Carnival Lights
"A good friend is like a four-leaf clover: hard to find and lucky to have." – Irish Proverb
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After my unexpected workout with Aiden yesterday, I woke up extremely sore the next day.
As much as I wanted to sleep in since it was Sunday, I had made plans with Brooke and Caroline earlier in the week. We were going to grab brunch somewhere and then going to an end of summer carnival somewhere in Wilmette.
It was all Caroline's idea, sort of like a last hoorah before the summer ends.
Rubbing the tiredness out of my eyes, I decided to get out of the comfort of my bed and take a long hot shower in the hopes it would soothe the soreness. After my shower, I quickly got changed into a navy blue maxi dress with a white and pink floral patterns. It had spaghetti straps and a slit down the right leg, making it the perfect amount of sexy and cute, all while remaining fairly modest.
As I applied some red lipstick in the mirror, my phone chimed. It was Caroline letting me know she was out front.
After one last look in the mirror, I grabbed my purse, waved goodbye to my mom and headed out.
Caroline was waiting for me in her black BMW with the music blaring.
It's a miracle this girl can still hear.
"You look so cute!" She shrieked once she saw me. "Hopefully there's going to be some smoking hot single seniors from the local high schools."
Rolling my eyes at her, I buckled my seatbelt. "You know, some of us aren't going to this thing today in the hopes we'll get laid."
"Pst!" She scoffed. "When is the last time you got some?"
It was my turn to scoff and roll my eyes at her. "That is none of your business!"
"Exactly!" She shrieked. "It's been so long you can barely remember."
I decided to keep quiet. This was not an argument I could win with Caroline. After we picked up Brooke, Caroline drove us to a cute little café called Cupitol Coffee and Eatery in Evanston. We weren't seated for long in their outdoor patio before Caroline jumped straight into the interrogation.
"So," Caroline began as she took a sip of her iced coffee. "A little birdie told me you hung out with Aiden Cooper yesterday."
"I wouldn't exactly call it hanging out." I replied leaning back in my chair.
"Oh no?" Brooke challenged. "What would you call it then?"
"Hmm. Lets see." I replied as I pretended to ponder my response. "Kidnapping? Abuse? Physical torture? Take your pick!"
"Oh, so he's into the whole Fifty Shades kink." Caroline smirked.
"Oh my god!" I laughed. "You're something else."
After the waitress took our order, I was hoping to get back to a regular conversation, but it seems both Brooke and Caroline did not want to give up the whole Aiden thing.
"Seriously Nat," Brooke began. "What is going on between the two of you. You guys have spent like every day together and there's a rumor going around that you were at his house this weekend."
The mention of rumors piqued my interest. "Rumor?"
"Yeah." Brooke replied as the waitress placed our food in front of us. "Kathy, who's on the volleyball team with me, is his next door neighbor. She said she saw you at his house yesterday."
"Well Kathy, needs to mind her own damn business." I said taking a bite out of my waffles. "I was at his house because he basically kidnapped me, and he was my ride home."
"If you say so!" Caroline smirked in a sing-song voice. "I would definitely tap that if I were you, he's sooo hot!"
"Honey, do we need to remind you that you have a boyfriend?" Brooke asked with a mouthful of pancakes.
"First of all, chew with your mouth closed. Nobody needs to see that." Caroline said scrunching up her nose in disgust. "Second of all, I can still admire from far away."
It will never cease to amaze me the rumors people are willing to start. And so what if I was at Aiden's house yesterday morning. Is that really any reason for bitches like Kathy to make that known to the whole school? I don't even know the girl for godsakes!
This was one of the reasons I hated high school so much. Bitches like Kathy who couldn't mind their own business.
"Look, Aiden for some reason is hell bent on making my life hard this season. He's like a leech that I can't seem to get off." I said taking a sip of my cappuccino. "For fucks sake, the two of us aren't even friends. So you can tell Kathy and whoever else decides to be a nosy bitch, to mind their own fucking business."
