The Doyen

Chapter Eleven

      THE SUN SAT lower in the sky–signifying that it would set soon. Families, lovers, and friends chattered around the huge steel gates. A buzz of excitement coursed throughout the crowd, as this event only appeared within their town once a year. Victoria clutched her shoulder bag while waiting at the carnival's entrance gates. She hadn't wanted to go into the carnival alone, so she figured that it would be best to wait for Benjamin outside the gates with everyone else.

"So, did Ben say yes?"

      Victoria jumped, muttering an apology to the middle-aged man she bumped into when she had done so. "Jesus Christ Nile! You scared me!"

      Victoria watched him as he glanced around the crowd; before she realized she hadn't answered his question.

      "Oh, you're right about Ben. He was totally fine with it." She told him.

      Nile nodded at her, and a small smile settled upon his face. He hadn't spoken to Benjamin since middle school, but surprisingly he was looking forward to spending time with both of his elementary school peers.

      Victoria looked Nile up and down. He wore a maroon hoodie and simple blue jeans. It was extremely casual, which was nothing like Nile. But, she liked it. The casual style looked good on him.

      He tucked his hands into his pockets, "Instead of waiting out here, we should just buy the tickets now. More people will arrive closer to the peak of the carnival and I would hate to get stuck in human traffic." He cringed, imagining the scene.

      Victoria chuckled as she walked towards the ticket gates with Nile following right behind her. As Victoria's curls blew with the wind, he noticed that he had been wearing the male version of her hoodie.

Oh, he thought. We're matching.

                                             •••

        The two teenagers walked past the pop-up booths together and engaged in light conversation for the past few minutes. They planned to meet the others near the candy apple station, so that's where they were headed.

      Victoria and Nile sat down at an empty bench, which reminded both of them of a particular day.

      "Uhm," she started, "I don't mean to press any boundaries, but why were you crying that day?"

       Victoria turned to look the boy in the eyes. "I was really worried you know," she paused briefly, taking a deep breath.  "About you."

       Nile held her gaze, his eyes drifting across every feature of her face. The hesitance in her voice, the way her eyebrows pulled inwards–proving that she had been thinking about this intently. The way she pressed her lips into a thin line whenever she awaited someone's response.

      He sighed as he ran a hand through his hair. "....Have you ever felt like there was something you did that you shouldn't have done?"

      Victoria opened her mouth to answer, but two hands wrapped around her from behind the bench before she could.

      "Boo!" Michael shouted, rather delayed. "Did I scare you Vicky?"

      "Yes, Michael." Victoria sighed at Michael's interruption,  "I'm shaking in my heels."

Nile cleared his throat. "Hey, Ben."

"Hi."

      Victoria's eyes drifted to her best friend. He was standing timidly behind Michael, clearly already feeling out of place. Victoria stood up from the bench and eagerly linked arms with Benjamin, and the tension left his body.