The Westbrook Games

The Park

Clay watched Jade as she accessed where she had brought her to , her eyes travelling speedily over everything she could lay her eyes on .

Her already large eyes were almost popping out as her eyes travelled around the open space , she gripped her backpack tighter and took an unhesitant step backwards before sharply looking back at her .

" Clay? Where on God's green earth have you brought me ? " ,She questioned apprehensively .

Her face was strangely drained of colour and her ears were straightened and pointed like a deer caught in headlights .

Her voice was higher and much more strained than usual and she was doing the language thing , reverting to how certain people from the books she read usually talked .

She was definitely anxious , there was no two ways around it .

" Isn't it obvious ? It is the largest and most popular theme park in the city ",she tried to sell it with as much excitement as she could muster .

When she still remained silent and only gripped her bag tighter, cutting off all of the bags life support , Clay grabbed her hand and intertwined it with hers .

She looked up at her again ,her eyes large as she observed her carefully .

Her eyes were moist with barely hidden fear , she did not move and smiled Instead , she did not want to let her know that she was aware she was scared .

If she grabbed and hugged her now , she would only balk at Clay and deny having ever been scared .

Taking care of a child as smart and hard to predict as Jade was sometimes very hard and could be challenging especially on times like this when she could not even think of anything to do .

Clay said the first thing that came to her mind when she could no longer stand the fear in her sister's eyes any more .

" You love theme parks baby . Remember how you said that you could be any one you wanted to be here , for a while at least ", she said in hopes that she let go of her fear .

She hoped reminding her would work because she did not have a lot of aces up her sleeves .

She looked away from her and looked around the park once more , observing Everything again and slower as if with new eyes .

Clay had always thought parks were only for children but she had been very wrong as that was most definitely not the case .

The park was chocked full with every age group , every gender and almost certainly every species and they were all dressed to represent another age group , another gender or as extremely as another species .

It looked....fun.

And carefree .

Jade was probably thinking of the right words to express how dissappointed she was with the whole theme park idea .

" We could leave if ..."

She stopped talking when she took a step forward , fitting her hand into Clay's and pulling her along with her .

" It is just like I have always imagined .You are right , I absolutely love theme parks ".

Her misty eyes cleared off soon after and the mischief seeped Into her eyes as she looked around , searching for something. 

" Come on loser , find me an empty bench ", She yelled , gaining the attention of a couple of people around them who turned and looked at her strangely.

She skipped forward , her hair bouncing behind while Clay jogged after her , keeping her eyes peeled for empty benches that were comfortable and possibly under a shade .

They found a bench soon after and they settled down to watch everything that their eyes could not quite take in at once .

She watched a woman pass them and shook her head in disdain .

" Very basic , if not tragic portrayal of Hermione".

Jade was currently guessing what people were dressed as , so far she had insulted all of them .

" Hmmm Katniss , handcrafted bow and arrow included , awesome ensemble . Yeah , a two over ten ".

The lady in question seemed like she had put a lot of effort into becoming theme park hunger games lead .

" Is that supposed to be Charlie Chaplin ?"

" This man ought to be burned for not even having the capacity to develop an IQ ".

He looked like a pretty regular Charlie to me but I nodded in agreement with Jade's judging when she turned to look at me .

She gasped softly as a lady dressed as Dorothy , except if Dorothy had been extremely impoverished.

" Judy Garland as Dorothy ".

She breathed the name with reverence causing Clay to take another look at the woman's clothes .

Clay drew a blank , yeah , the only garlands she could think of were Christmas decorations .

Jade slowly turned to her like an enchanted doll .

" You have to be kidding , there is no way you do not know who Judy Garland was .

She was named the Elvis of Homosexuals , Dorothy in the 1939 rendition of Wizard of Oz , the Star in A star is born , She and Gene Kelly acted The pirate in 1948 and Summer stock in 1950 ", her voice was shallow as she described this .

She looked at me with desperate hope , as if she expected her ramblings to jolt something in my memories .

I didn't even remember what I had for breakfast .

A flyer with a breakfast advert flew past me , a giant plate of pancakes was on the flyer.

I shrugged , I had caught myself in a lie , one of those jokes you could never explain without seeming out of it.

" Sorry baby , I have no idea who any of those women are ", she said as lightly as she could .

This was honestly all Clay's fault , she had stopped paying for cable so , her sister only watched old movies on crusty tapes.

She scoffed.

" It is just the one woman , Judy . She is a lot like me , You know ? "

I did not see how an actress from 1935 was in any way similar to my seven year old sister but I would bite .

" How so , Fair Lady ?"

She smiled faintly .

" She had a great , powerful voice that drew people in yet she was in pain, suffering from depression and addiction to alcohol and drugs ".

" You're in no way like her ".

I commented hurriedly because it was true, Jade was no way like that woman.

" We both die at the peak of our lives , She from an overdose and I , from a medical condition that I detest ".

Clay blinked , she was at a loss of words.

" You are not dying ".

Clay's words reverberated all around them.

" I know the doctor told you already ".

" She only explained the condition of your heart . She said nothing about  you dying".

Clay watched her sister's eyes almost pop out for the second time that day .

" Oh shit , thank Goodness . I got all mushy and pretended to be nice for a second thinking I would actually die ".

She wiped a non existent tear .

" Learning of your impending death definitely makes you a better person for a moment ".

She laughed , the colour suddenly returning to her cheeks .

" All of that for the past ten minutes , was that you deliberately giving out niceties ?"

Jade had yelled at a woman that her costume was about as decent as cat piss .

" