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The voice boomed through the air, almost reverberating off the cluttered walls. "Ladies and gentlemen, you're in the wrong place!"
Jinx's words were loud, deliberate, and full of flair, echoing across the dimly lit lab as though they were meant for a roaring crowd. Pink and blue lights swirled in chaotic patterns, courtesy of a rigged-up device she'd probably slapped together in five minutes. The soft hum of the lights was interrupted only by the buzz of her voice, amplified through a contraption that might once have been a microphone but was now wrapped in mismatched wires and tape.
She stood in the middle of it all, center stage—or what passed for it. Her shadow stretched long and dramatic, thrown across the floor by the swirling lights. Her head tilted slightly as she brought the mic to her lips, her smirk unmistakable.
"Scumbags and scalawags, put your hooks and paws together," she bellowed, her voice dripping with theatrical menace, "for the meanest, ugliest, goriest spectacle of your lives!"
Isha sat beside me on a stack of boxes we'd pushed up against the lab's cold, metal walls. Her small frame was perched at the very edge, her hands resting on her knees as she leaned forward, utterly enraptured. Her eyes gleamed with an almost childlike awe, hanging on every word Jinx said as though it were gospel.
"For the meanest, ugliest, goriest spectacle of your lives!" Jinx repeated, her arms spread wide as if inviting applause. She pointed dramatically at the center of the circular arena in front of her—rusted, uneven, and far from glamorous.
A skittering sound broke through the air as the first contestant made its entrance. The tiny beetle clawed its way into the circle, its legs tapping noisily against the surface. It twitched, pausing in the center as though awaiting its introduction.
"In the gray corner, our undefeated champion," Jinx announced with a flourish. She paced back and forth across her 'stage,' her boots clanking against the floor with each exaggerated step. "With claws like daggers and teeth like... sharper daggers!"
Her delivery was so over-the-top that I couldn't help but giggle. The absurdity of it, paired with her complete commitment to the bit, was enough to shake the tension from the air.
Jinx must've caught the sound of my laugh because she glanced over her shoulder, giving me a quick wink. But she didn't miss a beat, spinning back toward her 'arena.' She extended an arm with all the gravitas of a seasoned announcer.
"The devilish, the wretched... Stink Maw!" she declared, as the beetle lifted its front legs, seemingly puffing itself up in response to the attention.
Isha and I couldn't help it—we clapped, our giggles blending together as we watched the little bug scuttle forward in what could only be described as a poor attempt to look intimidating.
