Juvenalas Penitatas
Lesson 16 – The Iron Stomach

The Honeybees, all dressed in their yellow and black House colours, were gathered in the music hall to listen to Miss Bassel as she laid out the latest house event. “Our first competition of the new year is Challenge Day!” she announced with glee. A few long-term rejuves responded with exclamations of excitement. “For those unaware, Challenge Day is when each house comes up with two contests, each requiring a two-child team. One challenge will be for the penitatas, the other for non-penitatas.  We will consider any and all suggestions, but penitatas should remember their station when they conceive their challenge. But in previous years we've had everything from ice bath challenges to a chess match!”
Kost raised his blond furred paw. “So... we just come up with a challenge we think we can beat everyone else at?”
“Exactly! Although it should be a genuine contest, not an excuse for you to slack off. Now, I'd like you all to break out into teams and come up with some challenges. We'll pick teams once that's done.”
Naturally, Kost found Bubbles at his side. “Any ideas for a challenge?” she asked with a giddy grin on her frog-like features.
Penelope, their Roferian classmate chimed in with her own thoughts. “It will need to be something that we can do better than anyone else. I don't suppose either of you have some hidden talents?”
“I'm a great swimmer if that counts,” Bubbles offered.
Sa'shel, a Drakonian girl, offered her own thoughts on that. “I've tried that before and they shot me down. I don't think they want us doing sporting events. At least, no sport they'd make us do at sport's day.”
“I'm guessing that means wrestling is out too?” Kost asked, which was met with an emphatic nod from the saurian girl. “Hmm. You know, there is something I'm certain I can do better than anyone else here; eat!”
Penelope scoffed at the idea. “Maybe if you were a medicalos they'd let you stuff your face with cake, but not with your letters!”
“With our letters,” Kost replied with a growl. “But I was actually thinking something a bit more... bestial.”
The Roferian snorted in response. “Oh yes? Planning to eat your girlfriend out?”
“I was thinking raw Roferian heart, actually,” the boy snapped in response, barring his leaf-blade teeth.
“Okay, let's maybe not kill each other here,” Sa'shel put herself between the pair, and given that she was massive enough to smack them both down at once it calmed the tension. “Just what exactly were you thinking, Kost?”
Still scowling daggers at Penelope, Kost answered, “Raw offal, bloody meat, all the parts most people get squeamish over.” He shifted his gaze and added, “but a good alternative would be peppers. Hotter the better. I'm willing to bet I could wolf down a whole bowl in the time most eat just one.”
“You're that confident?”
“I'll bet my life on it.”
“Okay, then let's put it forward. But you'll need a partner.”
Bubbles gripped Kost by the elbow. “I'm with you, gross food buddy!”
“Hey, maybe this one's not for you. I mean, you couldn't manage one spoonful of that red hot chilli we had over the holiday.”
“But we're a team! Together through thick and thin, that's what you always say! Besides, you're more than good enough to carry me if I suck!”
Kost chuckled at the flattery. “Yes, I truly am that fantastic. Okay, let's do this! I'm going to eat the competition alive!”

Talek sat and stared at his breakfast bowl with a pout firmly affixed to his muzzle. It was something neither of his parents could ignore, but it was Shon who took steps to resolve it. “Something wrong with your cereal?”
“I'm not hungry,” the boy mumbled in reply.
“Well you will be hungry later if you don't eat. You know we clean our bowls in this house.”
With a huff, Talek lifted a spoonful into his mouth and chewed far too slowly. Seeing the storm clouds forming, Rilka offered her own thoughts. “I think Talek might be feeling down because of the House meeting yesterday.”
“Oh?” Liki chimed in, looking from one rejuve to the next. “What happened?”
“Everyone there was furious with me,” Talek confessed. “They're all mad because of the demerits I earned. They all think the entire House will be getting extra spankings thanks to me!”
