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“Yo.”
Maki looked up from where he was kneeling beside the air pump and pinched the opening of the balloon closed between his fingers.
A guy around his age in an orange shirt with Carnival Assistant written across the chest in red bubbly font stood at the counter.
“Oh, hey!”
“I’m Yuma,” he said, glancing around the gaming alley, a collection of tents lit up with lights and no customers in sight. “I’m here to help you with the, uh, overwhelming traffic you get here at Balloon Bust.”
“I’m Maki,” He stood up, brushing off his pants, tieing off the balloon and putting it into one of the baskets of spares under the counter. “Trust me, it’ll get busy after the sun sets. Come on in.”
“So, what’s the trick to winning this thing?” Yuma asked as he jumped over the counter. “Tell me the industry secrets.”
“I mean, of all of the games in the Festival, it’s one that doesn’t have any major tricks; you just need really good aim,” He pointed out the balloon’s colours and then handed Yuma the laminated guide that was available on the counter. “The different colours are for different tiers of prizes and the smaller the balloon is, the better the prize. Also, you need to pop more balloons for the top tier prizes. They don’t go very often, so they're all stored up there on the top shelf and hanging off of the roof.”
“So I mainly need to take money and blow up balloons?”
“With a big smile,” Maki pointing at his own dimpled grin.
The other smirked. “Alright. I’ll try my best, boss.”
“I’m pretty sure I’m not your- okay, fine.”
As the crowds started to trickle in, the two kept to opposite sides of the balloon wall mostly, Maki keeping an ear out for when a balloon popped so he could help out Yuma if he needed it. In a lull, he watched the other chatting to a group of young teenagers who were trying to figure out their strategy. His coworker stood with his arms crossed and a grin on his face as he pretended to tease a secret strat for popping balloons.
“What balloons do I have to hit to get that?” A voice said, drawing his attention away from his coworker.
A shorter boy stood in front of him, pointing at the large grey bunny hanging from the roof.
“For that one? That’s a tricky one,” He checked the guide. “Looks like you need five gold balloons in a row.”
The customer considered it for a second and then put his tokens on the counter. “Five darts, please.”
Unfortunately, he only managed to pop a couple of red balloons and missing the board entirely on one shot. Maki handed him his prize - a purple bubble wand - and the boy muttered a thank you as he walked away with it in hand.
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The next shift they worked together was a little quiet, with the odd customer or group coming by and trying out their skills. They spent most of their time watching the Viking ship swing up above the tents into view before dipping back behind them and up the other way.
Yuma shuddered. “I hate the Viking.”
“Weren’t you saying earlier that you bungee jumped off a bridge once? Surely you’re not scared of heights?”
“That’s different, I don’t know. I think it’s just-” He held his hands up as he tried to gather his thoughts. “When you bungee jump or you go on most roller coasters, you’re facing forward and going one way. I went on the Viking once when I was younger and I felt like I was being yanked back by the collar or something.”
“Well maybe– oh, hi again!”
The short boy was back again, a determined look on this face.
“Five darts please.”
Maki took his tokens and handed over the tray of darts, stepping to the side. The boy breathed in deeply with the dart pinched between his fingers. He flung it in a perfect arc and hit a gold balloon in the centre of the board.
Maki whistled and Yuma clapped and congratulated him, but the boy didn’t look away from the board.
Unfortunately, he was not as lucky on his other shots.
“You hit one gold and two blue balloons, so that means…” Yuma consulted the list and plucked a plushie from the wall of prizes. “You win a monkey!”
He lifted him up excitedly, bringing him over to the boy.
“Thanks, but that’s okay. You can keep it.” The two stall workers exchanged a look and a shrug as they watched the boy walk off the way he had come.
Later, as they were pulling the roller door down on the stall, Maki turned to the other.
“Why don’t you give the Viking another go before the end of the festival? You know, face your fears, or whatever.”
Yuma raised an eyebrow at him and laughed. “Yeah, that’s not happening.”
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On some days like today, the crowds seemed to come in waves, with droves of festival goers descending on the stall at once and then vanishing from sight ten minutes later. The two coworkers had settled into a rhythm of sorts after working together for a few weeks, trading jokes and rounds of twenty questions in the quiet periods.
“What’s worse - ghosts or vampires?” asked Yuma, gazing over at the Haunted House. The staff member out the front had gone all out, wearing a cape and fangs.
“Ghosts.” Maki replied.
“Ghosts? Why?” he replied.
“Well, they're a lot more real, for one.”
Yuma laughed as removed a deflated balloon from the wall. “You believe in ghosts?
“You don't?”
The other boy thought for a second. “No, probably not. I startle really easily but I’m not scared of, like, there being a ghost in my house or whatever.”
“No, you’re scared of things like the Viking ship, huh?” he goaded back.
Yuma shoved him, but Maki just smiled back.
“Wow, flirting on the job, huh,” A voice interrupted. It was the boy again, looking at them quizzically with his tokens clutched in his hand. They both flushed.
“Five darts, right?” Yuma replied, not acknowledging the boy’s comment. He took his tokens and handed him the darts.
The boy did not pop five golden balloons that night.
“Why do you keep coming back?" Yuma asked.
“Practice.”
The two of them didn’t banter much for the rest of the night (apart from Yuma muttering he’d bring a Ouija Board to their next shift) but Maki glanced at the other every now and then and wondered if the other had been flirting with him, and if he’d been flirting back.
