Monday evening
Cole had wondered if the stall holder was being genuine in his duty of care to his customers or perhaps might have been touting for a bigger tip.
'This is a tourist spot, what the heck is gonna get me here, of all places? An old man with a walking stick, the mad cat lady?...Please'
He thought, whilst mentally asking himself if he looked like a visitor. The very definition of a tourist was someone who had probably been on the beach all day. Maybe even wearing knockoff brands and still wearing shades, happily forgetting the time of day whilst stumbling around the boardwalk in a drunken stupor...that wasn't him.
Then he thought that maybe he was giving off a tourist vibe.
All he was wearing was a white t-shirt, his black jeans and dusty boots. There was nothing remotely touristy about him. If anything, he looked like a regular college kid who lived here and had for years. If Cole was honest with himself...Jay looked more of a tourist than he did, but it wasn't done on purpose.
The poor auburn-haired fool had next to no fashion sense at the best of times; he was, for want of a better word, a fashion victim.
Nya thought Jay's sense of style was cute. Which is why she hadn't said anything about his current surfer style ensemble. Even if it did look hideously out of place when teamed with his expensive blue and white striped leather jacket and his blue Vans.
In typical Cole style...he shrugged off the concern from the total stranger and kept walking. His stomach was guiding him, guiding him to a stall that smelled just as sweet as it looked.
"Just a small cone, please." Cole mumbled and eagerly handed over a couple of bucks.
He was almost drooling as he stood outside a beverage stall. Eyeing the various sweet treats on display. Candy apples, cotton candy, and sugary sweets galore. The dentists around here must make a sweet fortune with all the cavities.
The vendor handed the brightly coloured ice cone across with a scoop straw attached. Then handed the vendor some sparse pocket change.
Cole had been forewarned about eating odd coloured ice before.
But this was different, it was almost as bright as Joseph's technicolor dream coat. Plus the thing was possibly riddled with E numbers and and sucrose galore. The energy alone would provide a boost and it was certainly gonna hit the spot, even if it did warn about a potential brain freeze.
Heck, Cole didn't care...motorbiking was a thirsty hobby after all. The dust and dirt got everywhere. And it wasn't like their helmets were equipped with holes for straws. Cole was surprised that Jay hadn't invented something along those lines, but the lightning master had been far too busy with Nya. Making up for lost time was the excuse he gave.
Taking the multicoloured concoction he smiled, "thanks." Was his polite response. He wasn't even looking at the vendor. He just took a sip and bite of the overly sweet frozen beverage. No doubt about it, Cole would be climbing the walls tonight.
He didn't want to fill up on junk food though. Having already had his full of funnel cake from the day before. He was planning on spending some time with Jay and Lloyd, when his shift had ended. Their terrible plan was to torment Nya as much as possible by being the overly complicated customers, the one who would complain, in jest but then leave her with a generous tip.
Cole looked around himself as he held firm onto the worn metal railings of the boardwalk pier. He was casting those dark brown eyes into the calming ocean waves below.
This place was so mellow, yet vibrant and full of life. The only things that made the hair prick at the back of his neck, were the wall of missing people and the hand painted signage, depicting Santa Carla as a hotbed of evil and death. That pretty much spelt out his and Jay's concerns.
He walked slowly back towards the fairground having seen all he could of the bay. There was only so much of the ocean he could see at this late hour. Cole checked his digital watch surreptitiously. There were still a few minutes to spare, enough for him to look out onto the nearing beach front.
There were disused oil barrels, fire and flame issuing forth from each one. He guessed that there was no real risk of wildfires, being so close to the ocean. It paid to be cautious though. These fires were lit precariously close to the dry grass covered sand dunes.
Standing tall, he decided to take a slow walk back. Maybe he'd catch a glimpse of the girl from yesterday, perhaps even the guys she was acquainted with. He wasn't scared of them. But there was something about them that made him question himself. They were so laid back, they were horizontal. No one seemed to stand up to them, according to Jay, anyway.
A few minutes later and he was looking at himself in the mirror, impressed with the look. Cole was hoping that there were no biker gangs around these parts that wore similar markings, that was trouble they could do without.
The artist looked apprehensive. Perhaps it was because he didn't always get paid for his skills or perhaps some customers wanted their money back.
Cole was happy though and he walked off with a smile on his face.
He approached a further stall up ahead. This one looked busy but he found it was also in part, due to the hot dog shop.
