I promptly forgot all about the State Fair for three weeks. It wasn’t until Dad told me we were going in two days that I remembered the conversation. What that said about my excitement level towards the fair… well, it wasn’t great. I was looking forward to it somewhat, but I didn’t expect to be impressed by the sights and sounds. I’d been to big events before all the time shenanigans, and they’d never really done it for me. Maybe I would be surprised by the fair, but I wasn’t going to hold my breath.

  When the time came, I climbed into Dad’s truck. We followed George, Mable, and their children riding in a minivan. The fairgrounds were farther away than I hoped—nearly two hours. The weather was pleasant, but the trip wore on me—mostly because there was nothing to do but wait. Waiting sucked.

  As soon as we got near to the State Fair, we encountered traffic. George called Dad on the phone to direct us to the parking lot. I tuned it out and looked around. Aside from the snarl of cars looking for parking—or a way around the mess—I could see the top of a Ferris wheel and some other carnival attractions.

  The fairgrounds looked absolutely enormous, even from where I was sitting. After parking, that assessment was confirmed. The place even had a pair of cable car lines to bring people from one end of the fairgrounds to the other!

  I jumped from the car and waited for George and his family to get out. A mass of people walked to the end of the row we’d parked on. Waiting for us there was a motor-train—like a train that drove on the road. I got in next to Dad with George and his family taking up the rest of the compartment.

  “Excited?” George asked his kids.

  “Yeah!” exclaimed Mila—the youngest.

  Henry gave a non-committal grunt. He was at that age.

  “And you, Eddy?”

  I shrugged.

  “I’ll wait and see how it is before I decide,” I said.

  “Fair,” he said before laughing at his own joke.

  “Dad!” Mila complained, which only made him laugh even harder.

  Before George could say anything more, the motor-train began moving. It took a long, circuitous route through the parking lot. It stopped twice more to pick up more people before finally getting underway for good. Soon, it left the parking lot and drove along a service road. To one side was a fence, while the other had a small stream running along it. Across the stream was the main fairground.

  Now that I was closer, I had a much better view. The State Fair was more than just a carnival in disguise. There was that part, of course, but I could also see a myriad of vendors hawking everything from the usual stuff—hotdogs, fried, and funnel cakes—to the unique: fried candy bars, fried ice cream, and anything else that could be battered and fried. It wasn’t just food. There were booths for face painting, booths for carnival games, booths selling crafts, and so much more.

  Finally, the motor-train stopped at the entrance to the State Fair. We got out. George beckoned us forward towards the shorter of the lines. A sign at the start of that line said it was for people who already had tickets. I hadn’t remembered buying any, so I looked at Dad.

  “Do we have tickets already?” I asked.

  “I don’t think so,” he replied. “Hey, George, I don’t think we have tickets yet.”

  “Sure you do,” he smiled. “I got a couple more for the two of you!”

  “Oh, thanks!”

  “It’s nothing. Let’s go before more people get on line.”

  I hurried to join them on the line. It was fairly short—at least when compared to the other one. Still, it took a while to make our way through it. There was a bag check and a policeman with a metal detecting wand to get past. The ticket checker was the last hurdle. Then we were home free.

  Beyond the gates of the fairground, I smelled the multitudes of different foods all mixed together in the air. It made my mouth water. Before going any farther, we all stopped on the other side of the entrance, away from the main path of fair-goers.

  “Where to?” George asked.

  “The haunted house,” Henry and Mila said at the same time.

  “I want to see the animals,” Mable added.

  “What about you, Eddy?” Dad asked.

  “Not sure. I’ll follow everyone around.”

  “Well, we’re going to split up. I’ll go with Henry and Mila. Why don’t you go with Mable? We can meet back up for the next thing?”

  “Sure,” I shrugged. “Where and when should we meet?”

  “Mable can call me or I’ll call her when we’re done and go to the other.”

  “Alright,” I said.

  George gave his wife a hug and kiss before leaving with the kids. Dad and I followed Mable.

  This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  “Why did you want to see the animals?” I asked.

  “Well, I’ve always loved them,” she said. “There’ll be an auction before long, so I’d like to see them before they go.”

  “Are there contests?” I wondered.

  “Yeah. The auction is how they judge the best animals. They’re sold, and the money goes to the folks who raised them. A small portion—what would have been the tax—goes to charity.”

  “That’s cool.”

  “They also do contests for other things, like the biggest pumpkin and stuff like that.”

  “Oh, that sounds like fun. Can we see that, too?”

  “Sure. It’s in the same building as the animals. Or the next one over. I forget.”

  Dad and I followed Mable towards a low, round building. There was a steady flow of people in the doors on one side and out the doors on the opposite side. We went through the entrance after a brief wait.

  Inside were animal pens. The smell of manure was strong. It was a strong, slightly unpleasant smell. Thankfully, all the animals inside were primarily herbivores. That kept the smell less pungent than it might have been otherwise.

  Mable stopped to look at the cow pens before moving on to the goats and the pigpens. Each set of pens had a different type of animal. I couldn’t tell much difference between them—though Identify could. I didn’t use it more than a couple times out of curiosity so that I would save my chi in case I needed it.

