"Okay! So, do you want to play something?" I said, trying to break the silence.
Lucas grinned and put his palms against the chair on either side of him. "Alright. I have three different types of laptops, three different types of video games, and four types of Apple devices," he said. "One is a lie."
"What a show off," I said and he rolled his eyes. "Three video games since I've only seen the PlayStation in your room."
He shook his head. "I have two more stashed away. I only have three Apple devices," he said. "The iPad, the iPhone, and the Mac Book." Of course. I tried to think of what to say and rubbed my head.
"Okay, so, I've never eaten cotton candy before, never eaten chocolate ice‐cream, and never played Tic‐Tac‐Toe," I said. Lucas mouth was hanging opening by the time I finished.
"All of them are a bunch of lies," he said and leaned over. "You're such a liar." I shook my head vigorously and he sat back. "What the heck? Is it never eaten chocolate ice‐cream, because that's my favorite and it's a really popular flavor."
"Sadly, you're right," I said. "I don't like chocolate ice‐cream. But I've never had vanilla before.That's for sure." He looked at me like I was an alien and I smiled. "I don't like ice‐cream that much."
"You've never played Tic‐Tac‐Toe?" he said. I shook my head and he got up. He dragged me to the family room and he took out a paper and pencil. Oh, I think I know where this is going.
"Okay, you don't have to," I began, but then thought, what's the use? Lucas took a minute to explain the game to me and started playing. It was a really quick and brief game, and Lucas won all the time since he knew the strategies. He didn't even show mercy on me since it was the first time I'm playing.
"And you've never eaten cotton candy before?" he asked me, twirling the pencil between his fingers.
"You're not buying me cotton candy," I said bluntly.
"Of course not. Until you earn it," he said. "By playing Differences."
"I don't want to play that stupid game now," I said annoyed. Lucas rolled to the Mac Bookand went online. He typed in Halloween Carnival timings, and leaned back against the swivel chair.
"Since Pearl's not gonna be here, we can go to the carnival. You've never went to this one right?" he suggested. I looked at the screen and had no clue what carnival it was. "They have aspecial event just for Halloween and they're extending it through the weekend, too. It starts at 5:00pm, and ends at 12:00 pm."
"And why are we going there?" I asked him.
"Three reasons," he said, turning on the chair to look up at me. "1﴿ So you can eat cotton candy. 2﴿ So you can eat hot dogs. 3﴿ So you can go on a Ferris Wheel." Wow, he's making me turn all my differences into similarities. But these were all minor differences that I'm sure wouldn't affect anybody.
"How would I repay you back?" I said.
"We can play Differences later to make up for it," he said. He stood up and walked out of the living room. I sat on the swivel chair, staring at the laptop blankly. "Let's practice the guitar!" he called and I rose.I shut down the laptop and closed it, leaving the room.
•••
We left the house at 6 pm for the carnival, and I was really glad it wasn't that cold. It was November 1, and my birthday was coming up in several weeks. I didn't tell Lucas, though. I probably shouldn't. The carnival we went to was bustling with people and still had that Halloween aura. I smelled BBQ, heard laughter and chatter, and saw different decorations and event‐stalls around the carnival. It was different from the Quebec carnival, so it was obviously something new.
