Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

In a city called Uranium in Northern Saskatchewan, an annual fair called Wonderville was being held again this year. However, it didn’t make sense that it was held in a barren wasteland of a town. It was a very small town; abandoned after the mine closed, it barely had anything left. There were rows of dull houses – some of which were abandoned once the mine closed – eerily empty malls with only a few stores still running, rusty playgrounds, and decimated buildings. 

Still, it was amazing how a functional traveling fair can get to be run in a small dysfunctional town. There was still some hope for the people – or for the children, at least – and more hope was brought to them once the fair owners hosted a Kiwanis International singing competition, which was also held in the fair. Without a doubt, it was the perfect opportunity for the most successful girl in town, Ocean O’Connell Rosenberg, to help herself and her peers (well, mostly herself) graduate smoothly in and out of this town.

“This is the perfect opportunity!” shouted Ocean joyfully, her eyes lighting up with anticipation. She crumpled the Wonderville infographic out of such uncontrollable excitement, to which Father Markus, the choir’s conductor, found quite compelling.

“I think the choir could give it another shot, well,  joining’ this competition. Maybe even grab first place this time,” said Father Markus, who was constantly stroking his mustache every time he spoke. “Though, I suppose not you turn this down, Miss Rosenberg. I know what type of young lady you are.” He smiled fondly, his old face wrinkling as he did.

Ocean stripped her eyes off from the infographic and quickly turned to Father Markus, running to him with a smile as wide as the whole ocean. “Well, it’s an honor!” Ocean replied, shaking Father Markus’s hand eagerly. “I mean, I know it’s not a big deal, but since it’s our senior year performance – meaning our very, very, last performance in Saint Cassian – I am willing to dedicate all my energy to grabbing that first place! And, well, and… to also dedicate that energy for the sake of the choir!” 

Father Markus laughed heavily until his lumpy face grew red, not taking Ocean’s arrogance seriously. Ocean stood there stiffly, not knowing what to do about her choir conductor, who seemed to be laughing his brains out.

“Hello, sir? Are– are you okay?” asked a perturbed Ocean, who felt like Father Markus was going to hit the ground in any second from all the laughing. He waved his hands, indicating he was okay. (Though in Ocean’s eyes, he didn’t seem like it.)

Nervously, she started laughing along with him. Their shared laughter slowly died, which lasted for a horrible minute.

“Miss Rosenberg,” Father Markus wheezed, panting heavily with his hands grappling on his knees for support. “I must admit, you are one interesting young woman,” 

Ocean, who was losing her breath after unconvincingly laughing so hard, felt her ears perk up. “What do you mean by that, sir?” she asked keenly, her eyes lighting up with curiosity.

Father Markus was crouching down, still wheezing. “Gee whiz– Uh, just for a second Miss Rosenberg. May you please get my inhaler? It’s a bright yellow one with a chain. I think it just fell out of my pocket a second ago.”

Ocean immediately  scanned the floor for a bright yellow inhaler. “Found it for you, sir!” Ocean picked up the inhaler just near Father Markus’ foot, and handed it to him with a satisfied smile.

Father Markus took it from her hand, and began to press the top of the inhaler down. Ocean awkwardly watched her choir conductor slowly breathe in from the inhaler, and gasped violently (that made Ocean jump) once he finished.

Why does he do this almost every time, Ocean thought. It always catches me off-guard!!

“Oh, thank the Lord for saving me,” said Father Markus, throwing his head back in relief. Ocean thinks how the Lord saved him when she was the one who gave him the inhaler.

“I should really hang this inhaler in my ID so it wouldn’t fly out of my pocket…” he muttered mostly to himself, gently holding his bright yellow inhaler, and took a second inhale.

Ocean still stood there baffled, still wondering what he meant by “interesting”. She stood there, deeply in thought. What made her interesting?

Was it her accomplishments? Yes, she knew about that, of course. One of them was being the choir captain for four years in a row, as if she and Father Markus hadn’t known that already. She had to get more specific.

Was it her ambitious nature? 

Ocean could laugh. She always took pride in herself, and she knew that. If she wanted something in life, it’d be the sake to win it . To win it before everyone else does, and she wouldn’t care stepping on the slower ones like stones – they’ll be guiding her to the finish line anyway.

Ocean was itching to know what was “interesting” about her to Father Markus, even though she knew all the possible answers. She didn’t have to hear it.

Though, the thought of her achievements smoothly rolling down someone’s tongue made Ocean’s heart thump loudly – maybe it’s the sense of purpose that she feels. It’s usually like that with teachers, too. The thought of it made her super jumpy; she really didn’t want to be idle for much longer. 

Father Markus then finished his second inhale, and retrieved his inhaler back to his pocket. He sighed heavily, testing to see if he can breathe properly now. 

“Are you okay now, sir?” Ocean asked concerningly. 

“Yes yes, Miss Rosenberg. Now, uh, where was I?” Father Markus tapped his chin, trying to remember where he left off.

Ocean hesitated for a while. “How I was an ‘interesting’ one?” she said, “What exactly do you mean by that?” Ocean was dying to know.

 “Ah yes!” exclaimed Father Markus. “Well, there was a student just like you. I don’t exactly remember her name; she was a quiet one, but was very resilient and determined. After all the interesting things she said to me, her being an ‘aspiring wildlife conservationist’ was one of them. I never knew a student like her would do such things at such a young age!” said Father Markus, his eyes lighting up.

“She must’ve been an exceptional girl...” Ocean replied, trying not to sound impressed. A conservationist? At seventeen? The girl was reaching for things Ocean wanted to get, though faster and better than her. Ocean felt a bit jealous, mentally scowling at the thought of getting beat by someone she doesn’t even know.

“I do remember she had a little brother, at this height,” Father Markus continued, and moved his hand to his waist, “he was this short. Very short for a thirteen year-old boy if you ask me,” 

Ocean doesn’t understand why he’s telling her this. She didn’t seem too interested in hearing another girl’s story and her dwarf little brother. “He’s a short one alright,” she chuckled half-heartedly, trying to engage in the conversation.

“Yes!” Father Markus laughed in reply. “Her brother had very curly hair and big square-shaped glasses that didn’t fit his head, but he was extremely smart. As for the girl, she mostly had her hair in braids, and was very tall,” Father Markus then reached his hand just slightly above Ocean’s head. “Taller than me!” He laughed like it was a new discovery.

The smaller girl felt a bit threatened. Is that girl a freaking titan or something?, she thought. 

Father Markus sighed. “Until now, I still don’t know the girl’s name. How unfortunate of me..”

Ocean tilted her head to the side in confusion. “How come you don’t know her name?” asked Ocean. “Well not to be rude sir, but it’s a basic thing to ask and know about someone…”

“Well you do make a point,” Father Markus lightly chuckled, “But it’s a long story. And I don’t want to waste your time with my dilly-dallying, so–” Father Markus slipped out a sheet music from the table titled, ‘ Uranium Suite ’ and handed it over to Ocean.

“Here’s the score of the song you’ll be performing. In thirty minutes, I want you and your members to go over the sheet music together – you can add some of their personal touches if you want, it’ll make the recital even more fun,” Father Markus smiled at the girl who was still studying the music.

“Don’t worry, I promise you sir, all of my members are fast learners. We can master everything needed for the performance in no time!” said Ocean, looking up from the score.

Father Markus heavily sighed out of relief, but still quite hesitant. “Well, if that’s the case, I’ll be off now. Just don’t forget to check me in on any updates of the performance. Best of luck, Miss Rosenberg!”

Ocean silently waited for the rest of the choir to barge in, comfortably sitting on her chair reading the sheet music.

