6th July

Good day, good day, good day! Oh what a wonderful world~

Wednesday. What more do I need to say?

How should I start this glorious day? What else can I do other than crack a joke? I've been working on a few, but I have no idea whether people will find this one funny. Well, here goes nothing!

So there was this girl, an average girl, right? You see, her family circumstances aren't exactly the best, you know? The house had little furniture, she slept on a thin mattress. Granted, it's better than some others but still worse than a lot more. So this girl grew up in a relatively poor family.

Her mother was young, having given birth at 16. That mother must have had a few screws loose if you ask me. She had lived with a man about twice her age, and was working a job that could barely support the family. That's the setting, okay?

Surprisingly, it was a happy family. They lived and laugh together despite everything that had gone wrong for them. It was a happy family.

When the girl grew up, she was sent to school to study, and she managed to do decent enough. Everything seems fine, right?

So this is where the joke begins.

So the girl, now six years old, approaches her Mom and asked her, "Mama, why did you marry Papa?"

She gets a response, but soon forgets the answer, so she goes to her Dad and asked him, "Papa, why did you marry Mama?"

She receives a response but soon forgets it.

Now, a few weeks later, a small and modest wedding ceremony was held between her Mom and Dad. She was dressed nicely and took photos. Her parents dressed nicely too and had wide smiles on their faces.

So, could you guess what her Mom and Dad told her? Small clue, two words, three syllables.

With that joke out of the way, let's focus on the more important things. Like me.

Got out of bed, brushed my teeth, had a shower and stared at myself in the mirror. Routine. Speaking of routines, have you ever developed a routine you were unaware was a routine in the first place? Kinda like the way you greet people without realising or the things you do before you start having a meal?

Like, what do you do when you're bored? And what goes through your head? Wait, does thinking of the same thing whenever you're bored count as a routine? Or is that just someone being insane? Just the small things we do during certain scenarios, can those be called routines? Or are they called habits? Or are they called idiosyncrasies? Well, whatever, not gonna lose sleep over this.

Now, onto the next part of my day! Leaving my room and realising everyone's already left the house. Mom and dad are probably at work, Fable's probably out in school flirting with his ripped girlfriend. Actually, would be hilarious if his girlfriend was just absolutely jacked while Fable kinda looks flabby. Not fat, kinda average.

I spread butter over a slice of bread and took a bite while looking at my phone.

News Flash! Research has found that seven of ten adults have had suicidal thoughts or have thought of self-harm. Children approaching young adulthood, 16-18, have shown many symptoms of mental disorders. Depression and Autism seem to be the most common. It is said that two of three students have exhibited signs of depression.

Mental health sure is serious, huh?

When I was done eating, I got changed and ready to leave my house. People aren't just going to show themselves around! By people, I mean Chloe. Kind of a sad thought to think about how she has never gone to the town fair before. Well, I guess the thought of her parents offing themselves is sadder.

Dang…

The town fair's great though. When I was younger, I loved going there. It's this event where they set up tents at the town square and have them there for basically the entirety of July. If you wonder why July, it's cause the city was founded in July. The memories.

Now, where o' where is Chloe? Kaster's, duh.

Is the morning really a suitable time for me to bring Chloe out of Kaster's to visit the town fair? Of course it is! Think about it. It's a weekday morning, no one's going to be there. Besides, even if there are people, I don't have to worry about people my age being there cause no one's dumb enough to get suspended like I have.

To Kaster's!

Gotta pick up Chloe.

Maybe we can have all those random snacks from the tents as lunch. Probably not good for her health, but it'll be good for her mind. Kids love unhealthy stuff. If you want to ask me to cite a source, I made it up.

"Dang dang diggidy dang dang," I hummed to myself while making my way towards the bus stop.

I wore a regular t-shirt with the text 'Dang' in a large comic font. Don't ask me why I have such a shirt, I just do. I also wore a pair of regular blue jeans. I put on my contacts this time. You know, when I first got these contacts, I thought that my eyesight would be tainted green if I wore them, but as it turns out, no. Disappointing.

Wonder how it's going in school. Surely Candace is sorely missing my presence. Maybe that pretty boy Otto over there is suffering from hearing Candace basically every day. Hey… I just got a plan~

Not telling.

