I woke up to the blare of my alarm clock. Reaching over, I turned it off and sat up. The sun was just starting to rise and I groaned. Why did Mom have to drag me to the show with her? Getting out of bed, I walked over to my closet and found an outfit I thought would be nice. Today was supposed to be another hot day. It was a white tank top and a pair of purple shorts. Just as I got done getting dressed, I heard Mom call, "Casey, you ready?"
"Yea," I called back and walked downstairs.
Mom was dressed in a blue t-shirt and blue jean shorts. She wore her sunglasses and in her hand was her purse. I could see the camera strap hanging out of it and sighed. Today was going to be a long day. I followed Mom out to the car and got in. Glancing over at Lindsey's, I noticed her Mom's car was gone. Then I remembered what she had told me last night, but I soon pushed it out of my mind as we drove down the road.
It was an hour drive to the show. It was more like a market than a show, but that's what everyone called it because it was centered around a huge art show. Arriving, I was almost amazed by how many people were already here this early. The parking lot was already more than half full. Like every other year, they would end up having to use some of the grass as a parking lot and maybe even borrow some other shops parking lot space. As we parked, I stepped out of the car and looked around, then followed Mom to the show.
People stood everywhere, looking at the many different items people were selling. The actual show wouldn't begin for another hour, but people always came early to get the best merchandise. As we passed a jewelry shop, I noticed something out of the corner of my eye. Looking back, I stopped. "Lindsey!" I shouted and waved at her.
She turned around and smiled, running towards me. She looked beautiful in her light blue tank top and gray short shorts. She had her long, brown hair pulled back in a ponytail, which had caused me to almost miss her. "Hey, didn't think I'd see you here," she said as she reached me.
"Mom always drags me along every year," I replied.
"Yea, that's what my mom does, but I don't mind coming."
I nodded and saw her mom and my mom talking. I looked at her and grinned. We followed them back over to the jewelry shop and browsed around. After a couple minutes, I found a bracelet and necklace that I thought was really pretty, and would fit Lindsey. They were woven from some kind of reed or something, I didn't pay much attention. Different colored beads had been woven into it. Blue, yellow, red, pink, purple and green. Paying the lady for them, I placed them in my purse and went to find Lindsey.
I found her standing on the other side of the shop. By the looks of it, she had just bought something. I sneaked up behind her and poked both of her sides at the same time. She jumped and shrieked, making me almost die from laughter. She glared at me as I laughed. "Not funny," she said.
"I know it wasn't. It was hilarious," I said back.
She glared at me, then started laughing. People walked by and looked at us like we were crazy, but we didn't care. Hearing our parents call, we pushed our way through and found them sitting at a picnic table. Across the table in front of them sat two cheeseburger, fires and two drinks. Lindsey and I raced over and sat down.
Once we were done, we headed towards the show. As we walked in the building, I spun around in circles. When I stopped, Lindsey had a weird look on her face. "Whoever invented air conditioning should be famous," I said in a serious voice.
Lindsey tried to keep a straight face, but couldn't and started laughing. I managed a little bit longer than her, but ended up laughing. Our parents had went one way and told us to meet back at the entrance at noon, which gave us about three hours to look around. We sat down by the fountain and thought for a moment, trying to decide what to see first. We finally agreed on the sculptures.
Walking down the hall, we took a right and walked into a huge room that was at least as big as two football fields. Everywhere stood sculptures of different things. From animals to plant to humans to creatures. I watched as Lindsey walked over and pretended to sniff one of the flower sculptures. "Ahh, smells like rock."
We both burst out laughing. As we came to one of the human sculptures, I stood in front of it and posed. Lindsey snapped a picture and when I saw it, I laughed. As we passed another sculpture, Lindsey looked over at me and whispered, "Man, that's small."
Again, we laughed. By the time we met our parents at noon, we could hardly talk. Our throat felt like they were swollen from all the laughing and out chests felt like they would burst. Finally, it was time to leave. I followed Mom to the car and got in, taking a drink of my Mountain Dew. "Well, Lindsey and her mom sure seem like nice people. And it's nice to have them as neighbors," said Mom.
I nodded. All the way home Mom talked about everything she had seen. Most of the drive back I didn't pay attention to what she was saying, just stared out the window. When we got back home, I walked inside and up to my room. Hearing a car outside, I saw Lindsey and her mom arrive back home. I took the bracelet and necklace out of my purse and laid them on my nightstand. I watched as Lindsey opened the door to her room and walked in. She waved at me and walked over to the window. "Hey, I can finally talk again," she said.
"Yea, so can I. I think that's the most fun I've ever had at the show before."
"Same here. Oh, I got you something. Mind if I come over?"
"Sure."
Lindsey nodded and ran out her door. A minute later my door opened and she walked in holding something in her hand. "Ok, close your eyes." I closed my eyes and felt her place something in my hand. "Ok, you can open them now."
When I opened my eyes I saw a beautiful necklace in my hand. It was made from two different kinds of plants and had small beads woven into it. In the middle a sapphire hung down, surrounded by emeralds. I knew there was no way they could be real, but I asked anyways. "Are these real?"
"No, but I thought you'd like it. They look real."
"Yea, they do. And I love it," I paused and turned around, picking the necklace and bracelet up off the nightstand. "Here," I said, handing them to her.
She looked at them and smiled, taking no time to put them on. "So, how do they look?" she asked.
I put my hand to my chin and acted like I was thinking. After a minute I said, "Hot."
We both started laughing again, then Lindsey helped me put mine on. We spent the rest of the day in the back yard in the shade talking about everything. As the sun set, I heard Lindsey's mom call, "Lindsey, dinner!"
"Coming," said Lindsey and stood up, then she turned to me. "I never got to think you for the bracelet and necklace," she said, and gave me a quick kiss on the cheek.
I was little surprised and didn't have time to say anything since Lindsey was already walking in her house. That night I laid in bed staring up at the ceiling, my hand around the necklace she had given me. When I thought about the kiss she had given me earlier, I smiled. Even if it was just on the cheek.
