| Chapter 23: "How Much Longer to the Carnival?" |
| The next morning, Amy is up at the crack of dawn, preparing a big breakfast in the kitchen. Meagan awakes to the rattling of pots and the clanking of cups. She rolls off of the bed she has shared with Matt with a grumble. Grabbing her crutches from the wall, she crutches herself over to the counter. Meagan- May I ask what the hell you’re doing? Amy- (standing up after having dropped an egg) Morning! I am making everybody breakfast! Eggs…toast…bacon…the works! Meagan- (sarcastically) Fabulous…you know, I could have settled for Cocoa Puffs…in a few HOURS. Amy- Oh, nonsense. It’s…(she checks the digital clock on the microwave) 7:16! You should be up and moving. Meagan- (through clenched teeth) Amy…we didn’t go to sleep until 3 last night…therefore, I have slept for four hours and sixteen minutes. Four hours and sixteen minutes is not good enough. Normally, I get between nine and ten hours of sleep. On school nights, maybe seven, because of 6 am volleyball. Four hours? That doesn’t cut it. I am going to be very cranky today…all thanks to YOU. Amy- Oh, you already are cranky. Here, have some coffee! Amy slides a cup of coffee at Meagan, who stops it with her hand before it can fall off the counter. Meagan- I hate coffee. Amy- (flipping some bacon) Oh shut up and drink it. Meagan makes a face at Amy and raises the cup to her mouth. Before she can get a mouthful, she quickly turns to the side and spits out all the coffee. Meagan- That was disgusting… Amy- (shaking her head) It’s an acquired taste. Melissa has been sleeping on the floor between Tory and Greg. She sits up with a start. Melissa- What? What’s wrong? I’m sorry! Meagan and Amy look at Melissa with puzzled expressions. Melissa- Oh…it was a dream. Phew! Amy- Ooh! Tell us about it! Meagan rolls her eyes as Melissa leaps up and walks over to the counter, eager to share her dream. Melissa- (seating herself on a stool next to Meagan) Well…ok, I was in Candy Land… Amy- Oh! I’ve been there before! How’d you get there? Melissa- (concentrating really hard, trying to remember) Um…you know, I started out there. Right by the Lollipop farm or whatever…you know? Amy- (setting her elbows on the counter, resting her chin on her hands) Right… Melissa- Ok, so there I was…looking around…I think I was looking for a doughnut…? Meagan- (raising an eyebrow) Hmm…as stimulating as this conversation is…I think I’m going to go take a shower. It takes me a while anyway. I have to bag my ankle. Melissa- K…well, remind me to tell you my dream later. Meagan- Sure thing, babe. Meagan crutches herself over to her backpack against the wall and grabs her makeup bag before propping open the door and heading out. Melissa- (turning back to Amy) Ok…so here I was, looking for this doughnut. Then, all of a sudden, a bird swoops down and lands next to me. He tells me that I am going to fall in love with Matt. Amy- Whoa…good thing Meg left… Melissa- Oh, I know. And then, he says that Greg is going to fall in love with Anna…and the whole thing is a jumbled mess, and nobody likes the right person. Well, I explained it to Greg. He was flirting with the fairy princess of sugar…whatever her name is…and he didn’t believe me. He told me he was mad at me…and so then I started begging for forgiveness…and then I woke up. Amy- Wow…that’s amazing…a jumbled mess of crushes. Melissa- Exactly. Wouldn’t that be crazy? Amy- Yep. (She turns around to face the stove, grabs a plate, and whips back toward Melissa) Bacon? Melissa- (startled) Um…sure… Suddenly, Greg appears behind Melissa. Greg- (looking at everything in the kitchen) Uh, hey… Melissa turns around. Melissa- Hey, hun! Greg sits down next to Melissa on a stool. Amy- (while flipping a pancake) Well, hey there, Greg! Greg- Hi…what the hell did you do to our kitchen…? Amy- (laughs, patting Greg