Chapter Text
"Here we are!" Leon said, parking his car. He cut the engine, and we all piled into the parking lot of the medium-sized carnival set up for the Autumn Festival. Similar to a last-day-of-summer celebration they did in the more northern states.
The four of us—me, Leon, Madi, and Ciro—congregated in front of the car and began our walk towards the entrance. Yep. We were just four platonic friends going to a little carnival; there was nothing weird about that.
We got to the ticket booth inside, and each of us paid our way in with a little ink stamp on our hands to confirm we didn't just sneak in. Once inside, Leon knelt down to Ciro.
"Now, Ciro…" he began. Her beady eyes looked up at him but were immediately distracted, dashing around at the people passing by.
"I need you to control yourself today, alright? I don't want to have to pick you up from police custody by the end of the day again, alright?" Leon said with his approximation of a stern face.
Ciro looked back at him and bowed her head slightly.
"Va bene…" She squeaked, looking penitent.
Leon stood back up.
"Alright, guys, what do we wanna do first?"
I stepped over to the large poster board map off to the side. It looks like the carnival is staged as three large circles interconnecting in a triangular formation. We are currently at the base of the top ring, so any direction we go will have stuff to do. It looked like each ring had designated stuff: the bottom right ring was food, the top was rides, and the bottom left had games.
"Want to start with food, rides, or games?" I asked the group.
"Ooo, ooo, rides!" Madi interjected.
I look to the others. Leon gave a thumbs up in approval, and Ciro nodded.
We headed north. It was the standard affair. They had decades-old machinery slapped together by people who almost certainly weren't qualified to do it. It was more than likely held together by a dozen band-aid fixes of superglue, duct tape, and spliced wires from years of overuse.
It was at that time that my father's words of wisdom came to me:
'As long as you stay away from anything more than a couple feet off the ground, you should be fine. Even when it inevitably breaks with people still riding it.'
I looked at the small roller coaster they set up and saw the rails shake violently as the cars rolled over them. We should probably avoid that death trap. The others are probably fine.
"So, what first?" Leon asked.
Surveying the other rides, they had the teacups, naturally. The Himalaya. Bumper cars, The scrambler…
Now that I think about it aren't most of these rides just designed to make you dizzy? Is that all it takes? Huh, maybe I could monetize this…
"How about that?" Madi pointed to a Gravitron.
"Oh yeah, I always liked those things!" I perked up a bit.
Leon and Ciro agreed, and we headed to the line. It's short, but we still had to wait for a complete cycle before our turn. The fee per person per ride seemed cheap, at a dollar, but I could already tell this would add up fast by the end of the day…
While we waited in line, I struck up some conversation with Madi.
"Hey, did you ever see the pictures of the dudes standing straight out from the walls on these things?" I asked her.
"Huh? That's impossible; you can barely move inside these.
I smirked and pulled out my phone, trying to find a picture.
"Apparently, there is a trick to, like, getting your center of mass under you, the force pushes on you, like, vertically instead of horizontally, you know?" I tried to explain with a horrible visual aid from my hands.
"Uh, no?" Madi smiled.
"Like, the force is pushing up and down your body, not against your front," I said.
"I didn't know you were some kind of science nerd, Newa." Madi raised an eyebrow at me.
"I-I'm not!" I felt my face flush slightly.
"But, I like it when you talk about stuff you are interested in. You seem passionate about it." Madi Mumbled.
"Ehm. Thanks..?" I was not sure how to respond to that.
There was a slight silence between us.
"Ey looks like we are up." Leon poked his head over my shoulder from behind. He then slightly pushed me as the line in front of us moved up.
We paid for our tickets and got on the ride. We took our positions on the small sliding wall racks. Madi's massive form barely fit on hers. Her shoulders invade some of my rack. I ended up scooching over enough to start rubbing shoulders with Leon. He gave me a sympathetic smile and moved slightly. Ciro was so small she hardly filled her own rack, so she had some room to spare.
"So, Newa, you gonna prove your little trick?" Madi asked, looking over her shoulder at me.
I looked around. There were other passengers on the ride, but it wasn't crowded. More importantly, once the carnie let everybody on, he shut the ride up from the outside. Well, at least I wouldn't get thrown out for trying. I'm unsure why I felt compelled to rise to her little challenge, but I did.
As the ride began, it took a minute to pick up speed, which gave me a small window to roll forward as the force started applying. I grabbed the bottom of my rack to steady myself, and I put my feet directly under me. As the pressure increased, I slowly came to a standing position, wobbling slightly as I felt the pressure pushing down on the top of my head and shoulders fairly hard.
Once I was up, I heard a laugh; I looked over and saw Ciro chittering a high-pitched laugh at the sight. I looked over to Madi, who had that look again. That look of 'wonder.' Surprised and impressed by such a simple feat. It looks like she tried to copy it, but it's too late for her. She waited too long, and the force was now pressing her against the wall at maximum pressure; she tried to sit up but ended up falling back. She chuckled at her inability to move.
All too quickly, the ride ended, and I stumbled as the force quickly dissipated, leaving me standing at a 45-degree angle. The ride's hatch opened up, and the carnie ushered us out, making sure no one puked or busted their head open.
We filed out, everyone grinning from the dizziness caused by the machine still wearing off.
"So, what's next?" Leon asked.
We spend the next 30 minutes riding the rides around, getting more and more dizzy. Doing this before we got any greasy carnival food was a good choice. I got slightly suspicious of Leon's intentions when I tried to buddy up with him on the teacups. He insisted on being with Ciro and pairing me with Madi. I began to wonder if he had some kind of ulterior motive for this outing. Was he interested in Ciro? Was this supposed to be like a date for them, and he was using me and Madi to hide that fact?
