Hey guys! This is a oneshot I wrote for Kea with the prompts balloons floating in the sky, red lipstick, summer concerts, flower headbands. Hope you like it!
Normally, summer was my favorite season. But nothing was normal about this year. Ever since I'd turned thirteen the September before, it was unacceptable for me to be Merri Lee's not-skinny daughter. No one ever said fat, because that would simply be untrue. I was perfectly happy with my weight and body size, and had never felt the need to be concerned about what I ate since I was fairly active anyway. It was just that I wasn't as skinny as Jamie and Ryan. Especially when the camera added ten pounds.
For most girls, the thirteenth birthday is exciting. It's the first teenage year, which comes with a lot of new privileges. All it meant for me was I was obligated to start making public appearances with the rest of the Marvil family at more highly profiled events, so I was forced to start whatever stupid diet my mom and sisters were on that week. And now, in a season that was usually reserved for hanging out with friends at my backyard pool or shopping trips to the city, I was stuck at the Westchester County Summer Carnival, scooping ice cream.
Counterintuitive, right? I thought so too. Apparently Mom had hosted a dietician on her show who claimed that if you spend a lot of time around an unhealthy food, such as ice cream or pizza, you would binge on it at first but then never want to eat it again. So, afraid that my favorite summer snack would undo whatever the Zone Diet had supposedly done, Mom had pulled some strings to get me a summer job as an ice cream scooper.
The job wasn't quite as bad as I anticipated. I had never minded a little hard work, and not always having to ask for allowance advancements was nice. My best friend Kristen even worked at the carnival too, running the kids' games and competitions. Still, it was always so hot out in the sun, and the exposure had caused me to majorly freckle. It was noisy with snot-filled little children running and screaming everywhere.
From Monday to Thursday there was a distinct lack of cute boys around. Those were the worst as busloads of summer campers would come to visit the festival. Besides Kristen's boyfriend Cam, who was the sickeningly sweet/perfect boyfriend type who came to visit her regularly, no guys our age ever showed up to go on the rides or eat the carnival snacks. I lived for Friday nights, when the county brought in famous artists for their summer concert series. That attracted more my type of crowd. Speaking of, I was super psyched for tomorrow night when Justin Timberlake would stop by to perform and promote his new album. As if everyone in the county didn't own it already, but hey, I wasn't complaining!
"Two scoops of Cookie Dough, please," Kristen held up two fingers as she approached. She always rewarded the winner of the sporting events with ice cream. I was glad because it was a built in way to see her every day, and it seemed like the kids really appreciated ice cream after she worked them so hard.
I started scooping the ice cream and looked at the little girl who had appeared behind her. She was dressed in a pretty sun dress and headband covered in daisies. She didn't exactly look like she just finished a rigorous carnival game…
"Here you go, sweetie," I handed her the cone and she smiled her thanks before walking away.
"Hula hoop contest," Kristen explained, reading my expression. "So, two more hours til we're out of here," she noted, leaning up against my cart and ignoring the kids waiting in line to play tug of war.
"Can't wait" I rolled my eyes, even though it wasn't so bad. At least at this time of day the sun wasn't directly overhead. In fact it was kind of nice with the clear blue sky dotted with colorful floating balloons. At this time of day, parents taking their kids home would make them let them go. "Want to come over and watch a movie tonight?"
"Sorry," Kristen looked super apologetic, "Cam's mom invited me for dinner." Cam's mom was a super sweet lady who treated Kristen like the daughter she never had. I couldn't help but smile.
"No worries. Jamie and Ryan will probably drag me into picking outfits for tomorrow night, anyway," I admitted with a sigh.
"Oooh, have fun with that!" Kristen squealed sarcastically. Anyone else would have been super jealous by the extent of our closets, but I was glad Kristen got me that life wasn't all about fashion.
"Kris, the supervisor's making a lap," I alerted her when I saw the burly man out of the corner of my eye.
"Gotta go," she took off, heading back to her station and getting there just in time.
I scooped about twenty more cones in the next two hours before heading home to face the dreaded situation of watching my sisters try on a million different outfits and shades of red lipstick to find the perfect combination to wear for the concert.
