45: Fair

Shyba—

As Kiara and I stand near the entrance to the fairgrounds I watch the different rides and people. The air is filled with the scent of fried foods, reminding me of the festivals back in Japan that I only got to attend as a small child. The sun is starting to get low, and I glance over to her, watching as she checks her phone again.

“It’s already ten past six,” she says and dials Jeremiah’s number. For a moment we stand in silence before she sighs and hangs up. “It went to voicemail.”

I glance back at the fairgrounds. It is not like Jeremiah to leave someone hanging without an answer. “Maybe they just need more time,” I suggest.

She purses her lips and her phone dings. “Oh! It’s him,” she says and quickly reads it, her shoulders deflating. “He says he’s sick so they’re not coming. He ate something bad.”

I am about to say something when I feel my phone buzz. I open it to see a message from Jeremiah. “You got this 😉 Thank me later”

My heart drops into my stomach, realizing this was all a scheme. I quickly stuff my phone back into my pocket, my heart racing. “Ah… We can still go. If you want to.”

She puts her phone back into her bag and pulls out the tickets Jeremiah had given us earlier. “Yeah, it would be a shame for these to go to waste,” she says, not looking at me. “And we’re already here.”

Why does she seem to be upset? Maybe she does not want to be alone with me? For a moment, I can feel the despair creeping up, but a thought crosses my mind. If that is the case, then I just have to make sure she is having fun. I can do that.

We go through the gate, the guards checking our tickets, and get wristbands for the rides. I glance around, unsure what to do or even say. We are really here by ourselves. Is this a date?

“What should we do first? Since it’s your first time I’ll let you pick,” she says.

I take another look around. “Ah, e-eto… You know what would be fun,” I say. I have no clue what to even do and this way I can make sure she does something she likes.

She giggles, and my heart flips. “Okay. If you want to try anything along the way, just say so.” She points to the closest ride as it lifts off the ground and spins faster and faster. “This looks fun! What about this one?”

As I stare up at it, I feel my stomach twisting. Clenching my fists, I nod. “Nn, okay,” I try to say eagerly.

We get in line, and I steel myself. Her eyes are wide with excitement, a smile on her face as she watches the ride spinning around in all directions. I can do this for her. It could not be so bad, right? All the people leaving the ride seem to have enjoyed it.

Once we are let through, Kiara and I find a seat next to each other. I watch as she straps herself in and do the same. My heart pounds out of my chest as the straps feel tighter and tighter. She looks over at me, her brows arching.

“Are you okay? You look like you’re about to faint,” she says.

I paint a smile on my face. “I-ie! Ie! I am ah… excited to try this!” I say, resisting the urge to tear the straps off. Come on, I’ve been through far worse than a silly carnival ride!

She raises a brow. “We still have time to get off.”

I shake my head. “No, I want to try this with you.”

My heart jumps into my throat. What did I just say?

She pauses for a second before smiling. “I’m glad I get to be your first ride buddy.”

Her smile is suddenly all I can see and my heart melts. She really is happy to be with me? I guess I was overthinking earlier. That means I don’t have to worry so much, right?

Before I can say anything, I feel the ride start, lifting us up into the air. It starts moving side to side and I can feel myself relaxing a bit. This is not so bad. I can enjoy this.

Kiara’s giggling sends the blood rushing to my face, and I look over to see her smiling, enjoying herself. I let myself relax more and feel a laugh escape my chest. Then it is like the ride is going every possible direction as fast as it can.

“HAAAAAAA!! YAAADAAAA!!!” Through my screams I can hear Kiara laughing in pure glee.

“Close your eyes!” I hear her yell over the wind.

I do so, but all I can feel are the straps holding me down and I fight with everything I have not to rip them off. Instead, I focus on Kiara’s laughing, it being my only saving grace as I try to hold myself together. It feels like forever before I finally feel it slow down and once it starts to lower us to the ground, I am ripping the straps off. The second it stops I am jumping out of the seat, still feeling my hands shaking. Kiara quickly follows me out the exit as I try to get away from the contraption as quickly as possible.

“Shyba, are you okay? You’re shaking and you look pale,” she says.

I wave my hands. This is so embarrassing! “I-I am okay. I ah… was surprised!” I say, my stomach seeming to twist and turn. “I n-never did anything like that and—”

Suddenly, my hand is over my mouth as I begin feeling queasy. Please no! I cannot get sick in front of her! However, I can feel the inevitable about to happen and quickly run to the nearest trashcan, retching my lunch and dignity away.

