Kelp

There were so many people at the fair that we had to park in the back and walk all the way to the front. It felt like forever, but we made it. The first thing we did was run through a sprinkler system till we were soaked. My legs were good; a small blip of worry made me test the water out first before throwing myself through it. Then we found a shaved ice stand. I love shaved ice. It's cool and sweet and hits the spot for when you're thirsty and hungry. The first ride we had was a roller coaster. I'd seen one in Las Vegas, but we never went on it.

Zak and I sat up front with Nick and Aaron behind us. When it started, I was nervous and excited. At the first hill, I don't think I've ever screamed as loud as I did when we dropped. I could hear Zak laughing as Aaron screeched whit glee and Nick whoop with delight. The ride lasted barely two minutes, but I wanted to go again.

"We'll come back to it later. How about we do some other rides before coming back to this one?" Zak offered.

"Alright. I wanna go on some more like the roller coaster," I grinned.

"Deal," Zak nodded.

"to the Scrambler!" Aaron shouted, pointing to a monster of a machine.

"i don't know Aaron," Nick said hesitantly. "That's kinda-"

"Let's go!" I cried, jumping to high five Aaron.

"You guys coming?" Aaron asked.

"I'm going to avoid throwing up for now," Zak said.

"I'm with Zak," Nick said, jerking his thumb at Zak.

"Looks like it's the tough guys that are left," Aaron sighed.

"More fun for us!" I grinned.

"Of course! Let's go Short Round," Aaron said, linking arms with me and leading the way, skipping. It was a little hard to keep up with Aaron's long legs, but I did okay. We handed our tickets we had gotten after our drenching to the ride operator and climbed into the seat he pointed us to.

"Sit on the left and I'll sit on the right," Aaron said. "We're gonna spin and I'd rather not crush you."

"I would like to not be crushed. There's a bit too much I've still left to do," I said as the bar lowered over us.

"Agreed," Aaron said, putting his arm around my shoulders.

"How fast are we going to spin?" I asked.

"You'll see," Aaron grinned mischievously. A minute later the ride started and we did indeed spin. At first it wasn't fast, but it quickly gained speed and we were soon hurtling through the air. It was faster than the roller coaster and I was pressed against Aaron hard. The ride was so fast I could barely breath, but Aaron's arm was around me instead of being squished between us making me feel more contained instead of feeling like I was about to fly off into space.

As the ride ended, I couldn't contain the insane laugh that bubbled out of me. "That was awesome!" I cried as I hopped down from the seat, weaving a bit as I walked.

"I know right!?" Aaron laughed, a little unsteady on his own feet as well.

"How was it, kids?" Nick asked as he grinned at me and Aaron.

"I love fairs," I said, working on getting my vision right.

"See? This was an awesome idea," Aaron said like he'd been fought against for the fair. "Vi can now experience a real American tradition. So when she goes home, she can plan for the next trip." If there was a next trip. I might not be able to if my father decided I wasn't allowed back because I didn't stay with my sisters. The sour thought made me feel sick to my stomach.

"Are you okay, Vi?" Zak asked, seeing my sudden change in expression.

"Yeah, ride's just catching up to me," I said, a hand on my belly.

"Let's take a break and chill out a bit," Zak said. "It's not fun being sick while out and about."

"Alright," I nodded. The thoughts needed to be pushed away. I couldn't be thinking like that if I wanted to have to be having a good time with the guys. Maybe walking around would be a good distraction.

"Let's go check out the games," Nick said. All of us headed down the long row of tents with different games that were the perfect distraction. I played a dart game with Aaron and won bracelets that we all wore. There was a game with Nick where we had to squirt water into a clown's mouth till the balloon on it popped, that gave us some long strands of beaded necklaces. Zak brought us all to a strong man contest. We had to take a mallet and hit a button thing to make a block hit the bell at the top. Aaron couldn't do it, he tried twice. Nick couldn't do it, he tried three times. Zak couldn't even do it and he tried five times.

When the man running the game said if they couldn't do it that I couldn't do it, I had to take up the challenge. Thirty years of swimming in the ocean during still water and storms must have made me strong than anyone thought. I took the big, wooden hammer and aimed before hitting the button and sending the block up to ring the bell.

"I did it!" I cried, jumping up and down before going into a victory dance. "I did it, I did it. In your face boys! Look out! A girl's stronger than all of you!" The guys and the game attendant just stood there looking at me confused. "So, I win something right?" I asked. The man nodded and pointed to a variety of stuffed animals. A large, white ghost stuck out to me so I picked that one out. It had it's hands up as if to say 'Boo!' The man handed it over and I smiled triumphantly.

"I'm never going to pick a fight with her. Ever," Aaron said as I marched off, leading the way to our next venture.