She began rhythmically tapping on her table, all the while simultaneously humming to the lyrics as she continued to read. 

Uranium!

Uranium!

That’s our town, our friendly town!

While Ocean was humming to her respective parts, she suddenly remembered this mysterious girl. She seemed such a big deal to Father Markus, and Ocean had been more curious than ever. 

She never heard of a student who was an animal conservationist in town — if she did, she would’ve known. But even with how small the town was, Ocean with the perfect memory (she said so herself) couldn’t recall any murmurs of students or townspeople that mention a wildlife expert in Saint Cassians. Ocean also finds it weird how only Father Markus knew about her whole upbringing, but never her name. How could he possibly forget?

Ocean mindlessly picked up the pace on her tapping, ignoring how she was getting offbeat. She felt like she was going nowhere with all this questioning.

–Uranium! 

That's our town, our friendly town!

Oh no no,

We will never leave this town at all...

Maybe she was overthinking it. Maybe–

BAM! The door swung open. 

“Wha–” Ocean’s eyes shot up, interrupted from her train of thought that was unfortunately leading to nowhere.

Ocean saw Mischa Bachinski enter the room without closing the door, walking to his seat carelessly with his eyes on his phone screen. He didn’t even bother to greet the choir captain.

Ocean stood up from her chair, her hands slammed on the table. “Mischa, how many times did I tell you to stop destroying the door? You’re going to have to pay for the expenses when that’s going to get repaired!” said Ocean crossly. 

Both of them looked at the poor wooden door – the white paint was already chipped off, and there were cuts and marks all over it from being worn out. 

Mischa only made it worse by banging it open constantly. He didn’t really care much for it, and Ocean was clearly irritated by this. Mischa looked up from his screen just to see her face, and he swore her cheeks were almost turning red as her hair.

Mischa scoffed, and turned back to his phone. “Well it’s about time they repair that goddamn thing. Always creaking every time someone enters, and I hate the creaking sound with a passion.” he growled, really emphasizing on the ‘hate’ part.

“But– you didn’t have to do that–” stifled Ocean, resisting the urge to make another lecture. “I can’t believe this..” she muttered to herself, crossing her arms as she sat back down.

While Mischa was on his phone texting his so-called “girlfriend”, Ocean sat on her seat, sulking about Mischa’s behavior. She didn’t understand why Mischa was fairly good at his subjects, but when it came to talking to people, it’d be a whole different story. 

Ocean had already seen this man get into fights outside school, and she would (thankfully) break it up. If people knew Mischa attended choir, a choir that attends church masses and ceremonies , the Saint Cassian chamber choir’s reputation would crumble because of him getting into reckless fights. 

Now the door looks like it’s been beaten up. The more Ocean looked at it, the more she couldn’t get over it – already seething. 

“Woah, what happened to the door?” said Constance, who just entered the practice room. She turned to look at Mischa, who didn’t care to greet anyone ( ‘anyone’ , being Ocean) that came in, actually greeted her, “Hey, Connie.”

“Mischa.” Constance said, “Ocean already told you multiple times that it’s bad to slam the door open… Now it looks like it’s beaten up!” she scolded, pointing at the door disappointedly.

“It was an accident this time, I swear,” said Mischa, and Constance didn’t find it convincing with his tone. Still, she let it off the hook and sighed, walking to the seat right beside Ocean, who had her head resting on the table.

Constance lowered her head to meet Ocean eye-to-eye. “Hey Ocean,”

“Hi Connie…” Ocean said dejectedly.

“Hey what’s up? You sound and look upset,” she said, sitting beside her. “What’s wrong? Is it because of the almost crumbling looking door over there that Mischa unintentionally broke?”

Ocean looked up and turned to Constance. “No– well, yes, maybe that,” said Ocean, “Also that was completely intentional. I don’t know why he was lying!” 

Constance swore she heard Ocean whisper ‘that son of a jerk’ and glared at Mischa. Constance wished she could be more comfortable to swear, but Ocean couldn’t physically bring herself to curse despite the circumstances. 

“Yes, I know that. I was joking,” replied Constance. “So? What were you upset about? You can tell me anything, y’know.” she said, leaning forward from her seat to the ginger girl, who was staring blankly at the corner of the wall.

“Well, me and Father Markus had a conversation earlier. It was such a trip talking to him,” she said. Constance nodded along, and Ocean continued, with her head still on the side. “He was talking about this girl, who I assume is in our grade, who does exceptional things. Guess what that exceptional thing was,”

“Weed smoker?” giggled Constance. Ocean looked up at her eye-to-eye with a deadpan look. “…sorry, I thought it was kinda funny. Er, so what was it?”

Ocean sighed. “Anyway, it was a wildlife conservationist. The ones that protect wildlife, those kinds of stuff.”

Constance raised her eyebrows in surprise. “That’s actually pretty cool! So she gets to take care of  actual giraffes and elephants?”

“I guess,” said Ocean, unimpressed. “But I’ve never heard of a girl in our grade who does work like that outside Uranium. Never! Have you heard of a student here who works as one?”

“Let me think,” Constance said, brushing Ocean’s hair with her fingers as she was deep in thought. 

Ocean grew impatient, and asked, “Well?”

Constance shook her head. “Not that I’ve heard of. She must be really good at being low key,”

“Ugh,” groaned Ocean, “we literally only have a few students at this school and you don’t know?”

Constance stopped brushing Ocean’s hair, slightly tugging at it out of disappointment. “Hey, it’s not my fault! You ask Mischa, maybe he knows about this ‘girl’ you’re talking about,” she yelled. Mischa finally perked up from the mention of his name, and saw both girls turned against each other.

Ocean lifted her head from the table and sat straight to look at Constance, whose eyebrows wrinkled out of irritation. Ocean inhaled deeply, trying to collect minuscules of her patience left and exhaled. “Okay fine,” she sighed heavily. “You know what? Let’s just discuss the performance when all the members are here—“

“Hey sorry, we’re late,” said Noel, exhausted. He was gripping the door frame with one hand, the other one grappling at his knee. Ricky came from behind him, shooting everyone a radiating smile. “We came from the same class, and Mr. Fitzgerald dismissed us late. Sorry.” Ricky signed to Ocean, who sighed.

“To be fair, Mr. Fitz always dismisses us late, so I’ll let you guys off the hook,” Ocean excused them quickly — already itching to discuss the performance before they went home for dismissal.

Ricky grinned, and walked inside the practice room looking fairly composed, followed by a sweaty and haggard Noel, who looked like he ran a marathon around the town. 

“Running isn’t your best suit huh, Noel?” Ricky smiled playfully, walking up to his seat beside Constance with a smug look. Noel sat a seat away from Ricky, just beside Mischa. “Excuse you, I have a glandular problem,” he quickly replied, then stopped at his seat. 

He suddenly regretted saying that in front of his choir members, who turned to him with concerned looks on their faces. “ Fucking damn it Ricky. I hate you.” Noel muttered, slamming his head on the table out of embarrassment.

Ricky felt too proud of himself and signed to Mischa, “Nailed it.” Both of them exchanged giggles, and Noel clearly didn’t have any of their bullshit.

“Okay everyone,” Ocean clapped, immediately gathering everyone’s attention. “So we will be competing again at this year’s fall fair!”

“Sweet Jesus, are you for real.” Noel said with his head still rested on the table, not making an effort to even turn to look at Ocean.

“Wait- weren’t we the only choir in competition last time?” signed Ricky, confused.

“This is why everyone in this school thinks we’re sore losers for attending that competition.” Mischa huffed, furrowing his eyebrows.