Shon scowled, “Why is this the first we're hearing of this?” the question was aimed at Rilka as much as Talek, and neither were forthcoming with an answer. An impatient grunt escaped his maw. “Well, I think I can guess what you're afraid to ask me, Talek. Finish your breakfast, and then we can have a talk.”
Buoyed by the hope of escaping school, Talek forced down the remains of his increasingly mushy cereal and joined his father while Rilka continued to prepare for school. Alas, his hopes were dashed, for as soon as his bowl was clean he was taken by the arm and pulled gently, yet firmly from the table. “Come along! You need to be cleaned and dressed for school!”
The boy sulked through the rest of the morning routine, but to his surprise his father joined them for the long walk. Taken by the paw, father and son walked together a little behind Liki and Rilka. “This will give us plenty of time to talk,” Shon said as they turned to follow the all-too familiar route.
“You don't normally walk us,” Talek noted.
“You don't normally sulk over your cereal,” Shon offered in response. “Given what's happened lately, do you understand why I'm a little cross you kept quiet about the incident at school?”
Though the words were delivered softly, they still made Talek flinch. “I didn't know what to say,” was his weak excuse. “I just... couldn't find the right words.”
After a time of walking in silence, Shon's thoughts appeared to shift gears. “Do you know what I always enjoyed doing when life seemed too much to cope with?” he asked rhetorically, “I would go into the garage and work on one of my cars. I collected them. Classic hovercars, specifically; I had a Series-1 Cloudscraper once, and an Autoride S-4010 that was just a husk of a vehicle. I spent six months loving putting that one back together, sourcing parts or figuring out how to machine custom replacements. Liki used to say I loved my cars more than her.”
Talek said nothing. He had no idea what was expected of him, nor why his father was sharing this. “I... never really cared about cars,” he offered.
Shon glanced his way. “We had a Penny who loved them once. He was a difficult boy who took a long, long time to accept he had to change, and that made it hard for us to be a family. He hated us, and sometimes we hated him right back. He was our first, and by God did we jump in at the deep end! But as I said, he loved hovercars as much as I did, and that became a way for us to bond. We could sit and talk about cars for hours, he'd volunteer to wash and polish them with me, and in time I even trusted him to help with my restoration work. In the garage he was a totally different boy, and I truly loved being in there with him.”
A mournful sigh escaped the parent's throat. “That was until he hijacked my Cloudscraper and tried to escape. He and three other penitatas got about a mile out to sea before a security failsafe they missed kicked in and cut power to the car. His hotwire job disabled the emergency descent systems and dumped them all in the ocean. It was a close thing, but they all survived. Wasn't long after that the community agreed that having cars around was a bad idea; this hadn't been the first carjacking in Northrock, but it was the last straw. I had to give up something I cherished because of him.”
“Why are you telling me this?” Talek asked quietly.
“Because I want you to know that boy was in much the same place you are now. Angry peers, even angrier parents. He got through it. In fact, we stayed in touch after his parole. He's become family. It took a lot longer than I would have liked, but we came to an understanding in the end.”
“Are you... are you saying that I should just tough it out because things will get better later?”
His father chuckled, “I knew you were a smart lad. Look, however mad your peers are right now, they'll soon forget it. Maybe you can heal the wounds a little faster by doing well at this House event?”
The idea made Talek hang his head. Once more, Shon shifted gears. “What are you thinking right now?”
“That... I can't really be of any use to anyone. Everyone said that you have to be really strong or really smart to do well in this event, and I'm not either of those things.”
“Don't sell yourself short,” his father responded forcefully. “I don't know what the competitions will be, but they are always a trial to endure. What are the Sea Foxes doing this year? What are the options they're looking at?”
“A rowing race,” Talek said.
Shon nodded. “Right. You probably think they'll go out on a little boat and row around the lake at Camp Northrock, right? Well they won't be; my guess is they'll be on rowing machines, and they'll have to set a blistering pace or get disqualified. Disqualification will mean a long, harsh punishment session! Only two kinds of Penny volunteer for this, Talek – the ones who desperately want the brownie points, or the ones stupid enough to think they'll get to have fun!”

