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Last September (Before the countdown)

      "Oh my God," Macy said as she practically jumped out of the car. "It's just so... Big." 

    "Well, yeah, Mace. It's a county fair. It's supposed to be big," I chuckled and watched Macy as she turned around in a circle in awe, taking in all the things there was to see at the Franklin County Fair. We had just managed to find a decent parking spot, one that was not going to require us to walk half a mile just to get to the Ferris Wheel. It had practically killed Macy the way my Mom and I just kept insisting to drive around the lot again, hoping someone would be on their way out so we could snag their parking space. We had driven around the lot about fifteen times before we finally found a sufficient space. 

   Macy couldn't wait to get out of the car. 

   "This is incredible," she said, as she turned to smile at me, her whole face lighting up just like the light yellow sundress she was wearing under her favorite worn-out jean jacket. It was the first week of September, my favorite week of the year, because that meant my Mom and I would be attending the Franklin County Fair, just like we had done together every year since my father left when I was four. This year though, I asked her if Macy could tag along. 

   "So, what do you want to do first?" I asked Macy, as my Mom set the alarm on the car and walked over to us, waiting for Macy's answer. She loved the fact that I had invited Macy to come with us today. She was still in denial that Macy and I were just friends. 

   "Oh, I have no idea," Macy said as she reached her hands up behind her head, almost knocking off her silver headband. "I want to do everything! I have never been to one of these," she said, jumping giddily up in the air, like a little kid. I loved how excited Macy got about small things. It was cute. 

    "Okay, well why don't we start by getting something to eat. I'm starving," I said, turning to face my Mom. "Do you want to grab some corn dogs and cheesy fries or do you want to go to the Chinese Gourmet?"

   "The corn dogs! Definitely the corn dogs! I have never had an actual corn dog from an actual fair. Does it come with the sweet mustard on the side so you can dip?" Macy asked, as we began walking toward the food stands, wrapping her arm around mine so that we could walk in unison.

   "I believe they do," I said, smiling. I could tell this was going to be a great day. 

   

   "Oh my God, this is amazing," Macy said fifteen minutes later when we had found an old red picnic table to sit at, across from the Tilt-O-Whirl. She had just taken her first bite ever of a real authentic corn dog. "Seriously, Max, I could eat nothing but these corn dogs for a week and still not be sick of them."

   "I'm glad you like it," I said, as my Mom watched Macy and laughed. You would think that corn dog was Macy's date instead of her lunch. "Thank you so much for letting me tag along Mrs. Brennan," Macy said, her mouth full. 

   "No thanks needed, we're so glad you could join us," my Mom said, as she snuck a sideways glance at me. My Mom loved Macy. She said that Macy had a way of bringing out the adventure in people and getting them to come out of their shell. She thought that being with someone like Macy would be good for me. And I can't say I argued with her. The only problem was that Macy didn't think of me that way. We were just friends. 

   When we were all done eating, I asked Macy what she wanted to do first and she said she wanted to go for a ride on the Carousel. My Mom was all for that considering she was terrified of heights. So naturally, she preferred the rides that were not airborne. We went to the nearest ticket booth and bought three mega-pass wristbands, so that we could go on any and all rides we wanted until closing time. My Mom and I had been doing this since I was ten because we both decided we were sick of going to the ticket booth and having to buy more tickets when we ran out. This way, we wouldn't have to worry about it.