If Things Should Stay the Same

Chapter 13: Difference

Not exactly the longest-lasting meteor shower but it lasted for almost an hour. About forty-eight minutes to be exact, if he overheard it correctly from the park's public announcement system.

In roughly the same amount of time, he and Joshua had watched the entire phenomenon in the observation wheel. In a quiet, secluded cabin. Far away from the intended venue to watch the spectacle where it would have been more uncomfortable in such a hot sweaty atmosphere due to the dense concentration of people in a confined space. Now that he thought about it, they also had avoided the needless noise in the form of chattering murmurs from gossiping adults and awed interjections from children.

With the cabin solely for their own use, they had been free to do whatever they pleased. The volume of their voices, the topics of their conversations, their actions – or reactions for that matter. And with no one to judge them for whatever they would do, those few precious minutes in the observation wheel had been one of the rare occasions he felt like an ordinary person unrestrained by the ideals and expectations because of his class.

But Alex had very much heard of the well-known saying: Nothing lasts forever. And even if he did make a wish for each meteor he saw falling like Joshua did, magic and miracles were things from fairytales and storybooks. In the best case scenarios, miracles happening was like the chance a precipitation of meatballs would pour over the town.

As soon as they had exited their cabin in the Eye of Verity, whatever it was that transpired between them up there became conveniently hidden under their calm expressionless faces. He noticed Joshua had no difficulty transitioning back into his solemn butler personality with his trademark composure of impenetrable steel. However, after seeing a variety of emotions Joshua normally held back while at work, Alex momentarily wondered how alike they had become over the years.

While he was forced to put on a confident and aloof facade just to satisfy his parents' wishes, Joshua seemed to have been slowly fitted into a similar mold possibly by Miss Elena or Sir Bartholomew himself. He, Alex, was to be the highly capable, knowledgeable and self-sufficient progeny of an affluent family while Joshua was to be the equally skilled servant devoted to carrying out whatever task was asked of him. A concept dictated by society's standards as Alex would view it.

As he made a quick glance at Joshua who was, Alex somehow wished

----

Passing a few stalls crowded upon by young couples and their children screaming in a deafening chorus. Alex spotted a familiar brown-haired individual leaving a carnival game booth with a big bulky plastic bag in tow. He squinted his eyes to get a better look at this person who was walking through the crowd like a whimsical preschooler taking a stroll in a flower-filled park.

As if sensing that someone was looking, the person then turned around and ran a sweeping gaze at the angle behind him before meeting Alex's eye. It was Sev in a chicken suit. Actually, in an arrangement of clothes that was reminiscent of a fastfood chain's avian mascot. A bright yellow short-sleeved sweater with orange fiery accents on the shoulders, the hood despite not being worn gave off the impression of a rooster's comb by its color and ruffled shape while in disuse. Not to mention, a brown satchel bag peeking from the back of his khaki three-quarter pants just made him look more like a human representation of an on-the-go fried chicken meal.

"Oh! Hey!" Sev called as he came up running to them, bobbing and weaving through the throng of people. "Well... you guys are looking lively!" he said with a toothy grin and an accompanying wave of his free hand.

"Sev? What are you doing here?" Alex exclaimed, completely surprised by Sev's presence in the amusement park.

"Shouldn't you be like back at the mansion?" Joshua asked the next obvious question.