The penitatas members of House Sea Fox were called together at the pool-side after lunch, all lined up in the nude as before, barring their ties. Talek and his fox-boy friend, Ki'reth were able to forgo the armbands this time; they had both eventually passed their swimming assessments with flying colours.
Mr Hachi strode along the line, reading aloud from his notepad. The other three houses had set out the trials that awaited whoever was picked for the teams. “First challenge is from the Red Kestrels – a 'Strong Cub' challenge! Can we get two big, strapping boys for this?”
“Should I volunteer?” Talek whispered to Rilka, who stood beside him with a look of mild anxiety.
“No way!” she hissed back. “Leave this to the older boys!”
In the end, Mr Hachi picked two eleven year old Karrians for the challenge, neither of whom seemed all that pleased. “Next we have the Oliphant challenge: the Lightning Round!”
A few Pennys hissed or groaned softly at the announcement, Rilka amongst them. “It's a really hard quiz where get electric shocks! They did that last year!”
“Do I hear you volunteering, Miss Rilka?” the teacher asked.
The girl practically jumped out of her scales. “Nossir!”
“And why not?” he pressed with a raised eyebrow and a claw hovering dangerously close to the Fox Strap at his belt.
“B-because I'm too stupid, sir!” her self-deprecating comment drew some titters, but it seemed to have the intended result of disarming the situation. Rilka was spared and two other unwilling victims were selected.
“Finally, we have the Honeybees 'Iron Stomach' challenge! Be warned, this one is not suitable for vegetarians!”
“What does that mean?” Talek whispered, and regretted it instantly.
“I have just had to call out Miss Rilka for whispering, Master Talek!” the teacher snapped, his paw moving to the dreaded Fox Strap once more. “Was I too subtle for you?”
“I-I want to volunteer!” the boy yelped in response, which caught the teacher quite off-guard. “I'll do the Iron Stomach, whatever it is!”
“Well, that's different. Step forward, young man. Now, who would like to chow down alongside this brave little fellow?”
A timid whimper slipped from Lusu's snout as she raised a claw to jaw height. “I guess I will. I'm used to eating soap as it is,” she added as she managed a brave smile.

///

The day of challenges was unseasonably warm and sunny, at least when out of the wind. To that end, large barriers were erected on the seaward side of the courtyard to shield the contestants and audience alike. Four short tables were set in a line on the stage, each with a tablecloth coloured for their respective House: Oliphant Grey, Kestrel Red, Sea Fox Blue and Honeybee Yellow. Grinning proudly, as if he'd set the stage himself, Kost sat on the lip of the stage and watched the crowd gather. He caught sight of the approaching Sea Foxes and gave a wave of his blond paw. “You again, Talek? We're getting a bit of a rivalry, you and I!”
“Hey, Kost. Was this your idea for a challenge then?”
The Kyyreni boy nodded, his sharp teeth gleaming as he beamed triumphantly. “None of you have a prayer in this contest! I'm going to destroy you all!”
“Pfft!” the derisive snort came from Lusu's snout, “I've eaten twice your bodyweight in soap! Bring it!”
The wolfish grin on Kost's muzzle grew. “What made you think you're eating soap?”
A whistling sound came from the tannoys above, summoning contestants to their places. Kost lost his swagger as his focus shifted to Bubbles, who emerged from the crowd to join him on the stage. “Are you really sure you want to do this with me?”
“Bit late to back out now, right?” the girl replied. “Besides, I know what's coming. I'm prepared for it.”
“But you did say-”
“Hush!” the girl spat with a giggle. She turned her gaze to Talek and Lusu before adding, “You'll spoil the surprise!”
“Right. Wouldn't want that.” Kost turned back to Talek and offered him a paw to shake. “Good luck, mate! You're going to need it!”
Talek clasped the paw firmly. He looked Kost square in the eye and replied, “I can't afford to lose this. I'm playing to win.”
