Macaroni à l'Italienne

Caleb was filled with a mild sense of dread as the brightly coloured entrance and distant Ferris wheel of the amusement park came into view. After the circus last night, he couldn’t help but feel that there was little chance that this could just be a straightforward, fun place for a date. That being said, one look at the bright-eyed enthusiasm that filled Noemi’s face kept him from voicing any of his concerns. Instead, he cleared his throat and asked as the boat docked, “The amusement park? Any particular reason for this place in particular?”

Noemi turned and almost blinded the Master with the intensity of her smile, “I’ve never been to one, and I always sort of dreamed ever since high school of going to one with a boy.” She then looked a little shy as Caleb helped her out of the boat, “So when Mira said there was one on the island, I just…I really wanted to go with you.”

Caleb found himself blushing as he averted his gaze as if the road in front of them had suddenly become overwhelmingly interesting. When dealing with Noemi, he was still thrown off balance by where they had started and with the intensity of her feelings towards him. When she expressed herself, it was like being hit with a wall of eager anticipation. It threw him off balance because, in the face of such intense feelings towards him, he naturally found he wanted to reciprocate in kind. Noemi was a lovely, attractive woman; if the circumstances were different, he wouldn’t have any compunctions about entering a relationship with her.

The fact remained that he was on guard. How much of this was based on her transformations messing with her mind? He still had Eliza’s words about their insidious nature in his mind and how they could totally change people without them realizing they had been changed. His thoughts must have been written across his face as they approached the entrance because Noemi leaned in.

“Is something wrong? Do you not like the amusement park?” Her face was concerned and looked more than a little hurt.

Caleb quickly shook his head. Present, he had to be present. “No, nothing is wrong, sorry, I was thinking of other things. I’m here now, let's enjoy ourselves.”

Noemi’s pout gave way to a smile, “Well, ok, if you’re sure.” She snatched up Caleb's free hand and pulled him with her to the entrance, where a small turnstile was positioned. In front of the turnstile was a faun wearing a porn style SWAT uniform, aviator glasses, and a police helmet. The faun gestured to the sign by the turn style labeled “Entry: 10 BP”

Looking towards Noemi, he frowned, “Pretty steep price.”

“That just means whatever is inside has to be good, cmon!” She pushed her hand on the podium next to the turnstile, which lit up and let both of them through.

Noemi: 29 BP - 10 BP: 19 BP remaining

Once past the entrance, the road gave over to a green brick path. The smells in the air were filled with caramelized sugar and the distant essence of fried dough. There was the sound of a calliope playing music that seemed to always be far enough away not be oppressive and close enough to always be present. They passed a sign with a rubber hose rendition of Lucian displaying the rules of the park: No Littering, No Roughhousing, No Outside Food, No Arguing with staff, No Bevis, No Vibes.

Raising his eyebrow at the last two, Caleb was pulled off to the games with Noemi. They were all a standard array of carnival games, but dressed in the old full wood style and with themes matching the rest of the Island. There was skee ball, water guns, various games involving throwing hoops or balls at implausible targets, dart throwing, and a strength test. Winning each game seemed to earn you tickets that could be traded in at a stall.

Noemi wasn’t particularly interested in prizes, but kept running over to games they could play simultaneously to compete. It was after the third loss at skee ball that the Master began to gain a sense that the Chilean woman was a bit competitive.

“Haha! I win again, almost double your score that time. You know, I figured you’d have more experience at lining up shots with holes by this point,” Noemi shrugged playfully and shook her head in mock dismay, “Truly a sorry display. At this rate, how are you gonna give your dad grandkids?”

Caleb grimaced, “Haha,” his expression softened to a smile, “I just can’t get the rhythm right, you seem to be quite adept at juggling balls though.”

“Hmmph!” Noemi stomped her foot in mock outrage, “Well, if that’s how it’s going to be, onto the next game, let’s see if you can shoot straight at least!”

They kept working their way through, going from game to game. By the time Caleb had gotten to the strength test and rang the bell up top, they had amassed quite a number of tickets. They sat on a bench as he counted them up, “Looks like together we got 72 tickets? Might as well see what we can get for that, right?”

Walking over, the prize counter had a latticed backdrop with many prizes held on display, being zipped to the back lattice. The faun at the desk was dressed in a frilly pink dress and wearing a flower crown. She waved to the couple as they approached, and Caleb set the tickets on the counter. “What sort of items do we have here?” The master said idly as his eyes roamed over the prize and grew increasingly concerned. He had been expecting knick-knacks, toys, little plastic spider rings, candy, stuffed animals, but on display was what looked to be various **** implements. A whip that had a price of 250 tickets, two pieces of wood that hung next to each other appeared to be a fiddle for 500 tickets, and a large, thin, curved dagger for 1000 tickets.

Caleb gaped. What the hell could they be for? They couldn’t just be **** tools, could they? Why would anyone want those? “Excuse me, are these prizes magical?”

