Stepping Stones to my Heart (Sodapop Curtis Love Story)

Chapter 18: The Carnival

“Step right up, step right up!” a man in a red and white suit announced. 

The fair grounds were speckled with people and booths.  The people who ran the carnival were travelers. Some of the travelers were gypsies, but not all.  They were considered con artists and scammers.  They’re the type of people who you don’t want to rumble with; they fight dirty and will aim straight for your face.  Most of the games are scams at the carnival, but it’s still fun to go, you just have to make sure your wallets in your front pocket.  The booths were draped in a red and white striped canvases and stuffed animals hung around the edges of the booth.  Haystacks were scattered about the grounds and the air was colder than usual.  The blue sky was dotted with wisps of clouds and underneath it were colorful flags that surrounded the park. 

“Step right up, step right up and try to dunk this man in this freezing water!” the man shouted, “You young man, would you like to dunk this man?” he was pointing at Steve with the end of his cane. 

The gang and I decided to spend the day at the carnival because it only comes to town twice a year and it’s the only thing exciting that happens besides a rumble or a parade.  Darry and Dally were hanging around the bull riders, Ponyboy and Johnny were going around the booths trying to win some prizes, and Sodapop, Steve, Two-Bit, and I were trying to find something exciting. 

“The man’s going swimming.” Steve said proudly giving the announcer a quarter. 

“Right-o boy.  Here you go.” He said giving Steve three baseballs.

Steve wound his arm up and threw his first ball; it missed only by an inch. 

“Butterfingers!” Two-Bit shouted for encouragement.

“Shut up!” he shouted and he threw his second one and it hit just above the bullseye.  “Damnit!” The last ball rushed through the air and a splash of freezing water bounced out of the tank.  “That my friends is how you win at the carnie.” Steve said with pride.

“It took you three tries,” said Two-Bit, “I could do it in one.”

“Be my guest,” Steve gestured towards the stand.

Two-Bit pulled out a shiny quarter and handed it to the guy and in return got three baseballs.  He missed the first try. 

“I’m just getting warmed up.  I’ll get it in two tries.” He said looking towards Steve.  He hit the target and the man ducked under the water once more. 

“Bet you can’t do it in one try.”  Steve said. 

Soda whispered in my ear, “They’ll be here all day, want to walk around?”

I nodded. “Were gonna go walk around.” I said, but was ignored.  I knew they heard what I said though because Two-Bit flicked his hand briefly towards me, so I took Sodapop’s hand and led him in the opposite direction passing by booth after booth.  We saw a sword swallower and a fire breather.  I made him stay there for a while at the sword swallower.  I couldn’t figure out how they do that, swallow an actual sword.  It seemed like magic; magic has always amazed me.  When I was younger, I wanted to be a magician like Houdini after we learned about him in school.   

Soda dragged me over to a booth with a blue and white striped cover and a sign saying, Water Fight.  It was the game where you have a water gun and you have to shoot the clown’s mouth and had to fill up the balloon before the other guy.  Soda took the water gun and shot the water perfectly into the clown’s mouth; it was steady and quick.  His opponents were barely even making it to the clown’s face. I could tell he was trying to impress me like he always does, but I hate it when he does that because we’re already dating and there’s no point in trying to make me like him anymore than I do now.  I can suffer through it just fine though; I’ll admit it was pretty cute.  The balloon popped and the buzzer went off.  I hugged him from behind and kissed his neck.  He smiled and pointed to the purple gorilla in the top left corner.  The man grabbed it and gave it to Sodapop trying to convince him to play another round.