A Festive Twist

The entrance to the carnival was decked out with lights beaming in all directions. Banners waved in the evening wind as the night came alive with laughter and excitement. An announcer for some kind of gimmicky game could be heard muffled in the distance. His pitch changes reflected extreme enthusiasm adding to the atmosphere of a true carnival experience.

“Hey! Let’s hit the insane house!” Jeremy howled, downing the rest of his drink and chucking it into a trash can before stepping up to the entrance. Amy giggled and rushed after him, looking back at me with pleading eyes. I knew she had developed quite a crush on him, but this carnival feature looked like a spew-fest in the making. The entire room rotated and span while we tried to maintain balance and pass through the corridors. Jeremy bounced through the house like a pinball, smacking into almost every corner for extra momentum. Amy fell over twice, probably hoping he would run back to her, but he only laughed.

“You okay?” I asked, hauling her up.

“Yeah, let’s try to go on a two-seater ride or something next...can’t escape me on one of those,” she said, with an eager twinkle in her eyes.

“Yeah, I’ll bail so he has no choice,” I suggested, battling with my stomach.

We made it out of the insane house and staggered back onto the grass. The world continued moving to my despair. Jeremy stretched out and yawned; his underwear peeked out from the top of his jeans.

“Well, that wasn’t so hard. What’s next?” He asked, seemingly back in balance. Jeremy had always been the oblivious, confident type. He couldn’t fool me. Poor Amy on the other hand was a lost cause.

Amy became animated and pointed at a wild-looking rollercoaster with convenient two-seat carts, “Let’s go on that one!”

Jeremy’s brows lifted; he was impressed by Amy’s zeal. She raced him over to the line-up, I trailed behind. They exchanged digs about who was more likely to scream on the peak of the track. Jeremy was undoubtedly assured that it would be Amy screaming, and him laughing. On the contrary, Amy pointed out that he couldn’t run or move or do anything to control the ride, so he would be way out of his comfort zone. As we approached the ride clerk, I coughed just loud enough to gain Amy and Jeremy’s attention.

“Sorry, I’m not feeling too well, you guys go ahead,” I said, urging them to take a seat together. Jeremy flashed a look of concern, “Aw, it’s only number two, you’re bailing this early in the game?”

“Hey, you picked a terrible first experience,” Amy retorted, clapping him on the back.

“Yeah, I’ll catch up with you guys after, enjoy it,” I said, smiling and turning away.

Jeremy shrugged and then returned to his world of thrills and fun. Amy tried to contain her excitement as she slipped into the seat beside him. I wandered off to find some refreshments. The food area was on the other side of the carnival, but I was able to weave my way through the quirky maze of pop-up stalls and activities. A small mobile food truck featured an enormous sign on top that read “hotdogs”. It was an easy trap for the likes of me. As I approached the van, the man inside excitedly greeted me as though I was his first customer ever and he hadn’t just handed another customer a hotdog.

“Step right up young lass!” his white eyebrows spiked high above his small blue eyes, “What can I do for you?”

I felt almost intimidated by his eagerness to serve.

“Uh, just a hotdog with some tomato sauce, please.”

“No cheese or onion?”

“No thanks.”

“Ah, very well…”

His tone and mannerisms were odd for a food vendor. It seemed like he would have done better playing a mad scientist in one of the carnival features. I smiled bleakly then glanced around and mentally planned my way back to the rollercoaster.

“Here you are!” the vendor called. He carefully handed me the hotdog, as though it was some precious artefact, “Don’t let the carnival intimidate you now, it’s a great night for an adventure!”

“Uh, thanks?” I said, taking the hotdog and hastily stepping away from the stand. I sat down at one of the park benches and took a bite. It was delightful. I glanced around at the people enjoying the carnival and began noticing that they were now wearing masks. Some in clown masks, some in superhero masks and some in more fancy ones. Somehow, I felt naked, like I had missed out on an important memo for the dress code. A young boy walked up to me; his parents watched from nearby. His mask was extraordinarily detailed.

