[20th December]
"Hey," Dylan greeted as he rambled over to us, hands in the pockets of his puffy winter coat. We waved at him. The twins and I swiftly exchanged knowing looks with each other.
Ethan nudged his chin to the brightly lit Korean barbeque restaurant behind us. We had learned our lesson to always go to the carnival with a half-full stomach. The food was absolutely overpriced there. Half of our friend group had more than enough money to spend but we're still careful with our cash. I heard from the twins that all of their receipts from yesterday night were accumulated and turned out, they only spent thirty-five dollars!
"Let's go before it's a full house," Ethan smiled and turned around, the rest of us followed suit. Rikki and Jay leaped in joy and high-fived each other, seemingly the most excited out of all of us to have grilled meat for dinner.
I slowed down my steps and waited for Dylan, who sheepishly followed behind with his head lowered, the total opposite of his usual sarcastic personality. I pulled him into a headlock and roughly ruffled his hair, turning him into a flustered yelling mess.
"Oi, let me go!"
"What's got you so moody and glum, hm?" I snickered, releasing him as we strolled side-by-side to the eatery. I nonchalantly watched as Ethan did a headcount before gesturing to the waitress for seven seats.
"It's nothing, I'm just not feeling that good," Dylan softly sighed and rubbed his hands together to keep himself warm, puffs of white mist floated out of his mouth as he blew his palms.
Snow could fall anytime soon.
"Hm, is it because of yesterday? At the convenience store?" I asked as I observed the white cloud that escaped through my lips disappear in the air. Dylan scoffed, rolling his eyes at me.
"You're not that important," he spat. I grinned haughtily as I swung an arm around him.
"There's the Dylan I know."
"How many servings of beef do you guys want?" Ethan tapped the wooden pencil on the small booklet he had to list down our orders.
"Let's get five, for now, we can always order more later on," Jay replied as he flipped through the menu thoroughly, stopping halfway to ask us if we wanted anything. I chuckled lightly at that; Ethan and Jay were like the parents of the group. Well, they were the oldest after all.
Rikki whined. "I don't eat beef; can we get chicken too?"
"Sure," Ethan smiled and jotted it down. "Can we order drinks?" Dylan asked as he turned to the twins since it was their turn to pay.
"It's not too expensive, I hope," Nick let out a wary laugh, quickly checking his wallet.
"It's only water," Dylan snickered.
"Rikki, don't put your coat on the table, it will catch fire! And wear gloves! I don't want Ms. Yamamoto to berate us for not taking care of you well!" Jay warned when the younger tried to put his hand over the table grill.
"I'm not a wuss puss! Bleh!" he tossed his coat onto the vacant chair beside him then blew raspberries at Jay.
"You can't hang out with us anymore then,"
"Understood," Rikki rushed to put on the grilling mitts without another word.
Jay glanced at him with a smile, delicately laying a piece of the grilled chicken strip on Rikki's plate with a pair of tongs. "You'll have to cook too since you're wearing the gloves,"
"I don't know how..." Rikki muttered, staring at Jay helplessly.
"I'll teach you,"
I watched the duo's endearing father-son interaction and smiled, a small laugh escaping my lips. "You look weird," Dylan uttered, staring at me with a hint of disgust as he drank his glass of warm water.
"What? They are so adorable," I glanced at him with a wider grin, making myself a lettuce wrap.
"Adorable? You'd usually gawk at them and tell them they're sickening," Dylan arched a brow before folding a lettuce wrap for himself as well.
"Hm, I think I've learned to like their relationship," I pushed the entire wrap into my mouth in one go.
"Nah, you've always found them cute," I turned to look at him, puzzled.
"You just pretend to be grossed out whenever you got caught staring," Dylan glimpsed at me with a blank face.
"You look like Theodore from Alvin and the Chipmunks," he suddenly remarked. I quickly swallowed my food and scoffed at him.
"Shut up, you look and act like Simon, just dumber and shorter," Dylan slammed his wooden chopsticks down on his china clay plate, alarming me. The others were so engaged in separate conversations that they paid no mind to it. The restaurant was fully packed and bustling anyway.
"You little-" he scoffed in disbelief and thrust his tongue into his cheek, swiftly thinking of another comeback.
"Well, you're literally that football jock that thought he was the main character but got owned by a freaking chipmunk not long after. He even stole his girlfriend!" Dylan chortled.
"Huh?! That's you but worst!"
"Do you guys want the beef strips-?"
"Yes, please!"
-
"Whoa, it's even more crowded than before," the seven of us stood like lost kindergarteners at the entrance of the park, astonished by the mass number of visitors. We couldn't even see inside the carnival!
"Obviously, snow might drop anytime soon and everyone's rushing to get aesthetic pictures,"
I raised an eyebrow when Rikki zipped open his bag to reveal a professional camera. He even brought an expensive camera lens! "Why'd you bring that?" I asked as he wrapped the strap around his neck and held it protectively in his arms.
