Nesty isn't half bad at all. Actually, she's kind of... fascinating. You know those people who are just so strange they loop back around to being interesting? That's her. Like, when I told her one of my usual cringe jokes something about a flower being in a relationship with a cactus she burst out laughing. Real laughter. Not the polite kind. But then she laughed just as hard when I said, "I love flowers and drawing."
So now I'm confused. Are my jokes that bad she thinks even my heartfelt confessions are jokes? Or is she just built different?
Still, she laughed like no one I've ever seen. Not like a girl covering her mouth or stifling a giggle. No. Nesty laughed with her entire being like she'd waited all her life for someone to say something as ridiculous as what I just said. She had tears in her eyes and clutched her stomach and I swear, she wheezed at one point.
Then she said something that stuck with me:
"I'm from Arcadia."
Arcadia. I had never heard of it before. Sounded European, maybe Greek? I didn't want to look stupid, so I nodded like I knew.
"Hmm, Arcadia, huh? Great city, great city," I said, doing my best impression of an adult who knew what he was talking about. She giggled. A sly, knowing giggle. The kind of giggle that made me feel like she was gently mocking me but also found it endearing.
I let it slide.
I wasn't about to argue geography with a girl who might actually enjoy my company. Besides, I had other things on my mind. Something hit me like lightning straight to the brain: the traveling carnival. It was happening now.
I had been waiting weeks for this. Salem, New York wasn't exactly known for its excitement. It was a small town with two pizzerias, one high school, and a lake that everyone called "the lake" like it was the only one in the universe. So when a carnival rolled into town, it was a big deal.
"I gotta go," I muttered, almost standing up from the bench before remembering I wasn't alone. Nesty. She was still here. Still looking at me like I was something worth sticking around for.
"Hey, uh so, Nesty," I tried to sound cool. "Wanna go to the carnival wid me?"
Yup. "Wid." Not "with." Wid. What even is wid?
She blinked once, then twice. I was already spiraling in embarrassment when she grinned and said, "Sure thing."
My face flushed. Why? I don't know. I wasn't blushing. I was just... overheating. Yeah, that's it.
"Oh, okay, let's go then!" I replied, probably too enthusiastically. I sounded like I just won a new puppy on a game show.
We walked toward the carnival, which was only a few hundred meters from the lake. The sun was setting, casting a warm orange glow on everything. The trees lining the path swayed gently, the breeze filled with the smell of popcorn and roasted peanuts. My town had never smelled so magical.
"Wow, look at that, Leo!" she shouted, pointing at a fire hydrant.
I stared.
"Isn't that statue so cute? Owwwww!" she squealed.
That's when I realized she was not joking.
I raised an eyebrow, unsure how to respond. "Uhh… yeah?"
"It's a reference from that movie, right?" she continued, eyes sparkling with excitement. "The one with a white woman, seven white dwarves, and a white prince?"
I blinked again. "Snow White?"
"Yaaa that one!" she said proudly. Then she pointed to another fire hydrant. "There's another one!"
I had a deep, sinking feeling this was going to be a long, exhausting, confusing day but also maybe the most fun I'd have in a while.
When we arrived at the carnival, the lights had just come on. Bright colors spun through the air. Ferris wheels turned like slow galaxies. Music blared from every corner cheap, overplayed pop songs, but somehow they felt right. Kids ran past us with cotton candy stuck to their faces. The air was alive with noise, light, and laughter.
"Look, Leo, we're here!" Nesty said, jumping up like I didn't have a perfectly working pair of eyes.
"Yup. I see it," I replied, grinning. I couldn't help it.
We strolled past game booths with flashing lights. One guy was shouting something about winning a giant stuffed dolphin. Another was juggling rubber chickens. Yes, actual rubber chickens.
"I want a prize," Nesty announced. "Not just any prize. I want that one." She pointed at the biggest, ugliest teddy bear I had ever seen in my life.
"You've got excellent taste," I muttered.
She handed me three tickets. "You're playing. I believe in you."
"No pressure," I whispered, approaching the booth. The game was simple: knock down three metal cans with one baseball.
Simple in theory.
I tossed the first ball. It missed by a mile. The second bounced off the edge. The third... somehow knocked one can off.
I turned around, ready to be mocked, but she was clapping. "That was amazing!"
"You need better standards," I replied.
"Or you need better aim," she teased.
We ended up getting cotton candy, riding the carousel, and after much begging from her going into the haunted house. She screamed at every turn, even when there was clearly nothing there.
By the end of the night, she was clutching a small flower she'd picked from the grass and I was clutching a soda I hadn't even paid for I think a vendor just gave it to me out of pity.
"I had fun," she said, leaning against the fence near the exit.
"Yeah. Me too," I said. And I meant it.
"Arcadia doesn't have carnivals like this," she added, almost wistful.
"What's Arcadia like?" I asked, curious now.
She hesitated. "It's... complicated."
That was the last thing she said before the fireworks started. The sky exploded in color red, green, purple. We both looked up in silence. And in that moment, I wasn't thinking about flowers or drawing or strange dreams I couldn't figure out the meanings of.
I was just thinking about her.
And wondering how long she'd be sticking around.