I reached Kaster's and went to the receptionist. I asked him, "Yeah, so I'm back. I was wondering if I can bring Chloe White out of the foster home today."

"Where are you going?" He asked.

"To the town fair," I replied. "It's not too far from here, and y'all are free to send someone to supervise us if you want. I wouldn't mind."

"No, it's fine," He waved me off. "You just gotta fill in the information on this form. Date, contact number, where you're going and time of return. If she's not back by then, we will be contacting your number. If for some reason we are unable to reach you, we will be filing a police report."

"Got it," I told him, filling in the required information.

I entered Chloe's room. Chloe was already ready. At least, from what I could see. She had wet hair and had clothes fit for going outside. Just wondering, do most people organise their clothes by what they can or cannot wear outside their homes? I do that. I got a bunch of stuff I don't wear out, and it ain't just my PJs. Well, whatever.

"You ready?" I asked Chloe.

She nodded vigorously. Before she could leave the room, I put a finger up to stop her, telling her, "But if we go out, we have to follow a few rules, okay?"

"Okay."

"Don't go too far away from me. I'll be holding your hand, but when I'm not, make sure to stay near. We can't eat everything, so no crying, okay? One last thing, if you don't feel well, make sure to tell me, okay?"

Chloe nodded.

I held her hand and off we go. Feels like Chloe's my daughter and I'm a really young mother. But I think it's a cute image, so I won't complain.

"Sis, what do you like about the fair?" Chloe asked me.

"Haven't been in a while," I answered. "But probably the hotdogs?"

"I wanna try that!"

I chuckled and faced her, warning her, "Hoho, wait until you find out what calories are, my dear child."

"Kalo?" She asked, looking confused.

"You'll find out one day," I laughed. "But don't eat too much, okay? We share as much as we can."

"Okay!"

On the bus, we got several looks from strangers. C'mon, it's a bus, no one's gonna try to come up to us and go all 'Hey, what are you two going? Who is this child you're with? Is she your sister?' with us.

Chloe constantly stared around us. What a child.

Vroom vroom, or whatever the sounds buses make are. Hey look, we're at our stop!

I nudged Chloe, who followed me off the bus. We stood at the bus stop, staring ahead. The town fair was right across the street, and it only had a few people walking in and out. Chloe looked at the street ahead of her before looking up at me.

"There's a light over there," I told Chloe, pointing to the side where other pedestrians were gathered.

We made our way over. Walked a bit, and BOOM, we're there.

Welcome to the town fair. This is the place where truancy is commonplace, obesity is encouraged and sanity is nowhere to be seen. I'm exaggerating, but it's literally just a normal fair.

I made sure to hold Chloe's hand as we made our way into the town fair. The very first thing we saw was a store that sold sausages. None of the wieners they put in hotdogs, like, actual sausages with actual meat. Chloe saw it but was mostly attracted to the smell.

"Sausages," I told her. "Trust me, you wouldn't like them."

"Why?"

I glanced over before having an idea. "Actually, we can try it."

We went over to the sausage stall. Making sure I was still holding Chloe's hand, I ordered with a smile, "Hello. Could we have one serving please?"

"Sure thing. What flavour?"

"Mild."

The sausage was served sliced up in a paper plate bowl thing. No idea what those things are called. There were about three different sauces on it, including barbecue, ketchup and chilli.

I used the toothpick and fed one to Chloe, who opened her mouth big to eat it. While chewing, her face contorted before returning to normal after swallowing. She looked up at me, saying, "Taste weird."

I ate one myself and shrugged. I finished it quickly before we continued on with our day. Sure, food's great and all, but that's not what the town fair's all about. There are these stalls that have games where people can win prizes. Yeah, it's basically a carnival at this point.

After buying Chloe one cotton candy on a stick, we found ourselves in front of a game stall. Chloe held the cotton candy in one hand, holding my hand with the other. I talked to the attendant, "Hello, how much to play this game?"

It was one of those games where you try to hit a target with a ball. If it falls, you get a certain prize. The bigger prizes have heavier and smaller targets. The attendant replied, "Five for three shots."

That's expensive.

Plus, there's this obnoxious music playing in the background. Also, why is Chloe bouncing up and down to the music?

"You wanna try?" I asked Chloe.

Please say no, please say no.

"What to do?" She replied, staring at the targets.

