Oliver, Isaac and Miette
There were two stands for the kinesis shooting gallery. While one was being used, the other would be set up with 250 targets, suitable to the next contestant. That is, if the next contestant was a pyrokinetic all the targets would be flammable. If it were a hydrokinetic all the targets would be capable of holding water in some fashion, so one and so forth.
The first contestant went up. She drenched 133 targets. The next burned 203. A couple more kinetics followed and then it was Oliver's turn.
Oliver stepped up to the platform. The bell rang and he was off like a... well, a shot. He stuck out his tongue in concentration, knowing he was missing quite a few targets. He supposed this is what happened when you spend all your life trying not to start fires, and then suddenly want to. He knocked down 97 - the lowest so far.
Still, he felt slightly better when two of the next twelve who followed did worse than him.
Mary Sue had her turn then and knocked down a whopping 239 - the highest so far. A few contestants later though, and her score was nailed by a hydrokinetic who drowned 241.
Soon it was Isaac's turn. All the practicing he had down lately seemed to pay off as the three sets of targets came moving across the stand. He seemed to pick them off with extraordinatey ease. But would he beat 241? And for that matter, even if he did there were still six more contestants to go. What was there to say one of them wouldn't kick his butt?
The last of the targets went down, and Isaac walked back to the sides. Miette gave him a hug.
"That was amazing," she said.
"Thanks."
"Two hundred and -" but Isaac didn't get to hear the end of the judge's sentance as one of the hands accidently dropped a box of targets he were carrying over to the stand for the next contestant.
"How many, did you hear how many?" Isaac asked Miette.
She shook her head no.
None of the other contestants beat 241, and upon inquiry of other people, it seemed that no one else had heard it either. Why hadn't the judge repeated it? He would have gone and asked them (there had been two judges present, as expected), sadly they had movedon before he got a chance.
"That be right," Isaac muttered. "The one tournament that the hydro who has won every single year for goodness knows how long is a judge is the same year I get beaten by another hydro."
"You may still have beat him. You didn't have many targets that you missed," Miette offered.
"Did you happen to count them?"
"Afraid not."
"Dang."
"You'll find out if you won or not tonight, I'm sure."
"And that's the thing," Isaac went on. "They haven't always said how many second place got. And as to that, there's nothing to say that I got second place. One of those last guys cot 240! So yeah, there's hydro, pyro and then Mary Sue. Just my luck to be beaten by Mary Sue. Meh, the anticipation is going to kill me."
"I'm sure you'll survive."