“Hey it wouldn’t be that bad!” reassured Ocean, knowing that last time they lost to a classmate of theirs playing a lousy rendition of ‘Take Me Home, Country Road’. 

Ocean was so bitter about their loss, that she came home sobbing. She didn’t understand why her classmate won, when her and Father Markus came up with their song originally! “Come on guys, at least give it one chance? It’s also the last year we’ll be performing as a choir… It’ll just be one recital!”

Constance sighs, crossing her arms. “Ocean’s right. Who knows, maybe it’s not the same student from last year,”

“To be fair, whoever that is, sucked in the first place. Why did it have to be a country song?” said Noel, who finally raised his head from the table. Ocean nodded her head so quickly that she almost hit the table. Seems like the bitterness still hasn’t left her.

“Hey, that ‘country song’ is a timeless classic,” Ricky pouted. “John Denver was an awesome composer for the seventies. The adjudicators had taste, I tell you. T-t-taste.”

Noel grimaced at him. “Sorry Rick. Country music.. blegh .” he said, imitating a face of someone vomiting.

Ricky just shrugged in reply. To be fair, the adjudicators chosen for the competition last year were old people, so guaranteed the student won first place.

“Putting country music aside, does anyone have any idea on what to actually add to our performance?” asked Constance. 

“Well, we can still make it better than the last ,” said Mischa, who’s surprisingly contributing to the conversation. It surprised Ocean that she let out a tiny gasp.

“Okay then; How, Mischa?” Ocean crossed her arms, sounding a bit too condescending. Though, she’s actively listening. It’s their only chance to perform and Ocean is gathering ideas to make their recital work.

“I think what Mischa meant by ‘better’ in his words is adding beatboxing halfway into the song again like last time–” said Ricky.

“ -- Absolutely not!” shouted Ocean immediately. Once she heard the word ‘beatbox’, it was already enough. Ricky was already snickering at her reaction.

“Did you just read my fucking mind?” Mischa said, looking at Noel with a proud smile on his face. He couldn’t care less seeing Ocean in the corner of his eye mouth the word ‘language!’ with such an aggressive look on her face.

“If it makes you feel better, I think it’s a good suggestion,” Noel shrugged, actually sounding serious about it. Ocean then turned (utterly distraught) to both Noel and Mischa, exchanging such fond expressions. She thought Noel had class, what the hell happened?

Mischa looked kind of pleased with himself that two of his members agreed to his suggestion. “Okay, I stand with what I said.”

Ocean rubbed her temples out of frustration, for some reason she wished she could storm off the room right now so she couldn’t stress the song enough. Ocean stood up from her chair, and slammed both of her palms on the table. “First of all, we’re not going to add beatboxing, it’s lame , two: be serious! You never know, it’s probably the same old people as the adjudicators!”

Constance frantically nodded along with her, but everyone else looked like Ocean’s words had no relevance and began to focus on themselves. Noel was picking at his nail polish, Mischa was on his phone again, and Ricky was mindlessly whistling to ‘Take Me Home, Country Roads’ . 

I swear, you all are going to be the end of me. Ocean thought.

The door suddenly creaks open, and Father Markus comes in with orange juice in a plastic cup. “Hey kiddos, ready to practice? Thirty minutes is up, and I’m wondering if all of you have decided on some touches to add to the piece?”

“Oh– yes, uh, we did gather some ideas!” said Ocean in a whim, though in truth they didn’t really gather enough ideas, leaving Mischa’s ‘beatboxing’ suggestion as the only one on the list. “Mischa did suggest that we… uh.. Um–”

Ocean was too tongue-tied to even say or speak about it. She stood there and felt her palms sweat at the look on Father Markus's face.

Father Markus took a sip of his orange juice and shot Ocean a confused look. “Miss Rosenberg? What is it?”

“We should beatbox.” Mischa said with so much confidence in himself. “It’s just a solo I’d like to have midway the song,” Ocean felt her face turn white when Mischa just said it right off the bat. She wanted to bang her head on the wall. 

Father Markus raised an eyebrow. “B-beatbox? Jinkies, that’s… Unique!” he said, baffled to even speak. Ocean just stood there, frantically looking around for the nearest window to jump out of. She knows she wouldn’t be able to sleep well at night knowing Mischa is going to be beatboxing in their final recital on Monday.

Ocean began repeating words in her mind as she squeezed her eyes shut, Please say no, please say no, please say no– 

Father Markus cleared his throat and began to speak, “Well, we could make it work… Is– is this what the choir agreed on? Beat-boxing as the final?”

Everyone (besides Mischa) exchanged hesitant looks, but they knew they had no choice and nodded in reply. Ocean, who despised the idea, thought it was time he made up for his absences in practice. She was still conflicted though, and with enough convincing herself that he should at least responsible for one part, she slowly nodded along with them. 

“Okay, then ‘tis settled,” Father Markus concludes. “Get back to your seats children!”

Chapter Text

It’s now Monday, 3:00 PM, and it’s the last and final day of the choir’s rehearsals of their recital for the fall fair. 

Everything in the performance was meticulously and carefully sorted out by Ocean, who was stressing everyone – and herself– out the whole time they had practice. She deemed that everything should be ‘perfect’ in their performance, and told them to keep calm, and do what was rehearsed. 

She even mentioned motivational quotes for good measure  – though in return, it gave everyone a headache. Surprisingly, Constance was advised by Noel to calm her down after their rehearsal because he noticed Ocean was quote-on-quote, “shaking in her boots”, and was extremely caught up about keeping everything in place. 

Mischa, who is a heavy sleeper, was already leaned back on his chair with his cap on his face, lightly snoring. Ricky’s hand was limp from shaking the tambourine with little to no breaks. Constance sighed, and went up to her best friend, who looked like she was ready to implode. If they kept rehearsing, they’ll leave no room for energy once they get to the fair.

With gentle pats on her back and some words of encouragement from her best friend, Ocean calmed down a little. She managed to exhale a breath she didn’t know she was holding. She thanked Constance, and finally, Father Markus told them that the van is waiting outside, and everyone else followed out of the practice room. Noel and Constance had to shake Mischa at least thrice to completely wake him up.

-

All of them were now in the van, the air thick of anticipation and uneasiness. 

Ocean felt like her insides were churning from living off of energy drinks, though she quietly remained in her seat. She supposed if she kept talking too much, the amount of gatorade she drank this morning will catch up to her. Still, she couldn’t shake off the mixed feelings in her chest – whether it out of was nervousness or excitement – it was loudly thumping to the point of exploding out of her chest.

This’ll be the very last performance of the year, she thought. I’m actually really excited. Ocean smiles to herself, tapping her feet on the ground out of anticipation.

Fortunately, Constance was right beside her, and was actually pretty calm the whole ride. Ocean was thankful she wasn't sat next to Noel – Thank the lord she begged Father Markus to have Constance beside her right now.

Nevertheless, Constance was busy watching the greyish and foggy skies of Uranium city, clearly mesmerized by such an awful sight. There were rows of crows on wires and on the side of the street, ominously watching the van pass by as they were eating earthworms and different kinds of waste – in which Ocean didn’t want to think about. 

Abandoned buildings had vulgar graffiti spray-painted in every single corner, strictly leaving no room. All of them looked like horrific art pieces, made by immature high schoolers and possibly children who have nothing better to do. 

“Death – is the destiny of everyone.”

“The dead know nothing.”

“Fuck you!”

The last graffiti made Ocean grimace, but the first two made her look away. In contrast to such dark quotes, the last one was incredibly unserious. 