"You have to try and throw a ball at those things," I explained to her, gesturing to the targets. "If you hit something down, you get a prize."

"I wanna try!" Chloe said excitedly.

I let go of her hand and helped hold her cotton candy. Chloe stepped on a box so that she could reach high enough. I told her, "You can do this!"

She threw the first shot, the ball not even close to hitting a target and just landing on the floor. I laughed and patted Chloe's back. Luckily for me, Chloe seemed to just be having fun, so I let her rock even after she air-balled a shot.

"Aim higher," I told her.

She did as I said, the ball just bouncing off one of the middle targets and not doing anything. Chloe faced me, pointing at the target and saying loudly, "I hit it!"

I gave her a high five. I then told her, "You need to hit it off?"

"Huh?"

"Don't worry, just try to get the next shot."

She stared at the ball before extending it towards me, asking, "You wanna throw it?"

What a sweetie. I took the ball and played it up. "Just so you know, I'm an expert at baseball. This is a piece of cake for me."

Chloe seemed unimpressed.

I threw the ball, but it missed completely. I just laughed it off with Chloe and we were on our way.

Before anyone asks, I'm not a criminal, I pay for these things. Trust me, bro.

Anyways, we started walking around, mostly just seeing the things that were around. Chloe seemed to be interested in the loud and bright things going on. Like the disco floor. Yep, no, I'm not gonna bring her over to the public display of a lack of shame that is the disco floor. I'll tell you why.

Bright lights, the music's obnoxiously loud, and the people there aren't even dancing. They just hang around and maybe do a wiggle. Actual dancers that try to go there don't even have the space to break out anything fun.

"What that?" Chloe asked, pointing past the disco floor.

Now that's interesting. There's a ride. It's a machine that makes you go in circles in little rocketships. Looks fun, but those things are for kids. Wait a minute, there's a kid right beside me that might want to get on.

"Wanna try?" I asked her.

"Is it scary?"

"No, it'll be fun, trust me," I assured her.

We made our way towards the attraction. There was only a short line, so we managed to get our turn after a few minutes of waiting. There was a firm height and weight limit, so I couldn't get on. Chloe glanced back at me as she was escorted to the ride. I was holding her stuff and giving her a thumbs up.

I waved at her as the ride began. That gives me a couple of minutes to just watch her.

…

What's this from the corner of my eyes? Well, my day was pretty great so far, but from the looks of it, it's about to get a lot better. Wait, hold on, I can't do anything I want with my little sister in tow, now can I?

Gotta avoid the dangers, you know?

"You're doing great!" I shouted.

Chloe did not look too great.

After she got off the ride, She clung to my arm, a little bit tipsy. I laughed, asking her, "So, how was it? Fun, right?"

"It's not fun at all!" Chloe complained.

We sat at a bench so that Chloe could regain composure. Her hair was a mess, so I brought out a comb to help her with it. Afterwards, I brought out a water bottle. The cap of the water bottle, when unscrewed, also acted as a cup, so that's convenient. Chloe drank some water.

We sat down, Chloe swinging her legs as we just chilled.

"I don't wanna go back," Chloe told me.

"Why?" I asked, genuinely curious.

"Cause it's more fun here," Chloe smiled. "I wanna be like you, sis. I wanna have fun all the time!"

Trust me, you don't wanna be me.

"That's great!" I told her.

She really is like my disciple. Wonder if she's gonna grow up and start acting like me? That would be weird and also slightly concerning.

"But what about Jack?" I joked around with her. "If you don't go back, you'll never see him again, right?"

"Oh…"

"What about me? I won't always be here, you know?"

Chloe's eyes started darting around as she panicked. She eventually leaned toward me and hugged me. "No!"

I laughed again before patting her back. "Just stay put. Everything's gonna work out eventually."

"I need to pee," Chloe said out of the blue.

That's sudden.

We managed to get to the washroom. I waited outside, carrying Chloe's stuff. I crossed my arms and waited for her to be done. There weren't too many people around, which I like. But on this particular day, it seems the lack of people did me a disservice.

Directly in my line of sight, something horrendous popped up, surrounded by other horrendous figures.

The moment we made eye contact, I knew it was inevitable.

An excited smile spread across my face. Candace, oh dear Candace, how do you do? Candace's face turned into shock before she smiled too, stomping in my direction. Just to be comedic, I turned around to check if anyone was behind me.