"Hm?" Rikki hummed questionably before he finally caught on. "Oh, I just thought it would be great for our project to have pictures of the event, we might even get an extra point!" he giggled before turning to a bench nearby to install the lens onto his device. I immediately followed him, remembering that he was the youngest and probably the most naïve one here. He might get lost.
"Ooh," I kept watch of our group a few meters away. They hadn't noticed that we were gone yet.
"Can I have some too?"
"Obviously! I'll transfer them into a drive tomorrow and you can borrow it." I cheered at that; Ethel would be exhilarated to have me as his partner.
"What are you two doing, leaving like that?" Jay came over and wrapped an arm around my shoulders.
"You know you're the youngest in our group, right? We can't have you going missing, Rikki," he scolded the boy who didn't even look at him and simply hummed in response. He was busy testing out the settings of the camera. The rest began walking towards us.
"Don't worry, I'm here to look after him," I reassured him with a pat on his back as he turned to me with a scoff.
"You're the second youngest."
"Oh,"
"Rikki, why'd you bring something so valuable? It's so crowded here!" Ethan gasped; eyebrows furrowed with worry as he peered over Jay's shoulders.
"It's for the project," I replied for Rikki, looking over at Ethan.
"He said it might give him extra points if he pasted pictures on it,"
As if on cue, requests for photos began to pile up and the youngest nodded and told them the same thing he had previously said to me.
"But I'm giving the drive to Johnny before any of you since he asked first,"
"Sounds good to me," Dylan nonchalantly shrugged his shoulders and grabbed the only vacant seat on the bench. Rikki gave him an unimpressed glance before returning to the camera in his hands.
"You're his partner, dumbass," Nick rolled his eyes as Silas playfully slapped Dylan's arm, the younger only snickered at the twins.
"Oh, Rikki can you take pictures of us too? I haven't posted anything on my social media for months," Jay asked as he moved to grasp onto the bag that the Rikki carelessly left unsupervised at the end of the bench.
"I was planning to," Rikki beamed as he stood up.
"I'm getting really into portraits nowadays," Jay grinned and ruffled the youngest's hair, having to look up since Rikki was significantly taller.
The twins and Ethan had been speaking amongst themselves at the back so I decided to join them as Rikki organized his equipment with Jay and Dylan to watch over him. "What's up?" I glanced over Ethan's shoulder and he smiled at me. I decided to stay as close to him to avoid any trouble.
"Oh, the three of us were planning to try the mechanical Rodeo Bull ride over there," Nick pointed to somewhere ahead of us. I squinted my eyes and barely made out the shape of a robotic bull standing tall in the midst of the crowd. The teenager riding the bull was thrown down onto the inflatable pool not long after, the audience that gathered to watch winced and booed.
"That looks.... scary," I chuckled apprehensively and glimpsed at Nick, who only grinned wider. "It's thrilling," he spun the tokens in his palm and continued to watch as the next participant stepped up to the robot.
"Do you wanna try it?" Ethan looked at me, his eyes twinkling in excitement.
"Uh, I'm not sure," he arched a brow at that.
"Hm? That's so unlike you, you'd usually take up the challenge..." Ethan shrugged nonchalantly before turning to Jay, beckoning towards the machine. After Jay nodded and waved us off, the three daredevils high-fived each other and raced to the ride. "Wait!" I decided to follow them to watch.
"We're going up next," Silas jogged back to us after slotting him and the other two into the line.
"Who's going first?" I asked and they immediately faced each other with their fists out.
"Rock, paper, scissors...shoot!" Ethan leaped in joy and cheered loudly, having defeated the twins with paper.
They groaned and lowered their fists, turning to watch the current rider get flung around as she held onto the bull for dear life. "Ethan I've got a challenge for you!" Silas suddenly declared, causing Ethan to smirk as he pulled a confident front and cracked his knuckles.
"Oh yeah?"
"Impersonate the cowboy move on that rodeo," my eyes widened.
"Wait, you mean the move where you stand up and swing your arm around?" Silas nodded with a grin before he turned back to Ethan.
"I'll do it if you do it too," Ethan challenged back.
"It's a deal!" Silas simpered and shook the eldest's hand.
"Y'all leaving me out right now?" Nick pouted at them. "You can join too!"
I hope no one dies today.
"Up next, we have-oh! Look at him!" the host of the game whistled in delight as Ethan strode up the mini stairs to the inflatable bull with an excellent posture, some of the girls beside me squealed and held onto each other's arms wildly. I smirked proudly. Ethan swung one of his long legs over the bull and adjusted himself on the saddle before turning to look at the announcer.
"What a handsome young lad we have here! Are you ready?" the commentator gripped onto the joystick and awaited Ethan's response. Ethan simply nodded and let out a small breath before he held onto the bull's neck.
"Alright! Get ready!" the host pulled the stick and immediately, the bull started to buck up and down. Ethan was slightly startled but he became used to it in an instant. The twins began applauding Ethan who noticed and gave them a thumbs up.
"Don't forget the deal!" Silas roared with his hands clasped around his mouth.
