Melodies of the Heart

Chapter Eleven

Kassidy

There was little else but awkward silence as Kassidy led the way out of the haunted house attraction at the fair. Luckily there was no one hanging around the back exit when they emerged, and despite the few crowds that had run up to Levi when they'd first arrived, it didn't appear that attendance was really that high.

"I figured there would be more people," Levi said, breaking the strange quiet that had grown between them. "It's such a beautiful day that I thought the place would be a zoo."

"It gets a little lower every year," Kassidy told him. "It used to be the biggest weekend of the year when I was a kid. We looked forward to it for months ahead of time. The carnival was always the unofficial start to summer, being so close to the end of the school year and all, though maybe I'm just looking back with rose colored glasses."

"So what happened?" Levi asked as they strolled by the Ferris wheel.

"Same thing as everywhere," Kassidy said with a gentle shrug of her shoulders. "A lot of kids would rather play video games and their parents just let them. Most of my friends only come for the nostalgia and don't really spend any money while they're here, which is why there are fewer vendors and food trucks each year."

"That can't be good for the carnival," Levi said as he scanned his eyes over the games.

"Probably not," Kassidy said. "I wouldn't be surprised if it's only got a few years left before they stop coming here. Not worth it for such a small town."

"How about I help them out and see if I can win you a prize?" Levi asked as they stopped at one of the games. It was one that Kassidy knew was rigged. Using an airsoft gun, the player needed to shoot out the star on a slip of paper ten feet away.

"That one's rigged," she warned him. All the guys she'd went to high school with had tried to beat that one at least once, but never did. The guns always fired crooked and made it impossible for anyone to hit their target.

"I still want to give it a try," he told her. "Come on, cheer me on."

"Fine," she relented and they moved over to the booth where a carnie was more focused on his nap than on his game.

"How much?" Levi asked as he leaned his hip on the edge of the game.

"Five bucks gets you one loaded rifle," the carnie said, yawning halfway through.

"Price has gone up," Levi noted, but he grabbed a five dollar bill out of his pocket all the same and put it on the wooden lip of the booth.

"Shoot out the star, win the bear," the carnie said, his barking game in serious need of practice.

Kassidy didn't hold out much hope of bringing home one of the bears that hung off the awning of the game, but she cheered Levi on all the same. It was an exercise in futility, but he was having fun and she wasn't going to take that away from him.

But when Levi started shooting, Kassidy realised how wrong she'd been.

The gun fired crooked and shot too many pellets in each burst, but it took Levi no time at all to adjust to accommodate it. Two quick shots and he had it down and then he easily cut out the red star in the center of the paper.

"Well I'll be," the carnie said as he rubbed his chin. "You, sir, have a knack for this. Pick a bear."

"Your choice," he told Kassidy, and she happily selected a sunshine yellow bear that had to be at least three feet tall and was softer than she'd imagined.