[20th December]
"Hey-!" Rikki was horror-stricken as he froze on the spot.
The thief ran as fast as he could but his efforts were futile compared to Jay's reflexes because not even five seconds later, the mugger brutally crash-landed on his back when Jay had kicked the back of his knees. The thief had hugged the camera protectively in his arms so we couldn't seize it from him but all of us were glad it helped in another way.
Though the rugby player snatched his camera out of the mugger's arms and shoved it into his backpack, teary-eyed. "How dare you steal my grandfather's vintage camera!" he cried out before dashing to where the three of us were to get away from the man. He clung to my arms as he hid behind me, tiny sobs emitting from him.
Jay squatted on the dirt ground to have a closer look at the thief, ripping off his mask to reveal a middle-aged man. Jay scrunched his nose and huffed. "You reek of smoke and alcohol, old man," he clicked his tongue in displeasure.
"Had you drunk beforehand because you were nervous?" The man simply looked away in defeat and accepted fate, deciding he was no match against an eighteen-year-old.
"Has no one ever told you not to make it obvious when you steal? Especially in public?" Jay hummed, standing up before beckoning a nearby security guard to detain the mugger on the floor. After that, Jay tilted his head and marched over to us.
"You okay, bud?" he patted Rikki's back as the youngest merely nodded and clutched his backpack to his chest.
"Sorry, I'm scared to have my camera out again. Maybe we can use your phone to take the pictures," he sniffed, glancing at Jay who smiled reassuringly and nodded.
"We can do that," We were standing behind Rikki, now hesitant to get near the carousel. Jay rolled his eyes at that.
"Come on, why let a mere thief ruin our trip! Let's go!"
-
"So, the Hwang Twins got you guys souvenirs," Nick sing-songed and stifled a laugh as he held a small paper bag to his chest.
"Trust us, it's not the cliché sort you'd find on the internet," the twins exchanged glances and gently opened the bag.
"Close your eyes!" they waved at us. The five of us hesitantly close our eyes and put our hands out expectantly. We could hear the twins giggle as they carefully placed small objects onto our palms.
"Okay, you open your eyes now!" they commanded after a minute. I peeked open an eye and immediately burst into laughter.
"What is this?!" in my palm was a mini figurine of a cat dressed as a jester. It was very intricate and adorable.
"A cat! Because you remind us of one!" Silas let out another giggle and turned to the others. "What do you guys think?"
"I love it!" Ethan laughed as he held the little Santa deer to his eye level to take a closer look at it.
"I'm putting it on my desk when I go home," Dylan smiled, shaking his head as he put The Little Prince-themed fox into his pocket. Jay chuckled at his eagle figurine that had a wizard hat on its head and a shiny star cape around its body.
"Oh, it's real cloth," he muttered when he grazed his fingers over the cloak.
"Rikki, what are you doing?" Nick asked as he watched the youngest with an extremely confused look.
"Hm? I'm hanging mine on my phone!" Rikki giggled and lightly swung his phone in his hand, the little cheetah keychain that was dressed as a mummy swaying with it.
"Come to think of it, Rikki actually reminds me of a cheetah a lot," I hummed, glancing over at Rikki who was still giggling at his new souvenir. The others agreed.
"So, did you two get yourselves anything?" Jay asked, putting away his gift. The twins chuckled and proceeded to feel for something in their pockets.
"We got...
this!"
Silas held out a cream Border Collie with a half-cut pumpkin on its head. The wide smile on its face with its tongue out was a plus point. Nick showcased his king penguin proudly; it wore a golden crown on its head, a red cape draped around its neck while it held a silver cane. Who designed these?! We burst out laughing at the figurines. They suited us so well!
-
"Alright, let's go home!" Ethan clapped his hands and beckoned us to the exit. I was sure it was already midnight. Rikki whined in protest but yawned afterward, squeezing the huge bear in his arms tighter. The youngest had only been increasing his soft toy collection ever since the carnival began.
