Midnight Carnival (Part 2) Preparation
Hot on the heels of yesterday's post I present to you Part 2! If you didn't read the first part, click the link to stay caught up with our cast of characters. 'Preparation' dives a little deeper into our characters as they prepare for the big night. I am very excited about where this story will go. Let's hope I can take us there the way I see it in my head. :-)
If you are new to my stories, these are fun little short stories I wanted to share to give you a small taste of my writing and prepare you for the novels. I have always been fascinated by carnivals and amusement parks. I tend to revisit them often in my books. So it's no surprise I am writing about another one in Midnight Carnival. Anyway, enough preamble. first the legal bit and then Part 2!
This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, contact jensequel.com
Maya Jones had seen a lot of fashion failures in her life but none quite as apparent as the one she was witnessing right now with Emma. Her friend had worn quite a lot of questionable combinations over the semesters they knew each other but considering her personality and her skills as an artist, they always seemed to work. Given the evening ahead of them, Emma’s choice could not be further from acceptable.
“You are not seriously wearing that, are you?” Maya was standing in Emma’s dorm room with one arm crossed under her chest while she pointed up and down at Emma’s chosen outfit with her other hand.
“Too much?” Emma scrunched up her face and looked defeated.
“Absolutely too much and not enough skin showing for a New Year’s Eve party!” Maya grabbed Emma’s hands and led her to the large mirror near the wardrobe. She stood behind Emma while the two of them looked at Emma’s outfit.
Emma didn’t think she looked that bad. She had selected a comfortable sweater to wear over a tank top. She admitted her ink and paint spotted denim jeans had seen better days, but they were going to an amusement park after all. She looked at Maya’s reflection in the mirror.
“The party is outside,” she reminded her. “In an amusement park.”
“It’s a party,” Maya quipped, pulling Emma’s hair up to see how it would look in a messy bun.
“An abandoned amusement park,” Emma stated.
“It’s still a party,” Maya cooed.
“And it’s at night where it will be cold.”
“All the more reason to wear less.”
Emma twisted around and stared at Maya incredulously. “So I can get pneumonia?”
“No silly.” Maya’s eyes sparkled with mischief. “So Alex will play the gentleman and keep you warm.”
Emma blushed then looked past Maya at the mound of clothes on her bed. They were the remnants of the countless alternatives to her selection for the event. Defeated she replied, “this was the best I had.”
Maya checked her phone. “We still have time,” she announced. “Grab your ID and let’s head to my room. I have just the right outfit in mind.”
Grabbing her messenger bag and camera case, Emma looked up and saw the scowl on Maya’s face.
“You were serious?” Maya sighed. “This is a party sweetie!”
“But my portfolio—”
“Can wait one night.” Maya smiled. “Besides, you have your phone. Just sketch from that later!”
Emma frowned. Her thoughts returned to what Maya had said about Alex and she brightened. Dropping both bags on her bed she followed her friend out the door.
It was six o’clock when the four of them had arrived at the old amusement park. Jake had driven them to a strip mall on the outskirts of town. After accepting the invitation, instructions had followed. They had been warned not to drive immediately to the park but to walk the rest of the way from the mall parking lot. This only added to the anticipation that the party was actually a rave.
Maya secretly hoped it was an old school rave she had heard about and not the newer publicized ones. She still held onto the fantasy that they had been chosen for a secret party and not a mass invitation as Alex had suggested. The fact that Emma had not received an invitation only supported Maya’s theory. Besides, had it been a mass invitation, the parking lot at the mall would have been loaded with cars and the road lined with people walking toward the amusement park.
No, Maya thought. This was not a scam. The invite was real. And they were the fortunate ones to have been chosen.
She looked over her shoulder at Alex and Emma. Her plans to bring the two of them closer this evening was working. At least in small parts. She had dressed Emma in a form-fitting see-through button down top over the tank top Emma already had on. She paired it with a lightweight jacket and short skirt. Emma had protested over the miniskirt and the two had compromised on Emma wearing a pair of cable knit tights underneath. The transformation had taken Emma from “small town cute” into nothing short of stunning.
And it was apparent when they met the guys that Alex thought the same.
Jake squeezed Maya’s hand and looked at her with a smile. “What are you smiling at?”
She stepped closer and placed her head on his shoulder while they walked. “Oh, nothing much,” she said. “I think Alex has finally seen our girl Emma is all,” she said quietly so the couple behind them couldn’t hear.
Jake looked over his shoulder and saw that Alex had wrapped his jacket across Emma’s shoulders. “Oh, I think he noticed her before.”
“Well, if nothing else comes out of this night, I hope those two finally admit they like each other.”
They walked the rest of the way in silence. They had left the road when it branched off in two directions. The main road continued but the second road was blocked by two jersey barriers. Weeds poked through the broken pavement and scattered glass. The phrase “Lasciate ogne speranza, voi ch'intrate” was spray-painted in red on the face of the barriers. Emma froze as she stared at the saying, the color on her face draining.
“Lassy-ate—” Maya struggled to pronounce the words. Emma interrupted her speaking in near perfect Italian as she read the quote out loud. The three turned to look at her. Even in the fading light they could see the fear in her expression.
“It’s Dante,” she explained. “Abandon all hope, ye who enter here.”
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