on the head) Silly Greg. I’m making breakfast! Greg- Yeah… Amy- Here, have some coffee! Amy slides a cup at Greg. Greg- Gee…thanks. Gotta love coffee. Tory walks over sleepily. Tory- (sitting down at the table) Hi. Melissa and Greg- Hey. Amy- Mornin’! Coffee? Tory- Sure! Amy pours a cup for Tory and Tory takes a big sip. Amy- (scratching her head) Hmm…hey, where’s Jesse? Hang on. JESSE!!! Jesse, who has been sleeping on the floor nearest the counter, rolls over, opening his eyes. Amy- (peering over the counter) Wake up, Sunshine! Jesse smiles and stands up, walking clumsily over to the table and taking a seat, rubbing his eyes. Jesse- Hey guys. Bugaboo, are you making me breakfast? Amy- Yes indeedy! You and everyone else…If they would WAKE UP! Jesse, go wake them up. Jesse- (stretching) Ok…ok… Jesse walks over to Matt’s bed, looking around devilishly. With one swift movement, he grabs the sheet and yanks it out from under Matt. Matt- (waking up) OW! (He opens his eyes and sits up, wincing) Damn it, Jesse… Matt sits up straight, running his fingers through his hair. Jesse skips over to Frankie and Anna’s bed. Jesse- Before I do anything else, I’ll ask them to get up. (In a whisper) Frankie? Anna? (He shrugs) Oh well. Jesse lifts up Frankie’s side of the mattress, sending him and Anna flying off of the bed, landing with a thump. Anna- (opening her eyes and giving the wall an annoyed glance) Whoever is on top of me better get off now… Frankie- (standing up, rubbing the back of his head) Oh…sorry… Anna looks up, confused. Anna- Hi Frankie…why am I on the floor…? Frankie shrugs, then turns around, where the others are laughing. Jesse- Good morning! Frankie- Jesse! (He starts running after Jesse, accidentally kicking Chris on the way out the door) Chris- (pulling the covers up over his head) Ow! Greg- Wake up, man. Tory- Chris! Are you ok?! Chris- (standing up slowly) Yes…hey what hit my head? Anna- (walking past him) That would be Frankie’s foot. Chris- God…he should watch where he’s going. I was in the middle of a dream about Brit- uh…Tory. Tory flashes him an evil glance as Greg and Matt laugh. Matt scoots over to the edge of the bed and hops into his wheelchair. Matt- You all need to leave or something…I need to take my sponge bath. Greg- Don’t say that, man…you’re giving me visions…(he cringes as Matt reaches over and punches him with his good arm) Melissa- Meagan left a while ago…go see if she’s done and just take one in our bathroom. Matt- Fair enough. Matt grabs some of his stuff from the guys’ bathroom and heads over to the girls’ room. Anna- (sitting down at the table) So when are we leaving for this carnival? Jesse- It starts at 12…so we should get there by 10 at the LATEST. Anna- What?! Jesse- We have to be the first ones! Then we could maybe ride in the hot-air balloon FREE! Greg- Did you fall on your head as a child? You have the most twisted ideas… Amy- (looking at the kitchen clock) Well…it is 8:15 right now. If we get ready by 10, we could get there by 10:30. Chris- (whining) No…it don’t want to wait for an hour and a half just for some dumb carnival. Tory- Me either. Who cares about hot-air balloons? Melissa- Well, hot-air balloons elevate to a comfortable height in the sky, providing a beautiful, scenic view of the surrounding land- Tory- Ok, ok, I got it… *** At 10:30, all ten kids are ready to go. While in the lobby, Chris looks in the mirror, fixing his hair one more time. Chris- (talking to himself) How did you get so fine? Frankie walks by, elbowing him. Chris- (falling forward, then regaining his balance) FRANKIE! One of my spikes is 30 degrees off!! This is ALL you fault! Frankie laughs, walking over by Matt, Meagan, Anna, Amy, and Jesse. Matt- I am not taking my wheelchair. No way. Meagan- You can use one of my crutches. Matt- Ok. (He stands up, taking a crutch and leaning