As they ate their lunch, Sam chatted with Tricia. It was a mostly one-way conversation, however, as Tricia began to tune out Sam's voice and think only about what else she could do with her new remote.
Sam eventually caught onto her friend's silence and detached gaze. "Trish? Are you okay?"
Tricia snapped back to reality so suddenly she sat upright, pressing straight against the back of the booth and accidentally pinching her tail.
Something between a cow's moo and an "ouch!" escaped her throat, and she reflexively covered her mouth. Samantha simply giggled. A few nearby patrons glanced in Tricia's direction, but just as quickly turned back once they failed to spot anything out of the ordinary.
Tricia relaxed, reminding herself that the remote was still doing its job and making people accept her as normal.
"Sorry," she said to Sam. "I'm a little preoccupied today."
"Why? What's going on? Did something happen?"
Tricia waved her hand again. "It's nothing bad. Actually, it's pretty amazing."
Sam looked at Tricia expectantly. Tricia hesitated to spill the beans so suddenly, and in public, but the excitement to share the remote with her friend was strong.
Would Sam believe it, though? If Tricia demonstrated what the remote could do, would she freak out? Tricia really wanted Sam to enjoy the remote just like herself, but she knew Sam wasn't going to be swayed easily. Gears turned in her mind as she quickly cooked up a scheme to prevent Samantha from backing out before Tricia had the chance to show her the wonders of the remote.
"Okay, Sam, I'm going to make a deal with you. I'm about to tell you something you probably won't believe, and it might freak you out, but I think after a little while you'll come around to it and realize how awesome it really is."
"Are you going to start making sense?" Sam asked with a quirky smile as she crossed her arms.
"Here's the deal: I'm going to claim that I can do something impossible, and you're going to tell me whether or not you believe I'm able to do it. If you're right, then I'll buy you those shoes you've been drooling over all month."
Sam's face dropped into disbelief. "The five-hundred-dollar pair of JK Robina pumps?"
"The same," Tricia said. She knew her friend was hopelessly hooked now. "BUT, if you're WRONG, then you will have to agree to one favor that's related to the impossible thing I'll claim to do."
"A favor? So what is this 'impossible thing?'"
"Agree to the deal first."
"You don't have the money to buy me those shoes."
"It'll set me back a bit, but yeah. I can buy them."
Samantha regarded the cowgirl for a moment. "You're not going to try to shoot milk out your nose, are you?"
"No."
"Okay," Samantha sighed. "Okay, it's a deal. Now what kind of magic is the Great Tricia about to perform?"