It was approaching the end of the year for the varsity wrestling team at Storm Heights College, and the Coach had bad news for the team's four members.

"Hey guys, gather round. I've been going over the finances, and I'm afraid there just isn't enough money in the budget to take you to the State meet this year. I'm really sorry."

The guys were dumbstruck. They'd been working towards this all year.

"What do you mean Coach?"

"There just isn't enough money guys, I'm sorry."

"Well... what if we contributed ourselves?" asked 19-year-old Alex, a blond who stood 6ft 2 and weighed in at 80kg, one of the team's best wrestlers.

"Woah, wait, my family can't afford that," responded dark-haired, olive-skinned Marc, aged 21. Standing 6ft 3 and weighing in at 85kg, he was the biggest and strongest of the team, and Alex was his biggest rival. He resented the younger guy's unearned cockiness, just because his parents had been able to buy him a brand new car for his last birthday.

"So I don't get go because you can't pay?" shot back Alex.

"Guys, guys..." Lucas got in between them. He was only 5ft 6 and wrestled in one of the lower weight classes, but his tight body was nothing but muscle. He was sure to win matches if they got to the State meet. "How about we find some solution... Coach, couldn't we do some kind of fundraiser?"

The Coach's eyes lit up. "Yes, Lucas, that's an excellent idea. And the summer fair is coming up. What do you say I organise some activities for the four of you there, that the crowds will pay to watch? I'm sure that way we can raise enough money to get us to State."

Alex looked doubtful. "What kind of activit..." he started, but Scott cut him off.

"That's a great idea Coach, thanks so much!" Scott was new to the team, he'd recently moved to Storm Heights from across town and this would be his first State meet. At 5ft 11 and weighing in at 72kg, he had the perfect physique, complemented by chiselled good looks. At 19 years old, he couldn't wait to get to State, win his fights and sleep with the girls who'd be there to watch

"Well that's settled then. The fair is in two weeks. I'll get everything sorted, and I'll text you the night before to tell you where to be and what to bring. Okay guys, see you later."

Coach left the locker room. The boys finished getting changed and left too, relieved that they'd have the chance to get to State after all.

The night before the meet, each of the boys got a text from Coach. "Be at the locker room for midday. Bring a singlet." That was all.

The next day, all four showed up at the locker rooms. Outside they could hear the crowds gathering for the fair. Coach arrived just after midday, instructed them to get changed into their singlets and meet him outside in the middle of the field.

The boys got changed and jogged out, to the cheers of the gathering crowds. And they were quite a sight. The school's four most envied and admired jocks, all aged between 19 and 21, in their prime, their strong, muscled bodies displayed in the tight lycra singlets that left little to the imagination.

"Okay boys, gather round and take a stool," the Coach said, gesturing to four low stools that were set out in a row.

"Now everyone, as you may have heard, we're here today to raise the funds needed to send these four to the State meet. And to raise those funds, they've agreed to take part in some fun activities for your entertainment."

The guys laughed nervously. They weren't sure they liked the sound of this. And the Coach's next statement was about to confirm their worst suspicions.

"We've arranged some messy games that these guys are going to play for you today. They'll score points in each game, and the loser, the one with the least points at the end of the day, will face the biggest, messiest forfeit later."

The guys stood open mouthed. They looked round at each other. This wasn't what they'd bargained for.

"And without any further ado, I think we should get started. Welcome to your first game, boys. This game is called Lucky Buckets."

Alex looked over at the field of buckets that stood a few yards away from them to the left. There were about 20 buckets, and from what he could see, most of them were filled with different colours of gunge.

"Each of those buckets you can see is numbered though of course you can't see the numbers, they're all the far side of the buckets. You'll take turns to choose a number, and the contents of that bucket will then be poured over your head."

The crowd cheered, and it dawned on all four boys what kind of game this was going to be.

"Of course, the 'lucky' part of the name comes into it as to whether that means you get covered in gunge, or if you get an empty bucket and stay clean. But there's also a second part to getting lucky. About two thirds of these buckets have got a ball hidden in them. If you catch the ball as it falls, you score a point. And you'll also have the opportunity to win a bonus point by answering a true or false question. Get it right, you get a point but get it wrong, and it's a pie to the face."

The pies were brought out and placed on a table to the right of where the boys were sitting. Even from a distance they could see that the sloppy pies were filled with cream and custard.

"Okay, first up is Alex! Choose a number."

Alex chose Bucket 17, and a member of the soccer team picked up the bucket and walked behind him with it. He couldn't see if it was empty or full of gunge, so he braced himself as it was upended above him...

And nothing fell out! He was safe for this turn.

"Congratulations Alex, you stay clean but that's no points I'm afraid, as there wasn't a ball for you to try and catch. Next up, Marc, choose your number."