“That's the spirit!” the Kyyreni boy laughed as they broke apart and took their seats.
Miss Bassel took the stage to announce the challenge, revealing to the crowd and most of the competitors what the event would entail. “We will be completing three separate rounds, with a break in between. Each round, teams will be scored based on their aggregate performance, with most 'food' consumed being the winner. If two teams eat the same amount, we'll go by time. Contestants, you will note that we have provided you with a bag each in case your stomach's aren't strong enough for what lies ahead! On that note, spitting out or throwing up is an instant disqualification – once something is in your mouth it has to stay there!”
Eight covered trays were brought out and set in front of each rejuve. Talek glanced to his right and saw Lusu's anxiety mirrored in the faces of the Kestrels and Oliphants. To his left, Kost was radiating confidence. Bubbles, on the other hand, was clearly having second thoughts about taking part. Talek had to wonder what it was Kost had up his sleeve. Finally, the boy looked out at the crowd, taking in the faces of the rejuves watching. A group of Sea Foxes, under Mr Hachi's watchful eye had gathered in front of their team's table at the front of the crowd, with similar fan groups to their flanks. A few wore House uniforms, but most were in normal clothes. Plenty of them looked happy to see Talek squirm, malicious grins painted on their snouts in anticipation of seeing the boy who let them all down suffer.
“Let's show our challengers what they're eating! Reveal the trays!”
A series of gasps and groans echoed from stage and audience alike. Talek felt his stomach knot as he looked at the tray before him. Miss Bassel's words suddenly seemed to be coming from somewhere far away. “For round one, offal! Sheep's eyes, pig testicles, and cow brains!”
“We've made a terrible mistake!” Lusu whimpered, and though he didn't make out the words, Talek suspected similar misgivings were being shared by the other teams to his right. Kost merely licked his lips.
“On your marks... get set... go!”
To Talek's horror, Kost immediately swiped up an eye and popped it into his mouth. The sound of the wolf-like boy chewing on the wet, glistening eye sent a dizzying wave of nausea through the Karrian boy. “Bowing out without even trying?” jeered Kost as he reached for the second eye.
Clenching his eyes tight shut, Talek did his best to shut out the rest of the world. He had to stop his stomach spinning. A few deep breaths later he became aware of someone shouting his name. He wasn't sure who, but it was definitely a fellow rejuve.
He felt a paw tap his forearm and opened his eyes to see Lusu's worried face. “If we don't at least try we'll be in for a world of hurt!”
“I know,” the boy whimpered. A quick glance to his left revealed Kost had almost finished already. Once more, Talek shut his eyes as he reached for the tray. His fingers touched-
-Mince. That's all it is. You've eaten mince loads of times! And it always smells weird for some reason, like it's already gone off even though it's just been bought. It's cold, but you've eaten cold mince before... and this... these are kidneys, like in the steak and kidney pies dad liked. That's all this is...
Shaking and panting, Talek opened his eyes and saw a mass of whooping, cheering faces. His fellow Sea Foxes, once hostile, were now clapping and urging him on. He risked a glance to his right and saw Lusu was pale and wavering, but had made some progress at least. Judging by the groans of disgust from the Red Kestrels, one of theirs hadn't kept the meal down. To the left, Kost was quietly encouraging Bubbles, who looked ready to chuck herself. All he had left on his plate were a pair of eyes, gazing up at him.
He threw them into his maw and tried to blot out the sound they made as he bit down, nor think about the texture. Chewing as rapidly as he could, he swallowed and threw himself back against the chair, panting hard as a parent stepped up from behind. “You good?” the adult Karrian asked. Talek nodded, and the adult looked out to the crowd. The Sea Foxes began to count down. 10... 9... 8... Talek breathed deep and tried not to think about what he'd just eaten, and once the count stopped the Sea Fox rejuves exploded into triumphant whoops and cheers. The boy felt grown paws on his shoulders. “Well done, young man!”