Somehow, the grafitti made Ocean feel ill. Especially the first two she just read. Her stomach felt like it was moving in all different directions, and she didn’t know why she was getting nervous over vandalized works from possibly troubled teenagers. Ocean’s head fell and stared blankly at the ground, suddenly hearing her own breathing growing louder. Louder. And louder–

“You kids feeling alright?” Father Markus asked, looking at the choir in the rearview mirror. “We’ll be there in less than twenty minutes.”

Ocean shook her head and snapped out of it. Why was she getting worked up? 

The graffiti meant absolutely nothing. 

It was probably to monger fear over the townspeople. Maybe the kids who vandalized these abandoned buildings wanted to make themselves feel cool… 

Yeah, Ocean was sure of it. She quickly shook off the anxiety the graffiti was giving her, and focused on their recital.

“Everything’s fine!” Ocean replied, almost half-heartedly.

Ricky was in the front seat holding up a thumbs-up and went back to playing Mario Kart on his nintendo switch. Constance beamed and held up two thumbs-up. Noel just smiled politely, and Mischa sat up half-asleep, mumbled an ‘mhm’, and let his head carelessly fall on Noel’s shoulder. 

Ocean could see Noel’s ears turn pink at the gesture, and she made a wry face. It’s not like she was homophobic , it’s the fact that Mischa snores, and Ocean thinks it’s extremely gross. She couldn’t (and refused to) see what Noel saw in him.

As the choir members sit in anticipating silence, they finally reach Wonderville. 

Everyone else gathered to look outside the windows, there were repeated of ‘woah‘s’ and ‘oh‘s’ were all the choir members had to say as they got near the parking lot.

Ocean takes a peek of the fair, trying to catch every angle of the whole fairground. She was practically squeezing her face, her cheek pressed against the window like a child, excitedly awaiting for what the fair’s got to offer. 

It was nice to experience at least some childlike innocence, despite that Ocean thinks that she’s going to get slammed by ‘reality’s problems’ by the time she turns eighteen.

At least, that’s what she thinks.

After senior high, she’d be applying for a college, get a job, and strive to become the first democratically elected prime minister of Canada. She knew she will have no time to enjoy things – let alone attend a fair.

Her parents thought it was ridiculous to think too far ahead at such a young age. “Live a little”, they said– but Ocean said otherwise. She refused to listen to her parents that laid on their living room’s couch the whole time, always smoking from their bong that they always left around the house. 

The van came to a stop, and Father Markus headed outside of the van to help Ricky. Ricky followed, his crutches smacked the pavement as he carefully slipped out of his seat to his mobility aids. Everyone else followed as well, fixing and smoothing out their uniforms as the whole fairground catch their eyes completely. 

“Can’t believe we’ll be performing again!” Constance squealed, she felt goosebumps rise all over her body as she saw the huge Cyclone roller coaster from afar. 

Mischa grabbed his phone out, and took a picture of the roller coaster. “Dude this is awesome! I’m sending this to Talia,” he smirked. 

“The ferris wheel is so huge,” said Noel in awe, his eyes widely mesmerized as he takes in the sight of how high up the ferris wheel is. 

Ricky tapped Father Markus and signed, “ Wow, back again. ” and grinned at him. Father Markus chuckled, nodded, and signed back with the words along a “ good luck ” and “ have fun ”.

Ocean took in the sights of the whole fair and felt her heart thumping out of excitement. Maybe chugging down energy drinks early in the morning wasn’t such a good idea in the first place, when she could come around from just seeing the fair itself. She couldn’t wait for the recital.

“Alright!” Father Markus shouted, grabbing all of the choir’s attention immediately. “As I can see in my watch it is… approximately 3:23 PM. All of you kids only have an hour and thirty minutes. That’s plenty of time to enjoy all of the fair before recital starts. Any questions?”

Everyone else shook their head, and Father Markus finally let them off the hook, quietly following the choir inside the fair. 

Ocean could already smell of various carnival snacks glistening in the air – the sweet caramel smell of cotton candy, barbecue ribs and chicken being grilled, the sizzling of corn, flavored crushed ice cones, and a whole lot more. 

Though admittedly, the strong smell of car exhaust and the mixed stench from other fairgoers made Ocean scowl – it was almost impossible for her to get through inside. The crappy carnival booming in her ears and the exhilarating screams coming from all different corners of the fair made it worse. She felt like she was getting drugged. 

As she continued to stroll around, she saw all of her members going their own ways. 

She could already see Mischa in the shooting gallery; carefully fiddling with the trigger before several loud bangs echoed from the rifle. 

“ Hell yeah!” Mischa shouted, already jumping up and down cheerfully. The carnie gave him a ridiculously huge duck plushie as a reward, and Mischa grabbed it with no hesitation.

That’s for his ‘girlfriend’ I bet, Ocean thought, rolling her eyes.

Ocean looked around to the left, where all of the fair rides resided. She spotted Noel in the ferris wheel, gazing at the sky alone as his cart was ascending above. For some reason, he looked slightly dramatic, but Ocean thought it was just how he normally acted. He was going to come down from the ride anyway, and he’ll probably go for another.

While Ocean was looking for Ricky, she realized that couldn’t seem to find Constance anywhere. She could already see Mischa walking past her to visit Noel from the ferris wheel, and Father Markus was just by the food stalls, buying a snack. 

Ocean started looking for her, bumping a few people as she worriedly turned her head in different directions.

“…Where the heck is she?” She muttered, still not caring that she’s already bumping into children as she started picking up the pace. Ocean could already hear them wail from the distance. Luckily, she was already several meters away.

Ocean could feel the heat get to her from pacing around the fair, meticulously checking every line of each ride to find her best-friend. She went to look at the Gravitron, where she saw Ricky excitingly entering the flashy UFO, but unfortunately not Constance. She grunts, making her way to the pendulum ride as fast as she could.

Not here.

The carousel?

…Not here,

The drop tower?

Ugh, still not here!

There were other rides she badly wanted to check, but Ocean skipped all of them – passing by them quickly as she grew impatient every minute. She tried shouting Constance’s name, but it was completely useless. The music was probably too god damn loud for Constance to hear. Ocean couldn’t even hear her own voice.

Every single line was jampacked with sweaty fairgoers that probably were waiting there for an hour, and Ocean was growing tired from frantically jumping up and down to see nothing but just random people. 

She finally stopped by the Cyclone rollercoaster, breathing heavily from all the running and jumping. Ocean was getting irritated – she wished she brought a flip phone with her so that her friend was a call away, but she was instructed that her belongings should be left in the van. And she couldn’t sneak in her phone or anything scheming, she knew she was too humble for that.

Ocean then looked up to the ride – and it was overwhelmingly huge, it even covered the sun (well from a certain angle, it did). Now tired of running, she walked over the side to see the line, waving her hands around in hopes that hopefully Constance gets to catch her.

“Ocean?” A voice called out, and Ocean quickly walked towards the line, completely sure that Constance was there.

“Connie?! Where are you? Is that you?!” she shouted, looking around the packed line. Luckily the people didn’t care about Ocean’s shouting, and was extremely focused on just getting on the ride. 

Suddenly, a hand tapped on her shoulder, and Ocean quickly turned around. 

It was Constance. 

“Oh my gosh Connie, I was looking for you!” Ocean was shaking Constance by the shoulders, her face painted with incredible worry. Constance was really confused, but she decided to just let herself get shook by Ocean. “I was so worried! Where the heck were you?” 

“I just came from the Frisbee ride, it’s just right over there,” Constance pointed at the ride, which Ocean impatiently skipped. Turns out was just a ride away from the rollercoaster they’re now standing infront of. The girl infront of her blinked two times, a worried face turning one into disappointment. Ocean couldn’t believe she passed by it a minute ago, and could feel herself heave an annoyed sigh.

