pair of Cryolophosaurus were attempting to toss hoops onto a Styracosaurus’ horns to their left, while a trio of Tapejara bobbed for shiny apples to their right. They saw a game involving knocking down stacked bottles, another which seemed to involve trying to scoop little fish up with a shallow net. For all the fun these other guests were having, the Parasaurolophus trio had yet to spot something that caught their eye. That was until they heard an announcement up ahead.

 “Step right up, step right up! Calling all lovers of heat, step right up and take a crack at our hot pepper competition? Do you have what it takes to eat the most hot peppers in all of the isles? Then come sign up! Sign ups are currently running, the competition begins in 10 minutes!” A loud voice called. Arugula looked back at the other two with a sly grin.

 “That sounds like fun. I dunno about you two, but I’m pretty hungry. Shall we give it a shot?” He suggested. They both nodded, following him to the source of the announcement. A stage had been set up beneath one of the aeroplanes that hung from the ceiling, and on the stage stood none other than Ringmaster Cheron, talking with prospective participants. They shouldered their way forward, eager to join in the competition. Cheron smiled when he saw them, beckoning them closer.

 “My, you sure look like some eager participants. Looking to join in?” He asked. When they nodded in response, he whipped out a notepad, peering down at them. “Excellent, excellent. I’ll just take your names then ask you to come around backstage. Once we have all our signups you’ll get a quick debrief on how the contest will go, and then we’ll get started.” He instructed.

 “I’m Arugala, this is Peep and this is Izara. Thank you for the opportunity.” Arugula said, gesturing to the other two in turn. Cheron nodded and wrote something down, before gesturing at them to take their place behind the stage. 

Backstage deconstructed plane parts had been repurposed with blankets into seating, with a few other participants milling about. Two Utahraptor, an Anteosaurus, a Euplocephalus and a Therizinosaurus were waiting, and while they gave the Para trio a friendly wave, there was a definite competitive stiffness in their gazes. Everyone was here to win. A Pachycephalosaurus joined the group, and not long after Cheron made his appearance.

 “Fantastic, so you are all our participants for tonight. My assistants are currently preparing the stage for you all, when the competition begins I will go up on stage and call you all out one by one and direct you to your seats. Once you’re all seated, I’ll explain the contest to the audience, and at my command it will begin. You will find a platter of peppers in front of you. Do not touch them until I say ‘begin’. You may only eat each pepper one at a time, and must chew and swallow the entire pepper before you attempt the next one. There is a bowl of herbs and water at your seat that will ease the pain from the peppers, however you may only drink from it after tapping out. As such, taking a drink will signal that you are out. If you handle the peppers at all, please avoid touching your face. Trust me, it’ll hurt. Any questions?” He informed, looking about expectantly. When all he got was silence and a few shaking heads, he clapped his hands together with a grin. “Fantastic. Oh, and of course. You’ll all receive tickets for participating, even if you tap out first. This contest can be a lot, so don’t feel a need to push yourself further than what you’re capable of. With that said, let’s get started!”

Cheron vanished up onto the stage, introducing himself to the crowd before beginning to call everyone up one by one. Finally he got to the Paras.

 “Arugala!”

 “Izara!”

 “Peep!”

One by one they made their way upstage and took their seats. Various tables and chairs from around the museum had been set up as tables for the participants, with a mound of peppers piled on each. They were evil looking little things, wrinked and small. The gravity of what they were going to have to endure was starting to sink in as Cheron explained the contest to the eager crowd that was growing around the stage.

 “Who of us do you think will break first?” Izara whispered, clearly nervous about the peppers in front of her.

 “Arugala for sure, he’s all talk no game.” Peep whispered back with a little giggle. Arugula narrowed his eyes at her with a smile.

 “Oh those are fighting words. Game on Peep, I’m beating you for sure.”

 “And that about wraps up the explanation, time to get started! Well dear contestants, are we ready?” Cheron finished, turning to the line of participants. Everyone nodded, and Cheron grinned. He slowly raised a wing, anticipation building. “Well then… ready… set… begin!” He crowed, swinging his wing down.

Everyone was quick to pop a pepper in their mouth, some of the reactions immediate as they began to chew. Red-hot spice spread across their mouths, tears already welling. One of the Utahraptors spat it out immediately, bright red and coughing. The crowd hollered and Cheron turned in surprise.

 “Out already! Let’s see how long everyone else holds on.”

Peep and Arugala were shockingly stonefaced compared to most of their competitors, though they certainly felt the heat. Izara on the other hand was struggling. She wavered as she went to grab her second pepper, the spice clearly getting to her. She eyed the soothing drink in front of her, but steeled her resolve and crunched down on her next pepper. She regret her choice quite quickly, this one somehow tasting spicer than the last. She spat it out with a grunt and dunked her face into her bowl, chugging down her drink as fast as possible. Relief washed over her mouth, and she sat back with a sigh.

 “That’s Izara out! Things are really heating up here, folks.” Cheron crowed. Izara smiled sheepishly at Peep and Arugala, who gave her as much of a sympathetic nod as they could muster without breaking their concentration on the task ahead.

It didn’t take long for more competitors to tap out. The Euoplocephalus was quick to follow Izara, as was the Pachycephalosaurus. Around seven peppers in the second Utahraptor gave in, and a pepper later the Anteosaurus did too. It was now down to Peep, Arugula and the Therizinosaurus Peaches, and none of them showed signs of cracking. Eyes tearing and mouths salivating, they were powering through with impressive determination.

Eight peppers. Peep eyed her drink, but didn’t give in to temptation. Arugula felt like his mouth might be on fire forever. Peaches chewed.

Nine peppers. Peep’s eyes were red. Arugula’s vision was fuzzy. Peaches still showed no signs of cracking.

Ten peppers. Peep’s mouth was working overtime, practically drooling as she tried to work through the heat. Arugala stomped his foot to distract himself from the pain. Still Peaches chewed.

Eleven peppers. Suddenly, Peaches yelled in exasperation and grabbed her drink, chugging it down. The crowd cheered, and Cheron clapped.

 “That’s Peaches out at eleven peppers, very impressive. A round of applause for Peaches for making it this far!” He said, the audience giving Peach a heartfelt applause. “That leaves us down to Arugala and Peep. If I am not mistaken they’re from the same herd, so they could tap out after the next pepper and take the reward home together to save themselves from the heat. Or will they choose to continue competing and see who lasts longer?”

Peep and Arugala both knew what they had to do. They had to win. There was no way they could let the other take victory now. Twelve peppers. Thirteen peppers. Fourteen peppers. Finally, at the fifteenth pepper, there was a break.

Arugula was feeling dizzy. He wanted so badly to win, but he knew he couldn’t hold out any longer. He finally tapped out, gulping down his drink.

 “Arugala is out! That leaves Peep as our victor. Everyone give a round of applause to Arugala, and an extra big round of applause to Peep!” Cheron cheered. Peeped sighed with relief as she was finally able to take her drink, eager to finally escape the heat. “Arugala and Peep, be sure to rejoin me backstage to receive your prize. Thank you all for coming folks!”

 “Not bad. You held on well.” Peep said to Arugala, who grunted in response.

 “Not bad yourself. You handle pressure well.” He replied as he fanned himself. Izara poked her head up from backstage and beckoned at them both.

 “C’mon you two, let’s go get your prizes.”