Lusu struggled on a little more before bowing out, unable or unwilling to clean her plate. The others fell away one after another, most utterly sickened by the ordeal. Kost, true to form, raised his paws in triumph to receive the adulation of his peers.
“Okay, let's run down the results!” Miss Bassel's voice boomed out over the speakers as she took centre stage again. “In round one of the Iron Stomach challenge we have two teams who failed to clear their trays! Red Kestrels are dead last with only two bowls cleared, putting Oliphants in third. It was a close contest in terms of quantity eaten, but we've decided to award round one to... the Honeybees!”
House leaders stepped up to escort their contestants away. The Red Kestrels were sobbing, no doubt due to fear of what Mister Titus would do in the wake of such a poor performance. Thankfully, Mr Hachi was far more sympathetic. “You both did well, considering the competition! We suspected the Honeybees might take this one.”
“Please tell me it's over, I think I'm going to throw up!” moaned Talek as he rejoined his family.
“Two more rounds to go, I'm afraid. But you have time to rest yet. If it helps, you won't be eating any more animal parts.”
A pessimistic huff slipped from Lusu's lips. “There's plenty of awful stuff we can be fed that's not meat!”
“Well it's a good thing we've got a champion soap-eater on the team!” the teacher laughed back in response. “Go have a nice drink, maybe watch another contest, and then come back fresh for round two.”

All too soon, the eight penitatas were back on stage and at their seats. This time, the sick-bags were accompanied by large glasses of milk, which made what was to come obvious. “Let me guess, you enjoy searing pain?” Talek snarked as yet again Kost met the challenge with a mad grin.
“Let's just say I'm not afraid of peppers,” the Kyyeni answered with a chuckle, yet the confidence vanished as soon as the next round of trays came out. “Wait, what's this?”
The question was due to the lumpen, fibrous, blue-green balls that filled the bowl in front of him. All other contestants had a selection of red and green peppers. Miss Bassel smiled at her charge. “Well, Kost, we felt it was necessary to tweak this challenge a little to keep things fair. It was a last minute change, so we didn't have time to inform you. Sorry about that.”
The blond boy's swagger vanished, replaced by an almost petulant pouting. “Can't believe I'm being sabotaged by my own House Master!”
The cry to begin rang out, and the fans up front exploded into roars of encouragement. Talek did not hesitate, grabbing the first pepper and throwing it whole into his mouth. He bit through the waxy flesh of the pepper and chewed as fast as he could, knowing full-well that he only had a few, precious seconds before the heat hit. Sure enough, as he swallowed the pulped pepper down, a fierce tingling filled his mouth, spreading fast and turning into a sharp, hot sting as the pepper's residue soaked into his tongue and gums. Whimpering and huffing, Talek reached for the next pepper and bit down, only to be met with a surge of agony. The building heat surged without warning, stabbing through his mouth like shards of broken glass. He had to hold his mouth shut for fear of accidentally spitting the hellish pepper out, mewling and whimpering as the heat radiated through his skull.
This time, at least, Kost wasn't putting him to shame. Whatever his unique dish was, it clearly burned the boy's muzzle as fiercely as any pepper – the blond boy's paw slammed on the table over and over as he stifled roars of furious frustration, red faced and teary eyed as any of the Karrians he competed with.
Buoyed by his rival's suffering, Talek ate a third pepper, then a fourth immediately after. The act of chewing became slow and laborious, for the heat build-up was beyond anything he'd endured before. The pepper filled his sinuses, coursing through his skull like molten lead. Every inch of his mouth was filled with a billion stabbing points of agony; the back of his eyes were being slowly cooked, and even the tears flowing over the soft scales of his muzzle felt like boiling water. But on he went, pepper after pepper, his paws shaking so hard he almost dropped the last one. Each time he had to clasp his muzzle shut and chew, and swallow, and make silent prayers for mercy.
The count started. He didn't even acknowledge it until it was half way over. The world was spinning, but through his tears he saw Rilka right up front, bellowing encouragement to him over the roar of the others. “Hold it in, Talek! Five seconds! Four! Three! Two! One!”
