Strange People in the Most Common Places

A Chapter by Lilith

Silver goes to the fair and meets some interesting characters.

A few days after Fiona and I got the best grade, we noticed something.

“Ohmygosh they’re doing it!” Somebody squealed. I looked up from my book and noticed a small crowd around the bulletin board in the common room.

“Doing what?” I ask Fiona.

“Dunno. Let’s go see.” She said, and we got up.

Hanging from the bulletin board was a yellow flyer. Black letters screamed ‘FALL CARNIVAL’ and underneath that was a list of things at the Carnival.

One of them had been circled in red marker. All the girls around us were giggling and gossiping, and I walked closer to see.

Fall Dance- Friday August 27^th 6:30 to 9:30

I pulled Fiona away from the crowd. “They’re gossiping over this dance on Friday.”

“A dance!? This is great news! We have two dances this year, since we’re only freshman. Oh I have this dress I’ve been dying to wear…”

I zoned out. I wasn’t very interested in dancing awkwardly and trying to hide your red face when a boy steps on your toes. But the other stuff sounded good.

“Well, I’m not totally aboard on this dance idea, but everything else sounds fun. You want to go?” I ask.

“Yeah I would love to! Could Fio come with us? We can eat those caramel apples and ride the Tilt-A-Whirl…”

So there we were. Thursday in the early afternoon, walking down the chilly streets with tons of other students. Another part of Telgemier I had never discovered, since I didn’t exactly have a lot of time. Fio and Fiona were chatting excitedly around me.

The cold wind blew my hair around my face, making it flow behind me. I was grateful for the leather jacket, which was lined by some type of soft fabric I had never heard of before. Yana had also given me a pair of boots out of the same fabrics, and I also wore torn jeans.

“So Silver, do you want to ride the Tilt-A-Whirl with me?” Fio asked. “My sister, Fiona the chicken, won’t come with me.”

“Sure.” I say, and we step into the small line. Fiona headed off to the side to watch us. After paying the man a Lincoln, we climbed on.

We found an empty chair but at the exact same time somebody else found it too. Two girls, one wearing a scowl and the other staring off into space.

“Hey! This is ours!” Fio said from behind me.

“No it ain’t! This is ours! We found it first, so it’s ours!” The girl with the scowl snarled.

“Whoa, hold on.” I say, looking inside the empty chair. “This is big enough for all of us.”

Taking a seat, I let the others slid in. I was right in between Fio and the other chick, the one that snarled. Putting down the bar, I grabbed on as the ride began to start.

“Oi! You go to Telgemier!” The girl shouted over the wind.

“Yes. I’m Silver, and this is Fio.” I scream back.

“I’m Zarma. This is Vienne.” She said, jabbing a finger at her friend.

“Konnichiwa.” Vienne said.

“Konnichiwa. Watashi no namae wa des Silver. Anata no kamigata, sutekidesu ne.”

“What?” Fio and Zarma echoed.

“I said ‘Hello. My name is Silver. Your hair is pretty.’”

“Arigoto.” Vienne replied, her cheeks slightly pink.

“She says thank you.” I translate.

“You know how to speak Japanese?” Fio asked.

“Yeah. Polish, Japanese, German, French, Turkish, Spanish, and a little bit of Gaelic.”

“Dang girl.” Fio said, watching the world go by in a blur.

“Zarma, where are you from?” I ask.

“Greece.” She replied.

She looked somewhat like it. Black hair that fell down in her back in a mess, and a deep brown skin tone. Her eyes were nothing but black holes though. And her teeth were sharp like fangs.

“Are you like from there originally or did your ancestors used to live there?” I ask.

“What’s it to you?!” She snarled suddenly, and the ride ended.

“Well, wasn’t she friendly?” Fio muttered as we climbed off the ride. Fiona joined us and we continued down the road, wondering if we would see Zarma and Vienne again.

If you thought that Zarma and Vienne wouldn’t appear again in this tale, then you were wrong.

As a matter of fact, Fio owes me ten buck.