Candace. Seems like she skipped school today.

I could guess the reason she would give, but at this point who cares?

"You Bitch," Candace said, getting close to me.

I maintained my smile and gave her a little wave, greeting her, "What's up? Were you suspended too? After everything I've done for you?"

Behind her, her group closed in. let me see… they seem older, maybe one girl in University? There were two girls other than Candace, and two guys other than Candace. One of the older guys asked her, "Candy, who is this girl?"

"Some girl I made my bitch," Candace replied, scowling at me.

I put my hands up, asking her, "Sorry, you're acting like a dog here with all that scowling, so I'm not sure whether what you've been referring to me as is accurate."

Candace was momentarily confused.

"Yeah, sorry, should have simplified that," I apologised. "Stop barking."

She raised a hand. I glanced around, making Candace do the same. There were people looking. Not many, but still looking. She put her hand down and grabbed the collar of my shirt, pulling me closer. She scowled to my face, threatening me, "The next time I see you in school, you're not getting away with just a suspension."

"You…" I said, widening my eyes for exaggeration.

Candace smirked.

"Are adorable!"

I wrapped my arms around her waist and pulled her closer. Right there in public, I raised myself a little and kissed her directly on the lips.

It held for approximately two seconds before Candace pushed me away. I laughed as she wiped her lips. I told her, "I've been waiting to pull that joke for days!"

She raised her hands, and this time, she actually slapped me. I continued laughing even after she hit me. Candace was most definitely flustered, the hit didn't even hurt.

Oh no, her little group of hers is stepping up. Especially the guy who had just called Candace 'Candy'. I put my hand up, still laughing uncontrollably. For whatever reason, the guy actually stopped in his tracks.

"Hold on, I just have a quick question to ask you," I took a deep breath, calming down my laughter. "I'm guessing you guys already done the things, right? Do you call her 'Candy' because you like licking her? Honest question."

"Why would you do that?" Candace yelled.

"Do what? The smooching or the question?" I asked. "I'm gonna guess the smooching part. Aren't you just cute?"

I tapped my own lips and blew a kiss toward Candace, smiling widely. "I've been trying to send you signs since Monday, but you've been ignoring me so much. Just so you know, First time."

The guy stepped between us. He was rather slim, but no doubt he could beat me up if he wanted to. He glared at me as he said, "What's your problem with my girl?"

"Your girl?" I held back another laugh. "Who? 'Candy'? Sorry pal, but she's been targeting the hottest guy in our school for some time now. I've seen her with a bunch of other guys before."

He glanced back.

Candace yelled, "She's lying!"

"I've just never seen her dating a girl before, you know," I shrugged before winking at her. "Willing to give it a go?"

"Fuck off!" Candace pointed the middle finger at me.

Here~ comes~ the~ security~ guard~

I would rather not get hit by everyone from her group, you know. The security guard approached us, asking, "What seems to be the commotion here?"

"Sorry, I tried hitting on one of them," I told the security guard. "Then the person I was hitting on hit me."

Thoroughly confused, the security guard simply warned us, "Please break up this commotion. I ask that all of you leave the town fair and refrain from any further argument."

"They can stay, no problem," I offered. "I'm just waiting for someone. I'll be on my way."

The security guard lingered as Candace's group returned to touring the fair. Candace glared back at me, walking with the guy that had stood up for her. He also looked back, but his expression was slightly different. Concern! I can recognise that expression from anywhere! My oh my oh my, is someone a little worried about relationships?

Chloe stepped out soon after. She looked up at the security guard, asking me softly, "Are we in trouble?"

"No, we're just gonna leave now, okay?" I told her.

She lowered her head and nodded sadly. "Okay…"

She seems to be taking it well.

I faced the security guard and told him, "Aight, we're ready to go. Are you escorting us or something?"

"I'll be exciting you two out," He confirmed, glancing off in the direction of the group. "You never know what that group might do."

On our way out, the security guard asked a few questions. He started with, "What was the commotion about?"

"Nothing serious," I responded. "Guess we got a little excited."

"Next time, remember you are in a public space and that this sort of behaviour will not be tolerated."

"Got it."

He then glanced at Chloe, who was just looking around as we walked out. He then asked me, "What is your relationship with her?"

