Joy and Laughter
Emily's eyes sparkled like the stars above her.
"Come on!" she gripped my hand, "I'm ready to have some fun!"
We seven were at the carnival, kicking back after a long, hard day of back to back battles and training. If I had to see one more Nilock, I would have lost it. And a leader never loses it. I had no choice but to let her pull me toward the ticket booth.
"Seven arm bands," she ordered as the others caught up.
After dishing out our cash, we headed off in different directions. Antonio and Wesley decided to go play "girl-fishing", so they were going to the girl games. Kevin and Mia headed off, hand in hand, laughing about who knows what. Mike decided to go find somebody to play fuse ball with, so it was just me and Emily.
"So…" I rocked on my heels, feeling really ackward.
"Let's go play some games," Emily grabbed my arm again, thus yanking me off.
Well, I totally sucked at the basketball game and water shooting. But, surprisingly, I was really good at ring tossing. I did, however, manage to nail the operators nose. He shot me a Look before handing me a brown teddy bear. It was fluffy and cute, so I handed it to Emily.
"Prize swapping? Well, thanks a lot, but…" Emily smiled in a blush as she handed me a tiny purple earser.
"That's cool," I took it and pushed it in my pocket.
We played a couple more games and went on the Merry-Go-Round. Emily laughed and smiled, her eyes really shining and her smile carefree. She seemed like a little girl, her hair bouncing with the plastic horse and her playful 'tude.
If only my childhood had been that happy and carefree, I thought as I recalled all those hours of training and sadness.
"Jayden?" Her voice brought me back to Earth.
The ride was over, and everybody was climbing off. Emily stood before me, smiling and reaching for my hand. I took her's and walked off with her. That's when a heard a low gurgling sound from her stomach.
Blushing, she told me, "I guess I'm hungry."
"I'll go get us some ice cream," I patted a nearby wooden bench, "you sit tight."
I ordered a chocolate for her and a strawberry for me. But when I headed back, my jaw dropped. Happy, childlike Emily was sitting on the bench like I said. But she was crying. My heard jerked with each tear that fell on the worn wood.
"What's wrong, Em?" I asked her, concerned and confused.
Sniffing as I sat, she explained, "When I was little, Serena always took me to the carnival. We'd always have so much fun together, and…"
Her tears got faster as she finished.
"And…and when she got sick, I forgot about this place. I miss coming here with her."
I felt bad for our Yellow Ranger. Serena was supposed to be our teammate, but Emily was filling in because she was sick. They had been super close, and being here had to remind her of her big sister.
But what could I do?
"I…I'm sorry," she rose, "but I think I want to go home."
"Wait," the idea hit me like a slap in my face, "what did you two do?"
"Played games and went on rides together," she sat beside me once more, "I was always a little afraid. But she always held my hand and made me feel safe again. Then I wasn't afraid."
Emily really loved this place of cotton candy, lights, and laughter. And her missing her sister was ruining it. I decided to take her sister's place for the night. Everybody deserved to have some fun. And Emily…I was determined to keep her happy.
"Well," I offered her the cone, "at least eat this."
I wondered what Serena would do. Sure, I'd never met her. But she sounded like a strong, confindent, loving big sister.
"Want to have an ice-cream eating contest?" I asked her.
She nodded sadly, and we began. By the time we were done, we both had ice cream all over us. She gave me a watery, weak smile. Bingo.
"Let's go," she rose softly.
But I had other ideas. When I noticed the comedy show starting, I pretended to fall. With a moan, I got to my feet.
"Hey, kids!" a goofy, colorful clown greeted the children in the rows.
"Hey, Wacko!" they all laughed and chorused in joyful response.
"You okay?" Emily mumbled.
"I need to tie my shoe," I lied, pulling her onto an empty spot.
Sliding beside her, I pretended to retie my shoe.
"Now, I'll need a partner for my first act," Wacko said to everybody, "a nice young lady would be good."
"Me! Me! Me!" many young girls cried, waving their arms and hands about in the air.
"Hm…" Wacko looked deep in thought, "I have decided."
His blue eyes rested on Emily, who had her head bowed and was sniffing. He sat down beside her and put a gloved hand on her shoulder.
"Why, you look a little glum," he commented in his high and playful voice, "I'd say you need some fun."
"No thank you," she mumbled, but this was a chance to bring her up.
"Of course you do," I told her, pushing her up, "now, go have some fun. He won't bite."
She shot me a confused look before she was pulled to the front.
"Now," Wacko instructed her, "I've been taking dance lessons. And I decided to show everybody what I've learned with my partner."
"Oh, no," Emily shook her bowed head, "I can't dance."
"Oh, come on, now," Wacko begged, "please? Help me out, kiddos."
"Dance! Dance! Dance!" the children begged with him.
