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Description
Malloon's POV

I heard Olivia gasp as she walked in from getting the newspaper.
“The Strawberry Festival’s back! You know, the one we couldn’t make a couple years ago?”
“Mhm,” I mumbled. Whoopee. High prices, low quality, and who knows what they put on those wieners.
“What?” Kim asked. She’d been sleeping on our couch since she came, after she cleaned it. We planned to get her a bed next week.
“Oh, Mom, there's a fair with a Ferris Wheel and animals and fun games just like the ones back home! We couldn’t go, though, because we didn’t have enough money or an adult! But now we do have an adult to take us!”
I turned around to look at her. “What about the money?”
“It says here that it costs $4 for kids under 13, and we’re 12 –”
“I’m 13,” I interrupted, but she continued persistently.
“– And other tickets are $6. That’s only $20.”
“But what about food?”
“You don’t think I came here empty handed, did you?” Kim interjected. A thick wad of cash emerged from her skirt pocket. My jaw fell.
“And don’t forget I still have my bank accounts. You’re all set until I find a job around here,” Kim reassured.
I would’ve said something if my mouth wasn’t already wide open. I could see Limpo was as dumbfounded as I was. We were like little kids or really weird grownups at a candy store.

…

How did I end up here?
The place was crowded beyond anything I’d ever seen before in my life. People milled around everywhere, smiling, laughing, crying…Where were they going?
A Ferris Wheel loomed before us ominously. Stalls were lined up in red and white like the teeth of a bloodthirsty, fire breathing dragon. Behind them was a humongous stage that took up as much room as the stalls. Other rides like a bouncy house and a slide as tall as the Empire State Building menacingly beckoned me beside the Ferris Wheel.
In short, I didn’t want to be here.
I leaned back against the side of an ice cream cart and felt it move for a fleeting second. I felt my lungs fill with air in an instant and let it go when I caught myself. People flanked every exit, and I think I breathed a little heavier.
My shoulder! I jumped only to realize it was only Limpo’s hand on my shoulder. “You ok?”
I nodded absently and focused on the ground. Dust covered black tar broken by various pebbles. Not interesting. I looked up instead. I spun around twice in a panic. I scanned the crowd.
Where were Limpo and Olivia?

…

Out of breath, I sat on an empty table in front of the stage. I was out of my mind when I decided to go wild and run through the whole fair to look for any sign of Limpo, Olivia, or Kim. After about a quarter of the fair, I couldn’t run any farther without collapsing into a pitiful little pile of boy on the stifling hot ground.
Hot. It was really hot. Hotter than the weather.
I lifted my head slowly to look up at the stage. A flaming torch spinning in midair caught my attention. It landed in some man’s hand.
Somehow I fell off the chair. The burning torch chased me while I tried to crawl backwards from it. I think I bumped into plenty of confused people, but the fire made it too hard to see anything. The beat of my heart hurt my ears and chest. I jumped up and ran faster than Scrat ran after his nut.
Don’t look back, don’t look back, I told myself. If I did, I might stare right into the eyes of the flame and freeze. Or, rather, burn in place. Though as much as I commanded myself, I looked back. No fire. It was gone.
Impact on something made me turn to face forward again.
A cop.
“Whoa, watch where you’re goin’, kid,” he said laughing.
I ran. Again.
But this time he ran after me.
So I ran faster.

…

I hate the human body sometimes. It shouldn’t lose stamina so fast.
“Boy, why you runnin’? Where’s your ma?” The officer gripped my arm and asked me with a frown.
I stared at him. Limpo said my eyes were intimidating. I hope they weren’t filled with fear right now.
“I said, ‘Where’s your ma?’”
I looked down.
Kim, please come soon!

Description
Malloon's POV

I heard Olivia gasp as she walked in from getting the newspaper.
“The Strawberry Festival’s back! You know, the one we couldn’t make a couple years ago?”
“Mhm,” I mumbled. Whoopee. High prices, low quality, and who knows what they put on those wieners.
“What?” Kim asked. She’d been sleeping on our couch since she came, after she cleaned it. We planned to get her a bed next week.
“Oh, Mom, there's a fair with a Ferris Wheel and animals and fun games just like the ones back home! We couldn’t go, though, because we didn’t have enough money or an adult! But now we do have an adult to take us!”
I turned around to look at her. “What about the money?”
“It says here that it costs $4 for kids under 13, and we’re 12 –”
“I’m 13,” I interrupted, but she continued persistently.
“– And other tickets are $6. That’s only $20.”
“But what about food?”
“You don’t think I came here empty handed, did you?” Kim interjected. A thick wad of cash emerged from her skirt pocket. My jaw fell.
“And don’t forget I still have my bank accounts. You’re all set until I find a job around here,” Kim reassured.
I would’ve said something if my mouth wasn’t already wide open. I could see Limpo was as dumbfounded as I was. We were like little kids or really weird grownups at a candy store.

…

How did I end up here?
The place was crowded beyond anything I’d ever seen before in my life. People milled around everywhere, smiling, laughing, crying…Where were they going?
A Ferris Wheel loomed before us ominously. Stalls were lined up in red and white like the teeth of a bloodthirsty, fire breathing dragon. Behind them was a humongous stage that took up as much room as the stalls. Other rides like a bouncy house and a slide as tall as the Empire State Building menacingly beckoned me beside the Ferris Wheel.
In short, I didn’t want to be here.
I leaned back against the side of an ice cream cart and felt it move for a fleeting second. I felt my lungs fill with air in an instant and let it go when I caught myself. People flanked every exit, and I think I breathed a little heavier.
My shoulder! I jumped only to realize it was only Limpo’s hand on my shoulder. “You ok?”
I nodded absently and focused on the ground. Dust covered black tar broken by various pebbles. Not interesting. I looked up instead. I spun around twice in a panic. I scanned the crowd.
Where were Limpo and Olivia?

…

Out of breath, I sat on an empty table in front of the stage. I was out of my mind when I decided to go wild and run through the whole fair to look for any sign of Limpo, Olivia, or Kim. After about a quarter of the fair, I couldn’t run any farther without collapsing into a pitiful little pile of boy on the stifling hot ground.
Hot. It was really hot. Hotter than the weather.
I lifted my head slowly to look up at the stage. A flaming torch spinning in midair caught my attention. It landed in some man’s hand.
Somehow I fell off the chair. The burning torch chased me while I tried to crawl backwards from it. I think I bumped into plenty of confused people, but the fire made it too hard to see anything. The beat of my heart hurt my ears and chest. I jumped up and ran faster than Scrat ran after his nut.
Don’t look back, don’t look back, I told myself. If I did, I might stare right into the eyes of the flame and freeze. Or, rather, burn in place. Though as much as I commanded myself, I looked back. No fire. It was gone.
Impact on something made me turn to face forward again.
A cop.
“Whoa, watch where you’re goin’, kid,” he said laughing.
I ran. Again.
But this time he ran after me.
So I ran faster.

…

I hate the human body sometimes. It shouldn’t lose stamina so fast.
“Boy, why you runnin’? Where’s your ma?” The officer gripped my arm and asked me with a frown.
I stared at him. Limpo said my eyes were intimidating. I hope they weren’t filled with fear right now.
“I said, ‘Where’s your ma?’”
I looked down.
Kim, please come soon!