An explosion of cheering broke out, and a second later Talek broke. He hastily threw his head to the side and retched into the waiting bag, finding a kindly parent at hand once more. “It's okay, you did it! Drink your milk, it'll take the burning away.”
Relief, instant and heavenly, took the worst of the heat away. It took a few minutes for anything resembling lucidity to return, by which time Miss Bassel was once more announcing results. “Well, we have one heck of a result here! Fourth place this time goes to the Oliphants, with both contestants failing to finish. We have a tie for third and second, with both teams eating all but two of their peppers!”
Talek glanced to Lusu, noting two peppers left. He couldn't see anyone else's plate, but he didn't need to. The boy's jaw fell open in surprise as Miss Bassel continued, “so we have decided to award the results based on fastest time to finish a full bowl, which puts Honeybees in third, Sea Foxes in second, and with both bowls cleared a well-deserved first place to the Red Kestrels!”
From Kost's left came a soft blub of shame. “S-sorry I lost it for us,” Bubbles whimpered.
Her friend wrapped an arm around her shoulder. “Hey, that was on me, okay? Like she said, we got third because I was slow, not because you didn't finish.”
The announcements continued. “So let's look at the scores: Oliphants are on six, Sea Foxes on eight, Red Kestrels on nine, and Honeybees on eleven. It's still not over yet though, because we have one last round to go! We'll let our hungry, hungry rejuves have a breather, then come back for the final round of feasting!”

Round three had everyone on edge. Having discovered the hard way that his teacher was willing to change the rules of the game, Kost was no-longer beaming as he took his seat. “We are in for a terrible treat today, boys and girls!” came the announcement with an unwelcome amount of cheer. “After the last two rounds, we thought our teams would like to be able to wash their mouths out, so we've acquired something to do just that! For this round they will be eating... a bar of judicial grade punishment soap!”
Eight lids were pulled away from trays, revealing an ominous black rectangle on each plate, as dark as the soul of the chemist who'd conceived its evil formula. All eight penitatas recoiled at the sight of it. One of the Red Kestrels moved her paws up over her muzzle to stifle her sobbing. Miss Bassel noted the reaction and brought the microphone back to her lips. “Known in playground legend as the Black Ooze, this soap coats the mouth and refuses to budge! Our poor Penny contestants will be tasting its foul flavour for the rest of the day, and likely for most of tomorrow as well! Wait, I think... it seems we've got some discussions taking place as some of our contestants don't wish to participate!”
Mister Titus had come onto the stage, flanked by the sobbing girl's parents. “I can't do this!” she wailed. “I can't! Not again!”
“You can eat he bar, or you can have it scrubbed into your mouth every day for a week. Your choice,” her father slapped down the harsh ultimatum before adding, “and there's plenty of other places we can apply it as well! Trust me, young lass, you'll wish you'd eaten it when we're done!”
The 'pep talk' did its thing, and the Red Kestrel team continued as intended. The count down was given, and all eight unhappy children took the bars of soap to their muzzles and bit down.
At first, it was like chewing toffee; thick, sticky, and with the kind of resistance that made Talek worry he might be about to lose a tooth. With each slow, pained bite the soap began to mix with his saliva, turning to ooze that seeped into his gums, tongue and teeth... and then the reaction started. It wasn't pain as such, more a terrible sensation akin to a cold burn; a chemical fizzing that made the boy falter as it grew. Unnerved by the alien feeling, he risked a probing lick of his teeth to find the soap had left a rough texture over them, making his teeth and gums feel pocked and holed. That brief, anxious curiosity was swiftly halted by a sudden, brutal assault upon his taste-buds as the soap's reaction took full hold. The most vile, necrotic flavour imaginable blossomed in his mouth. The vile slime formed a seal over his tongue and stayed there, refusing to budge as its chemical reek wormed through his sinuses and entrenched itself in his nose and throat. The boy began to dry heave as a smell like a week-old whale carcass bored through his skull.