~::~::~::~

All this time, they had been worried about how Viola was defenseless against the world and all she had to do was pick up a mallet and shatter that illusion. Zak wasn't really sure how to feel other than impressed and maybe a bit turned on. Viola was tiny. Not even 5'4'' and she looked like a wind would knock her over. Then she beat them all in the strong man challenge. He couldn't help but grin as she marched off so proud of herself. Self confidence suited her. It continued through out the day, too. They played games and kept winning more than loosing, getting little trinkets before the sun started to set. They grabbed some food from the vendors before finally agreeing on the ferris wheel before heading out to get a hotel for the night.

The group stood in line for a few minutes before they handed over the last of their tickets. Zak and Viola took a seat in a car and Nick and Aaron took the next one. Viola could hear Aaron making goofy noises about how romantic Nick was and how they should do this more often before Nick smacked him. She giggled as Zak relaxed with the ghost she'd won earlier supporting his back while he slouched. The night sky was rising as the sun was setting allowing stars to start shining. Sitting back, Viola looked up in wonder at the night sky. It had been a while since she'd actually seen the night sky. In Las Vegas all the lights blocked it out, but with most of the lights out around the fair, the stars were bright.

"Do you know the constellations?" Zak asked.

"Yes. They're my history," she smiled. "Gemini, the twins." Viola pointed to the constellation. "Pollux and Castor were favored by my father and granted powers to calm the sea and give favorable winds to sailors. Pollux was immortal and Castor was mortal. When Castor died, Pollux felt so lost that even when he was invited by Zeus to Mount Olympus, he declined. He just wanted to be reunited with his brother."

"That's real love," Zak said, looking up at the stars before looking back at Viola. The way she stared up at the sky, it was like she was reliving family memories. "What happened to them?"

"Zeus granted Pollux his wish. He was able to spend eternity with his brother. They would switch between Hades' realm and the Heavens from day to day. Zeus was moved by their devotion that he put the stars up there so they could never be separated again," she said softly as the ferris wheel began to move without stopping for people. Zak felt himself wince a bit. The way that Viola sat there, staring longingly up at the stars with almost envy, it didn't take him long to figure out why.

"You miss her a lot, don't you?" He asked softly. She just stared up at the sky even when they were down at the bottom.

"More so now," Viola said, letting out a shaky breath. "We don't have ghosts or anything at all like that. Not that we acknowledge anyways. It's not fair that I could have a chance to talk to her again or see her and I have to ignore it. Pretend it's not there."

"Vi," Zak said softly, reaching over and taking her hand in his. "She might not be around still."

"But there's a chance she is! I just. . . I just wanna know that she didn't want to leave me or that she loved me for sure instead of having stupid memories that are just blips," she said, her eyes going glassy. Viola refused to cry though. She wasn't going to cry.

"Sweetie, there's no way that your mother wouldn't have loved you. It's just been a few days since we met and I know she wouldn't have left if she wasn't forced to. I know I wouldn't leave you if I couldn't help it," Zak said softly, wrapping his arm around her and pulling her to him. Viola scooted over and buried her face in his shirt, taking a bit whiff of his smell. There was just something about it that made her feel calm and safe.

"There's so much that I wish I could say and hear from her, but. . ." She sighed.

"But what?" Zak asked, looking down at the top of the green head pressed against his chest.

"I don't know if it would make me miss her more or less." She had a point. The poor little mermaid had some things she needed and wanted to figure out. Whether or not Zak could help was a whole other issue.

"It's a tough question and it's up to you if you really want it answered," Zak said, stroking her arm softly.

"I know. It's something I don't have to decide right now though. Which is probably for the best," Viola said with a soft chuckle. "Thanks for listening, to my mom stuff."

"It's no problem," Zak smiled. "I figure that even if you are a fish that we're not very different. We both have questions we want answered and they won't come easy. I'm here if you ever want to talk."

"Okay," she nodded, resting her chin on his chest as she looked up at him. "If you need to talk about any unsolved family issues, I'm all ears."

"Deal," he laughed looking down at her. They locked eyes for a moment and just stared at each other. Viola lost in Zak's ocean eyes and Zak wandering in Viola's fiery amber orbs. Casually, Zak leaned in and connected their lips for a few seconds in a chaste kiss. It felt longer though, because they didn't realize they had to get off till they heard Nick and Aaron making fun of them from the ground as the ferris wheel attendant stood there waiting.

"It's about time!" Aaron cried. "God, Zak you're so slow!"

"Shut up!" Zak huffed, getting up and helping Viola out before grabbing her ghost.

"We've been standing here for hours while you two suck face like picasimus fish," Nick groaned, leaning against Aaron while staring at his watch.

"You best watch it, I'll get Vi to beat you two up," Zak said, pointing to the small woman he held the ghost up ready to swing.

"No! We're sorry! Forgive us!" Aaron yelped, jumping out of reach.

"Good, now how about we go get a hotel? I'm tired," Viola said with a grin.

"Tired from all the kissing!" Nick laughed before he dodged a swing of the ghost before he and Aaron took off running with Viola and Zak in hot pursuit.