Small talk? Didn't think a security guard would ever be interested in such things.

"She's like my little sister," I told him.

I was holding Chloe's hand. I'm not dumb enough to let go and give her a chance to go missing. I continued, "It's a long story."

He just stopped pursuing the topic.

After we got out, I thanked the security guard and we were on our way.

Outside, Chloe was oddly quiet. I told her, "Why don't we go check out the fried chicken place down the street? It's pretty good."

"Sis, do people hate you?" Chloe asked me.

"How much of what happened just now did you see?"

I let go of her hand, patting her head before bringing her head closer to me. She replied, "When you do the kiss."

"Damn, you use the toilet fast," I laughed.

We continued walking, Chloe now holding my hand again. I tried explaining it to her, "Not everyone likes me, you know? Not everyone will like you too. But those people who like you are more important, okay?"

Chloe nodded. "But you're so nice."

"I know, right? Wonder why people don't love me."

We were almost at the fried chicken shop when Chloe looked up at me with concern, asking, "Sis, do you like girls?"

"I like everyone, what do you mean?"

"Like, girlfriend?"

I laughed again, waving that aside. I shook my head, telling her, "Nah, it's complicated."

Fried chicken time! Is fried chicken the staple food for obesity? I feel like if you ask people about it, at least a few of them would say fried chicken. Or pizza, which technically isn't originally unhealthy. Kinda like how salads aren't unhealthy as long as you don't flood them with every unhealthy option possible. Macdonalds.

Chloe stepped into the relatively quiet place. Nice, there's air-conditioning.

The restaurant had the smell of oil and batter, a great smell. Oily, makes me regret my decisions already. But let's take a moment to weigh the pros and cons of going to a fried chicken place with Chloe.

Pros. Chloe gets to eat something yummy, and she can cheer up after our disappointing exit from the town fair.

Cons. Calories.

"How many pieces you want?" I asked Chloe.

Chloe stared wide-eyed at the boards. She then put up two fingers. I faced the cashier, telling her, "Three pieces. Could we also get two biscuits and one medium fries? Oh, and one diet coke."

Order placed, time to wait.

Despite Chloe's insistence on sitting on one of those high chairs, I decided to go with a normal chair. She acted rather reserved, staring around the place before looking at me. I asked her, "Have you eaten fried chicken before?"

"No… I think," Chloe told me.

Really?

"Really?"

Did I really say that out loud?

Chloe nodded.

"What do you wanna do after this?" I asked her.

I kinda ran out of things to do. I had expected us to spend the entire day at the town fair, but there was a slight interruption to our plans.

"I'm tired…"

"Then let's go back after this, okay?" I suggested. "Then you can go to sleep."

"But I wanna have more fun…"

I gave her an assuring smile, or what I hoped was an assuring smile. "Next time. Tomorrow. I'll come by tomorrow and play with you again, okay?"

"Okay."

Food's here. You see, there is a profound reason as to why I only ordered three pieces of fried chicken. Under normal circumstances, Chloe would have two and I would only be left with one. However, I had used my advanced thinking techniques to predict…

Yeah, whatever.

Chloe only managed to eat one piece before becoming full, so I ate the other piece. We finished up and were on our way back to Kaster's.

"If you ever feel lonely, go talk to someone," I told Chloe.

"Mhmm."

She was getting really sleepy, but we managed to get to the bus stop. Time check, late afternoon. Did we really spend that much time walking around? No wonder Chloe's all worn out.

On the bus, Chloe straight up just fell asleep. After several attempts at getting her on my back, I succeeded in giving her a piggyback ride. I, for one, will say that I am not strong. My legs could barely get her to Kaster's from the bus stop.

Maybe I should call up Fable's girlfriend and ask for tips on going to the gym.

At the receptionist's table, I greeted the receptionist while out of breath. "Hello. I'm returning Chloe?"

I took a moment to catch my breath as someone else came to help me carry her to her room. I followed them, making sure Chloe was fine. When she was set down on her bed, I tucked her in, patted her head and left.

At the receptionist's table, I had to sign out.

"You're back earlier than expected," The receptionist commented.

"Chloe got tired, so we came back," I shrugged.

I signed the papers and left Kaster's, my body sore. Carrying a child is difficult. I can't imagine what it would be like after she grows up.