on it) Ah…it feels so good to stand up. Frankie- Well…they still probably won’t let you on any rides… Anna- Nah, they won’t care. Those people are insane anyway. The rides are all cheap and dumb. Amy- No they aren’t! Jesse- Not at this carnival! This is different. Meagan- It better be…cause my mom called this morning. She said all of our parents want us home by Thursday afternoon- Matt- But it’s Wednesday… Anna- Today’s our last day! The six kids look sadly at each other. Amy starts to tear. Jesse- (hugging Amy) It’s ok Bugaboo, we’ll hang out all the time…you’ll always be my girlfriend. Amy- *sniff* Really? *sniff* Meagan leans her head on Matt’s shoulder, a depressed look on her face. Matt- Meg…we will be apart for a little while…while we’re on tour. But we’ll call you guys EVERY single day. We will hang out whenever we get the chance. Frankie puts his arm around Anna. Frankie- I say we try to make the last 24 hours the best we possibly can. The other five nod, walking over to Melissa, Greg, and Tory. Chris walks over as well. Melissa- Why are you all so bummed? Amy- We’re leaving tomorrow. Tory, Melissa, Greg, Chris- What?! Tory- Says who? Meagan- Our parents. They want us home for the last two weeks of summer vacation. Plus, these guys have the Go For It! Roadshow… Chris- That sucks! But we will talk everyday… Tory- Chris, I’m gonna miss you SO much! Melissa- Greg, I’ll miss you more! Greg- No…I’ll miss you more! The two couples hug. Matt- Let’s go have some fun…make the most of our last day of our first summer together…if that made any sense… Amy- (perking up) Yeah, the carnival is waiting! The ten kids walk out into the parking lot. Jesse notices a bird corpse. Jesse- LOOK!! (He runs over to the little heap) Tory- EW! That’s disgusting… The nine others follow over to where Jesse is crouched. Matt- He looks familiar… Jesse- Check it out…there’s a huge lump in his throat! Oh…wait…it’s a bon-bon… *** Frankie drives Matt’s car, and Matt rides shotgun. Meagan, Anna, and Jesse sit in the back. Frankie- So...where is the carnival, Jess? Jesse- Um…I don’t know… Frankie- HUH?! Jesse- Amy does…I think… Matt- Just follow the Diablo…Tory will lead the way… In the Diablo, Tory is driving, Chris rides shotgun, and Amy, Melissa, and Greg sit in the back. Tory- I hate driving…mostly people drive for me…I was never very good with directions… Greg- Well isn’t that fabulous… In the convertible… Anna- We have been driving for an hour. Where is this dumb carnival? Meagan- Yeah…this part of the state isn’t one of it’s finer parts…a lot of people in cardboard boxes… Frankie- And abandoned warehouses… Jesse- I’ve been counting drug-dealers. So far I’m up to 57… Matt- I’m a tad uncomfortable right now… In the Diablo… Tory is flipping out. Tory- Oh my God! Where are we? Amy…I thought you knew where to go…?? Amy- I thought Jesse did… Chris- Loser! You should have checked for directions…now we’re out where it’s ok to carry a gun…(he sinks in his seat) Greg- There are so many hookers on the streets it’s not even funny… Melissa- Gross…hey watch out!!!!! (Melissa ducks) Tory- WHAT?! A huge rock hits the side of the car…a loud thump is heard. In the other car… Meagan- OH MY GOD! A huge rock just hit my car!! OH MY GOD! Matt- Don’t…panic…(he starts breathing loudly) Frankie- I’m a little freaked out now. Jesse- (he starts whimpering) I want Amy!! Anna- Grow up… A bullet goes through their window, shattering the pane of glass. All five scream. Anna- I WANT FRANKIE! Meagan- OH MY GOD!! Drive, Galasso! DRIVE! Frankie- (whimpering, too scared to move his foot) I…I…I can’t… Anna- (lunging forward to his aid) Are you wounded?! Frankie- No…I…I…where’s the gas peddle…I’m going to faint… |
| ~Sorry for the wait...I've been really busy with volleyball tournaments and softball...plus I had an awful case of writer's block! -Meg- |