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“So what do you do when you're not managing the carnival's main attraction Balloon Bust?” asked Yuma from where he sat cross legged on the floor using the air pump. They had been working together for almost a month now, but they’d never broached the topic of what happened outside of the stall. As the Carnival started to wrap up, it felt like the real world was slowly coming back into focus.
“I'm majoring in musical theatre, so uh, lots of singing practice and theory.” Maki says after he finishes counting the number of packs of fruit shaped erasers there are.
“That makes sense for you, somehow.”
“What does that mean?”
“You’re very...” he gestured at Maki, smiling. “I don’t know, ‘male lead’?”
Maki decided to take that as a compliment. “How about you?”
“I’m studying composition. I play guitar in a band sometimes, too, but I also just spend a lot of time laying down,” replied Yuma, putting away the basket of balloons he had blown up under the counter.
As Yuma stood up, the boy appeared at the counter. The boy handed over his tokens without saying anything this time, the act a routine at this point. They had even stopped questioning if he wanted his prizes, knowing he had a single goal in mind.
He hit one gold balloon, a second, a third, but then missed on the fourth. He sighed and handed Yuma the last dart, walking away with a murmured thanks.
Later as they were packing up, Maki laughed softly to himself and turned to Yuma “Did you ever think about writing musicals? Maybe someday I’ll get the chance to perform something you’ve written.”
The other man smiled back at him, a curious flicker in his eyes as they looked at one another. He patted the other on the shoulder before jumping over the counter. “I’ll write you a song, future male lead. Just give me some time.”
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It was their last shift of the Summer, but the stall had been so flat out that they’d barely had a chance to glance at one another, let alone talk.
The prizes disappeared off the shelves - long legged rat plushies in a pair, butterfly wings, a teddy bear that inexplicably had cat whiskers and a stuffed bee with a pirate hat.
The crowds finally petered out later in the evening and they finally saw their repeat customer, this time accompanied by another boy. The two giggled together as they walked slowly towards the stall, hands clasped together.
“D’you think that’s who the bunny is for?” asked Yuma.
“It has to be,” Maki glanced at his coworker. “How about a bet?”
Yuma looks at him suspiciously. “What?”
“The carnival is on for the rest of the weekend, right?” Maki challenged. “If he wins that bunny, you go on the Viking tomorrow.”
“There’s no way he’ll get it.” Yuma replied.
“So you’re fine taking the bet then?” They watched the boy say good bye to his companion at the fairy floss stand.
“...Fine.” he said before turning to face the boy as he came up. “Hello! You’re back!”
“Hi. Five darts, please.” The boy asked, holding out his tokens. Yuma handed him the darts and he saw the boy breathe in deeply, putting his hand over his heart before raising his first dart.
There was something different about him tonight, Maki thought, as he watched the boy take aim and hit his targets - once, twice, three, four times.
He picked up the fifth dart and eyed a golden balloon to the right of the board, the last one that he needed to win his prize. He pulled his arm back towards his shoulder and launched.
The dart spun through the air and missed the balloon by an inch, embedding itself in the cork board.
The boy stared at it, sighing. Maki frowned, reaching out to comfort him when he heard a pop.
“That's five gold balloons, congratulations!” Yuma said, leaving the dart he held in the corkboard so he could grab the step ladder. “You wanted the bunny, right?”
He took the bunny off its hook and climbed down, handing it to the boy, who opened his mouth to say something, but before he could a voice called out behind him.
“Harua, you won something!” The other boy hurried over. “It’s a mini you!”
Harua smiled. “I thought you’d like something to cuddle while I’m on exchange this semester.”
The other boy kissed him and then took the bunny, exchanging it with the fairy floss. The two walked off chattering together, Harua turning back and mouthing a “thank you” as they left.
Maki turned to the other man, smiling. “You threw the bet for love? How romantic.”
“He’d spent more than enough on tokens this Summer to buy the bunny outright anyway.” Yuma shrugged.
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Maki stood just inside the entrance to the carnival, his hands in his pockets, waiting for Yuma. Part of him worried the other would never show up. He wasn’t obligated to, really, so Maki wouldn’t be surprised if he didn’t.
But then there he was, coming through the arch in a grey hoodie and jeans instead of his Carnival uniform.
“Hey,” Maki said, breathing a sigh of relief. “I wasn’t sure if you’d come.”
“I thought about it, but then I thought about how much you would look like a loser if I stood you up, and so I decided to show up out of the kindness of my heart.”
Maki shoved him gently. “Alright, let’s go ride this boat, then.”
While they stood in line, Yuma took Maki’s hand and didn’t let go, even as they were called forward and seated in the back row of one side of the ship.
The Viking started to swing back and forth, first gentle and then high enough that you felt momentarily like the ship could fly off into the sky before it yanked you back down to earth and off into the opposite direction.
“How are you doing?” Maki asked, his face split into an excited grin as their end soared up.
The other boy swallowed but he held Maki’s gaze. “Maybe a little freaked out, but it’s not as bad as I thought it would be.”
Maki detangled their hands and put his arm around Yuma’s shoulders. “Just pretend we’re on an adventure across the seven seas on a pirate ship.”
“It’s literally called the Viking, you git,” Yuma said as he reached up to play with Maki’s hand on his shoulder.
When they exchanged numbers later that night, Yuma kissed him on the cheek before getting on his bus and Maki smiled as they waved through the bus window, thinking that perhaps they had been flirting all Summer.