A Place For Innocent Amusement

My mom and stepfather were arguing so loudly I just had to get out of the house. Apparently Mom had burned dinner or "Gerald" had been hiding gin under the sink again. I threw some snacks into my backpack, turned off my cellphone and was straight out the front door just before a "Where do you think you're going?" was yelled into my dust. There was a nearby alleyway to the side of our house I ducked off into, in case Mom or (ugh) "Gerald" came out after me. A few minutes passed and there was no action from the house. I guess they had more important things to argue about.

That battlefield wasn't nearing a ceasefire anytime soon, so I wandered further from home and towards the streetcar lines. The main strip was still bustling: a car zoomed by with the windows down and a bunch of dudes hollering at the night; a scene through the liquor store window where two underage kids were trying to negotiate with a clearly impatient cashier, and young couple pushing a stroller while their older child ran in front and smacked his palm against everything. A trio of girls in university sweaters walked past me and giggled. A group of boys in the same sweaters followed behind and eyed me suspiciously.

Action was happening all around, but I caught sight of something strange hidden within. Across the street was a strange yellow and red light, shining brightly through the trees of Kew Park. I hopped over the streetcar tracks, the curb, the garden sidewalk that just wouldn't grow, and headed deeper into the park. The source of it seemed to be around the bend where the baseball diamond was, so I crept behind the trees that hug the bleachers to get a peek without being seen.

Once I got a clear look, I couldn't believe what I saw. Striped tents of various colours were scattered across the ballfield, with all sorts of booths, games and attractions inbetween them. At the furthest edge of the fair in centerfield was a modest Ferris Wheel, yellow lit and spinning brightly against the background of dark trees. I entered the fair through the open dugout door and was amazed at both how noisy it was and yet how there was nobody here. The game booths were well maintained but unmanned, the small rides spinning constantly without supervision, and the show animals allowed to wander the grounds without consequence. I grabbed a baseball from the ground and threw it randomly at a row of bottles, knocking four of them over. A slight ringing sounded from behind me.

'Congratulations! You win the medium sized prize. Help yourself!'

A woman appeared, white haired in a hat, tall and proud looking despite holding a silver cane and being dressed in the same gaudy colours and stripes as the carnival.

'Who are you? What is this place?' I asked, like a generic protagonist.
'Why, I run the carnival of course! From the blue feathered duck brothers to Worchester's Wheel way back there. The most fun place in town!'
'Sure but, sorry I... I don't really have any money on me...' I said, fumbling through my empty pockets.
'Don't worry, kiddo. We've got you covered! Except for the food concessions, but you wouldn't want that stuff anyway...' She winked and handed me a stuffed owl toy. 'Don't forget your prize!'

She led me through the grounds for a while, mostly as an excuse for her to point out and explain the many dazzling attractions featured tonight. An expert trapeze monkey, a seven horned rhino, a cheeseburger from 1904 that still sizzled and smelled great, a diary from lost Atlantis, and a cannonball that could not be lifted by mortal man. One obvious question couldn't escape my mind, though, despite the tour.

'Where's everybody else? Like your staff? Or the other visitors?'

The carnival leader stopped and ran a finger slowly along the brim of her hat. 'Well, most of my staff have moved on, I'm sad to say. And I miss them. Now it's just me and the animals. We don't talk much, understandably.'

She began walking again to show off the other attractions, but I was unswept.

'But why am I the only one here?'
'Hmmm. Well my young, questioning friend, because you're the one who wants to be here.'

She spoke it like a line repeated countless thousands of times to countless others who maybe existed or maybe didn't, but still I felt the words directed at me personally. Something in the tone, the warmth, the welcoming acceptance. This was an escape, a safe space. My safe space. The mysteries of this place I could not explain, and that's not what I really wanted anyway.

I played the fairway games, marveled at the centenarian burger, petted the friendly blue feathered ducks, had a sporting conversation with the seven horned rhino and rode the giant wheel twice before the chilly wind from the lake told me of the late hour. I waved goodbye and closed the dugout door behind me. The sounds and colourful lights faded as I left and by the time I got back to the streetcar lines, any signs of the carnival were completely gone: the trees of the park dark once more. The air here on the street was warmer though than before and I took a longer way home, thankfully with a stuffed owl toy to keep me company.

