Paige was eight years old, and she had a stuffed owl named Cosmo and one problem: she hated losing. If she lost at cards, she threw them in the air like angry confetti. If she lost at a board game, she crossed her arms and didn't speak for ten minutes.
On Friday game night, Grandma Rose brought her old goose board game. “Tonight, I'm winning,” Grandma announced, rubbing her hands together. “You always say that,” said Theo, Paige's little brother. “And you never win.”
Paige was in first place, way ahead. But then she landed on the well and had to wait three turns. Theo hopped right past her. “Goose to goose, I'm on the loose!”
And he reached the finish before anyone else. “That's cheating!” Paige shouted. She shoved the board, and the pieces rolled across the rug. She stomped up to her room and lay down with Cosmo on her tummy.
After a while, laughter drifted up from downstairs. They were still playing. Without her.
“Cosmo, have you noticed? Grandma always loses. And she laughs the most.” Cosmo stared at her with his round eyes, as if that were very important. Paige thought about it for a long time. Then she jumped up.
She grabbed an empty yogurt cup, some aluminum foil and a marker. Soon she came downstairs holding something shiny.
“New rule,” she announced. “This is the Best Loser Cup.” “And what's that?” Mom asked. “It goes to whoever loses with the most style.”
Grandma pushed up her glasses. “Losing with style? That's my specialty.” Mom lost and fainted onto the couch, very slowly, like in a movie. Grandma lost while singing a made-up opera about a goose with hiccups.
Theo tried to lose on purpose. He couldn't do it. In the last game, Paige was one square away from the finish. She rolled the dice and landed in the well again.
Everyone went quiet. Paige stood up, very serious, with her hand on her heart. “I'd like to thank these sneaky dice. And the well, which is basically my home now.”
Then she took a very, very long bow. Grandma laughed until she cried. By a family vote, the Best Loser Cup went to Paige.
That night, she set it on her nightstand, next to Cosmo. “Rematch tomorrow,” she whispered to the owl. “And I'm going to lose better than anyone.” She closed her eyes with a smile, and the cup glinted softly in the moonlight.
Goodnight, Paige…