Damn, I didn't think Leon was devious like that….
After being partly crushed by Madi, I got off the Himalaya and learned that taking the outside seat on that ride with someone bigger on the inside was a mistake. We stood surveying the surrounding rides when I heard a noticeable stomach gurgle.
I looked in that direction and saw Madi clutching her stomach, looking embarrassed.
"Heh, guess my light lunch wore off already.." Madi grinned as if to apologize.
"You guys hungry? Wanna get something to eat?" Leon asked.
Ciro shook her head.
"Not—" I begin but am stopped by Leon looking me dead in the eyes. He shifted his pupils towards Madi and lifted his eyebrows slightly. That message confirmed my suspicions. I felt slightly used by the situation, but Leon is a bro… I'll take this as me doing him a favor; he owes me later.
"Yeah, I could eat." I lied to the group.
"Alright, gang, how about we split up, then?" Leon smiled, showing off his teeth.
Madi looked slightly worried at the prospect, so I stepped in to help Leon.
"We can grab something to eat, then meet up later? Maybe by the front gates since it's right in the middle?" I said.
"Sure, wanna meet up at a specific time?" Leon suggested. "Hour, hour and a half?"
My eyes darted to Ciro. She gazed at Leon quizzically.
"Sounds good." I agreed.
Madi nodded, not looking all that convinced.
"Cool, later guys." He shot us a couple of finger guns as he and Ciro disappeared into the crowd.
"Food?" I asked Madi. She nodded gratefully.
We made our way out of the 'rides' ring and into the 'food' ring. Here, food stalls were lined up all along the circle, on both sides of the aisle; multiple stalls served popular choices like pretzels, popcorn, and funnel cakes. But all the staples of carnie food were present, 18-inch hotdogs, greaseball burgers, tenderloins, deep-fried candy bars, caramel apples, etc.
Madi's eyes wandered the stalls, wide with excitement.
"So, what are you feeling?" I asked.
"Um, what do you want?" She asked me.
"Oh, Uh, whatever you want. I'm not too picky. But, you are an herbie, right?" I asked.
Madi nodded.
"Well, I guess the burgers, hotdogs and stuff is out. Hmm. There are big things of buttered corn on the cob over there?"
She looked unimpressed by the suggestion. Her eyes wandered to the deep-fried Twinkie and ice cream vendor.
"Do you want food, or like, dessert?" I asked mild amusement in my voice.
Madi looked slightly guilty.
"What's the difference, really?" She shrugged with a smile.
"Ever had a deep-fried Twinkie?' I asked.
Madi shook her head.
"Want to go get one?" I offered.
She nodded. Happily, her hair bounced from her enthusiasm.
We got in line, and the silence between us began to strain on me.
"So…Just the two of us…" I said, idly rubbing my hands together.
"Heh, yep." Madi nervously laughed.
"Do you think-" I started.
"Do you-?" Madi began at the same time.
We both stop as we begin to talk over each other.
"You go." Madi took the initiative and pushed me to go first.
"Uh, I was just thinking about Leon and Ciro. Do you think they like… like each other?" I asked.
"Huh?" Madi looked blindsided.
"Uh, I guess I never thought about it. Maybe, I guess? They would make a funny couple, though…" Madi said.
"I'm wondering if he set all this up to, like, you know, spend some 'alone time' with Ciro. But make it look like it was just, you know, 'just something that happened by chance.'" I explained my thoughts.
"Why do you think that?" Madi asked.
"Well, When he asked if anyone was hungry, he gave me a 'look' to go with you," I explained.
Madi was suddenly noticeably deflated.
"Oh, is that the only reason you came with me…?" Madi asked, her tone much more flat than a moment ago.
I looked up at her. She looked… hurt? I'm not sure why.
"What? No, uh. I mean, I'm fine with hanging out with you. I just feel a little annoyed at him for using us as cover to get together with Ciro, you know?" I said.
"Oh…" Madi seemed confused. Lost in thought for a moment.
"Next!" The raptor at the stand called us up. We ordered two deep-fried Twinkies on a stick for $16.
We are quickly given two heart attack contributors covered in powdered sugar and chocolate sauce. My mouth started to water just thinking about how rich this thing would be. I worried for a moment if an old cavity was going to give me problems with the concentrated sugar in this thing.
I look at Madi, who is already mid-bite into her Twinkie.
"Oh mah gud…" She moans with her mouth full. She chews several times before gulping it down.
"Raptor Jesus, it's so sweet…." She gushed.
I let out a laugh. She looked so cute.
Hold on.
Cute? That's kind of a weird thing to think about a bro, isn't it? She is just as much of a bro as Leon. Just happens to be a girl. I mean, objectively speaking, yes, she is very pretty. Conventionally attractive. But… I mean, I haven't really thought about her like that before. She was so adamant about including me in the group and being friendly to me. It would feel almost like a betrayal to try to date her. Does that even make sense? Don't most girlfriend/boyfriend couples start out as just friends?
"Newa…?" Madi waved a hand in front of my face.
"Huh?" I am snapped out of my thoughts.
"You were zoning out, dude; what's up?" Madi asked.
I look up at Madi. She smiled at me, looking slightly worried.
Yeah. She is very, very cute.
Suddenly, my throat felt dry, and I licked my lips.
'Oh shit." I thought to myself.