“Okay, anyway…” Ocean slid her hands off Constance’s shoulders. “Why didn’t you go with me when we entered the fair?! I was planning for the both of us to go to the bumper cars together. You know it’s my favorite ride!” Ocean scowled.

“...Are– are you mad?” asked Constance, tilting her head to the side in visible confusion.

Ocean gasps, almost sounding offended. “W-what are you saying? I’m never mad at you! I was just… worried, you know that! You just completely vanished from my sight, and well, it’s right for me to look for you because we’re best friends,” she said, grasping both of Constance’s hands with a nervous smile.

Constance’s brows furrowed, lowering her head blankly. “I guess you’re right,” she said, looking back at her friend with a half-hearted smile. “I’m sorry I just ran off without you like that, I should’ve reached out to you first.”

“It’s okay, Connie. I forgive you!” Ocean said, her nervous smile turning into a genuine one. “Now quick, let’s go to the bumper cars!”

She then held Constance by the hand, quickly making their way around the fair to look for Ocean’s favorite ride. As they walked around, Constance was barely hanging on to her, tripping over her own shoes and other fairgoers as Ocean steadily scurried to find the cars – who wasn’t noticing her friend was already losing pace.

Ocean suddenly swerved to the side, making Constance bump onto another fairgoer by accident. “I’m so sorry!” she quickly apologized at the person, who was clearly bothered. “Ocean, can you slow down for a sec? I’m bumping into people here!”

Constance felt like her words just fell on deaf ears. Ocean was too focused getting to the ride as fast as possible, without hitting fairgoers as much as possible. All the while her best-friend was taking it for the team, lagging behind and hitting some people by accident.

Already nearing the bumper cars, Ocean suddenly snaps back to reality as she sees a familiar figure stand out in the sea of people.

Constance was behind Ocean, breathing heavily from catching up to her friend, who was suddenly stood in a stunned gaze at the middle of the fair.

“Ocean? Are you okay?” asked Constance worriedly, her eyebrows drawn together.

Ocean felt her heart skip a beat.

“... She looks just like what Father Markus described,” muttered Ocean, swallowing thickly at her discovery.

It was a girl who happened to be in a Saint Cassian uniform, though the undershirt appeared to be different than the normal short-sleeved ones Ocean and Constance wore – it was fully patterned with lace.

What struck Ocean the most was her hair. It was braided in two, draped over her shoulders slightly undone to appear messier. Though, her hair completely covered her face, leaving no room for noticeable features; ears, nose, eyes, and whatnot.

She was the girl Father Markus mentioned just four days ago. 

Chapter Text

“She was the girl Father Markus mentioned just four days ago,” said Ocean shakily under her breath. 

She could see the carnie handing out several darts to the unnamed girl, who was holding out her hand. Seconds later, she raised her hand, aiming at the air to throw a dart on the dartboard.

“Aw! Now that’s what I call a nice throw!” The carnie shouted from the distance. Ocean took a few steps forward, and she could see her ready to throw a second dart with so much determination.

Determination, there’s no other reason she’s not what Father Markus was talking about.

Constance walked up to her, her tone evident with concern. “What are you talking about?” she said, her eyebrows drawn together in worry. “Ocean, I’m worried. You’ve been acting weird,”

Ocean continued to stare at the girl in the Saint Cassian uniform, happily playing the game as the carnie kept encouraging her from the distance. 

What the hell was the girl doing here? 

Ocean was sure that her and the choir were the only students attending the fair on its first day. She’s extremely sure that they were the only ones wearing their uniforms. It was completely odd and strange how the girl was the only one wearing her uniform outside school, and with no reason at all. 

Ocean tried to make sense of it, but the more she stared at the girl, the more she was drawn in. Everyone else around her went fuzzy, hearing nothing but blabber and nonsensical conversations. The carnival music never felt quieter, and Ocean could feel nothing but her own breathing. The whole fair ground seemed to slow down as she watched the girl intently and her surroundings, feeling herself slowly walking towards the mystery of a girl.

As the girl threw her third dart, Ocean felt like there was something missing. Something that girl has. It felt familiar to the tongue, but she just couldn’t pinpoint what exactly what it was. The more she thought about it, the more she was growing farther from recovering that memory… What was missing? She swore someone told her about it, about this girl , but she couldn’t seem to catch it. 

Ocean shook her head. She wanted to confront her as soon as possible.

Unfortunately in such a cramped space, Ocean had a difficult time breezing right through people. There were countless of fairgoers walking to the opposite direction, and Ocean was in the rush of meeting this so-called ‘animal conservationist’ eye-to-eye. She didn’t want these people holding her back, even at the cost of pushing and sustaining the weight of the crowd against such a small body.

Ocean still kept getting pushed by people, but she could thankfully see the girl clearer than before, who was aiming her fourth dart in the air.

A kid accidentally bumps into Ocean’s arm, and she quickly turns to whoever the perpetrator was. “Hey! Watch where you’re going–”

“No, you watch where you’re going,” the kid scowled between bites, “asshat lady!” The kid snarled at her with chocolate-stained teeth. Ocean’s mouth gaped open, momentarily stunned at how insane this bratty of a child’s vulgar vocabulary.

Ocean turns to the kid with a big, wide smile plastered around her face. She eyed the kid holding in his grubby and filthy hands a big inflatable Spiderman balloon that the kid tugged along with him. 

Ocean looks up and she sees his mother, holding the kid’s tiny hand. The random woman turns back to see her kid blowing raspberries at the ginger girl, who was kindly whispering to what happens to disobedient and rude kids like him go off to.

“Excuse me, what are you doing?” The mother asked sharply.

When Ocean looked up to her, the mother looked extremely young. She looked about her age!

Ocean was left wide-eyed, wondering how someone as young as her could already conceive a child . A child who seemed just as bratty as the other kids Ocean seen in the fair. Her face barely had any wrinkles, with just a few visible pimples scattered around her forehead. Surprisingly, the mother looked young enough to be the kid’s older sister. 

Though the way she looked at Ocean, it seemed like her wrinkles started to appear as she furrowed her thick eyebrows at her, clenching her teeth. “Better explain yourself or I’ll drag you outside with me,”

Ocean nervously laughs at the woman’s arrogance, not knowing what to do. From the corner of her eye, she could see the girl throw her fifth dart. Possibly her last one too. Ocean had to act fast.

“Miss, your kid here just called me a derogatory insult. I just had to politely educate your little one right here,” said Ocean as she playfully pinched at the kid’s cheek, smiling back to the woman, “that calling his elders ‘asshat’ isn’t exactly nice…” 

I hope this works, Ocean thought to herself, displaying her beaming and definitely genuine smile .

After some moments, the mother seemed convinced. The kid gasped, looking incredibly troubled as he looked to Ocean and his mother. “Oh. Well if that’s the case…” the mother nodded, and quickly turned to her kid crossly. “You!”

Ocean snorted, watching the kid get his ear pinched, as his mother – or sister? – scolded him. 

“Now may you please excuse me…” Ocean walked off the scene and quickly headed to the dart board game the girl is in. 

Young enough to be the kid’s older sister, Ocean thought again, still walking towards. She does look pretty young…

Ocean stopped. She had to confirm. Was that really that kid’s sister or a young teenage mom? 

Older sister, she turned to the woman, who was profusely apologizing to Ocean. She then turned to the kid, who was already being painfully dragged by the ear. 

Little brother.

“I’m so sorry– he’s my little brother!” the mother – now the kid’s older sister, shouted in the distance.

Ocean then slowly turned back to the unnamed girl, who already threw her last dart.