The next day, the park was crowded with the twenty-somethings skipping the last day of the week at their summer jobs and kids from OCD and Briarwood. I was thankful that they watered down the concentration of little kids. Though most of the Friday night concerts drew a healthy crowd, it was bound to be far more packed with someone as big as JT headlining. Jamie and Ryan had been gossiping about how the opener was some local band with a cute lead singer, but I hadn't bothered to investigate further. I spent the better part of the morning fiddling with my phone, since other than Kristen's victors, most people thought it was too early in the day for ice cream. It wasn't too long though before the after-lunch rush came in, and from there it was a busy day until the supervisor came by to give me an hour off at 5 o'clock. Normally we went home at 6, but since we had to work late on Fridays, we got time for dinner.
"Hey," Kristen appeared to pick me up, like usual. "How do you feel about Slice of Heaven tonight?"
"Sure thing," I replied, my stomach rumbling, "We haven't been there in so long!" We headed out of the park and down the street in the direction of the pizza parlor.
"Hello, welcome to Slice of Heaven," a cute, spiky dark haired guy greeted us with a pearly-white smile. "Table for two?"
"Yes, thanks," Kristen responded, and we followed him to the back corner. I watched him walk away and waited for him to be out of earshot before leaning in.
"Kris! That guy is really cute! How come we've never seen him here before?" I whispered, causing her to giggle.
"Cam was telling me about him," she responded, "They go to school together. His name is Griffin and his dad owns this place. I guess he decided it was time to start preparing to run it someday."
"Huh," I replied, giving one last glance in his direction before turning to the menu. "The usual?" I asked her, and she just nodded and waved over the waiter.
We finished our Hawaiian pizza quickly as we had to get back to the carnival quickly to prepare for the night crowd. Kristen was usually less busy then, since the draw was the concert and less kids came to play games. But people always wants ice cream. Luckily during the actual concert I could slip away to watch since everyone else would be too.
Kristen stayed with me at the ice cream cart, so we could scoop double time. The crowd was happy to have a shorter wait and I was happy to have company.
At one point Cam stopped by with his brother Harris. I always liked Harris because he treated me and Kristen like kid sisters, and having growing up in an all-female family that was definitely welcome.
"Hey Kristeen, hey Dilly," he teased as he stepped up to the cart, "How about a free cone for your favorite big brother?"
Cam rolled his eyes, but Kristen and I giggled. She started scooping mint chocolate chip for him and he pumped his fist.
"How was your freshman year?" I asked as Kristen rang him up.
"Man, it was awesome. College is the best!" Harris exclaimed, grinning hugely. "You two stay cool now," he accepted his ice cream and waved goodbye, going to meet up with other college kids.
Cam stuck around for a few minutes, just chatting as we scooped, but soon enough he stood up to go.
"Any chance you guys can get away to see the opener? I told them I'd be there," He asked, and I could tell Kristen wanted to go.
"I've gotta keep scooping until JT comes on, but you two go ahead," I replied. It wouldn't be too busy until then anyway. Kristen shot me a grateful look and she and Cam left to go stand near the stage.
It wasn't long before the sound of a microphone squealing ripped through the park, silencing the crowd.
"Sorry about that, everyone," a guys voice came over the speaker system, "we're about to get started with our set." The voice was vaguely familiar, but I couldn't place it.
I listened to the band while serving the few customers that stopped by, and at one point I caught myself bobbing my head. They were really good! It seemed most people agreed, because the food and shops area were nearly empty and everyone had headed to the stage.
I noticed at some point that there was a little girl that kept walking back and forth on the path with most of the food carts. At first it didn't seem that weird, but the fourth time she went by I had to say something.
"Hey!" I called out and she looked up. I waved her over and as she got closer I recognized her as the girl who had won Kristen's hula hoop contest the day before. She had a different flowered headband on, this one covered in pansies.
"Hey are you okay?" I asked, when she reached the cart.
"Yea," she sighed. "Just bored. My brother is playing in the band but I always hear them practicing so it's not anything new." She rolled her eyes, and I couldn't help but giggle. If I had to guess I'd say she was eight, but she seemed pretty mature.
