Valentineâs Day RaffleâTHE WINNERS
âCâmon, Mary, give me a smile,â prodded DJ Ben, playfully sticking his fork at her. Â He speared a meatball and tried to feed it to her, but Mary shook her head.
âI just canât help but feel as if somethingâs wrong,â she replied, her voice earnest.  She looked down and crumpled the napkin on her lap.  Ever since her borrowed pudgy Pidgey left on their missionâDasher and Dancer and Comet and Cupid⌠even Blitzenâan overwhelming feeling of dread came over her.  DJ Mary glanced back up at her date, who stared at her curiously.
âWell, I meanâif something went wrong, itâs certainly not your fault. Those Pidgey are professionals, like us. They know what theyâre doing.â Ben smiled and plopped the meatball in his mouth, moaning with pleasure. Â After he swallowed, Ben leaned back in his chair and held his stomach. Â âOh, god! Â I forgot how good these were! Â Are you going to eat thatâ?â
Mary used her utensil to swat Benâs creeping fork away. Â He laughed and focused on his own plate. Â She stuck out her tongue at him and finally ate a bite out of her spaghetti. Â Ben was right, this is marvelous! Â But was he also right about the Pidgey? Â Had they even made an around-the-world trip like this before?
âŚWhat if the wind carried them off-course?  What if one of them was seriously injured?!
DJ Mary snapped to attention, realizing that she was breathing exceptionally hard. Â The hand holding her fork was shaking. Â Ben was kneeling by her side, wetting his napkin in his water.
âItâs going to be okay,â he murmured, gently resting her hand on the table. Â He then dabbed the damp napkin on her forehead and on the back of her neck.
âIâm f-fine. Â Really,â Mary forced a laugh. Â Ben grunted and went back to his chair when she insisted she was all right. Â They spent the next several minutes in silence, Ben watching her like a Braviary. Â Under his watchful gaze, Mary reluctantly ate the rest of her meal.
When she was done, Ben checked his watch. Â âWe should head back to the office,â he said, moving to help her out of her seat. Â âItâs nearly time for your big announcement. Â Iâll even hold your microphoneâfor moral support.â
Back inside DJ Maryâs booth, Mary sat at her chair while Ben completed the rest of the preparations.  With a wink and his signature smile, DJ Ben closed his eyes, clapped his hand over his face, and pointed at the list of participants entered into the raffle.  He held up a finger to Mary and counted, âEenie, meenie, miney, moe.  Catch a Persian by the toe.  If he hollers, let him go⌠my mother⌠said to⌠pick the very best one⌠and you⌠are⌠not⌠IT!â
Ben did this three more times until all of the winners had been chosen. Â âHere you go, Mare,â he said with a grin, handing her the names.
Mary couldnât believe what she just witnessed. Well⌠she could.  She really could.  âThank you, Ben,â the DJ replied, struggling to hold back a giggle.  What a doofus!
Ben winked and shot off a finger gun. Â âKnock âem dead.â
As promised, as soon as Mary went to turn on the microphone, Ben held it, tooâeffectively holding her hand.  âGood evening, ladies and gentleman!â Mary announced, putting on her most professional airs and ignoring her silly co-worker.  âThe time has finally come to announce the raffle winners!  Youâve waited all week for this, so here it is!  Iâm pleased to announceâŚâ
DENNIS, SHAUNTAL, and SIEBOLDâCongratulations! Â Your names were the first to be drawn in the raffle. Â You may now pick one (1) shiny Pokemon as your very own, so long as it is an Normal, Psychic, or Fairy-type. Â There is no need to wait for the other winners to make their pick; everyone can choose whichever type they desire, regardless of what other types were chosen.
GALEâCongratulations! Â Although you werenât part of the Top Three winners, you will still receive a prize. Â Head on over to DJ Maryâs booth at the Radio Tower to claim your reward; she has something very special for you.