  I was thankful to exit out the other side into fresh air. I said as much to Mable and Dad, who both laughed.

  “Next stop, the pumpkins!” Mable announced.

  The pumpkins were in the building next to the animals. Inside, I saw it wasn’t just pumpkins. There were other enormous fruits and vegetables. The pumpkins were the stars of the show. The largest—with a blue ribbon—was as tall as Dad and just as wide! It was a pale cream-color. Next to it was a small paragraph about the grower and their far, as well as pictures from past years.

  “What’s that?” I asked Mable regarding a strange photograph I noticed.

  “At the end of every year, they’ll carve the pumpkins into boats and race them on the river! It’s a whole lot of fun. Is that something you’d want to do?”

  I thought about it for a moment. Then I got a system pop-up that decided it for me.

  “I think that would be fun,” I said. “I’ve never grown a pumpkin before, but I don’t see why I couldn’t make a huge one!”

  “That’s the spirit!” Mable chuckled.

  “You can do it, kid,” Dad agreed.

  After looking at the plants for a bit, Mable got a call on her phone from George. They were done with the haunted house and wanted to meet up in the center where the food vendors were. I was hoping to use that opportunity to try some of the tasty treats!

  I wanted to run to the meeting spot, but kept myself restrained along the way. There were many people, and I didn’t fancy getting lost in it—or someone snatching me. Not that they would get very far with that. I let my imagination run free, only for it to wither and die as soon as we reached our destination.

  “How was the haunted house?” I asked.

  “Fun,” Henry said.

  “And scary,” Mila added.

  “They had a good time,” George laughed. “How were the animals?”

  “Stinky,” I said, waving my hand in front of my nose. “The pumpkins were pretty cool, though. Huge!”

  “He said he might enter the contest next year,” Mable explained.

  “Good luck with that,” George said with a smile. “So… who’s hungry?”

  I raised my hand and shouted ‘me!’ along with the other kids.

  “Alright then! Let’s see what they have.”

  I followed George to the closest stall. There was a small line. From the end, I could see the offerings. I didn’t want a hotdog or burger. While nice, I wanted to try something more exotic. Fried pickles sounded mediocre at best. Then something caught my eye. The fried candy bars. They had all sorts of candy bar options, so I went for the one that I liked the best un-fried. I let Dad know.

  Dad ordered for me and gave me my prize as soon as it was ready. With the fried candy bar in hand, I dove in. It was hot! Not that I should have expected any different. The crunchy outside contrasted with the sweet and lava-like interior. It was wondrous!

  “Damn, this is good!” I exclaimed. “Dad, want to try a bite?”

  “Too rich for me,” he said with a shake of his head.

  “More for me then!”

  He snorted.

  The same reaction was had by Henry and Mila as well. The joy on their faces told more of a story than their excited ramblings. No sooner had the food been gained, than it was no more.

  “So what’s next?” I asked.

  “We could do rides or carnival games,” George suggested.

  I thought about it and leaned towards the games. Those were the kinds of things I might have a chance at winning—no matter how rigged they actually were. I knew there was skill to each, even if that skill was counter-intuitive. Maybe the skills I’d gained over years of practice would help?

  The first game we tried was a shooting one. It was one of those where the aim was to shoot out a star using an amount of BBs. I was the youngest, so they let me try first.

  “Are you ready?” asked the man behind the counter.

  I nodded.

  “Alright. Good luck.” He dropped a load of BBs into the gun.

  I took aim at the edge of the star and squeezed the trigger. The gun was… not very accurate. Still, I quickly corrected. I tried to shoot a circle—which was harder than it seemed. I did well, but not well enough to knock the star clean off like I’d hoped for.

  “Ah, better luck next time,” said the man. “For trying, you get one of the small prizes.”

  I looked up at the wall and selected a little fluffy monster while Dad took his turn. He didn’t do any better than I had. That meant I now had two little fluffy monsters. George and his kids declined to try that one and instead we moved on to a different game.

  All the games were rigged, of course. Or if not rigged, then deceptively difficult. We tried a fish catching game, ring toss, popping balloons, and anything else we could find. The results were the same: we lost. Sure, we got the consolation prize, but it felt bad. I probably could have found skills to help me wreck the games, but I didn’t want to waste experience on what was supposed to be a fun experience.

  With the games—and our wallets—exhausted, we moved on to the rides. There were bumper cars, small rollercoasters, and the Ferris wheel. Of those, the Ferris wheel drew me the most. Mostly because the others had longer lines, and I didn’t want to sit around waiting.

  We waited for about half an hour before it was our turn. The gondolas weren’t big—enough for four people. Dad and I sat with two strangers—a young couple—while George and his family took their own gondola. The Ferris wheel steadily rose as the gondolas were filled. Then we got to experience a few rotations before disembarking.

  From the top of the Ferris wheel, I could see clear across the fairgrounds. I was higher than the cable cars! I could see the parking lot on one end and the masses of people moving between the booths and stalls. The cool wind at the top was a welcome reprieve from the heat of the day. I was sad when the ride ended.

  We wandered around for another hour before getting on the motor-train back to the parking lot. I napped in Dad’s truck on the way home with all the new stuffed animals keeping me company.