It was a small stall and only had a stool with a few cork boards propped up against a wallpapering table. Everything was covered by a faux animal print fleece, guaranteed to get some attention.
The signage stated: EAR PIERCING free with $10.00 purchase.
He was largely unsure what the guys would say to him if he showed up tonight with a pierced ear, he still entertained the notion just as much.
Seeing more clearly as he moved to watch. Cole could see that a multitude of earrings were adorning the dark velvet throw and Cole quickly rubbed his ear lobe in sympathy.
He'd never had a piercing before, and again he was interested at being given the opportunity to watch it. He stood nearby and nearly jumped out of his skin when he saw the person doing the piercing. He was huge and covered in tattoos. The large man was as bald as a coot with dark sunglasses on and a big bushy beard and tash. The strange thing was that it was nighttime and this dude was still wearing sunglasses. No wonder the young girl looked and acted apprehensive around him.
He stood nearby. The mother was trying her hardest to console but, if anything, she was making it worse because the girl looked visibly on edge with the whole thought of having her ear pierced with out the obligatory piercing gun. This bald dude was coming at her with a long needle, having already gelled it with some numbing local anaesthetic. "Relax, it won't hurt." He mumbled as he closed in on her like a wolf to its prey.
"Alright, it won't hurt..." She said staring quite carefully into the younger girl's eyes. "It won't." She reiterated her lie with another.
The younger girl tilted her head nervously but kept her gaze on the older girl. Obviously trusting her lies.
'Liar.'
Of course, it was going to hurt. The man was about to put a hole where one hadn't been before. Cole shook his head at that.
He leaned in as close as he could get, mainly to get a good view.
"It's a rip-off." Came a sultry tone that seemed to float on the breeze. It wafted into his ear seductively, teasing and stopping his train of thought. His mind had skidded of track and he missed the moment of piercing.
Cole was quickly snapped out of his thoughts when he did a double take on who had just spoken to him. He turned slowly and took her in and before his mouth dried up completely, she began to walk off.
And, again he followed in hot pursuit just like the night before.
His courage started to come back to him as they walked in the briefest of silences. It was so awkward, considering everyone else was talking around them and having fun. This was the fairground boardwalk after all. They had to be the only two who were walking in total and utter silence.
He was still a few feet behind her but she wasn't exactly walking fast and she had just made the first move. "Hi." He said in his smoothest husky voice.
'Real smooth Cole, real smooth.' He inwardly cringed.
Cole noted that she was walking with a seductive swagger. His eyes drawn to the swish of her hips as she moved graciously across the boardwalk. His tongue had almost dried up, rolled up in his mouth like a titanium sleeping bag.
She quickly turned again. "If you want your ear pierced, I can do it." She said with a cheeky smile before turning her back on him, swishing her long curly hair as she did so.
He smirked at her behind her back.
Moving closer still to gain more courage in speaking to her face to face.
Cole was now at her shoulder level and he turned to face her, "What's your name?" He asked quietly. Watching as she ran a hand through her hair, scooping a mass of brown curls from her field of vision
She looked across to the opposite side of the boardwalk. Glancing briefly across the ocean and fire lit beachfront. "Star." She said clearly.
Cole thought her voice was very softly spoken. "Star? Your folks too, huh?" He said with a grin.
She had quickly turned to face him. Her face for those few seconds was unreadable. "What do you mean?" She wasn't frowning but she was interested to hear his answer. She had come to accept her name, it was different, unique, just like she was.
Cole hadn't really thought about what he had just said. But he was damn sure that he didn't want to offend her so he thought quickly of a way to make it sound like he wasn't meaning to make fun of her name. "Hippies?" Cole said with a nervous smile. "Honestly, I came this close to being called Rock, Jet or something like that." He was smirking as he spoke but he also wanted her to know that her name wasn't a joke, despite how he had acted when she first uttered it. "I like Star though, Star is nice."
Some of the tension was finally beginning to evaporate, "My name's Cole."
He couldn't believe how nervous he felt. Normally he didn't have any time for girls at Wu's monastery because he was too focused on training. But this was different, it was nerve wracking, difficult but oh so exhilarating to be on the pull again.
She turned to face him, she was smiling at him...actually smiling and she grasped his hands gently. "Cole's nice, I like Cole." She said, throwing his own line back at him with a twist. Her warmed hands had soon left his and now they were walking together.
Oh, it was so on...