God, if Chloe grows up and becomes someone like Candace, I'll have to personally throw myself off a building in atonement for raising someone like that.

Surprise Candace's parents haven't already done that.

On my way home, I decided to check my phone for once. Turns out there's a text from Fable form about an hour ago. Isn't that a little surprising, little bro?

'You wanna meet up at the gym? Yin wants to meet you.'

Gym? Right, cause they're working out. Or they're working things out. Maybe one of them can say that things aren't working out. Get it? Cause gym?

'Sure, no prob. Where's the gym?'

He sent me directions to a gym not too far away from where we lived. I may already be tired, but it wouldn't hurt to try and talk to Fable's girlfriend. Don't worry, I won't kiss her. That's Fable's job.

Beep beep, bus.

At the gym, I stood near the entrance, just looking in and hoping I could see Fable and his girlfriend.

Soon after, they arrived at the gym. So let me get this straight, Fable sent me a text two hours before he would arrive without telling me he would arrive two hours after he sent the text. I'm not sure whether he was being an idiot or a genius by doing that. Instead of talking to him, I faced his girlfriend with a smile.

The moment our eyes met, a look passed over her face. I know that look.

"Hello, I'm Fable's sister," I introduced myself. "Just in case you're wondering, I'm older, so I'm just better than him."

"She's ---," Fable told his girlfriend before facing me. "She's my girlfriend, Yin."

"Have we met before…?" Yin asked me.

"Have we?" I tilted my head, trying to remember anything potentially useful.

"No, never mind," She shook her head. "Hi, I'm Yin, and I'm dating your brother right now."

She's pretty tall and pretty, too. Not taller than Fable, but still quite tall compared to me. I asked her, "Do you do sports?"

"Volleyball," She confirmed.

"Nice," I nodded. "You go to our school, right? What class are you from?"

"Second class," She told me.

"I'm from the Fourth, the same class as the other rejects," I joked. "You guys can be on your way, I'm not the type to hit the gym."

Yin gave me a worried glance. I laughed and told her, "I'm not trying to avoid you, seriously. When you came over that day, I wasn't feeling well. Also, I looked horrible, so I didn't want to show such an ugly side of me to a pretty girl like you."

"Why are you hitting on my girlfriend?" Fable asked.

"I'm not hitting on her," I insisted.

I then leaned closer to Yin, whispering, "Yoooo, what made you interested in this guy? He games all the time."

Yin had a troubled look momentarily before she laughed awkwardly. "He's a really nice guy."

This ain't good.

I shook her hand rather forcefully. I then waved them off. "Well, I gotta bounce. Got a bunch of stuff planned for today. See you next time!"

Yin waved back. "Till next time."

Off I go.

Stuff to do? Nah, I don't have anything else to do today. But I would say today was eventful. Took Chloe around the town fair and even did the joke I was saving up for days. Seriously, I was dying to pull that off! Unfortunately for me, not much of a crowd.

Whatever.

Back home, I just lazed around. My dad's working the night shift, so I'll be alone at home until my Mom or Fable comes home. I swear to god if Fable brings Yin home. To no one's surprise, Fable returned first.

"How did it go?" I asked him, sitting on the couch and chilling.

"My body hurts," He grumbled.

There was a moment of silence as Fable took off his shoes. I then asked him, "So, how did this relationship thing start?"

"I confessed, she accepted," He stated. "How else would it start?"

I'm no master at relationships, so I guess my opinion doesn't matter. I simply said to him, "If you ever become down bad, you can talk to your older sis, okay?"

"Why are you suddenly trying to be an older sister?" Fable complained. "Besides, we're basically the same age."

"Please, I'll always be older than you," I chided.

I let out a laugh as Fable went to his room. Maybe being around Chloe has messed up this image of mine. Was I trying to be a good older sister? Or is it only to help Chloe? Actually, I can't figure it out.

Whatever, I got two more days before the weekend. Next week, I gotta go back to school, and it'll be amazing! I'm gonna have so much fun!

"I'm back."

"Welcome back."

"What did you do today?"

"Went to the town fair. Made out with a girl."

"What?"

"By the way, have you met Fable's girlfriend? Ain't she pretty?"

"I suppose she is."

"So, Mom, what's for dinner?"