No wonder why something felt missing. It wasn’t some thing , it was some one . That girl has a brother.

“And that’s a win !” The carnie whooped with laughter, already cheering and breaking into song.

In just a second, everyone and everything in Ocean’s surroundings reverted back to normal. The booming carnival music was back to taunt at her ears, the thrilling divergent screams, the overlapping conversations, and the back and forth melodies from the nearby carousel. She grimaces at the sudden whiplash she just felt, her head throbbing like crazy as she was just sucked back in reality.

Now, that was what was missing. How could Ocean forget? Father Markus already told her – he even mentioned he had very curly hair with big squared-shaped glasses. 

But Ocean couldn’t see any kid by that description. 

There are numerous of kids walking around everywhere with either parents or older siblings. Ocean couldn’t understand why this girl didn’t bring her brother to a fun fair carnival – where there are an abundant of amusements literally fit for a kid’s enjoyment. There were no events either. Why did she go by herself? Was it just for her own enjoyment?

Ocean shook her head, and thought it was no time to waste it on never-ending questions. The girl was about to leave!

As soon as she saw the carnie handing out a creepily looking doll, Ocean began to run as fast as she could. “That stupid, bratty kid!” she hissed, breathing heavily in-between words. 

She then sees the girl talking to the carnie, her face still turned. They were laughing over something, though Ocean could only hear the carnie’s raucous laugh, his voice drowning the girl’s. Now, Ocean couldn’t hear the girl’s voice at all. Really swell.

No matter what, that mysterious girl will not be leaving Ocean’s sight. One look away and she’d be gone in a heartbeat.

Ocean now hears their shared laughter die down – and she knew it’s time to rush things over. She kept pushing and shoving fairgoers by the elbow, desperately trying to swim through the sea of people, though they were constantly pushing Ocean back like strong waves. Ocean bit her lip, trying to keep that girl in her vision by all costs even with giants on her way. Running would be much easier if most of the fairgoers – most who aren’t from this town – went back to their own. Find another fair in their own town.

“Ocean!”

Ocean suddenly hears a distant voice calling out her name. She tries to ignore it, already nearing the booth. She didn’t want to strip her eyes off from the brunette.

“Ocean!”

The distant voice calls out again, but louder than it was before. Ocean could hear the dried grass shifting quickly behind her as she kept running. She didn’t know if they were fairgoers or kids playing around, but she would hate to look back. It’s up to her imagination to whoever is running that fast.

Ocean finally reached the booth. The small dartboards were hanging off the ceiling, and various prizes rested on shelves – plushies, inflatables, squishies, and for some odd reason – eerie dolls that seemingly stare into your soul while you play. Ocean quickly rubbed off that weird feeling she was getting from those dolls, and finally turned to the girl, who already bid her good-byes to the carnie.

“Hey, you!” yelled Ocean. She harshly grabbed her by the shoulder, dragged her to the side and spun her around easily like the girl was a spinning wheel. The girl yelped as she turned, covering her face quickly with the creepy doll out of shock.

“Wha– what the hell are you doing?” Ocean shouted, the girl’s doll still shielding her face. Ocean couldn’t believe that she chased this girl down just for her to cover her face with an ugly–looking doll. 

“What the hell am I doing? How about you ask yourself that question,” the girl shouted back, lowering her doll just below her chin. She stomped her foot forward not too far from Ocean’s, her fingernails clawing at her doll’s dress.

The girl almost stepped on the ginger girl’s well-polished and well-maintained shoes. Though this didn’t bother Ocean at all, because she finally got to see her in-person. She was the girl Father Markus described. 

Ocean stood in front of her, not letting herself get intimidated at how tall the girl was. She was almost peering over the smaller girl, literally overshadowing her like she was a child. Ocean felt her heart skip a beat, trying to steady her breath as she took in the sight of the girl like she saw the Eiffel tower for the first time.

“W-well! Father Markus, he told me everything about you,” said Ocean, leaning back slightly out of fear. 

The girl raised an eyebrow, skeptical. She took a step back and placed a hand on her waist, the other hand holding her doll. “ Everything ? Are you sure about that?” 

Ocean nodded quickly. The girl squinted her eyes, her brows knitting together in skepticism. “But I didn’t even tell him–”

“ But you still know him!” blurted Ocean, and the girl was taken aback.

“I never even told him my name,” the girl replied, “that old man doesn’t know anything about me. What makes you say he knows everything, uh… Who are you?”

“Ocean!” she cried. Ocean held her hand out to the girl with the sudden over-the-top enthusiasm, seemingly itching to introduce herself like she’s never done it before. “My name is Ocean O’Connell Rosenberg. You?”

The girl stood there, hesitating at the warm hand just reaching out to hers. She looked at the ginger, who was still waiting for her response. Sheepishly, she replied, “I’m –I’m Penny,”

“Nice to meet you, Penny!” Ocean quickly grabbed her empty hand and shook it briskly, making Penny’s arm sway up and down lifelessly like of a mannequin’s. Eventually she met Ocean’s enthusiasm with lackluster handshaking, still confused why this girl was talking to her.

“Okay,” Penny nervously laughs. “You can stop now, you know,”

“Oh sorry,” Ocean apologizes, taking her hand back and wiping it on her skirt. 

Suddenly, it’s now awkward between them. The dubstep music playing in the background and the same sounding exhilarating screams from earlier didn’t ease the tension between the girls. 

What now? She thought nervously. Ocean eyed her surroundings, looking for things to talk about, and Penny didn’t seem to look like she had the right words to speak. She didn’t want to waste this away, something in Ocean’s gut says that this will be the first – now last – conversation with this girl. The fact Ocean has never seen her in Saint Cassian or anywhere in town partially confirms it. 

“S-so,” Ocean stuttered, “you’re an animal conversationalist?”

Penny nods, clutching at her doll’s arm as it was just hanging off her hand. “Yeah, I work just outside Uranium. It’s nothing special, really.”

Ocean shook her head. “No, that’s actually super interesting!”

Penny tilted her head to the side, her face turning into confused one. Somehow, Ocean didn’t sound too convincing. Ocean quickly added, “If you don’t believe me, no one in Saint Cassian has done anything as big as that! I’ve been voted as class president for ten consecutive years but that’s just it,”

Penny remained a blank face. Inside, she was questioning if taking care of animals was that special, but they are living in a dead-end town. Barely anything interesting happens. The only thing she wasn’t sure of was how Ocean was downplaying her role as class president. For years . Penny thought that was impressive. That was more interesting and superior than what Penny does currently.

“Thanks, I guess.. No one’s really ever knew except you and Father Markus– and my little brother.” replied Penny shyly.

Ocean noticed that Penny’s face turned into a fond one when she mentioned her little brother. She thought it was cute, but Ocean was now curious who this brother was. Where was he? Why is he not here with Penny? Ocean had numerous of questions running in her mind, ones that she thought of when Father Markus mentioned her, but she didn’t want to seem too invasive. They just first met, and Ocean didn’t want to make their first conversation too overwhelming. 

But at the same time, Ocean wanted to know more about her. There was this itch in her brain that she badly wanted to scratch once her question’s are all answered by Penny. Ocean has the feeling this’ll be their last conversation, and she didn’t want to throw that away with small talk.

With much thought, Ocean finally thought of something. Something that will hurt her pride than anything.

Ask for her number!  

… That’s it.

“Hey, um, do you have a cellphone?” Ocean asked timidly, looking up at Penny with pursed lips. She felt immediate heat rush to her cheeks, squeezing her eyes shut as she waited for Penny’s response. 