“Here, you can have this one,” he said, handing me a spare mask. It was beautifully embellished and reminded me of a masquerade mask.

“Oh, thank you.”

By the time I looked up back up, the boy and his parents were gone. The carnival grounds were becoming busier. People rushed around from ride to ride, all of them wearing masks. As I took in the sights, I realised nothing looked familiar anymore. I couldn’t tell how to get back to Amy and Jeremy. There were no familiar stalls or rides. Even the grass seemed different. I finished my hotdog and thought deeply about what was happening. Had I been drugged? I glanced back at the hotdog stall and my heart skipped a beat. It had vanished. Clutching onto the mask the boy had given me, I sprung up and began moving through the crowds. I called out for Amy and Jeremy but masked faces looked back at me with empty eyes. I reached the other side of the carnival, but the entrance was gone. There were only more rides and festivities, as far as the eye could see. I could feel a panic attack coming on. My eyes began to water and I could feel my face flushing red. I decided to put the mask on for some sense of anonymity. Suddenly, looking through the mask, the entire world was changed. I was back at the festival; the first festival. I knew exactly where I was. The sensation of the mask disappeared as if I had never put it on and the sounds of the carnival changed back to a slower pace. In the distance, I could hear Amy’s voice calling my name. I moved through the crowds with ease towards Amy’s voice.

“Hey!” Jeremy jumped out from the crowd and ran to me. He placed a gentle hand on my shoulder, “Are you okay? We were looking all over for you!”

“Yeah, I’m fine, sorry for worrying you.”

Without warning, Jeremy pulled me into his arms and squeezed me tight, “I thought something bad happened to you.”

I felt a strange fuzzy feeling in my gut. I had never seen Jeremy even pretend to be worried before.

Amy spotted us from a distance and stopped dead still as she saw our embrace. I could see her face twitching with bitterness. She approached with coldness in her eyes.

“Oh, you’re okay after all, huh?”

“Yeah, I am okay, thanks. How was the rollercoaster?” I redirected the conversation and pulled away from Jeremy.

“It was alright,” Amy said. She whipped out her phone.

Jeremy side-eyed Amy, baffled by her sudden, uncaring behaviour, “Yeah…the ride was fun, but we were really worried about you. What happened? You were gone for almost an hour.”

“Yeah, what happened, Rachel?” Amy pounded on, still scrolling on her phone. Jeremy was unnerved by Amy’s narkiness.

“I got lost. I think I might head home. You guys have a good night, okay?” I said with a weak smile. Jeremy tugged at my arm as I turned to leave, “No, don’t go, the night’s only just begun!”

“Wow Jeremy, you really want her to stay, huh?” Amy pointed out, sourly.

Jeremy glanced back at her, “You don’t?”

There was a terribly awkward silence. A silence that took the shape of a triangle.

“Forget it. I’m going home,” Amy said, desperate for some kind of validation from Jeremy. She turned and walked away. Jeremy stood and watched with a confused expression.

“Man, did I just miss something?” He asked. My heart broke for Amy who disappeared out of the carnival grounds.

“Amy likes you,” I revealed.

“Oh…why is she being weird to you?”

“I’d say from that extended hug, she thinks you like me.”

Jeremy’s eyes fell to the ground and a half-smile wiped across his face. There was something so satisfying about his over-confidence being reduced to a mushy teenage boy.

“Well, even if that was true, it’s not your fault,” he said, jamming his hands in his pockets.

“I know. I should head home though. I feel terrible for her.”

He stared at the ground for a long moment.

“Do you… like me?”

The question sent my blood pressure into a spike. I could hardly calculate my next words.

“It doesn’t matter, I can’t stay here with you. That’s not fair to her.”

Jeremy nodded slowly, still avoiding eye contact, “Yeah. I can see how you’d feel that way. You’re a good person, Rachel.”

He stepped in closer and gazed down at me. Part of me desperately wanted to leave for Amy’s sake, but a selfish side of me urged me to stay. In a moment that drowned out the entire festival, he traced his fingers down my jawline and then brought his lips to mine.