Emma's Short Stories

The County Fair (pt. 4)

They ate dinner and went to the gardens again to reserve a place for the firework show. They sat on the cool grass in pairs.

Stacey and Devon sat together making jokes and laughing.

Xander and Julia sat side by side, Julia's head on his shoulder and fingers interlocked.

Jane and Ghost just sat there. Ghost was lying back in the grass, hands behind his head. Jane sat, arms around her knees, staring at the sky, admiring the brights bursts of colors and embers,

"They're beautiful," she said. Ghost looked at her for a second, "Yeah, if you like fireworks."

Jane giggled, "So what DO you like?"

Ghost grinned and sat up on his elbow, "Well Feathers, now that you mention it, I-" BOOM! 

A huge firework cut off his sentence. There was much applause signaling the end of the show.

"What time is it now?" asked Stacey. Devon looked at his watch, which was around Stacey's shoulders, and said, "9:00! Wow that's later than I thought. We have to be at the Main Square at 10:00. We could do one more thing."

"I know! I know!" Jane squealed, "The Ferris Wheel! We haven't gone on that yet. It would be the perfect way the end the night. then we'll walk to the square."

"Deal!" they all agreed. They walked to the Ferris Wheel laughing and talking. Each pair of teens got their own passenger car. Ghost and Jane were last to get on. He bowed before the car and ushered her in, "You first Feathers."

Jane curtsied, "Why thank you Ghost."

They rode once around before each passenger car got it's minute to be still at the top. Jane and Ghost looked out over the fair, alive with lights. Ghost looked admiringly at Jane,

"Hey Feathers?" 

"Yeah?" 

"You know, these are the last two hours I'll see you. And... well... I wanted to tell you... " he sighed, "I just wanted to tell you how much fun I've had with you. You're pretty amazing."

Jane's eyes became misty, "Thank you. You've been pretty awesome yourself." Their box went down one notch. 

"You're going back to Oregon right?" she asked.

"Yeah, tomorrow. We've already had a week here," he said solemnly.

"Oh." she said echoing his tone. Many minutes passed as their car kept traveling down.

"Yeah!" Ghost said suddenly, "I'm going all the way back to freakin' Oregon!" and with that, he leaned forward to kiss Jane.

BAM! 

With one last jerked movement, they found themselves at the ground again, "Always interrupted," Ghost mumbled under his breath. 

"Ah! There they are," said Julia when Jane and Ghost returned, "Time to head back to the square."

The walk back was awkwardly silent and depressing. The fair was starting to shut down around them. They looked at their surroundings as lights were shut off and rides were closing. Not a lot of people were left on the fair grounds. They reached the main square where there was a large group of teens chatting and waiting.

"Well," said Devon, trying to lighten the mood, "At least we made it back on time. With three minutes to spare." No one laughed or smiled. 

They stopped walking and Stacey said, "I guess this is where we say goodbye." She gave Devon a big hug which he gratefully returned. Julia gave Xander a kiss on the cheek, 

"Ah, ah, ah," he said, "That's not good enough." He picked her up bridal style and kissed her fully. Jane and Stacey gasped and smiled at each other. Then Jane turned to Ghost, "Bye... Casper." she said and gave him a gentle hug. He fumbled for what to do for a second, since he had little female interaction , but wrapped his arms around her as well. The girls started to walk away, turned around, and gave a quick wave. Then they were gone.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Two minutes after the girls had left, the high school group also made their exit. They hit a waiting point, once at the buses. Ghost leaned against the bus in a depressed mood. Devon and Xander just stood next to him, each one in his own sour mood, but thinking of the wonderful time they had had.     Just then, Ghost perked up and ran.

"Hey! Ghost, where are you going?" Devon yelled.

Ghost didn't stop, he ran as fast as he could. He jumped the bars separating the bus section from the regular parking lot. He ran towards a green Sedan. About to get into the car, was the girl he had fallen in love with. As he ran, Stacey and Julia looked up in surprise and together exclaimed, "Ghost?"

At the mention of his, Jane looked up in surprise and locked eyes with him as he ran to her, 

"Ghos-ahh!" she called out as he grabbed her waist and pulled her into a kiss. After she got used to it, she put her arms around his neck. Stacey and Julia looked at each other and bit their tongues trying to keep in their excitement. 

The couple ended their moment of bliss and smiled at each other, "Bye," said Ghost putting his forehead against hers.

"Bye," she replied. And with that, Ghost reluctantly let go and ran back to the bus where he was rewarded with a fun punch in the shoulder by his friends. Julia and Stacey both squealed their excitement after Ghost left and Jane joined them. 

The ride home was filled with bittersweet smiles and minds filled with memories.

The End