The flower-crowened faun nodded enthusiastically and brought out a small book with laminated images of each of the items on display. Flipping through, he found the dagger

Dagger of Don John: Can only be used at the end of a competition and must be stabbed into a competitor’s back. Trade ranks in the final results with the competition, with that competitor. Disintegrates after use

The other items were in a similar vein, powerful effects that required the user to exert power or **** over another competitor. Caleb felt his blood boil. Sabotages weren’t enough; Lucian just had to **** this sick idea of betrayal onto every aspect of the show. Whatever pity he felt for the demon after learning his past was far outweighed by the outrage he felt. Regardless of what he had been through, it was clear to Caleb that there was nothing good left in that demon.

He was jostled from his thoughts by a high-pitched squee from Noemi and looked over to see her holding her cheeks in her hands as she stared at what appeared to be a stuffed bear in a headsman’s uniform, complete with a stuffed axe. “It’s so cute!”

Caleb didn’t know if he particularly agreed with the assessment, but turned to the faun, “How much for the bear?”

Fifty tickets later, he walked with Noemi as she spun with the bear in her arms, watching as she hugged it tight. “Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!”

Just smiling back, Caleb shrugged his shoulders, “You earned over half the tickets, really if anyone deserves credit, it’s you.”

Holding the bear tight to her chest, Noemi glanced back at him and pouted, “No, that’s not the point. I always…I always dreamed of coming to a park with a boy and them winning me a stuffed animal. This date is like a dream to me.”

She stared at him with doe eyes, and Caleb felt his heart melt a little as he relented, “Well, we still have plenty of time left in the day.” He walked up and took her hand, “How about we ride some of these rides next?”

Noemi giggled, falling in step with Caleb as they made their way around the park. There were so many attractions to work through: bumper cars, tea cups, a merry-go-round, a gravitron that almost made Noemi sick, of course, roller coasters, and a swing carousel. They had just landed and were laughing, stumbling around together and trying to catch their balance when something caught Noemi’s eye.

“Look!” She pointed, indicating a building decorated with flames and cartoon demons and ghosts, “A haunted house. I’ve always wanted to do something like this on a date.”

Caleb paused, looking it over, his memories of the previous night coming to mind, “Noemi, I’m not sure about this one…”

“C’mon, Caleb, please?” Noemi pouted again, and Caleb frowned. This place gave him a bad feeling that he couldn’t quite shake, but he also didn’t know how to relay his concerns to Noemi without sounding paranoid.

In the end, he relented, “Alright, fine. Let’s do it.” Letting out a cheer, Noemi dragged Caleb to the door inside too quickly to read the name on the door. Swinging back and forth as they went in, the sign read “Analepsis Boulevard.”

Halfway across the island in the small cafe, the mustachioed faun applied oil to their fake mustache as their two patrons in the shop struggled with just being in each other’s presence. Lily and Maya sat across from each other at the table by the window, coffees untouched in front of them. Lily was looking desperately anywhere except at Maya, still irritated that she was here instead of exploring with the others. Maya looked awkwardly on, unsure of how to start this conversation.

Eventually, the silence was broken by Lily giving an exaggerated, exasperated sigh and finally looking towards Maya, “You invited me out here for a reason, right? So let’s go ahead and get this over with. What did you want to talk about?”

Maya flinched back and then started fidgeting with her hands, “I um…the words, I’m having a hard time conveying what I want to ask.”

Irritated, Lily raised an eyebrow, “What? You asked me out here, and you don’t know what you even wanted to say?”

Shaking her head emphatically, Maya looked increasingly frustrated, “No, in my head, I know what I want to say, but getting them out as words is hard!” She gripped the edge of the table, “It’s very straightforward in my head, but trying to say it is…complicated.”

“Ugh…” Lily groaned as she watched Maya, with no idea what she was talking about.

“I wanted…to ask you…” The way Maya spoke it was like she was picking the words out from a Speak and Spell, “It’s about Caleb and um…about feelings towards him.”

“Whatever feelings I have for Caleb are my business, ok? If you’re getting jealous now after two dates with the guy, that’s your problem.” Lily bristled, the leaves on her outfit going sharp and standing on end, “Besides, he was my boyfriend before any of this; if anyone has a right to feel jealous, it’s me.”

Maya stared in confusion for a moment and then shook her head, “No, I don’t care about any of that stuff. I’m not talking about your feelings towards Caleb; you can do whatever you want with him.”

Lily was grinding her teeth visibly at this point. What the hell was wrong with this girl? “Well then, what the heck are you on about?”

The purple-haired woman puffed up her cheeks, “I’m trying to tell you what I’m trying to say, and you keep interrupting me!”

“I’m interrupting you!? You’ve barely said anything!” The plant girl rose up from her seat.

Maya responded in kind, “I’m doing my best! It’s hard, ok?!”