He dropped the soap and clasped his snout with both paws, howling in desperation as suds of purest poison frothed around his mouth. He tried desperately to swallow, but the sensation of the toxic sludge sloshing down his throat made him want to vomit all the more. Someone did, violently, and then from his left cave a frantic heaving from Bubbles. The sheer sound of other penitatas retching nearly took Talek out of the running, but by some miracle he held on. He couldn't eat more, but he could at least keep down what he had.
The Red Kestrel girl was howling for mercy, bawling and shrieking. Lusu had her eyes clenched tight shut as rivers of tears gushed down her light-brown cheeks. Kost was glaring pure murder at the remainder of his bar, and as Talek watched the Kyyreni boy took another feral bite out of it. That was a bite too far; he barely got his muzzle over the bag in time.
In a delirium, Talek saw Kost's half-eaten bar. His snout turned to take in his own, and though his thoughts moved with glacial slowness through the filthy haze of gut-wrenching soap, he realised how close he truly was to matching the boy. His muscles burned in protest, as if his own arm were trying to fight his mind as Talek took the bar to his lips again and bit off another chunk. He came within an inch of fainting, so awful was the hammer-blow of sickening vileness that slapped him in the face upon reapplying the soapy ooze. But he held. By some glorious miracle, he kept it down.
The sounds of the crowd began to change. Drunk on suffering, Talek became aware that the cries of the other Houses were falling away, while the words of the Sea Foxes condensed into a coherent, unified slogan. “One more bite! One more bite!”
He swivelled his eyes to Lusu. She was still in the game, and had eaten a similar amount to him. Beyond, the Red Kestrels had consumed around half a bar between them. The Oliphants clearly less. Most of Kost's bar was gone, but Talek knew a good chunk of that had been brought back up. He had half a bar. So did Lusu.
“One... more... bite...” he mumbled, and he bit off a corner of what remained. Chewing slowly, painfully, for what seemed like a lifetime he struggled to stay upright on a roiling sea of nausea as the torturous 'soap' filled his mouth with the most unclean taste known to Karrian kind. His wet, pleading eyes turned to the watching Miss Bassel, who had been joined Mister Titus, Mr Hachi and Mr Kal. All were whispering in conspiracy as they watched the remaining rejuves. Lusu managed another nibble, and though she clutched the sick bag ready, did not surrender. The Sea Foxes exploded in triumphant cheering.
All four teachers looked to Bubbles, who shook her head and pushed the plate away. They looked beyond to the Red Kestrels, and then to the Oliphants. “Is it over?” Miss Bassel asked. “Can any team manage just a little more? One last bite to claim victory?” A roar from the Red Kestrels answered. Despite her open sobbing, the unwilling female Penny had managed to eat a little more.
Lusu whimpered, “I can't. I think I'll be sick if I try!”
Talek nodded in agreement. With that, the event was called.
There was no respite afterward; no merciful chug of milk or other soothing elixir. The contestants went back to their Houses in tearful suffering, waiting to learn their fate.
“I want to say first of all that, regardless of the results, we are proud of all of you for doing your best. We have conferred and are satisfied that none of you held back. As such, there will be no punishment for poor performance today. Now, onto the results. In fourth place with five points, the Oliphants!”
The announcement came to the surprise of no-one. Mr Kal congratulated his mewling pair with heartfelt words, and their colleagues assured them their House would do better in other events.
“Second place in round three wasn't quite enough for second overall. In third with fourteen points are the Red Kestrels!” More tears followed that announcement. Even though Miss Bassel had assured none would be punished, the disappointed scowl of Mister Titus made his team suspect otherwise.
“Second place, with sixteen points-” a few rejuves who were quick on the mental maths were already cheering “-are my very own Honeybees, which means that the Sea Foxes have taken the event!”
