The showtime

Zayden caught the piglet easily and smiled. The crane simply followed his orders and successfully landed the plush toy in the collector.

The kids clapped and cheered but Ziana stood with a frown. How was he able to catch them so easily? Crane games were tricky and too advanced for a beginner like him.

"Take it." Zayden shoved the cute pink piglet into Ziana's hands. Scanning her outfit, he added, "It suits you."

The kids giggled at his comment as she was wearing a rose-gold sweater paired with blue jeans and perfectly twinned it with the piglet in her hand.

Ziana looked at her clothes and then at the soft toy in her hand. She snorted in realization and glared at the obnoxious dude. Seriously, he deserved a punch for that line.

"Can you catch that unicorn?" One of the kids asked and Zayden smiled at the girl. He turned around to play another round and Ziana carefully observed his moves.

He simply moved the joystick and the crane slowly proceeded toward the white unicorn. He simply pressed the button and Ziana frowned. He needed to move a little right to catch the unicorn but to her surprise, the crane successfully caught it and the kids cheered happily.

Her frown deepened when his fingers didn't do anything yet the crane started moving towards the collector box. Wait, this was odd.

"Yayyy!" The little girl jumped in delight. She took the unicorn and thanked him with a huge grin.

"Can you get me that bear?" Another kid requested pointing at a brown bear. Zayden nodded and turned around with a mischievous smile.

He caught the bear elegantly and Ziana's frown deepened. At this rate, he would empty the whole machine. She thought glancing at the timer on her smartwatch.

"Thank you, brother." The girl happily took the bear and blushed as Zayden ruffled her hair.

"You are really handsome." She mumbled making Ziana scoff while Zayden chuckled at her comment.

This guy was using his manipulation tricks again and she was left speechless.

"I don't want to play this anymore." Ziana declared as Zayden turned around to continue the match. She took a deep breath to calm her anger as Zayden looked at her in confusion.

"Do I look dumb to you?" She asked, crossing her arms in frustration. She had a brain as well and knew exactly what he was doing to the poor machine. And continuing this stupid game was like digging her own grave.

And when Zayden innocently blinked, she sneered. "You are using your powers to move the crane. Aren't you?"

"Yes I am using one of my powers," Zayden mumbled, and turning towards the machine, he continued, "and its intelligence."

Ziana scoffed out loud. He was indeed obnoxious!

"I think she is jealous." One of the kids murmured slightly louder. She turned around and glared at the group in disbelief.

"Excuse me! I would rather lick someone's shoes than be jealous of him."

Alright. That was totally bizarre but Ziana held her chin high as the kids stared at her in shock. Zayden laughed astonished at her choice of words. She acted stupid sometimes and it was cute.

"What's happening here?" Lia walked towards them followed by Ivan and Xavier. They had been searching for them and weren't expecting to find them with a bunch of kids.

"They were having a match and we came to watch them." One of the kids explained and turning to Ziana, he continued, "But this aunty suddenly started a fight saying he was cheating."

The little boy paused, pondering if it would be appropriate to say it. But he continued, "And she said she would lick someone's shoes but not be jealous of this brother."

All the other kids nodded in agreement while the trio gasped at the little boy's last sentence. And Ziana wanted to run away now that the kid had rephrased it for her. Her face flushed with shame and she regretted spouting such nonsense in anger.

But wait, did he just call her Aunty? Her eyes widened in realization and she glared at the little boy. What irked her more was his address to this jerk!

"I'm much younger than him." She defended, crossing her arms.

"But he looks much younger than you." The girl holding the unicorn pouted. She didn't like this aunty bullying a kind brother like him.

"I agree with that." Ivan joined the wagon and held back his chuckle. It was a pleasure to see his sister getting roasted by a bunch of little kids.

"While he looks like a prince charm coming out of a magazine." He scanned Zayden and then moved to his sister, his face filling with confusion.

"She totally looks like a raccoon." He added with a neutral expression and the grim reapers burst into laughter. So even humans share similar opinions about her.

Ziana balled her fists and gritted her teeth. She was tired of getting bullied by everyone. Even this bunch of idiots not even half her age were laughing at her and she couldn't take it anymore.

"This is all because of you." Ziana glowered at the annoying creature who blinked innocently. "And mark my words, I will make you rot in hell." She added furiously.

"Well, hell is nothing new to me." Zayden replied with a thug smile.

"And technically, I also own a part of it." He boosted with a smirk and Ziana dug her nails into her palm. This bastard never really let her win an argument!

"Stop it now." Lia warned him as the poor girl was almost on the verge of crying.

"You never entered an arcade in your lifetime and this is your first time playing such games." Lia said pointing at the claw machine. And when Zayden's face grimaced, she added, "So it's obvious that you were cheating earlier."

"I was playing fair." Zayden defended himself and Ziana snorted. She wanted to set this liar on fire!

"He is lying." Ziana spoke and pointed at the crane. "He was using his powers..." Realizing that her brother and kids were here too, she rephrased it, "He was manipulating that crane."

But that still made Ivan frown in confusion. Even the kids started murmuring about her mental state.

Lia and Xavier understood what she meant and sighed out loud. They shook their heads and looked at Zayden in disappointment. That was a pretty lame move and brought shame to their sorcery.

"How about we have another match?" Xavier suggested and his next statement excited Ziana. "This time we will make sure he doesn't cheat."

"How?" She asked doubting his motives. What if he was tricking her to play with his brother and lose her face?

"Trust me, he will be on the same level as you." Lia said and smiled at her prince. If he liked bullying her, they would love playing with him more.

Ivan was unable to catch their conversation and even Ziana was confused.

Lia sensed her trouble and leaned closer. "We will block his powers." She whispered.

Ziana's brows shot up and a smile spread across her lips. Zayden sulked at her comment but didn't argue about it. He needed to save his pride anyways and prove himself.

"The rule is simple. You will challenge your opponent with a particular target and they should catch it within three trials." Lia stated and everyone liked it. "The rewards will be the same as in the last match." She added with a smile and Ziana grinned.

"I will go first." Ziana declared without hesitation and Zayden felt something hit his veins.

Fear? Yes, he was slightly afraid of her confidence now.

"Zayden select a toy for her." Lia ordered giving him not even a second to process the whole thing.

"Pick the hardest one, Zayden. She is a pro player." Ivan commented and Zayden his throat tense up. He gulped and nodded before stepping forward towards the machine.

"Good luck." Lia patted Ziana's shoulder who was now beaming with new energy. Yes, this was her time to shine and show this asshole his place.

The kids also surrounded the machine and silently cheered Zayden. He had won their hearts and Ziana wanted to crash each of them.

"That rabbit." Zayden said and pointed at a white bunny near the edge of the glass chamber. It was near the corner at the end and a difficult target for Ziana.

Everyone tensed up but Ziana was oddly calm. She nodded and moved to the center as he stepped back to give her space.

Stretching her fingers, Ziana took a deep breath and held the joystick. She moved the crane diagonally, slowly but smartly reaching the end corner of the glass chamber. She pressed the button and the crane started moving downwards. Everyone held their breaths as it neared the white bunny and clicked.

It effortlessly grabbed the plush and moved upwards. Ziana held on to the joystick and slowly moved it toward the collector. And even before anyone realized it, the cute white bunny was quickly dropped into the basket leaving the kids in awe.

Even Lia and Xavier were astonished by her skills. Ivan held a proud smile but it faded soon after when she turned around to face them.

One of the kids took the bunny and giggled passing it to her. "You were awesome!"

"Thank you." Ziana smiled and looked at Zayden who had a strained expression.

And it was her time to smirk.

This jerk will pay for all her sufferings today.