Breaking The Bank

'Hurry up will ya? It's gonna close soon!'
'I'm going as quick as I can here, dude! This machine's like, slow or something.'

On cue, it spat my card out for a third time.

INCORRECT ACTION. PLEASE REMOVE CARD

'Damnit!' I groaned, snatching my card and popping it back in.
'We're only got like fifteen minutes, man. I don't wanna be rushing around when we're in there. That's gonna be extra suspicious!'
'The store is only a block away. You sure this is gonna work anyway?'
'Hundred percent, man. Chuckles got these straight from a guy he knows in Chinatown. I just scanned our yearbook photos in and bam! Same birthdays, just legal years of birth.'

IMPROPER PIN. PLEASE TRY AGAIN

'Ugh come on!'
'Just like use another machine, man! Tick tock, tick tock!'

I glanced around, seeing only two other options. One was out of order and the other was taken by a guy and a girl eating gyros and giggling awkwardly. Besides, I'd come this far.

INSUFFICIENT FUNDS. PLEASE REMOVE CARD

'What the actual fu... oh I hit my Saving's Account by accident. Whoops.'
'Dude! I'm gonna go there and buy the stuff myself. Just wait for me here.'
'Yeah right!' I laughed. 'One glance from the cashier and you'll fold instantly. You need me behind you at least for moral support, keep you relaxed while I look cool.'
'If you don't hurry up withdrawing your damn money it's not gonna like, matter either way!'
'Keep your pants on. I think I finally got this. A little patience with a machine and it always pays off...'

INCORRECT ACTION. PLEASE REMOVE CARD

'Damnit damnit!'

Absolutely 64 Again

She totally likes me. She does. How could she not? I'm awesome. I'm super cool. Like the way I played it when we were on the bleachers. She was twirling her blonde hair, blinking her eyes super fast, poking her foot against the metal bench, breathing air like she was thinking about it. And I was all like, so lets meet up at Souvlaki Hut and she fell in love when she said "Sure".

Totally likes me. She does. How could she not? I'm pretty cool. Like the way I'm standing here outside Souvlaki Hut, pretending to mind my own business but I'm really checking out everything. Cooly, of course. Like some old dude and his son dressed up exactly the same, or that cute curly haired girl lugging some groceries across the street. Bet she'd be into me too, if I tried. How could she not? But I'm waiting for somebody else. Her loss. Plan B maybe? Seamless. I'm just that awesome.

She likes me. She does. I'm great. She's late, but whatever. I'm just standing here, super cool because that's how I do. Maybe I could talk up that groceries girl while I'm waiting. You know, she'll fall for me and then I'll have two ladies all over me. Damn, but she's gone. Oh well. Her loss. Next time I'll jump on that. Bit windy today. Whatever, I'm cold on the outside but inside it's all cool.

She's gotta like me. She does. I'm good. Been waiting for almost eleven minutes but I'm cool. I could just leave anytime but it hasn't been that long, imagine I leave too soon and then she comes and misses me! That'd be cruel. I'm cool, I'll wait. Not too cool to split on the fly, but not uncool to the point of waiting for an hour on this windy night. Nope, I'll give her another five, maybe ten minutes. But when she shows I'm gonna act all quiet, like slightly annoyed. That way she'll AGGGHHHHH IT'S HER SHE'S GETTING OFF THE BUS! PLAY IT COOL PLAY IT COOL LEAN AGAINST THAT FENCE! NO THAT'S DUMB LEAN FORWARD WITH YOUR HANDS IN YOUR POCKET PLAY IT COOL PLAY IT COOL

'Er, um... hi.'

The Manor

I don't know why he dragged me to this. I really don't. There I was in my room, happy to play Hellstorm and rack up some kills when Dad walks in my room (knock first, Dad!).

'Get dressed junior. We're going to a housewarming in the east end.'
'What?'
'Nice clothes, look sharp. Be ready by the front door in ten minutes or I'm dragging you out there.'

Dad closed the door. I groaned, threw my controller to the floor and found the best clothes I could within the pile on the floor. What a pain. We had to take a bus to the subway, take another bus from that subway stop and then walk several minutes down some street called Southwood. It was windy, some dumb kid brothers bumped into me and spilled popcorn all over the place, and these dress shoes were giving me blisters. Finally we got to the house and Dad rung the doorbell.

