Halcyon Days (Starting over-first draft)

Chapter 01

The sun was setting that fateful summer night when the air was hot and the wind brought in the warm, humid air over the freshwater lake. All around, people wandered the beach and the pier, enjoying the last school free day of summer at the carnival over the water. As the sky darkened—decorated with shades of blue and glittering stars—the colorful lights of the rides and booths flickered to life, illuminating the shadows that crept in with the night. Voices grew louder as more and more people arrived in anticipation of the firework show that would symbolize the carnival's closing until next summer.

The rows of booths were full of lights and prizes as groups of people crowded themselves around the games, trying as hard as they could to throw darts at balloons or shoot a clown with a water gun—all to get that giant, cheap teddy bear from the top shelf.

Of all the people who tried to knock down the stack of heavy bottles on the opposite side of the booth, no expected the little girl with sickly pale skin and thin arms to knock down every single one. Stack by stack, the sound of heavy glass clinking together and crashing to the ground rang in everyone's ears as she knocked down all three stacks in three swift throws. Indeed, she didn't look like much at all, but there was a spunky attitude inside her that fed off the way people looked so shocked when she won that giant bear from the top shelf. The plush animal was almost bigger than her and she struggled to pull it over the counter.

"What was that?" she began to question her older brother.

"I wouldn't be able to do it? Isn't that what you said?"

Her brother stood next to her, rolling his eyes.

"Pay up, Lexi!" she mocked as she squinted up at him, demeaning his rugged outward appearance as she held out her hand, forcing him to place a crumpled wad of bills into her palm.

Grinding his teeth together and groaning at the $20 now burning a hole in his pocket, he turned away from her and refused to make eye contact with anyone who could possibly see him losing a bet to a little girl. He then began to fidget with the earrings that scattered his left ear, attempting to look occupied in order to ignore the new bruise in his pride.

The tall, ne'er-do-well sucked in a sharp breath and finally looked back to the girl as she shoved the money into her pocket.

"Don't be losin' that now," he lectured as he pointed down at a bill hanging out of her pocket.

His thick eyebrows finally relaxed out of their frown as he watched her situate the giant bear in her arms. She was an annoying, smart assed little girl who was taking after him a little too much, but he loved her with every fiber of his being. No one in the world was more precious to him than her. To see the look of accomplishment spread wide across her face as she clutched that bear in her frail arms brought a soft smile to his lips. With that giant bear, she looked so small and so innocent, like a regular little girl—he almost felt guilty for corrupting her.

Alexi shoed a moth away from her shoulder as he pulled a small carton from the breast pocket of his denim vest, retrieved a cigarette, and lit it as he placed it between his lips. The heat from the lighter felt like comfort on the lower half of his face as he cupped his hands around the bitter tasting stick.

"Can I try one?" Ada asked as she looked up at him, causing his skin to crawl.

"The hell you'd wanna do that for?"

"You do it."

"That's 'cause I make bad choices. You're too young for smokin'...and too smart too," his words fell clumsily as he tried to steer away from the awkward situation.

"Weren't you only fifteen when you started? That's not much older than I am now," she argued back cleverly.

"I wouldn't exactly compare twelve and fifteen..." he mumbled as he thought things over. He actually considering giving her a puff—just to watch her face turn green—but brought himself back to reality quickly.