With a combined set of growls, both girls snatched their drinks and sat back down, drinking and then roughly hitting their mugs against the table.

Wiping her mouth, Maya refocused and looked at Lily, “I wanted to ask you about…how does it feel when…” Maya’s face grew red as she kept trying to get the words out, “How can you tell if you’re in love with someone?”

Lily stared at the woman blankly before breaking into an irritated expression, “Why the hell would you come to me about that?”

Maya looked away slightly, “Well, you loved Caleb, so I know you have experience. From what I’ve heard, I don’t know if anyone else has that kind of firsthand experience.”

“There’s no way-I…” Lily froze, “Eliza was married!”

“Oh.” Maya's face took on a surprised expression, her mouth going perfectly round, “I didn’t know that.” She raised a finger to her cheek, “Even still, she hasn’t been leaving her room, apparently she’s struggling a lot, so it’s still probably best I come to see you. I also thought it would be a good way for us to hash things out and become friends.”

Lily’s expression broke into full bafflement, “You thought talking to me about possibly loving Caleb would be a way for us to become friends?”

“That’s what friends do, right? Talk about common interests? If you helped me figure out that I also loved Caleb, wouldn’t we have a lot to talk about?” Maya tilted her head, clearly not understanding the problem.

Lily was torn between feeling like Maya was clearly fucking with her and befuddlement that this could be exactly how it sounded and that Maya was some sort of alien who did not understand humans at all. She reached down and took a drink of coffee to buy time before asking, “I thought you were all about the game, isn’t Caleb just a means of getting points for you?”

Maya considered this for a moment, “I don’t think that’s all he is. I appreciate that he’s the main way of earning points and, to be frank, a lot of my concern comes from the fact that if I don’t love him, it will be harder to earn them, but…” She tucked her head into her chin and looked down, “I don’t think that’s all he is…he’s nice to me, and patient, he indulges me when I’m weird…he…stopped me from hurting myself, so I think he cares about me. I-he’s important to me.”

Lily’s expression softened somewhat. She didn’t understand Maya, but at the very least, what she had just said rang true. “He’s important to you, but you don’t know if you love him.”

Slowly, Maya nodded her head, “I don’t know what it means. I guess some people can compare to how their parents act around each other, but my dad bolted before I was born.”

“Ha, I didn’t have the best example to look towards either, I-” Lily paused, remembering who she was talking to, and cleared her throat, “I don’t know if I can give you a straightforward answer. I don’t think it’s as simple as saying if you feel a, b, c, you’re in love.”

“Oh,” Maya’s tone sounded defeated on hearing this. Part of her had really hoped it would be that simple.

“Why do you need to know anyway? You said it was getting in the way of getting points?” Lily went to take a sip of coffee.

Maya nodded enthusiastically, “Yeah, my mom said I should have sex with someone I love, so I can’t have sex until I know I love him.”

Caught off guard by the answer and the relaxed tone with which it was delivered, Lily started **** on her coffee. Maya leaned in, offering a napkin as Lily stood upright, “Are you ok?” She asked.

Lily took the napkin and wiped her mouth, “I’m fine, damn.” Running a hand through her hair, Lily took a second to remove and clean her glasses, staring at Maya above the frames. Throughout this competition, she thought Maya was this scheming woman who would do whatever she could to get ahead. Now? She was no closer to understanding her, but the woman in front of her seemed far closer to a kid in a toy box than an evil mastermind. The plant woman took a deep breath and put her glasses back on.

“Do you want to have sex with him?” Lily asked plainly, trying to hide the smidgen of jealousy that was springing up in her chest.

“No, I can’t because I need to know-” Lily held out her hand

“I didn’t ask if you could, I asked if you wanted to. If you didn’t have to think about points, would you want to sleep with him?” The plantwoman restated.

“I-” Maya considered this. She wanted the points, yes, but if that wasn’t the factor…She thought of the times she and Caleb had been together. The closeness she had felt, the warmth in her chest. He made her feel…safe in a way that she hadn’t felt since her mom had passed. She imagined what it would be like and felt a warmth spread through her, and with her eyes cast down and lips closed tight, gave a brief nod.

Lily sighed, part of her was annoyed to hear that, but the other part…”I don’t think you need to worry about making your Mom upset. Feelings are hard, but if you feel that close to him, if you don’t love him…I’d guess it's just a matter of time.”

Maya put a hand on her chest, feeling the warmth in her cheeks, “I love Caleb?”

“I don’t know…but it seems more likely than not.” Lily took another drink of her coffee.

Maya reached for her own cup, looked at the brown liquid inside, and then over at Lily, “Are we friends now?”

Lily sighed, “Let's not get ahead of ourselves here…but…we can do this again.”

The purple-haired woman’s face lit up like the Fourth of July, “ We can play a game next time! What sort of games do you like to play?”

Bearing the weight of the other woman’s enthusiasm, Lily was already regretting her life choices.