'Stand up straight junior. Look presentable.'

I rolled my eyes and waited. And waited. We stood outside for several minutes, Dad ringing the doorbell several more times (knock first, Dad!) with no result. It was a nice house, with a white porch that closed up everything within itself. At last somebody answered, looked Dad over and looked very disappointed. Without another word we were inside.
There were a lot of people in every room, none of them dressed as nicely as me or Dad. I spoke up to mention this but he shushed me. We wandered through the house, peeking into every room while the strangers within stopped talking at each intrusion. We entered the kitchen and there was Mom with another fella, looking happy and relaxed until she saw us.

'What... what are you doing here?'

Mom was not happy. I turned to leave the room but Dad's leg tripped me back into place.

'This is pathetic.'
'You're pathetic.'

And on it went. Venom turned to fangs, yelling to screaming, spit into tears. I don't know why he dragged me to this, I really don't.

Girls On Film

We were waiting in line outside an old movie theatre: my little brother, me and my parents. They'd wanted to come all the way across the city because one of their first ever dates was here. Dad repeated this story a few times during the drive as an excuse to kiss Mom, causing my little brother and I to grossly squeal.

As Mom and Dad bought the tickets a kiddo bumped into me and asked if I knew where East and something was. He seemed sad when I couldn't answer and sadder when Mom pulled me inside before I could say sorry. Dad bought us all popcorn but little brother whined because he wanted Smarties instead. Spoiled brat. The floors at the... I wanna say Badger Theatre? The floors were very slanted, which was fun. I was at the Ex again! It didn't have an arcade or flashing lights prizes though, just some boring black and white posters.

Mom got some wine and Dad got a beer and weirdly they wanted to sit behind us when we took our seats. 'We'll keep an eye on you!' Dad smiled while Mom giggled. So I was stuck next to little brother who wouldn't shut up about this new game everyone at school was playing. I pinched him many times and ate popcorn until the movie started.

It wasn't the same without surround sound or 3D glasses or those awesome vibrating seats, but it was still Bond on a big screen and it was great. Like the beginning where he's battling a goon hand to hand on a crane, while a bomb is dangling by a thread overtop a local school! Or that part where he fires a bullet through a keyhole, right into the hand of a bad guy who had a knife to the queen's throat!

Halfway through the movie my stomach hurt and I lost track of the plot. Bond was suddenly on a big beach, with bright blue water and paper white sand. He was there to meet a spy or steal some plans or something, and he approached a woman lying in the sand by the shore. She stood up to face him and her skin sparkled and shone golden brown under the bright sun. I felt warm and tingly inside, like nervous. Another close up of her, ending at chest level and the feeling doubled.

My face was on fire, I was blushing. I'd never felt anything like this before. My legs twitched slightly. Some bizarre energy flowed towards them, meeting in the middle. Bond put a hand on her shoulder, kissed her lips and I wished I was in his place. Little brother squealed like he did in the car. I stared at the screen, wanting to see more like a rabbit peeking down the hole.

End of the Line

'Last stop! Get off my streetcar ya dumb kid!'

The driver practically shoved me down the steps. I could not understand his anger, driving a train through the city sounds like fun.
It was colder here than downtown. The wind was harder. Chilly air from the lake went through my bones. Mom did tell me to pack an extra sweater. I hate when parents are right.
I didn't know where I was. I'd asked the driver where Eastern and Woodfield was but he snorted at me. This place was some weird spot where the streetcar tracks loop behind some Deco fortress. Now my friend with the latest game was waiting somewhere and I was here, wherever that is. This sucks.

The wind bites my face. It howls along these strange buildings, taking it's time to feed on me. I start walking back the way I came. The other way darkens and closes up, like to swallow my future. In my future hopefully I can find someone seeing I am lost and directing me towards my waiting friend. Or a streetcar driver with a smile. But now it's cold and I am so alone in this worn unknown town. In the distance way ahead is the tower, the shiny city world where I came from. Here I am a stranger and I hide my face to the passersby. The sooner I can grow outta here the better.