We were already on the way to the parking lot when Dylan suddenly mentioned that he promised to get his parents something from the souvenir store but forgot. "I'll go with you, I need to use the restroom anyway," Silas jogged up to Dylan and the pair quickly returned to the park.
"Well, y'all can nap in the car while we wait for them in the meantime. I'll turn the heater on, get in!" Ethan rushed us, worried we'd catch a cold. It was freezing outside.
Almost an hour later, Dylan and Silas knocked on Ethan's car window to let them in. The eldest unlocked the door and the pair jumped in, crashing onto some of us in the process.
"Hey!"
"Oh my God, you're so heavy. Get off!"
The playful banter continued even after Ethan drove out of the parking lot.
"See you tomorrow!" I waved Ethan goodbye before stepping into the house, closing the door after. I was surprised to see that the was house pitch-black. What time was it? I groaned softly and fished for my phone from my back pocket.
One in the morning.
I haven't seen my alleged family the entire day, I made a mental note to greet them tomorrow morning. I shuffled into my house slippers and turned on the small lamp that lit up the stairway.
"Holy shit!" I jumped, taking a few steps back when I noticed a dim figure a couple of flights up the stairs. I felt like I was in a horror movie for a good second.
"Sis!" I hissed at Johnny's sister, deliberately walking up the stairs to get to her. She remained unmoving at my call and I grew worried.
"Uh," hesitantly, I softly tugged at her pajamas sleeves.
No response.
Cautiously walking around her, I dashed to Johnny's parents' room. "Mum," I whispered as I lightly nudged Johnny's mum. She groaned tiredly and I felt a tad bit regretful to have woken her up.
"What is it, honey?"
"It's sis,"
I watched as Johnny's dad slowly walked her back to her room. Her eyes were still closed as her feet moved towards her room and it was chilling. "Don't worry Johnny, your sister's just sleepwalking again," Johnny's mum patted my shoulders reassuringly and smiled up at me.
"Go to sleep,"
Johnny's sister sleepwalks.
I yawned, sauntering into Johnny's room. I lazily wandered around, not wanting to go to sleep yet.
Hmm, might as well call Johnny's stuff mine in the meantime.
Arranging the mini cat figurine on the desk, I abruptly remembered about the drive. I speedily turned and glanced around the room. I didn't even know where to start; his room was like a castle! Especially when you've planned to search for something that was the size of a finger. I sighed frustratingly, immediately giving up. It had nothing to do with the mission, anyway.
A sudden ping went off and I promptly searched for my phone.
'Ethel: I'm done with the research.' I grinned. That was fast. I unlocked the phone to respond to his message.
'Awesome! Can I come over someday? We can put together our findings and hand it up next week, perhaps.' sent.
'Come over? I'm not sure...'
'I would invite you over but I'm currently having a house renovation ;-;' I made up a white lie, recalling Johnny's warning. I shivered, I didn't want to get head smacks.
'My relatives will be out the whole day tomorrow...maybe you can come over then.' I silently cheered before typing a reply.
'Cool! Send me a time and your address. I'll be there :)'
I laid on the bed with a sigh. Ah, my weekends are occupied, I love it. If I had too much time on my hands, I'd start to overthink the mission.
Right, the mission!
'Ethel, I've been meaning to ask...do you know when the carnival ends?' I made sure to reread the sentence for any typos before sending it. It took a while for him to get back to me.
'On the 28th.' a week from now. My eyebrows jumped at the little time I had left.
Another ping sounded in the air.
'Glad my research came in handy XD' I snickered at Ethel's text, pleased that he was much more comfortable now.
'It was :p'
Hmm, so Ethan's birthday was on the 28th...
I yawned; a sudden wave of exhaustion rushed through me that I didn't even think about changing out of my clothes before collapsing onto the plush bed, falling asleep immediately.
To my surprise, no one visited my dream tonight. I was hoping to see Johnny.