"Isn't it a little too risky?" I asked, glancing up at the male who furrowed his brows at my inquiry.
"Are you okay? You'd usually place bets too," Silas scanned my face as I stared at him tensely. "Uh-"
"Whoa!" the commentator suddenly exclaimed into his microphone, causing the both of us to turn our heads. I immediately gasped; Ethan had plotted his feet down onto the stirrup before he lifted his hips to haphazardly sway his right arm around as if he was swinging a rope in the air.
The crowd erupted into cheers at that. Despite the dangerous move, Ethan had a lively smile on his face as he laughed and firmly held onto the bull's horn as the bucking intensified.
Ethan looked so cool; I was starting to doubt if I was even him in the past.
"That was unbelievable!" the twins patted Ethan on the back as the latter jogged towards us after his ride, many pairs of eyes followed his figure in awe as he returned.
"I can still feel the adrenaline coursing through me," Ethan chuckled and bounced in his spot.
"I took some pictures of you," Rikki flipped through his camera roll as he stood beside me.
The youngest had joined us when Ethan was going up to the bull and immediately raised the camera lens towards the eldest. I swore I heard about a hundred shutters go off in the span of a minute. "Awesome! I was actually hoping you'd do so," Ethan swung his arm around Rikki as the pair joked around.
Rousing eight minutes have passed, both twins had taken their turns to ride the bull. Needless to say, they had the audience roaring in excitement. Silas attempted the cowboy move but after a few seconds, his left foot slipped on the stirrup and he almost fell as he slid down his saddle. Luckily, he held onto the bull's neck tightly and continued the show, pointing at the crowd as if he was a performer in his concert. That made the spectators cheer louder than ever. When Nick came on, the audience was visibly appalled and promptly put two and two together; Silas and Nick were twins.
Nick did the impossible and rested one of his legs on the saddle as he stood up and slowly ran his fingers through his hair, the girls-and boys-around me swooned over Nick. I immediately hit Rikki's arm and rushed him to get a picture; he was already doing so – even going as far as bending down to get a more legendary shot.
In the end, Silas and Nick were dubbed The Daredevils.
"That.was.epic!" I had squealed as we retreated to Dylan and Jay, who sat on the bench together to scan the itinerary of the carnival.
"You should've had a go on that machine," Nick suggested, rolling his shoulders triumphantly.
"Rikki, did you get photos of us?" Silas looked over Rikki's shoulders to glimpse at the camera screen.
"You didn't even have to ask," the youngest smirked at him.
"Took you guys long enough," Jay sighed and stood up, Dylan followed suit.
"Was it fun?"
"You should've seen them! Pulling off crazy stunts like that, I could feel the fear course through me for them!" I huffed out and laughed.
"Fear?" Silas raised a questioning brow.
"Never heard that word come out of Johnny before," Jay chuckled and looked at me questionably. I was getting even more out of character.
"Anyway, let's walk around the carnival before it gets even more congested!"
As usual, I waited for Dylan who was still adjusting the sling bag around him. He hummed before we calmly walked alongside behind the group. Taking glances at Dylan, I had realized how much he side-eyed and took quick glimpses at the carousel, seemingly deep in thought.
"You okay?" I asked, watching as he lazily fished out two lollipops from his pocket; cola and grape-flavored.
"I'm okay," he handed me the cola one and unwrapped the other candy.
"Sure? You've been looking at the carousel a lot," I glimpsed at the shining golden machine not far from us. It was relatively empty.
"Wanna ride it with me?" Dylan whipped his head towards me, a faint blush on his cheeks.
"What-?"
"Hey! Who wants to ride the carousel?!" I yelled to get the group's attention.
"The carousel?"
"Hell yeah! The lighting there is amazing! Rikki can get amazing shots!"
"My thoughts exactly, let's go!"
Jay and Rikki immediately zoomed to the carousel and paid the fair, turning back and waving at us to go over. "Let's go," I grinned and grabbed Dylan's hand as I dragged him there. "Wait-!"
"You guys have fun! The three of us are going to check out the souvenir store!" Ethan hollered at us. Wait, Ethan?
I made a U-turn and grabbed onto Ethan's arm, making him jump in confusion. "Ethan! Come with us!" I stared at him with puppy eyes.
"Er, I don't think-" he glanced at the twins behind him, who looked bewildered at my actions. I fake cried and pestered him more. I was probably so out of character but I needed Ethan near me.
"Okay-okay, I'll go," Ethan chuckled awkwardly and allowed me to drag him to the merry-go-round.
"Uh, we'll be at the souvenir store..." Silas trailed off, nudging his twin to the shop.
"So, I'm forgotten?" Dylan deadpanned as he watched me pass by him with Ethan.
"-you too!" I grumbled, pausing to seize Dylan's arm before resuming our walk to the carousel, where Jay and Rikki waited. The youngest already had his camera ready in his hands.
All Rikki did was soften his grip on the device and boom!
It was snatched in the blink of an eye.