Final
The Winning Shell"Yuri, I don't wanna play anymore..." Little Jessica whined and sat on the sand, pouting.
"Sica! Stand up or else you'll lose!!" Yuri shouted from a few meters ahead, before laughing out loud.
At the moment, Jessica hated Yuri's guts. The sun was scorching hot, the sand was burning her feet, and her body was sweating nonstop. All in all, it was a very hot day at the beach. And Yuri still had to force her to go with her, claiming that a best friend would do what the other wants.
"I'll go with Tiffany, then. Tiff— Ouch!" Yuri had said earlier at their apartment but selfish little Jessica pinched her side before Yuri could finish her sentence. "A-Arasso! But you have to come with me, I'm gonna win this time!"
Jessica sighed at the persistent Yuri and shouted back, "Go ahead without me! I'll search over here!"
"Okay, I'll be back! Stay there, okay?" 6-year-old Yuri waved her hand before going back to her business — searching for the most beautiful shell in the beach.
The bestfriends had been playing this game ever since they met here at the beach. Most of the time, Jessica wins since Yuri would get distracted easily. The tanned girl would swim instead of continuing the game or build a sand castle before exclaiming, 'Where art thou, my princess?! Come to my castle and you shall never search for the Winning shell again!'.
Jessica laughed by herself as she remembered that moment. Her Yuri was such a stupid, innocent girl. They've known each other for almost 3 years and all this time, she hid her feelings towards the latter. She had a crush on Yuri.
"I got the Winning shell!" She heard her best friend's shout and looked to her direction. Yuri had a wide smile plastered on her sweaty face. She was running while her right hand was behind her. Her Mickey Mouse shirt was wet.
Jessica picked whatever shell that was close to her and waited for Yuri to come near. "I found a Winning shell too!"
"I'm gonna win this time, I'm sure of it!" Yuri grinned and stood in front of Jessica. "Lemme see yours first!"
The older of the two stood up and opened her hand, showing her Winning shell. Yuri laughed with a hint of mockery. "Are you sure this is your best bet, Sica?"
"Yah! I can't concentrate at all because of the sun!" Jessica stomped her feet. "Besides, I think I should give you a chance to win this time since you're always the loser." She teased and crossed her arms.
Yuri gasped and knocked her best friend's forehead softly, "You're mean! I'm not gonna show you my Winning shell anymore." Then, she walked away and ignored Jessica's calls.
"Yuri! I was just teasing, come on!" Jessica held her laughter back. She knew how much Yuri hated losing and how competitive she is.
When she got no response, she gave up and followed the latter who was already a few meters away from her.
"Okay, Yuri-ah. I'm sorry, I was just teasing you." She said loudly. "Show me your Winning shell, I bet yours is prettier than mine — YURI!"
Yuri tripped and fell on the ground with her knees. Jessica panicked and ran towards her crush. Screw you, Mr. Sun.
Jessica worriedly scrambled in front of her, looking for any injuries. "Yuri-ah, are you hurt? Let's go back to Omma's villa, come on."
Still getting no response from the latter, she grew angry and said, "I already said sorry, didn't I? Now is not the time for you to sulk like a... like a kid! Not under this sun. So, please."
'I hate getting ignored, especially by you!' She wanted to add but kept quiet and watched as Yuri looked up and smiled sheepishly. Little Jessica looked at her weirdly, despite her heart racing at the sight.
"W-What?! Why are you s-smiling?!" She stuttered and glared at the latter.
"Your glares don't scare me anymore, Sica!" Little Yuri laughed and fumbled her pockets. "Here's my Winning shell!"
Yuri handed a small white clam shell on Jessica's tiny palm. It looked... simple. Not even extraordinary. But it was famliar.
"Huh? This is it, Yuri-ah?" She blinked. "Then it is safe to say that I won—"
"Open the shell first!" Yuri urged and grinned wider.
Little Jessica blinked once more after opening the shell. No wonder it looked so familiar to her, because it was her Mother's palm mirror!
"Tell me what you see!" Yuri was excited.
"I see Omma's stuff and a thief in front of me."
"No! I meant, tell me what you see on the shell!"
Jessica sighed and looked at herself on the mirror. Her cheeks were red, maybe because of the sun or her bestfriend in front of her. She was wet with sweat, and strands of her hair was sticking on her forehead.
"I see a sweaty Jessica. Now what?" She tried to deadpan.
"Tada! My Winning Shell!" Yuri jumped from the ground and hugged her bestfriend, "Yuri loves Sica!"
Jessica was blushing and her heart was beating too fast, she remembered the feeling of riding a rollercoaster. Damn you, cheesy Yuri.
Being the prideful of the two, she pushed Yuri and huffed.
"Your face is a tomato!" Yuri teased.
"S-Shut up!" She retorted, "Let's just g-go back to the villa, I'm hungry." Then she started marching, trying to hide her reddened face.
After a few seconds, she felt someone beside her and a hand snaking around hers, intertwining their tiny fingers together.
"Let's keep on playing The Winning Shell until we get old, Sica-yah."
Jessica looked at Yuri and saw the latter grinning. She smiled back and nodded. Then, she pulled her hand away and ran ahead.
"First one gets the ice cream!"
****
15 years later...
"Yah. *slap* Kwon. *slap* Yuri!! *slaps*", Jessica yelled with tears falling from her eyes.
"C-Calm down, Sica! What did I do wrong?!" Yuri rubbed her abused arm.
"What is this inside your Winning Shell?!"
Jessica could see Yuri gulp before answering, "A... A r-ring?"
She ran her hand through her hair and handed the shell back to Yuri — who immediately knelt down as soon as she got the shell.
"Will you marry—"
"Yes, of course I will—"
"—this shell?"
Jessica sobbed louder before dropping on the ground, not in the mood for Yuri's jokes. She could hear Yuri laughing before feeling a pair of arms around her trembling body.
"Just kidding, my fiancée." The latter said, earning a bite on the shoulder from the crying Jessica.
And they lived happily ever after. :)
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