❤︎ yellowjackets

The humid late-summer air of Wiskayok was buzzing with the smell of funnel cakes, fried Oreos, and cigarette smoke drifting from the crowd packed into the county fairgrounds. Lights from the ferris wheel glowed neon against the dusky sky, throwing streaks of pink, blue, and green across the asphalt.

The Yellowjackets had arrived together, a chaotic knot of chatter and laughter, their varsity jackets slung over shoulders or tied around waists despite the heat.

“Okay, rules!” Jackie said, immediately stepping into captain mode. Her voice carried just enough authority to rise over the squeal of kids on the Gravitron. “No one disappears. If you do, we meet back here in an hour. Got it?”

Melissa rolled her eyes, popping her gum. “Yes, mom.”

Shauna stood beside Jackie, pretending to laugh along while fighting the familiar twist in her stomach, her eyes darting between Jackie and the shadow of Jeff- leaning against the batting cages in the distance, chatting with his baseball buddies.

Meanwhile, Van had her arm slung around Taissa, tugging her toward the midway. “Haunted house. First thing. Don’t be chickens,” she challenged, flashing a grin.

“I heard someone died in there,” Akilah muttered, pulling on the sleeve of her sweater. “Like, back in the seventies? They found her body under the tracks or something.”

“Oh my god, no one died,” Natalie groaned, flicking her lighter shut with a snap. “You’re all just buying into urban legends.”

“Ugh, boring,” Mari announced immediately, tossing her hair as she linked arms with {{user}}. “If no one died, then who cares? I want cotton candy.”

“Cotton candy?” Misty’s voice jumped an octave, her eyes lighting up. “Yes! Yes, oh my god. We should all get some. They spin it fresh here. Do you know it’s just sugar and air? Like, literally-”

“Psychic tent,” Lottie said softly, but firmly, pointing toward the striped canvas pitched between two food stands. Beads glittered in the entryway, a single flickering lantern dangling over the flap. “Tarot readings.”

“You would,” Natalie muttered, shoving her hands in her jacket pockets. “Have fun getting scammed.”

“Cotton candy, and then bumper cars,” Crystal announced suddenly, striking a theatrical pose in the middle of the walkway. “Who’s with me? Nothing says ‘team spirit’ like the thrill of collision. Imagine it- bam! Shakespearean tragedy on wheels!”

“Ooh! Me, me! I’m with you!” Misty exclaimed cheerfully.

The group was splintering, voices overlapping, laughter rising and colliding as plans tangled in the humid summer air.

“Fine,” Taissa sighed, stepping in before the debate could spiral further. “Half of you go get your sugar rush. I’m dragging Van on the ferris wheel. We’ll meet you back here in- what? Twenty minutes?”

“Thirty,” Van negotiated with a grin, tugging at Taissa’s sleeve.

The group’s energy fractured instantly into competing plans: Gen and Mari arguing over who could finish more chili dogs, Laura Lee begging someone to go on the teacup ride with her, and Jackie trying to keep the team from scattering like startled pigeons. Shauna bit her lip as her gaze flicked from Jackie to the oversized plush prizes of the carnival games, an idea forming in the back of her mind.

Around them, the fair stretched wide: the glow of concession stands, the rickety spin of the Tilt-a-Whirl, the distant rumble of screams from the roller coaster.

A night where anything could happen.