My Cup of Tea

Chapter Three

A quiet hiss came from my mouth as some guy ran into me. He was too busy shoving a Corn dog in his mouth to notice me. My gosh, he is going to choke if he keeps eating so fast, I thought in disgust.  

The fairgrounds had even more people now than earlier. I had managed to get back to the fair from the forest without injuring myself any further. My thoughts were blurry after the visit with the psychic. If she was a fake, how did she know so much about me? I sighed, shaking the psychic out of my head. There was no point thinking about her now. She never even gave me details about this stupid journey!

I squeezed through another cluster of people. I took a deep breath, and focused my attention on finding Eva. When you're as short as I am, it is rather hard to find a girl just as short as you in the middle of a crowded fair. Eva doesn't really have anything about her that makes her different from others, besides her personality. She is skinny and she's a brunette. She blended right into the crowds of people.

Someone's elbow banged my arm. "Ouch," I muttered. People really are oblivious today. I turned my head up to glare at the person, but my anger dissolved when I noticed who the person was. 

"Eva?" I questioned, walking towards her. Within seconds, she turned towards me, her eyes wide in shock. I saw a new emotion flood into her eyes; confusion. She must have realized how long I have been missing.

"Ari," she said, her voice sounding like she was talking to someone much younger. This was always the voice she used before she launched into scolding at me. That is just what she did. "where were you? You say you have to go to the bathroom, twenty minutes later you're just coming back. Were the bathrooms that difficult to find?"

"Well-" I started.

Eva put her hand up, shaking her head at me. "I don't want to hear it."

"Will-" I tried again.

"La la la, not listening! La la la, still not listening!" Eva sang out, sticking out her tongue and blocking her ears. Then she frowned, removing her hands from her ears to place them on her hips. "You shouldn't have gone off to the bathrooms by yourself if you didn't know where they were."

"I," glancing over at Eva, I noticed she was looking at the ground. Since I couldn't tell if she was listening or ignoring me I continued. "Tried finding you, but you were already gone." 

Eva sighed in relief. "If that's what happened to you...Great! As long as you didn't abandon me! Ugh, I really should learn by now that you would never do that. You're just too nice!" She continued talking as I started walking forward. She followed me, still blabbering about something. 

"You're the greatest friend and nicest person ever, Eva," I said quietly. She must not have heard, because she was still talking excitedly. She was talking so fast I couldn't understand what she was saying. 

She is probably just talking to herself now, I mused. Sighing, I got lost into my thoughts. Endless questions swirled around in my head. Should I tell her about the psychic, or no? Eva would probably believe everything that lady said. Am I even allowed to tell friends about meeting a psychic? The lady never said I couldn't. Does Eva really need to know about the psychic? What if she goes and runs off into the forest in search of her? She wouldn't do that. I glanced at Eva. The girl was still talking, walking behind me at a rather slow pace. Okay. Maybe she would do that.

I bit my lip; there were so many pros and cons to telling Eva. If there are cons I probably shouldn't tell her, I thought. I sighed, rubbing my eyes. When I opened them, a huge sign came into view.  Written in red, bold lettering was: Win a free trip to California! 

I blinked a few times rapidly. Bring a bathing suit and lots of sunscreen. The psychic's words flashed through my head. My mouth fell open as I gaped at the sign. An opportunity to win a free trip to California; this must just be a silly coincidence. Still...I might be going to freaking California?! That can't be what the psychic's fortune meant...Going to California for absolutely free would be pretty awesome. 

"Hey, Eva!" I said, stretching my arm out and pointing at the sign. "Look at that!"

"Win a free trip to California." Eva read aloud. "Win a free trip to California! Oh, wow...We have to enter!" Eva squealed in excitement, jumping up and down. "Imagine if one of us won?" She looked off in space. She had a look on her face similar to person in love. You know, that dazed yet happy look? 

I took her by the arm, pulling her towards the booth. Approaching the booth, I saw a few other people scribbling on papers. The person working at the booth was some middle aged guy. His hair was completely gray, his skin wrinkled, his body fragile looking. His eyes were cold, grey and now staring at me intently. 

"Good evening, would you like to join the contest?" He asked, his voice quiet. His grey eyes were still pinned on me. 

Forcing a smile onto my face, I nodded. "Yeah, my friend would like to, as well," I said, waving my hand towards Eva. "What do we do?"

The man placed two papers on the booth's counter. "Fill out these entry slips," he said, placing pens next to the papers.

I took a pen, and glanced at the paper. They just needed basic information; name, date of birth, state/province, city, email address, zip/postal code, and phone number. I filled out the information, dropping the pen on the counter when I was finished. 

"Thank you, ladies," the man said, taking the papers and placing them in a box full of a bunch of other papers. He glanced at the papers, before looking up. "Eva, your number is 384. Ariana, your number is 385. We will call out the winner's number at 8:30. If you number is called, your the winner," I swear he glanced at me. I sighed, figuring I was being paranoid. "Return here, you will receive your ticket and details for the hotel you will be staying in." 

"Alright," Eva said, turning away. I nodded to the man, following Eva quickly. 

We left the booth, going over to the cotton candy stand. Once we had our cotton candy, we began walking around, talking about everything and anything. We were about to go on the Ferris wheel when we heard music come on over the intercom. "It's eight thirty!" I whispered to Eva.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, we have a winner for the free trip to California," a voice over an intercom announced. "Number...three hundred..." My eyes widened. "Eighty..." My breath caught in my throat, my heart beating wildly. "Five." 

"Ari! That is your number! They called your number! You won!" Eva cheered, bouncing up and down, grabbing my shoulders and shaking me back and forth. "You're going to Cali-freaking-forina," she said. "I am so jealous. I bet you are going to find like fifty million hot guys. I will just be stuck here, with the boring boys in this small town," she grinned, pulling me into a hug. "I am honestly happy for you though."

I smiled, hugging Eva. Then reality hit me. The smile I had fell off my face. I felt numb, when I should feel excited. 

I'm going to California, I repeated in my head. All I could feel about this was shock. 

A/N: This is late and kind of short and not the most exciting, I know. I am so, so, so sorry people! :( The next part should be up very soon though! I know exactly what I want to do during this whole story now, haha. Comment, I love your opinions!! Vote, only if you liked it! Thanks for reading♥♥♥