Marc chose Bucket 5 at random, and again it was brought over behind him.

"And... go!" commanded the Coach.

The bucket was upended above Marc and a thick stream of purple gunge poured out and down and all over his head and his body. He shuddered and squirmed as the slimy gunge covered his tight-fitting singlet and pooled in his lap, until suddenly he felt something bounce off his head down to the floor at the side. He'd forgotten all about the ball, and he'd forgotten to try and catch it!

"Okay, that's two buckets and still no points," said Coach. "Let's see if Lucas can be any luckier."

Lucas chose Bucket 8, and got his hands ready to catch the ball as the bucket was poured over him. The gunge in this bucket was green, less thick than the purple gunge that had covered Marc, and it poured over him, soaking his singlet and plastering it to his skin. It just kept coming and coming, and just as Lucas was starting to think that this was an unlucky bucket with no ball in it, out it fell. But he hadn't been quite ready for it. It dropped quickly, glanced off his hands, but he missed it, and it was gone.

"Oh, so close, but that's no points for Lucas either."

Lucas sat there deflated. He was already soaked through from the green liquid and his singlet was plastered against his body. Glancing down, he could see that both his abs and his nipples were prominently displayed to the entire watching audience.

Scott had chosen Bucket 12, and from the weight of it, Lucas guessed it had gunge in too.

"A tip for you, Scott," said the Coach quickly. "Lucas missed the ball because he didn't see it coming. Try looking up as the gunge pours out, and you might have a chance of catching it."

Scott was ready. He held out his hands and looked up as the bucket was tipped and thick, red gunge began to flow down his face. His instincts were to put his head down, but he kept it up, and tried to keep his eyes open as the gunge covered his face and poured down on to his body. His efforts paid off though suddenly a ball fell from the bucket, he reached out, and caught it.

"Finally! One point for Scott!" yelled the Coach. And the opportunity for a bonus point if you can answer this question correctly. True or false. Canada's border with the US is 8,615km long."

Now the boys saw the final element of 'luck' in this game. There was no way they could know the answers to these questions it was pure luck if they guessed the answers right.

"Erm... true" shouted Scott.

"Incorrect!" yelled the Coach gleefully. "Pie him!".

Before Scott knew what was happening, one of the soccer players had picked a pie up from the table and slammed it into his face. Custard, cream and pie crust covered his face and mixed with the red gunge. The audience pointed and laughed at the wrestler's face, covered in remnants of pie and slime.

"After the first round, the scores are: Scott has 1 point, and the others all have no points. We continue with the second round, Alex, pick a number."

Alex, still clean after the empty bucket he'd picked in the first run through, chose Bucket 20. Remembering the success Scott had had in catching the ball, he prepared to look up into the flow of gunge.

As the bucket tipped and the thick, slimy green gunge poured down over his face, he moaned in disgust, but kept his face up, looking up into the gunge as it cascaded down on to him. The audience cheered as he was finally gunged, the slippery, slimy green substance sliding down his face and down his muscular torso. He kept looking up as the gunge continued to pour, until the final drips finally came out of the bucket. He looked around in confusion.

"Looks like that was a doubly unlucky bucket. A messy surprise and no ball to catch. And that means no points!" shouted Coach.

Alex slammed his feet down in frustration and despair. He'd taken a full load of gunge right in the face, for absolutely no reason. He'd forgotten there were buckets with no balls in them, and now he was covered in slime, and still had no points.

The round continued. Marc drew a bucket with no gunge but which did have a ball in it the best kind. He caught it, and got lucky on the question too, guessing the right answer and scoring a second point. Lucas got another bucket of thick green gunge all over him, but at least this time he did manage to catch the ball as it fell. He guessed false to his question, and only learned he was wrong when a pie slammed into his face, spraying cream everywhere.

After Scott caught his ball amid a torrent of blue gunge, and guessed his answer right, the scores stood at: Alex still had no points, Marc had two points, Lucas had one point and Scott was still leading with three.

The third round proceeded much like the second. Alex finally managed to catch a ball, but got his question wrong and had a pie in the face added to the bucket of gunge he'd already had poured over him. Marc and Lucas both got buckets that were full to the brim of slimy gunge, but had no balls in them, and Scott found he couldn't keep looking up into the gunge as it poured down over his eyes, nose and lips, looked down and missed the ball as it bounced to the floor.

"Final round boys! And this time the stakes are doubled. You'll each choose two buckets, and have them poured over you at the same time. But that means two balls to catch, and four points potentially available to each of you in this round. So anyone can still win!"