Asking for someone else’s number didn’t exactly hurt her pride. It felt like she was begging, and she would hate begging for something unless it’s someone she greatly looks up to. Though Ocean’s looking literally and greatly looking up at Penny as she speaks – Penny doesn’t check all the marks Ocean considers as someone she adores. 

“I’m sorry, can you repeat that?” asked Penny.

Ocean felt a squeak escape her lips. No way she was going to repeat that again. 

“CanIgetyournumber?” The smaller girl said quickly with no hesitation. Fortunately, she did repeat it. Just quicker and faster. Unfortunately, she was unsure if Penny understood a single word that came from Ocean’s mouth. 

Penny blinked twice, her green eyes glistening under the bright lights of the whole fair. “... Sure, why not?”

Ocean sighed heavily in relief. She didn’t expect Penny to hear that let alone understand that rushed sentence clearly. 

Penny carefully dropped the doll to her side like it was a prized possession. Technically, it is , but Ocean didn’t see that much in the doll. It looked like it followed Ocean’s eyes wherever it went. 

“Do you have a pen? I’ll write it down on your hand,” 

Ocean felt her hair stand up, already feeling at her skirt’s pockets for a pen. “Y-yeah, of course!”

She finally held out a pen and gave it to Penny, and the brunette had to kneel down a little to write her number on the ginger’s pale palms. Penny struggled for a while as the ink kept disappearing on bare skin, constantly having to rewrite it much bolder. Ocean quietly stared at her, her cheeks remaining pink out of sheer embarrassment. She didn’t know why she was getting so worked up over something so little – and she hated herself for it.

Penny then lets go of Ocean’s hand, handing back the pen to her. “Thank you, Ocean. I’ll see you around,” she replied, a tiny smile on her lips.

“Oh– you’re going already?” Ocean asked, almost sounding too dejected. 

“Well, yeah,” said Penny, looking at the watch on her wrist. “I kind of have to go. It’s already four o’clock.”

Ocean’s eyes shot wide open. Did she hear that correctly? Four o’clock?

“Oh shoot ,” Ocean muttered. “I have to go!” 

Penny looked at her quizzically. “Are you going to do something?”

“Ah, well, my choir will be competing in a Kiwanis International in thirty minutes… And I really wanted to go to the bumper cars earlier with my best-friend…” said Ocean, slightly self-conscious about sharing her plans. “It’s too bad you can’t watch though,”

“I guess, I’m sorry. If anything, I’ll make it up to you sometime.” Penny said, picking up her doll from the ground. “Make sure to contact me. I might not answer quickly – just as long as I get your message.” she grinned, her eyes smiling. Ocean believes that was the most emotion Penny’s expressed to her, and Ocean thinks it was kind of cute.

“S-sure! Okay!” Ocean exclaimed.

“Another thing,” added Penny. Ocean looked at her with a confused look, an eyebrow raised. “It’s animal conservationist. Not conversationalist. I don’t talk to animals, silly.”

“I–” Ocean’s words quickly cut off, her face suddenly turning red as her hair. She didn’t know she messed up that badly. Infront of someone she didn’t know too. “Right. Animal conservationist,” she muttered shyly.

Both girls finally part ways, waving their good-byes and exchanging sweet smiles. As Ocean walked aimlessly, she felt like she achieved something big. She doesn’t know why, but she didn’t want to drown herself with more questions. She realized not everything needs to have an answer. Sometimes, most things have to be left unsolved or remain a mystery. That’s how Ocean felt about talking to Penny. Rationally, it wasn’t that big of an event. But to Ocean, it felt like it was more than talking to her.

“I need to tell Father Markus about this,” she muttered, excited about telling him about the girl he’s always been talking about ever since. 

Suddenly, a hand grabs at Ocean’s wrists, pulling her back violently. 

Ocean’s eyes shot wide. “Hey! Who the heck–”

“ Ocean !” yelled Constance. “Where have you been?! I was going around in circles,”

The funny thing is, Constance has been looking for her everywhere. How the tables have turned.

Ocean turned to her best-friend with sparkling hazel eyes. “I met her , Connie!” she said loudly, ignoring the fact her best-friend was frantically looking for her.

Constance looked at her, befuddled at Ocean’s nonsense. “Wha–? Who?” 

“The animal conservationist! Her name was Penny,” said Ocean with a wide smile in her face.

“Uh-huh,” Constance didn’t sound too convinced.

“I’m being honest! Double pinky-promise!” said Ocean. “She was the girl Father Markus was talking about. If you don’t believe me, she literally wrote her number on my palm,”

Ocean brought out her hand in front of Constance’s face. “See?”

Constance tilted her head to the side to see Ocean’s face. “Alright fine! Put it down..”

“Believe me now?” Ocean said satisfied, placing her hands on her waist.

“Yeah. Maybe.. Anyway–” Constance said, pushing aside the topic of Penny. “You left me in the middle of the fair, Ocean. I couldn’t find you anywhere!”

Ocean sighed heavily out of disappointment. “Look, I’m sorry. I was just so focused on finding that girl. She was literally about to leave!”

Constance frowns, crossing her arms dejectedly. “What’s even special about her? You left me alone out there for some girl you don’t know?”

“Well, why didn’t you follow me? Maybe you could’ve met her” said Ocean, the enthusiasm in her tone turning to a slightly irritated one.

Constance violently gasped. “Excuse me, there were so many people! You basically got lost in the crowd, I almost gave up finding you!” 

“You could’ve at least sat somewhere so I could find you or–”

“Shut up.” muttered Constance. 

Now it was Ocean’s turn to gasp violently. “Did you just tell me to shut up ?”

Constance clenched her fists. “Yeah. And stop providing me solutions! They’re not going to help my case at all,”

Ocean felt her eyebrow twitch. “If that’s the case , then I’m leaving.” Ocean turned on her heel, storming off. “Don’t follow me.”

Constance scoffed, “Now you don’t want me to follow you? Okay, fine,” she said, her voice shaking, almost at the brink of tears. Both girls walked off, heading to different directions, losing each other once again.

Ocean didn’t want to try to look for Constance. Constance didn’t want to try to look for Ocean. In a few minutes, they’ll be gathered together to perform anyway.

Suddenly, Ocean felt a nervous pang in her gut. This time, it affected her strongly than the one in the van, and she didn’t like it. Ocean tries to brush it off, thinking that it was just her feeling bad for Constance. 

But… at the same time, she wanted to look back and apologize. All she can do is look back, and watch her friend walk off into the crowds of people. Ocean lowers her head in disappointment, deep in thought. 

She probably hates me… thought Ocean. 

As she continued to walk aimlessly, she catches Father Markus by the food stalls, peacefully eating a corndog. 

Ocean raised her head, and began to stride towards him. 

“Father Markus!” she cried out, running to him.

Father Markus looks up, and sees his student now walking towards him. “Oh, hello there Miss Rosenberg!” He takes a small bite of the corndog, and replied, “You’re surprisingly early. Everyone else is enjoying their time! Why aren’t you out there with them?”

“I talked to the girl, Penny! The one with the two braids? Very tall?” said Ocean, gesturing in every description of Penny. Alas, ignoring someone’s question again.

Father Markus almost spit his bite of corndog, quickly throwing a hand over his mouth to avoid coughing it out. He swallowed thickly, and the coughing fit stopped promptly. “You talked to her? Gee whiz, I– I didn’t expect her to come here on the first day. I’ve been sitting here the whole time and I’ve never seen her pass by!” 

Ocean nods enthusiastically. “Mhm, I thought so too!”

Father Markus smiled, his old face wrinkling as he did every time. “You have a sharp eye, Rosenberg.” Ocean smiled back, clearly proud of herself. 

