From Sneers to Cheers: Anthea’s Ascent

Chapter 237

After a vigorous hour–long hike, Annie and Sarah finally crested the hilltop.

They’d picked up some candles at a quaint little shop along the way and dropped a couple of coins into the donation box before heading into the chapel to offer a heartfelt prayer, their foreheads softly touching the ground in reverence. Once their spiritual moment was complete, they stepped back outside into the hustle and bustle of the fair.

The first of the month always saw the area around the Chapel come alive with vendors of all sorts.

Food and fun. Everything your heart could desire.

“Annie, check out the ring toss over there!” Sarah pointed excitedly towards a crowd a short distance away.

Annie nodded in agreement.

Ten bucks got you twenty rings, and whatever you hooked, you kept.

But with the prizes set at a challenging distance, many had dropped a pretty penny only to walk away empty–handed.

Undeterred, Sarah bought twenty rings and handed half to Annie.

Annie raised an eyebrow with a playful smirk, “With all these rings, if we hook everything, how on earth are we going to carry our loot back down?”

The booth owner, overhearing her, chuckled and said, “Now, that’s some confidence! Tell you what, if you manage to hook every single prize, III personally help you carry them down the hill.”

“Gentlemen’s agreement?” Annie asked, her eyes sparkling with challenge.

“Can’t back out of it now!” The owner exclaimed with a grin. His livelihood had been built on this ring toss game over the last twenty years, and the best he’d ever seen was someone hooking half the prizes with twenty rings. He was pretty sure this sprightly young thing, who looked to be no older than eighteen, didn’t stand a chance.

Annie smiled, “With your word on it, I’m all in. Could you pass me another forty rings, please?”

After all, with the owner’s offer to help carry the prizes down, she wasn’t worried about the logistics.

handing over another set of forty rings.

you sure you’re that good?*

me,” Annie said confidently, without a

go first. She threw a ring.

it hooked nothing.

owner smiled and picked up the ring, handing

She tried again.

Still nothing.

fourth attempts, with the same result, Sarah let out a

was it so hard to hook a

“Your turn, miss.

your

ring, and it landed perfectly around a toy.

in

owner was

on the first try? Must be

but Annie stopped him, “Just wait a sec, sir. It’ll be too much hassle to collect

if this young

to Sarah, “Which ones do you like?”

to point out, “That panda

“Anything else?”

was momentarily lost for

1/2

09:57

Chapter 237

Doing it one by

Sarah swallowed hard.