He hands me a ball, and I stand beside the kid.
“Hey, buddy,” I say to the kid, “What do ya say we take this shot together? If one of us gets it in, you win a kangaroo?”
The kid smiles hard, and his eyes shine with excitement. He looks at his parents, and they give him their nod of approval.
“Ready?” I say, holding my ball up.
“Yes!” he shouts, holding his ball tight above his head.
“Set,” I say, taking aim.
He stays motionless, waiting for my next word.
“Go!” I say and release my ball.
I put a hard arc on my ball, and it passes through the hoop with a swish. Even though the hoop is oval and the ball over-inflated, I can get it in every time, that’s how much I play it.
The boy’s ball goes up in the air and almost reaches the edge of the hoop.
“High five, buddy, we did it! We won!” I say, and crouch to get a high five off him.
“Yay!”
Duke passes him the stuffed kangaroo. He’s got the biggest smile ever, even bigger than before. He high fives me.
“Have fun at the carnival!” I say, and ruffle his hair.
Emily and her friends had stopped to wait for me, watching the whole thing. I don’t feel the need to say anything, I’m still too pumped from making that kid so happy. The smell of the funnel cakes is calling me, and I carry on walking to them.
They don’t think I can hear them, but you learn to have big ears in this business.
“He just did that to impress you,” Courtney says.
“So what. Do you think I care?” Emily says.
“If you didn’t, you’d take his eyes off his butt,” Courtney says.
“It is a great butt, there’s nothing wrong with enjoying the view,” Emily says.
That’s why I wear the tight jeans, ladies.
We arrive at the funnel cakes, and I grab three for them from behind the counter. Papa Smurf would dock my ass something awful if he found out, so I don’t risk getting them any of the great toppings. They’re going to have to settle for some sugar on top.
Speaking of the devil, I see his stupid red hat coming down the midway. Time to get my ass back to work before he busts my balls about slacking off.
“Sorry, ladies, I have to get back to the rides.”
“No apology necessary,” Courtney says. Bitch.
“So, Goldie, remember what I said earlier, come find me at close.”
One side of her mouth turns up in a half smile, and she says, “Thanks, but I’ve got to get home.”
Wasted Years (Emily)
When we get to my house, I open the door of Courtney’s Mazda and start to get out.
“Em?” Courtney says tentatively.
“Yeah?”
“Promise me you won’t go to that thing Steel invited you to.”
“Why would I do that? He’s a carny. With a neck tattoo. Give me a break, I have standards.”
“It was just the way you looked at him is all,” Courtney says.
“Nothing wrong with looking at a hot body,” Maddie says.
“Exactly,” I say, laughing. “Look, but don’t touch.”
“And don’t let him touch you,” Courtney adds, finally laughing.
“See yas,” I say, and shut the door to her car.
As I walk to my front door, I glance up at the house. I wonder if I’ll ever live in such a big house again after I move out. I’ll never make the kind of money needed if I’m only ever my father’s office manager. Unlike my brothers, they’ll easily be able to afford our six-bedroom house plus pool once they have several dealerships of their own. Being a girl sucks ass. Why shouldn’t I get the same as them?
I march into the kitchen, get myself a can of cream soda. Drink in hand, I flop on the couch and flick the tv on.
At eleven on the dot, my phone rings. My mother’s photo appears on the screen and I roll my eyes. I’m twenty years old, and she’s checking up on me. What are the chances she’s phoned Cody to check up on him? He’s not home yet, but he’s never home by eleven.
“Hi, Mom.” My jaw is tight with tension.
“Hi, honey, just phoning to make sure everything’s okay.”
“Of course it is. Why wouldn’t it be?”
“Well, you know, just making sure.”
“Have you checked up on Cody?”
There’s silence for a moment before she says, “No, why would I do that?”
“Um, maybe because he’s younger than me.”
“Well, he knows how to take care of himself.”
“And I don’t?”
Her sigh blasts through the phone. There’s a rustling noise, she must be covering the mic so I can’t hear what she’s saying to my father.
“Honey,” my father is now on the phone. “Remember, don’t do anything stupid.”