Fireworks

The island of Foxgrove came alive as the festival started in full swing. A street parade began, which travelled through the main street up to the plaza. Young locals wearing colorful costumes and masks danced and sang as they walked through the street, pulling in tourists and inviting them to dance along to the loud, upbeat music.

All around were smiling faces.

Vivi was busy serving customers in her booth in the plaza when Uncle Mac and Leo arrived. He was wearing his mask as usual, this time pairing it with a black cap.

She had asked Uncle Mac earlier to give Leo a tour around the festival area.

“Let me help you,” Leo said, taking the loaf of bread from her hand and placing it inside a paper bag before handing it over to the customer.

“I’ll be fine on my own,” Vivi protested. “You should just enjoy the festival.”

“It’ll be much faster if I help out, though. You shouldn’t keep your customers waiting.”

“But-”

“Ai, miss,” an old lady who was standing in front of the line suddenly spoke up. “Just let your boyfriend help you out. The line is getting longer.”

Others behind her nodded in agreement.

“He’s not-”

“Let him,” Uncle Mac agreed, cutting her off. “I need to check on my booth, too.”

Vivi shot him a hateful glare as he ran off.

Much as she didn’t want to admit it, they were able to serve more people when they began dividing the work between them. Vivi was in charge of making the coffee while Leo took the orders and packed their orders into paper bags.

The booth was small and with the two of them inside, the space became cramped and they ended up bumping into each other a lot. Vivi was holding a cup of hot coffee when she accidentally bumped into Leo, causing the hot contents of the cup to spill into her hand.

Leo quickly pulled her to the sink and placed her hand under the cold running water.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” she replied dismissively, pulling her hand away.

He pulled her hand back, keeping it under the water. “Keep it there for a bit longer so you won’t have a scar.”

Vivi looked up and watched his serious expression as he inspected the back of her hand.

She laughed. “Alright, I’ll listen to you. But you need to tend to the customers.” She nodded in the direction of the old men waiting to pay for their order by the cash register.

One of them held his hands up. “Don’t mind us, missy. We can wait.”

“Nothing sweeter than love between young people, huh?” They began to discuss among themselves.

The two glanced at each other then quickly looked away. Vivi felt her cheeks burning.

The hustle died down in the afternoon, when the performers who were on the stage went for a break in preparation for that evening’s festivities.

Leo went outside the booth, taking off his cap to wipe the sweat from his forehead. A pair of teenagers walked by, giggling excitedly at each other. Vivi could hear them talk about how handsome Leo looked.

She frowned. These kids, how can they tell even if someone is handsome when he has a mask covering half his face?

One of the girls walked up to him and shyly asked if they could take a picture with him. He cheerfully agreed but said that he has to keep his mask on. They told him they didn’t mind and proceeded to crowd him on both sides with one holding a camera in front of them.

The girls thanked him profusely, then went off giggling happily. Leo waved them goodbye then walked back into the booth.

“You should put your cap back on,” Vivi told him. “Someone might recognize you.”

“Are you jealous?” he teased. 

“Of course not,” she snapped. “But I don’t want you leaving hair on a customer’s order.”

It was almost sunset. The booth had sold out and Vivi and Leo started packing up and loading things onto the back of her truck when Uncle Mac came and invited them over for dinner in his stall.

While they were eating ramen, Uncle Mac suggested that Vivi take Leo around the festival grounds during the evening. He argued that the festival scene at night was very different compared to how it was during the day.

Vivi conceded, on the condition that she will charge his room for her time.

“What did you do to Uncle Mac that he’s so nice to you?” Vivi asked as they walked around, stopping over booths to check out their products.

“I just won him over using my charm,” he replied, smiling cheekily.

She scoffed. “As if!”

He laughed. “I met his wife this morning. It turns out she is a huge fan of mine and remarked that I looked a lot like Leo Adams. I told them that I’m actually Leo’s cousin and I can try to get her an autographed copy of his last album. Uncle Mac shook my hand so many times I thought it was going to fall off!” He held his arm for emphasis.

She laughed. “Show off!”

Leo suddenly stopped dead in his tracks and stared ahead. Worried, Vivi tried to see what he was looking at, but couldn’t find it.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

He pulled her hand and walked over to a shooting game booth.

“Mister, how much for a few shots?” he asked.

“It’s five dollars for three corks,” the man replied.

Leo handed him a five-dollar bill, and the man gave him a small bowl of corks.

“You have three tries to shoot the prize you want off the rack,” the man said. “You don’t win if it doesn’t fall over.”

“So you like these kinds of games?” Vivi asked as Leo made his first shot.

He was aiming for the grand prize, a stuffed toy in the shape of a cartoon white fox placed at the very back of the stall and missed terribly.

“Sir, is this your first time? You might want to try aiming at something closer,” the man taunted.

Leo ignored him and took another shot. This time, he was able to hit the toy but wasn’t able to make it fall.

“Oooh, so close,” the man remarked confidently. “Last try.”

Vivi shot him a glare.

Leo, however, remained unperturbed. He took a deep breath and leaned a bit further in before taking the shot. He hit it square in the face and it toppled over.

The man was shocked and looked angrily at Leo.

Vivi leaned close and smirked. “Better pay up, mister. He won it fair and square.”

The man grudgingly gave Leo the stuffed toy.

They were about to leave the booth when Leo handed the fox toy over to Vivi. She looked at him with questioning eyes.

“It’s thanks for taking care of me when I was sick,” he said.

Vivi smiled. “Thank you. I guess you’re not so bad, after all.”

“Besides,” he added. “Don’t you think it looks exactly like you?”

She pushed him back with one hand. “I take back what I said. You’re a terrible person,” she sneered.

Leo laughed.

A big group of people suddenly rushed between them, and Vivi lost sight of Leo. Worried that he might get lost, she was about to call for him when she suddenly felt a hand grip her wrist.

“We better stick close or we’ll lose each other in this crowd,” Leo said, shifting his hand down to hold hers.

Shocked, Vivi remained speechless as he pulled her to his side and continued to walk around.

She was lost in her thoughts while they were walking that she didn’t even notice Leo stopping and walked past him.

He pulled her a bit too hard, causing her to crash into him.

“What?” she asked, annoyed.

Leo placed a hand on her chin.

He was so close that Vivi slightly pulled back.

Then he turned her head to look at the sky just in time for the fireworks to bloom in the darkness, illuminating the night sky.

The two watched together, not realizing that they were still holding each other’s hands, thanking the explosions of the fireworks for masking the loud beating of their hearts.