floating | ✓

21| carnival

“You may not know where you're going, but you know that so long as you spread your wings, the winds will carry you.”

-C. JoyBell C.

21| carnival

“Guys, guys.” Jason literally jumps up and down in excitement as he comes to our table at lunch. “I talked to Valerie!”

“Um, who’s Valerie?” I ask, of course, because Oliver doesn’t look interested.

“She’s the girl from Halloween,” Jason says, beaming as he sits down and turns to me. “I told her we’re gonna hang out and go to the carnival. So I invited her to come.”

“We are going to the carnival?” Oliver asks from his seat, looking up from his beautiful lunch that he has been staring at this whole time.

As you already know, after Halloween, nothing much changed between Oliver and I. Oliver still acts like I’m a plague. He doesn’t give me much attention. I try to poke at him whenever I can.

“Yes, we are!” Jason announces. “Valerie told me she isn’t looking for a relationship right now. but I am going to change her mind,” Jason says puffing his chest up.

I pat his wrist. “Sure, sure. Good luck on that, buddy.”

Jason doesn’t realize I’m making fun of him, so he beams. Oliver again stares at his lunch. With lunchtime being over soon, we head towards our classes.

“I am going to be picking up Valerie. You guys can come together,” Jason says to Oliver and I. “Saturday around 4, does that sound good?”

“You planned all of it yourself, why not this bit too?” Oliver asks.

“What’s your problem? We’re going to a carnival. It’s going to be fun,” I say.

“I knew Gwen was gonna support me on this,” Jason says, throwing his arm over my shoulder as I smile.

“Yeah, why not?” Oliver says and looks away.

“I see it. You can’t stand fun,” I nudge Oliver. “It’s like you are the opposite of fun. Loosen up, Oliver. It’s not going to hurt you.”

Oliver stares at me. “Reminds me of the fun we had at the haunted house.”

I get what he means. So I scoot closer to him and say, “We did have fun until we lost each other. Remember the dark hallway and the mirror room?”

Oliver instantly realizes what I’m talking about. My eyes flicker to his lips and go up to meet his eyes again. He swallows.

“Yes, and I also remember what happened after that,” Oliver replies.

“Just hold my hand tighter this time,” I say, smiling a little bit.

As I turn away from him, I see Jason narrowing his eyes at us. “Sometimes it seems like you guys think I don’t exist.”

I press my lips together. Oliver doesn’t reply.

“Oh well, buddy, we are going to the carnival to set you up with your one night stand,” I say. “Isn’t that what good friends do?”

*****

Saturday rolls around soon enough. I find myself in front of my mirror, dressing up. I am wearing casual clothes—a cream blouse, a pair of jeans, and my sneakers. I go downstairs and find Mom in the kitchen. That’s when I hear the doorbell ring.

I open the door and find Oliver standing there with a pair of sunglasses over his eyes, his hands in his jeans pockets.

“Who’s that?” Mom says from behind me.