Alex was first, as always, and picked his two buckets. He braced himself, as both were emptied over his head simultaneously, a stream of pink gunge from the left and green gunge from the right. Even through the torrent though, he managed to grab a ball as it felt, and held it aloft triumphantly, but missed the second as it dropped to the floor.

"That's one point, and the opportunity for a second if you can get this question right. True or false: the moon is 384,400km away."

Again, Alex had no idea. "True," he guessed helplessly.

"True is right! That's another point for Alex. But, you know, we have quite a lot of pies left over there since you boys proved so bad at catching the balls in those buckets. Let's say on this double points round, we also give the boys a pie in the face if they fail to catch a ball, what do you say?"

The crowd cheered their agreement as Alex protested. This was hardly fair! But his protest was cut off as another custard pie slammed into his face, cream and custard flowing into his open mouth and up his nose, as the pie base stuck to his face. He reached up to pull it down and wipe the gunge, custard and cream from his face, but Coach was too quick.

"No, no, Alex, I want to see no wiping of your faces or any parts of your bodies. And that goes for all of you, boys. If I catch you wiping gunge off yourselves, I'll dock you points."

Alex sighed in resignation and sat back, still covered in cream, custard and the pie base to the extent that he could see absolutely nothing. The crowd certainly could though, and they enjoyed the view of this cocky hunk absolutely trashed in front of them, his strong, muscular body covered in gunge and slime, and his thin, lycra singlet clinging to every muscle, shiny with gunge.

Marc's turn, and he managed to grab a ball falling immediately from an otherwise empty bucket, before getting a cascade of white gunge from the right. As the second ball fell out he made a grab for it, but with one ball already in his hands, it proved too slippery to grasp and it fell to the floor.

"That's one point scored, but before we get to his question, about we give Marc his forfeit for that dropped ball?"

The crowd cheered as a pie slammed into Marc's face. He spluttered, and was so distracted he didn't hear the Coach ask his true or false question.

"Could you repeat the question please, Coach?"

"No, you should have been listening. Now, what's your answer?"

Helplessly, Marc guessed. "True?"

"No, it was false, there aren't 278 countries in the world."

Marc cursed, of course he'd known that one. He braced himself as one of the soccer players gleefully picked up a pie, and pushed it into his face, and up and over the top of his head, rubbing cream and custard into his hair.

Lucas chose his buckets. He was ready for this, he could still win this game! As gunge fell from both buckets he valiantly tried to keep looking up into the gunge, following the advice the Coach had given them earlier on. As both streams flowed across his rugged features, he felt two balls suddenly drop on to his face. He grabbed for them, and got hold of both of them. As the gunge stopped flowing, he raised his arms in celebration.

"Impressive," said the Coach. "You still only get one question, but because you caught both balls, it's worth two points. Or two pies if you get it wrong."

"True or false: a Satanic Nightjar is a type of bird?"

Lucas laughed. "That can't be true. I'll say false."

"It was true. Pie him!"

Lucas groaned as two pies hit him at once, one from each side, sandwiching his face between them. Custard and cream sprayed everywhere, and the soccer players holding them took great joy in rubbing them well in. Dejected, Lucas hung his head as he felt the mess slowly drip from his face and down his body.

"And last up, we have Scott. Two buckets left, no choice. Let's see if he gets lucky!"

As he said that, the Coach laughed to himself he knew full well there were no balls left in the buckets, and Scott was about to get a big gunging with no chance of scoring any points.

As the soccer players lifted the buckets up on each side of him, Scott realised immediately that he was getting messy. And sure enough, a torrent of green gunge poured over him from each side, covering his face and running down his muscles. He groped around trying to catch any balls that might fall down... but the flow soon stopped. As the Coach had known, he'd got doubly unlucky buckets full of gunge, but no balls. And that meant no points.

"Ahh, what a shame," said the Coach, laughing. "And I did say if you failed to catch a ball, that's a pie too. And technically, you did fail to catch a ball. Pie him guys."

Scott sat back as two more pies hit him square in the face. He was a total mess now, his hair was ruined, his face was covered in so much mess that he wasn't allowed to wipe off, and his favourite singlet was ruined. He hung his head as the crowd whooped and laughed.

"That's the end of the first game, ladies and gentlemen. Let's take a look at the scores, and see who's won the first game."

The boys perked up at this they may be covered in gunge but they were still competitive and wanted to know who'd won.

"Hey, look at this. You've all scored three points! And that means you're all the joint winners of this game!"

All four boys cheered, before the Coach dismissed them, and sent them off to the locker room to shower, change and get ready for the next game he had planned for them.



Stay tuned for Part 2, coming up soon (edit: it's available now, click for Part 2) - and send me a message with any ideas you have for more messy games for Alex, Marc, Lucas and Scott to play later during the fair. There's hours until the end of the day...