"You sleep them off," Loki said dismissing Colleen.
Colleen slunk away and sat by herself at a table. She had been dismissed from the fun it would seem. She sat and mopped alone, no one paid her any attention and she paid none to the rest. Later, when it was all over she left with the others that could.
As Loki dismissed the red-head he turned back to the waiting crowd. Taking a sampling of the surface emotions he found that the punishment of Colleen had not dimmed him in their minds too much. With a slight movement of will he made them pay little more attention to the girl. It was time to move on. Loki thought fast, the one-on-one seemed to draw attention upon him. Loki liked that, so why not try again.
"Moving on!" He shouted. "I am thinking of a number between one and 158, to pick a number completely randomly equal to the number of people here. The person who is thinking of the same number please ... levitate." Loki raised his hand dramatically.
A boy was drawn up from the crowd. His assent halted when his feet reached the heads of his peers. The boy, now a tanned and toned specimen of high-school manliness, was tall and possessed the slicked and spiky hair denoting high desirability among the females. A jock, in short. Loki had picked well.
The boy was grinning like and idiot when his feet touched the stage next to Loki. A number of shouts and catcalls erupted from the crowd and the boy raised his fists like a champion boxer. Then flexing his muscles to elicit more hoots and whoops, the boy slipped off his jacket and flailed it about his head like a cheep party stripper.
Loki would have none of this. Sharing the spotlight was not his way. "What is your name, boy?" Loki asked.
"Jimmy, sir. Jefferson High RULES!" Jimmy yelled. The crowd cheered.
"And you wouldn't call yourself a fearful boy would you, Jimmy?" Loki asked turning his car salesman attitude up to eleven.
"Hmm, what?" Jimmy said still looking out into the crowd, possibly at some girl.
"Chicken, Jim, chicken. You're not a chicken now are you?"
"Hah! NO! Whoo!" Jimmy raised his hands and pointed gratuitously to that same girl.
"Pay attention, Jimmy. I am trying to do something nice for you, boy. And maybe something nice for your girl there if you're good," Loki said. His patience was wearing thin.
"Hah, hah, hah! You're the dude, man!" Jimmy yelled a little to loudly in Loki's ear. "You're the dude, that did this to us. You're awesome, man."
Loki could not get through to this simpleton, but maybe the crowd was the key. "Jimmy says he is no chicken, is he right?"
The crowd cheered, and Jimmy cheered back.
"Jimmy is no chicken but he does a very good impression of one." Loki smiled. The trap was almost set. One way or another, Loki would be having fun.
The crowd was not sure what it was supposed to do. They looked at Jimmy for guidance. Jimmy did not know what to do, he looked at Loki for guidance.
"Go ahead, Jimmy," Loki spoke loudly to the everyone. "Show the people your really great chicken impression and you get a wish. Make it really good and you might get two."
"What?" Jimmy said. The crowd was silent, waiting.
"Act like a chicken, Jimmy," Loki said, the humor draining fast from his voice. "Be a chicken now, boy, or be a chicken forever."
The precariousness of his situation dawned on Jimmy. This was a very powerful being standing in front of him. And Jimmy had a choice.