Whoops of celebration burst out around them, and only the hasty intervention of parents and teachers prevented Talek and Lusu being wrestled by their peers. “Hey, don't go grabbing them now!” Mr Hachi scolded. “Poor things are full of nasty soap! The last thing they want is to be squeezed!”
For Talek, there wasn't a single thought of protest. He'd have gladly been squeezed until he popped by his peers, for there could be no clearer sign of acceptance. The gleeful cheers and chanting of his name washed away all past bitterness; through the pain and stomach-churning he had won back their respect, and he stumbled away drunk with glee.

Sadly, the threats of prolonged foulness proved true. The gut-wrenching rotten flavour remained plastered to his mouth for the rest of the day, despite the multiple foamy, minty mixtures his parents plied him with to rinse his maw out with. With no appetite due to everything tasting putrid, Talek went to bed that night early and hungry, finding sleep only thanks to the subtle assistance of a mild sedative.
Thankfully, his taste buds were healed by the next morning, and after one last good-measure mouth rinse he found his breakfast was almost normal, if heavily minted from the mouthwash. The good vibes persisted into school, where he no-longer felt the scornful glares of his peers. Though he felt sure a few whispers were shared behind his back none came from a fellow Sea Fox. After school, Shon and Liki were both waiting at the gate, and while his mother and sister headed home, Shon led him into town with vague, but tempting promises. “We wanted you and Lusu to have a little reward, a nice meal after all that unpleasantness yesterday.”
The venue of choice was Uncle Wu's. Not only was Lusu present, but as Talek took his seat other rejuves began to file in and join him at the long table; Kost, Bubbles, and the other two teams from the Iron Stomach challenge were soon sat together, grinning with anticipation as the ever-cheerful Uncle Wu sauntered over. “Hello again, contestants!” the older Karrian cried as he reached the head of the table. “You thought it was over, but the Iron Stomach challenge has only just begun! Now, you must face the most harrowing round of all... a bowl of ice-cream! What foul flavours will you confront today? Vile vanilla? Sickening strawberry? Barf-bringing banana? Choose your fates!”
Giddy snickering spread through the table as their treats were ordered, but almost immediately Wu returned with a single, covered tray. He placed it down in front of Kost and announced in a stage whisper, “Before the ice-cream, I think it's only fair that you, my wolfish little lad, wolf down on this!”
The lid flew clear to reveal a bowl of peppers, the very same fiendish little strips of red and green that had reduced everyone else to tears. Kost glanced around at the six Karrian rejuves with a sheepish look on his muzzle. “I guess the jig's up then?”
With a chuckle, Wu answered, “young man, if the jig were any higher it'd be a hazard to orbital traffic! Get chomping!”
Six little lizards watched in a mixture of confusion and anxiousness as Kost took up the first pepper. Talek wanted to protest, feeling betrayed that the 'safe space' of Uncle Wu's was suddenly a place of punishment, yet his friend calmly bit down upon the pepper and chewed with no signs of discomfort. Then he ate another, and a third, calmly eating the hellish things as if they were no more spicey than a piece of boiled carrot.
“How?” Lusu gasped, her mouth agape.
The blond-furred boy gave a wide grin, bits of pepper sticking between his blade-shaped teeth. “They don't work on me. Capsaicin doesn't work on us Kyyreni. We don't have the receptors.”
“You're a dick!” the curse burst forth from Talek's maw without ever letting his brain even attempt to filter it. “You are an entire bag of dicks!”
For several seconds the air around the table became thick and heavy, as the assembled penitatas glanced at their parental escorts to see how they might react. The silence was broken by an explosion of girlish giggling from Bubbles, “You're a bag of dicks!” she echoed, and her shrillness cracked any semblance of cool Kost had left. As he doubled over, barking out belly laughs, the contagion gripped the rest of them. Talek's own anger at Kost's attempted cheating died as quickly as it had come, leaving only the communal joy of laughter, followed by ice-cream.

Best of all, when they got home, Shon only washed his mouth out with mouthwash instead of soap.