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After finishing our brunch, Brooke, Caroline, and I finally made it to the Wilmette End of Summer Carnival. Right off the bat, we were engulfed by the loud noise of the various rides and children running around excited.
As the three of us handed the cashier our tickets, Caroline linked all of our arms together and began dragging us into the park.
We spent a good portion of the time when we first got there just walking around and exploring. While Caroline and Brooke made note of all the rides they wanted to go on, I watched petrified.
Did I forget to mention I have an insanely crazy fear of heights?
They two of them knew that I was absolutely petrified of heights, yet they insisted on dragging me along with them on all the rides. I mean, I'm ready to piss myself on the Ferris wheel when I'm at the top, let alone on a swing carousel swinging around in the open air at 50 miles per hour. No thank you!
And yet, here I am waiting in line with Brooke and Caroline bursting with excitement next to me, while I have to concentrate really hard on not puking all over them.
"I cannot believe I let you guys drag me into this." I muttered bitterly, throwing both of them a glare.
"Oh come on!" Caroline replied. "Don't you just love the feeling of freedom up there?"
"Freedom?" I shrieked. "That thing is like a death trap."
Before I knew it, it was our turn on the ride. As I buckled into my seat, I prepared for the worse five minutes of my life. From the moment the swing carousel was put into motion, I closed my eyes and kept them that way until it stopped moving.
Caroline and Brooke were still buzzing with excitement as the three of us made our way away from that death trap they like to call a ride.
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We decided to wait until the sun was beginning to set before going on the Ferris wheel, that way we could catch the sunset and watch the bright carnival light from a few hundred feet in the air.
"I'm so glad we did this, you guys." Caroline gushed. "Who knows where we're all going to be this time next year. It's our last year to enjoy each other's company."
Brooke rolled her eyes. "Don't get all sappy on us now. You were doing so well." Out of the three of us, Caroline was the most sentimental. Even though her bubbly personality could be a little too much at times, we still loved her to death.
"I can't help it!" She whined. "I'm going to miss you guys so much."
"Care," I chuckled. "We haven't even filled out our college applications yet. We're not going anywhere just yet. And even when we do, there's this thing called technology we can use to keep in touch."
As the Ferris wheel stopped at the top, I scanned the ground underneath us. The rest of the world seemed so small from up at the top. Children that were once running around with their parents were nothing by small figures in the distance. It seemed that just for a moment, time seemed to still. However, despite the melancholy feeling, my incessant fear of heights had me gripping the edge of my seat.
"Let's take a picture!" Caroline shrieked, pulling out her phone.
She came to sit between Brooke and I, as the three of us huddled together for the picture.
"Say cheeseee!"
"I'm really glad the three of us became best friends." I said after Caroline took the picture.
"Even if we used to call you porn-star." Brooke snickered as she motioned towards Caroline.
"How could I ever forget?" Caroline playfully rolled her eyes. Before the three of us were friends, it used to be just Brooke and I with our former group of friends. During freshman and Sophomore year, Caroline would always dress up for school. That in combination with her makeup and bright red lipstick, we nicknamed her porn-star.
Once the three of us became best friends, Brooke and I felt bad so we ended up confessing our little nickname for her. Surprisingly, Caroline didn't seem all that phased by it.
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By the end of the night, we were all in a sugar coma and dead tired. Caroline ended up going home with a stuffed monkey that Brooke won at a ring toss, and I was still working my way through the ginormous bag of cotton candy I bought earlier in the day.
Once Caroline dropped me off around seven, I found mom in the kitchen with one of her work friends. After quickly filling her in on my day, I took a quick shower and got ready for bed.
I was looking forward to enjoying a few episodes of the Vampire Diaries before bed.
I was on season three when Damon and Elena were finally starting to realize they have feelings for each other, and anybody who tried to tell me Team Delena is not end-game, well we couldn't be friends.
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I know this is a short chapter, but I felt it was important to show Natalie's friendship with Brooke and Caroline without Aiden around.