Joy is the life of the party after her display of her killer robot and her sword and laser pistol. But then Catori walks in, gets Joy to sheathe her sword, and the games begin.
She starts the kids off playing Treasure Hunt, where the kids hunt down clues she left in their apartment. The game is sadly short, since Joy solves each and every clue and finds the next one at breakneck speed, with the kids following her.
Two more party games are played, then the kids rush over to the table, where Catori and Justin laid out bowls full of candy, an ungodly number of snacks, and pizza trays.
Joy, seemingly high on sugar and attention, stands in the middle of the carpet and shouts: “Who can wrestle me? None of you can wrestle me!”
A boy steps forward, almost a head taller than Joy. He looks at Justin, asking for permission.
Justin gives him a look that says, ‘Let’s see you try’.
Joy gives her sword and pistol to Justin and stands ready.
The boy tries to grab her. She moves aside and twists his arms, then shoves him away.
“Okay, okay,” the boy says.
He tries again, more seriously. In two seconds, he is on the floor, and Joy is sitting on his back.
“Who can wrestle me? None of you can wrestle me!”
The first boy gets up, looking morose. Another boy steps forward. “My parents told me never to hit girls.”
“You’ll never hit me,” she says and beckons him to get closer.
He jumps at her, roaring. She trips him and, when he’s in the air, flips him. She puts a leg on his ass, and shouts, “Victory!”
Another boy tries, and another. No one even lands a blow.
The boys and girls have formed a crowd, looking at this sight. Charlie is giggling uncontrollably to the side. Justin watches with his arms crossed. Catori stands in the crowd, open-mouthed. No one is in danger, the boys all land safely on the carpet and Joy is extra careful that no one gets really hurt.
Suddenly, Joy turns to Charlie. “Hey, where’s the guy I punched in the face last time? And where are his friends?”
Charlie shakes his head. “I only invited people I like, definitely not people that hit me.”
Joy spins around. “Who’s next?” Looking at the faces, she sees she already defeated all the boys. She picks a girl. “You, come on! You try!”
The girl gives her a deeply disdaining look.
Joy looks surprised. She moves to the next girl.
“You’re kidding me,” this girl says.
Looking from girl to girl, Joy’s mood changes. She no doubt realizes that all the kids who do not accept her behavior are girls. Like her. Only they are not like her.
She takes her weapons from Justin and whispers to him, “I want to go home.”
(To be continued…)
—Told by Grampa Walt
Hashtag: Joy, Charlie, Justin, Master Mind, Grampa, Grandma, birthday, Charlie’s birthday, Catori, Charlie’s dream, Rob