We met again, this time Fiona with me, at the Library. I was turning back in my books and at the moment was showing Fiona where the good books were.

I headed to the back, where I knew I could find the books easily. But somebody was there already, sitting in a chair, reading a book. Two somebodies as a matter of fact.

“Oi! Silver girl!” Zarma barked at us as we spotted them.

“Yes Zarma?” I ask, fingering a book about the Roman goddess Diane.

“Don’t you know that we were back here?” She snapped.

“We didn’t come down here to disturb you Zarma. All we wanted was to check out a few books.” I say.

“Silver, who is the chick?” Fiona whispered.

I ignored her and focused on Vienne. “Konnichiwa Vienne. Anata wa nani o yonde iru?” I asked.

“Suribu.” She replied.

“Translation.” Zarma commanded.

“I said ‘What are you reading?’ and she said ‘manga.’” I say.

“Hmm…” Zarma said, and then returned to her book.

“Come on Fiona.” I say, and she follows me down the aisle.

“What language was that?” She asked once we were out of earshot.

“Japanese.”

“When did you meet them?”

“On the Tilt-A-Whirl. We shared a seat.” I say, adding a book to my growing pile in my arms.

“What’s up with that Zarma girl?” Fiona asked, shooting a look at Zarma as she spoke.

“I don’t know. I am still deciding whether I want to know or not.”

After checking out our books, I dumped my load on my bed and began setting the books in a pile on my nightstand. For a Saturday in Canada, it was pretty warm, so I pulled off my jacket.

A knock at the door made me look up. Getting up since Fiona didn’t, I opened the door to Yana and another girl.

“Hi friend!” Yana exclaimed, throwing her arms around my neck. I hugged her back before pulling away.

“Yana, what are you doing here?” I asked.

“I bring roommate to meet you. She is Emily.” Yana said, and I took in Emily.

Emily had brick red hair with blond tints, darker than Fiona’s. Her hazel eyes took in the room quickly before looking over Fiona and me.

“Hello.” I say, holding out my hand.

She didn’t say anything but shook my hand. Emily was Yana’s opposite really. Yana’s powder blue and cream style didn’t match Emily’s black and silver.

“What brings you around to this part of the woods?” Fiona asked, sitting up.

“We wanted to see how Argentum was!” Yana said, then began going on and on about clothes and fabric.

Emily on the other hand, sat in my desk chair and pulled out a Goth magazine from her pocket. She thumbed through it before finding her page.

“Where did you get that skirt?” Fiona asked Emily, trying to strike conversation.

All she got was silence. Then Emily opened her mouth but kept her teeth clenched as she replied. “Yana made it for me.”

Grumbling under her breath, Fiona pulled out a Sprite and took a long swig before pulling out a book.

“Oh, Argentum, will you please come with Emily and me on Friday night?” Yana asked, sending me a puppy eyes look. “We’re going to watch the Northern Lights on the roof.”

“Yeah, that would be great.” I say, but Emily growled out of the corner of her mouth. Yana shot her a glare but smiled at me.

“Awesome! Can you get out at around nine? That way the teachers will be watching the dance and not us.” Yana bubbled.

“Yana, are you sure that’s a good idea?” Emily growled.

“Why not? I mean, the Northern Lights are really pretty and I want Argentum to see them-

“That’s not what I meant.” Emily broke her off, and then returned to her magazine.

“Can I come along?” Fiona asks.

“Umm…”

“You have a window. Use it.” Emily snapped, saving Yana from saying no.

Fiona scowled and retreated into angry silence. Yana filled the silence by going on and on about making me purses and shirts and a cute skirt and what not.

Finally the clock struck five. Five meant that the cafeteria was open for dinner. Five meant that Yana couldn’t tell me about the hat she made that I didn’t care about.

“Oh, we should go.” I say, cutting Yana off.

“Yeah. You should go.” Fiona said.

“Okay! Bye friend!” Yana said, hugging me one last time before skipping out the room, Emily trudging behind her.

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