Needless To Say [ON HOLD]

Four

"Pull over," she demanded. The car shifted to the right slightly, slowing to a cease.

"Hurry up," the driver muttered, irritated. She rolled her eyes, quickly opening the yellow taxi door and jumping out.

She stormed over to the boy with earbuds, totally oblivious to the incoming trouble. Punching the guy with the cigar in the face, she quickly pulled the earbuds guy away, yanking him back to awareness. He stood, petrified, and looked behind, left, right, and around himself, before scooting away on the sidewalk.

"Keep your hands to yourself, big guy." She took a step toward the bulky man, probably in his thirties or forties, but didn't look the part, most likely the aftermath of drug use.

"Watch yourself, little girl, this ain't no place for a darlin' like you. You should be glad I don't hit girls," the man sneered, "But that's not all I can do, sugar. Keep an eye on yourself." He trudged away, back to the group of people, also smoking.

"I could've taken care of myself, you know." The boy's voice to her right made her turn and look at him. She rolled her eyes at his pride, but understood.

"Sure." She shrugged, and turned to leave. The boy grabbed her by the crook of her arm, and her head spun back so fast even she'd been surprised she didn't have whiplash.

"I'm- thank you, though," he said quickly, before he could take it back, "My name's Ander. Short for Anderson." She nodded curtly in acknowledgement.

"Liane."

===

The first time she had ever gone to a street fair, she'd been more than ecstatic. She'd been with a couple friends in grade eight, at the nineteenth annual summer fair. It was exclusive to us, but from time to time, you would notice some from other counties. That wasn't a big deal, but the fair was. It had all sorts of food, the aroma even wafting outside, exciting them, and mild roller coasters everywhere. Last of all, there was everyone's favorite- Liane's, really- part, the ferris wheel that towered way over the fair itself. It glittered with all its multi-colored lights, it spun soundlessly, and the line was more than long.

Liane was jittery in excitement. The last time she'd gone to the fair was a couple years earlier, when she'd just moved to her current residence, and she's only gone twice ever.

"Hurry up," Madeline, who was a year older than Liane, groaned, "You guys are such slow-pokes." An empty, red and white striped cardboard tray sat in front of her, the sides stained with a green tint, slightly soggy from the moisture that was there. Her chip tray was empty as well, which she crumpled in impatience not two minutes after she'd finished. She stole a tortilla chip from Liane, who scowled.

Madeline loved food, but she absolutely adored the fair. She was done and over with her food, and ready to proceed.

"No, you're just too fast," Sawyer's eyebrows scrunched together, before taking another bite from his excessively-topped hot dog, continuing after swallowing most of it, "We're enjoying our food. This isn't some NASCAR race that we're competing in." Madeline rolled her eyes, flipping her empty bottle upside down over her mouth, in hopes of having a bit more coke to drink.

"We had to pay for these, too. Might as well savor it. We are nearly broke." Anderson added, not even bothering to chew everything before he did. Madeline turned away and gagged, scrunching up her nose.

Liane's first fair was with her close friends, mostly from college. Madeline, Analese, Sawyer, Alia, Lucas, and Anderson sat around the table, the white umbrellas only providing a shade for Madeline and Alia, Analese also receiving some. Sawyer, Lucas, Anderson, and Liane scorched in the heat.