Chapter 17
After we dropped off Tuesday we headed for the place of mystery. We sat in an awkward silence with only the radio serving as background noise. We were in the car for over twenty minutes and I was starting to grow restless. The view out the window wasn’t enough to keep my mind focused.
“Shane where are we going?”
“Shhh…I’m driving.” I frowned. He shhhed me.
“Excuse me?”
He chuckled. “I was just joking chill. By the way we’re here.”
We were pulling into a huge parking lot more than half full of cars. This place must be pretty popular to be almost pact at five in the afternoon. As Shane was looking for a parking spot, I caught a glimpse of the building. The lettering on the front spelt out Frankie’s Fun Park.
“What kind of place is this?”
“You’ll see.”
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“The park turned out to be like an amusement park minus the big stuff like roller coasters. It was a lot of fun and I’m glad I went with him.” I said quickly. Then grabbing my glass of water and draining it. I feel like I have been talking for hours.
“Tell me what happen. What made the day so fun?” Faelin gushed like a teen-aged schoolgirl talking to her girlfriends.
“Why?” I asked in between gulps of water. I really didn’t want to go into the details of my date with Shane.
“So that you can become more comfortable with me. Telling me about the murders isn’t going to be easy.”
No kidding. I thought.
“Telling me about something as personal as your first date, will make things a little easier. Kat, I’m not just your lawyer. I’m a friend too. I want to help out. See things get better for you.” She gave me a warm smile.
Faelin’s smile was infectious. Faelin and Niyomi were similar in a way. They both could make me feel better about myself. Like a mother should do for her child.
I wondered where my mother was. Even though I haven’t talked, heard from, seen, or even thought about my mother in years. I wanted her here. I needed her, just like I needed her that long time ago. It was strange, the idea of me wanting her. I guess it was just natural for a child to long for their mother.
“Kat? What are you thinking about?” She asked softly. As she placed her hand over mind and started brushing her thumb against it.
“My mom.” I whispered.
I felt embarrassed saying that.
To think that I needed her.
I didn’t need her when I was living on the streets. I didn’t need her when I was afraid to sleep at night. I didn’t need her when I was being outcast by everyone. I didn’t need when I found a new family. I didn’t need her when I made new friends. And I didn’t need her when I fell in love. I didn’t need her at any of those times, but I wanted her.
“Katsumi-”
“Ah, so the date with Shane…” I cut Faelin off because I really didn’t want to get into a discussion about my mother. I don’t understand what I’m feeling and I don’t know how I feel about her. So I think it is just best not to talk about it.
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We got out of the car and headed for the building. The closer we got to the building I started to hear a sound, something similar to a lawnmower. The closer we got, the louder it grew. We were a few yards from the entrance when I saw what all the noise was coming from.
“Is that…Is that a race track?” I asked excitedly.
“Sure is. I hope you’re ready to eat my dust cause you’re gonna lose.”
“Psh. You’re just all talk. You got nothing to back it up.”
When we made our way thru the entrance I was hit with the smell of Pizza and Cotton Candy. Next thing I noticed was all the games. The lights from them flashing as people played them. There were games that required skill, smarts, luck, and others were just plain silly.
“Here’s your game card.” Shane handed me a card similar to a credit card. It was yellow and green with blue lettering that said Frankie’s Fun Park.
“The games in here range from 25 cents to 2 dollars. The things outside are normally five dollars each, but today there free because it’s the owners birthday. All the games you can get tickets from and when we’re done. You can turn them in for prizes.” He pointed over to a booth with prizes of all kinds.
“You got 30 dollars on your card.” He smiled. “I figured you’d need it.”
“And why is that?” I said watching kids run from game to game.
“Because if I gave you equal money, I would win way more tickets than you.” He smirked.
“Really? Is that so.”
“Yep. So what do you want to do first?” He asked changing the subject.
My eyes scanned the room filled with people of all ages. I took in all the flashing lights and ringing sounds. “That one!” I pointed across the room to a machine that was about 8 feet tall a giant oval shape, stringed with rainbow lights.
Shane turned his head in the direction that I was pointing in.
He took me by the hand and led me over to the game. A boy a couple of years younger than us was using it. As the lights went around the boy jumped like he was skipping rope. The speed of the lights were always changing. It would start off slow then speed up and then go slow again.
During one of these changes of speed the boy didn’t jump in time ending his turn. All the lights flashed red as his tickets shot out from the machine.
“You ready?” Shane asked me before he swiped the game card. I nodded my head and the lights started up.
At first I felt kind of silly jumping rope without an actual rope, but soon enough I got the hang of it. But that embarrassed feeling left me as my score reached one hundred. I grinned wildly as Shane cheered me on.
When I reached two hundred I was starting to attract a small crowd, who called out encouraging things. My breathing was heavy and quick, it burned my throat. I was tried and ready to quit.
Out of nowhere the game drop from its super fast speed to a much slower one. Unable to adjust myself, I missed and the lights flashed red ending my turn at 257 jumps. I sat on the floor to catch my breath as my tickets spilled out of the machine.
“I don’t think I’m going to do this one.” Shane said as he sat down beside me. The red lights continued to flash as the tickets came out. It took a while for all of them to come out because it was two tickets per jump.
“Want something to drink, Kat?” I nodded. Still trying to catch my breath. “I’ll be right back.”
As Shane walked off into the jungle of games I wondered where I would put all the tickets. I wasn’t a purse carrying type of girl and my pockets weren’t big enough. Shane came back just as the last of the tickets shot out. He was carrying two very large cups.
“Here you go.” He said handing me the cup and I realized that there were two of them. “The second cup is for you tickets.” Shane added when I looked to him for answers.
Shane had gotten me a grape Icee the same thing I had when we all had went to the zoo. “Thank you. So what do you want to do next?” I asked looking out into the distance.
“I’ll try that over there.”
A’s/N The game in the video is a jump rope game from Dave&Busters. It’s a little different from the one at Frankie’s Fun Park but basically the same thing. :D