Why did this have to happen? How do I confess to her after this? I completely ruined this whole thing and we barely even got here!

My stomach churns again and I feel a presence next to me. “Shyba, here. Let me pull your hair back, okay? Just nod if it’s okay,” Kiara says.

I grip the sides of the trashcan, keeping my head down so she can’t see my face, and nod slowly. I would feel bad to say ‘no’ if she really thinks she can help, and it would suck to get puke in my hair anyway. I feel her fingers pull my hair up and the feeling of her touching me again is so soothing yet exhilarating.

She ties it up in a ponytail and for a moment I just stand there not knowing what to do. How can I look her in the face after this? I just want to crawl in a hole! A couple of younger teens walk by, stifling their laughs and I am taken aback. It is weird to be laughed at rather than people running in fear.

“I’ll go get you a soda to sip on. There’s a bench right there if you want to sit down. I’ll be right back,” she says and trots off.

I glance over, watching as she goes over to a food booth. Taking a deep breath, I wearily walk over to the bench, pulling my phone out. Not knowing what else to do, I call Jeremiah. He would know how to fix this, right?

After a couple rings he answers. “Everything okay?”

I pause, still mortified. “I threw up. Thanks.”

There is silence, then laughter. “Oh man, that’s rough! You okay, though?”

“Kiara is getting me soda now, but I do not know what to do. How do I tell her after this? I ruined it!” I whine.

“Hey, don’t worry buddy. People get sick on those rides all the time. That’s why they have so many trashcans out. It’s totally normal,” he says. “Just keep going like it didn’t happen. She won’t hold it against you.”

“But if I cannot go on the rides with her then what do I do?” I ask. “She really liked it.”

“Hmmm, oh! You’re good with hand-eye coordination. Go check out the game alley and win her a prize. Show off your stuff.”

“Show off my stuff?”

“Yeah! Win her whatever she wants. Then she’ll forget all about you getting sick.”

“Ah… Okay. I will do that,” I say. “But ah…”

“Broooo, stop overthinking it. Just enjoy the experience. Let whatever happens, happen.”

“Okay. I will try to—” Out of my peripheral I see her coming toward me and without thinking I hang up the phone, stuffing it into my pocket.

She sits next to me, handing me the cup and I take it. “Thank you,” I mutter, still not able to look her in the eye. Ugh, when will the embarrassment end?

“Feeling better?” she asks. I nod as I take a sip and she smiles. “You know, you should wear your hair up more often. It looks good.”

Her words cause a flurry of emotion, my heart fluttering. “It does?” I ask, reaching up to feel the ponytail.

“Mm-hm!” she says, nodding. “Anyway, I was thinking maybe we could try the bumper cars. Those ones you control yourself and don’t go very fast so you should be fine. If you want to try riding anything else that is.”

I sip at the soda, glancing away before turning toward her. “Okay. I will try it,” I mutter and sigh. “I am sorry. I know you were excited for the other ones.”

She gives me a gentle smile. “It’s okay. I don’t mind. I just want to spend time with you,” she says and glances down. “For a while there I was getting pretty lonely, you know? This is the first time we’ve really gotten to hang out again since Christmas and even after you told me the truth you have been a bit distant. I can understand since it was a big thing and I guess you were giving me some space, yeah?”

Is that what she thinks? I suppose she is not wrong. Still, what do I say?

“Oh, speaking of, I have been meaning to ask how you’re doing about all of it since telling me. So, how are you feeling?”

I feel like my heart is going to pound out of my chest because you are sitting so close to me, and I am head over heels in love with you. Would that be the right thing to tell her?

“I… feel good. I am glad I told you,” I say and look up at her. “I am happy you still trust me. That you are not afraid.”

She tilts her head with an adorable smile. “I’m glad you trust me too.”

I can feel my cheeks warming and quickly turn away, standing. “Okay, ah… Bumper cars?”

“Okay!” she says, jumping up.

Suddenly, it is like the last few minutes never happened and as we continue onward, I watch the lights roam across her face, unable to tear my eyes away from her smile.

Translations:

“I-ie! Ie!” = N-no! No!

“YAAADAAAA!!” = STOOOOOP!!