"Well how about a free ice cream while you wait?" I suggested, and she instantly perked up. I got her a few scoops of cookie dough and she accepted it happily. We sat in silence, me listening to the band play and her licking her ice cream cone.
"Thank you! Thank you!" the singer came back on the mic again. "I'm Griffin Hastings and this is my band. Look us up on YouTube, we appreciate your support! Stay put for Justin Timberlake, and have a great night!" The crowd erupted in applause.
"What! But I haven't finished my ice cream!" The girl stomped her foot.
"Hey, take your time," I said, calming her down.
A few more customers came and went, but they people running the concert were on top things and JT was being introduced within ten minutes.
I looked over to the girl who was just reaching the bottom of her cone. I couldn't just leave her, but I kind of wanted to go see the concert.
"Kelsey! Kelsey!" A guy ran past us yelling, and the little girl, who I guess was Kelsey, rolled her eyes again.
"Over here, Grif!" She responded, quite loudly for a girl her size.
In a flash he had backtracked and was making his way toward us. I realized he was the host from Slice of Heaven and all of a sudden my brain made the connection—he was also the singer of the band! And apparently Kelsey's brother.
"You have GOT to stop disappearing, Kelsey. Mom's here to pick you up, and…" He stopped, noticing me for the first time. "Oh. Hey," he shot me an adorable grin, before returning to scolding his sister. "You were supposed to meet me behind the stage after the set."
"Sorry. I didn't know there was such a rush. I was finishing my ice cream!" She replied, indignant, and stood up, wiping her sticky hand on the back of his shirt. I giggled and he sighed.
"Okay, well mom is waiting for you in the parking lot. You should head there, stat." He ordered.
"Fine. Thanks for the ice cream," Kelsey said to me, and jogged off.
"Thanks for looking out for her," Griffin said, turning to me again.
"Sure thing," I answered, "she seems like a good kid."
"She is," he agreed. There was a moment of silence before he asked, "Hey, didn't I see you at SOH earlier today?"
"Yea, I stopped in with my friend Kristen," I confirmed. "Day job?" He laughed.
"Sort of. My dad owns it and wants me to take over someday, but… I really want to give this band thing a shot. He thinks it's a phase I'll get over soon, but I dunno," he sighed.
"Well I was over here the whole time, but I have to say you guys sounded really good," I responded sincerely, and he smiled his thanks. Another silence fell and I felt a little awkward.
"Do you want ice cream?" I asked to fill the silence. I was about to close up anyway.
"Hmm. Can we split one?" his answer took me by surprise, so I just nodded. "You can pick the flavor," he offered, and I started scooping chocolate fudge brownie. "I like a girl who appreciates chocolate," he commented, causing me to blush.
"Here you go," I handed him the cone, "You start. I have to close up." I washed up the scoopers and put everything away, then locked up the cart. As I did, I thought about what had just happened. Here was a really cute, down-to-earth guy, telling me I should like ice cream and chocolate. I hadn't eaten either in a while, due to the pressure from my mom and the media, but I realized something as I leaned in to take a lick of the cone when he offered it to me. I didn't care. If having one ice cream cone was going to turn me into the fatty of New York, so be it. I should stop letting that dictate my life; I should also get to enjoy the privileges of being a teenager and do what I wanted.
"Wanna check out the concert?" He asked as we walked down the path away from the food.
"Sure thing," I smiled up at him. He led us around to the field in front of the stage, and right to where Cam and Kristen were, as JT was singing Mirror on stage.
"How's it going?" Kristen singsonged, nudging me.
"It's going well!" I replied, as Griffin loosely draped his arm over my shoulders. She wiggled her eyebrows back at me, and I giggled. And it was going well. But not only because I had a potential new love interest, and I was at an awesome concert with my best friend. It was also great because I had finally realized that it was up to me to not let the whole being-in-the-spotlight thing get to me. It was more important to stay true to myself, even if that meant (gasp!) eating ice cream every once in a while. And even if I wasn't hanging out at the pool or shopping in the city, for the first time that summer I finally remembered: this is my favorite season.
Happy end of summer, everyone! And happy back to school, soon. Thanks for reading, and thanks to Kea for the prompts!
Hugs!
-Sky