“Now that you’ve mentioned her, where is she?”

“Well…” Ocean hesitated. “She had to go sadly, but at least I have contact with her now. You don’t have to worry not seeing her anymore,” 

Father Markus hummed, “That’s nice.” He slightly smiled at his student, and took a bite of his corndog.

To eat up some time before the competition starts, Ocean suddenly had an itching question in the back of her head. 

Ocean tapped Father Markus by the shoulder. “Father Markus, I want to ask you something,”

Father Markus swallowed the bite of his corndog, and turned to Ocean. “Yes, go ahead Miss Rosenberg,”

Ocean thought for a while how to word her question. Finally, she asked, “I have been wondering why you’re so fond about Penny so much. I’ve seen you talk highly about her from time to time. I think it’s pretty admirable!”

For a while, Father Markus remained quiet, silently looking off at the distance of the fair. Ocean stood by him, waiting for a response as he was eyeing certain fairgoers pass by. 

Despite the loud music of the fair, the silence was uncomfortable. “I’m sorry, was I too rude?” asked Ocean, turning to her choir conductor with a sympathetic look on her face.

Father Markus solemnly shook his head and sighed. “It’s not rude, Rosenberg. But, would you like to me to tell you?”

Ocean’s hazel eyes sparkled with wonder, and nodded quickly. 

Father Markus scoffed and displayed a slight smile. “Alright, I’ll tell you…” he chuckled lightly, “Ah… where do I begin?” he put a finger to his chin, deep in thought. He then put both of his arms behind his back, opening his mouth to start.

“I had a daughter,” he said.

Ocean’s eyebrows lifted all the way to her hairline. He had a daughter? Had ?

“I–I’m sorry sir, had ? If you don’t mind me asking… what happened?” asked Ocean, her brows knitting together in worry. She couldn’t believe Father Markus had a child.

Father Markus laughed at her reply, though in truth, nothing was funny about it – and this worried Ocean even more. “That’s the thing, I don’t know. She wasn’t even my biological daughter, but I took care of her ever since she was a wee bit young. My peony – that’s what I called her, her cheeks always turning as pink as those flowers – always had her hair in two braids. Since I had no wife, and she had no mother, I braided her hair by myself. Though, it always turned out very loose and all over the place.” 

He laughed again, almost reminiscing that memory, though it slowly died into a half-hearted one. “I… I don’t know where she is now. I want to believe my little girl is still alive, but I don’t think she’s coming back to me anytime soon, no matter how much I pray.” 

Ocean didn’t know what to say. She remained motionless beside Father Markus, and her tongue felt like it was stuck in place. Her knitted eyebrows remained close together, but her lips curled into a shaky one, trying to hold back a sob. She blinked her teary eyes twice, and swallowed a cry that she didn’t want to express. 

“I’m so sorry…” was all Ocean had to say. 

“It’s no worry. I chose to say the truth after all,” Father Markus replied, as he hung his head. “I think that concludes the reason why I’ve been very fond of Penny. She reminds me exactly of my daughter,”

Ocean turned away to stare at the ground, shifting her shoes back and forth at the dirt. She looked up once again, and found most fairgoers had attended with their families, especially the fathers with their daughters. Ocean suddenly thought what could’ve been. If Father Markus still had his daughter by his side right now, holding his hand with a mouthful of cotton candy, he wouldn’t be standing here all alone. The thought of it made Ocean tear up. Her eyes formed with tears, but she tried to lay it off in hopes of numbing herself from all different scenarios of Father Markus with his daughter.

They stood there in silence. But it wasn’t as uncomfortable one – it felt more somber, though welcoming. Fortunately, a beep ing noise came from Father Markus’s watch, and turned to Ocean. “Looks like it’s four-thirty. Are you ready to perform?”

Ocean turned to him – her nose and eyes red from holding back tears – nodded with her maximum effort. She sees her choir members gathering backstage, surprisingly on time too. 

She sniffed and inhaled and exhaled a big load of air, replying back with her staple enthusiasm. “Mhm!”

—

“Looks like the judges aren’t here yet,” The stage manager muttered, holding her clipboard to her chest out of worry. It was already 4:50 P.M, and in ten minutes the competition was about to start. A few of the fairgoers came by to watch the show, even if the show only consisted of two competitors; the Saint Cassian Chamber choir and the same student that played ‘ Country Road, Take Me Home’ last year.

“Oh sweet, the guy is even here!” said Ricky, using his AAC device. The student turned around, and Ricky saw the guy’s whole face. He had a long black cape and huge remarkable glasses, and was wearing a grey vest with a red tie. “Woah, he looks like a gentleman now,”

Noel came from behind Ricky, and checked to see what Ricky was looking at. It was the same competitor last year, fixing his hair and dusting off his sleeve. “Jesus christ on a bike! Him again ?” he whined, rubbing his temples out of frustration. 

“Oh no, how are we going to beat this one,” Mischa said sarcastically, already focusing on his beatboxing solo.

“Get back to your fucking beatboxing solo, Mischa. I don’t want to hear a single word from you.” Noel replied in a snarky but joking manner.

Mischa laughed, and replied, “Well good news hotshot, I won’t be singing a single word in my solo. Thank you.” 

Noel scoffed. “Anyway, how does wearing a cape and a vest make you look like a gentleman? He looks ridiculous. His fashion sense is ridiculous.”

Ricky shrugged in reply, shaking his tambourine. “I think it’s dope. He looks pretty happy.”

“Uh-huh.” Mischa nodded, agreeing with Ricky.

“You two are ridiculous.” Noel said, staring blankly at both of the boys. 

“How about we ignore him and focus on them.” Ricky pointed his thumb at the two girls behind him, surprisingly they weren’t talking to each other. Ocean was meticulously looking at her music notes and warming up her voice. Constance was sitting on a chair, sulking about earlier.

Mischa paused his beatboxing practice, and turned to look at the two girls. “Looks like they had a fight. Constance looks angry,”

“I guess so,” replied Ricky, turning the wheels of his wheelchair to play his tambourine.

“Let’s not pry,” Noel said. “It’s none of our business. Let them sort it out by themselves.”

Mischa nodded along, and everyone went back to practice.

Ocean was finished warming up her voice, placing down the music sheet on a coffee table. She turned to look at the clock on the wall, and the choir only had five more minutes until their performance. 

I can’t wait until we get on that stage! Ocean thought, trying to resist a squeal from escaping past her lips. She stood on the corner, suddenly thinking of Penny. Her enthusiasm quickly changed to one of disappointment, wishing she would’ve watched their recital. Ocean wished she would’ve had done something about it – to convince her to stay – but both of them were busy. Well, for Penny, Ocean wasn’t sure what she had to do, but her leaving was enough for Ocean to say she’s off to do something else. Maybe she has a shift in a national park outside Uranium. She takes care of animals after all.

Well, whatever it was, as long as Ocean remembers to text her after the show. Thankfully, she brought her flip phone with her. It’s not with her right now, but at least it was in the van. She then looked at Constance, her head lowered.

Ocean wanted to apologize. She actually decided to apologize now, but as she began to walk up to her with suppressed steps, the stage manager opened the door with her clipboard.

It looks like Ocean will have to apologize later. 

“Alright, the Saint Cassian Chamber choir?” The stage manager called out, and everyone in the rehearsal room turned to the lady. “It’s time for your recital, kids.”

Everyone looked at each other with anticipation. It’s their last show, recital, and performance. They need to be the best as possible. Everyone in the choir knew this, especially Ocean, who had worked off all her being into this performance, grab that number one spot in the competition.

There’s no way they’re losing to that guy.