"Go on," I winked to her.
"Fine," she finally sighed.
"Great," Wacko grinned as some funny music that sounded like the chicken dance played.
He began to do the tango as it played. But he was way clumsy, so Emily kept being swung around and fallen on. He kept apologizing as he tried to dance. She wasn't much better. She kept tripping on his big, floppy feet and falling onto him.
Everybody, including me, was laughing like crazy. Not mean, but just out of entertainment. It was so bad it was hilarious. The two ended with Wacko in Emily's arms holding a Frisbee in his mouth. We all exploded into cheers and laughter. Even Emily was smiling now.
She briskly walked back to me and settled beside this boy right here. We decided to stay for the rest, and by the end, we were both holding our sides in laughter.
"Well, to close out this here show," Wacko announced, "I want to thank all my helpers."
He proceeded to call the helpers up and thank them. After some brother and sister, he came up to Emily and I.
"Now, I never got your name, mam," he told her.
"Emily," she smiled at him.
"Well, thank you, Emily," he shook her hand, "you were an amazing dance partner."
"Really?" she blushed.
"Right everybody?" Wacko asked the rest.
"Yeah!" we all roared, laughing.
"The people have spoken," Wacko laughed a snorting laughter before turning to me, "and who are you with her?"
"Jayden," I replied, looking at a grinning Emily.
"Oh," he nodded, red hair bouncing, "and would you happen to be her boyfriend?"
The children made the 'oooooh' sound as they giggled. My cheeks burning, I mumbled, "We're just friends."
Emily was blushing like mad as well.
"Well," Wacko patted our heads, "I'll see you at your honeymoon."
I don't know who was redder: Emily or me. When it was over, we walked off still blushing.
"So…you ready to find the others and go home?" I asked her.
"Oh, maybe we can stay for just a few more minutes," she gave me a begging look.
"Sure," I nodded, "why not?"
Bingo.
"Come on, folks," a man called from a stand. He had jangly clothes and a fit body.
We gathered around with some others as he challenged, "I am one of the best jugglers in this county. Who wants to try against me?"
Emily grinned at me slyly as his eyes rested on me.
"You there," he motioned for me to come up, "let's see what you can do."
"No, I.." I began, not really wanting to publicly humiliate myself.
"Go on," she pushed me on stage, "you got this!"
I gave her an I'm going to get you look as I came up to him.
"Well, my name's John," he told me, "let's hear yours."
"Jayden,"
"Well, Jayden. Let's get started, shall we?"
He handed me a blue, plastic ball and picked up one of his own from a burlap sack between us.
"Now, we'll juggle these here balls," he instructed me, "and my assistant will throw us more until we mess up. Ready?"
"I guess."
A whistle sounded, and we began. I kept my eyes and focus trained on the balls as my hands moved. I kept going and going for I didn't know how long. My entire focus was on the blue spheres.
"Jayden!" Emily's voice once again brought me back down to reality.
John was picking up twenty blue balls scattered across the stage.
"What…what happened?" I asked, perplexed.
"John dropped his twenty balls five minutes ago," she was trying hard not to laugh, "and you kept going."
"Oh," I felt as red as a tomato, "sorry."
"Well, Jayden," John finished picking up my balls, "nice going."
We shook hands, and I was handed a small golden trophy. Emily and I rushed through a laughing crowd back to the rides. She imitated my hands, and I playfully shoved her. With a laugh, she gave me a Come and get me look. We tore through the crowd, laughing like two children.
When I caught her, we puffed and sat down on a bench. When we calmed down, we stared at the big, glowing Ferris Wheel before us. People were leaving, but what was a carnival without a Ferris Wheel? We climbed in a yellow cart and settled back.
As we gazed at the glowing lights and families leaving, I felt relaxed and warm. She was by my side, and we were happy. I felt a little spark fly as she leaned against me, head on my chest.
"Thanks for taking her place," she mumbled into my gray shirt.
"No problem," I muttered into her blonde curls.
When we got off, I carried her home. She had fallen asleep on the ride. As The Shiba House came into view, I set Emily on her feet. I would never hear the end of it from the others if I walked in with her on my back. She woke up and hugged my neck.
As I hugged her back, I felt warm and mushy. Was it love?
Well, I wasn't quite sure. But for that moment, I knew that I had brought her the joy and laughter from her childhood that night. She opened her mouth to talk, but I put my finger to her lips. Why?
Because I already knew.
Author Note: What did he know? Use your imagination! Well, that was a Jemily alright. Do not worry, Memily's. I will write one of those here in a moment! Oh, and as for this, Pooffoop1 helped me some on it. She's the Mega-Jemily fan, not me. Oh but wellness. I still think it's cute. Authors Together, Writing Forever! (Lol. Still stealing my sister's sign off.)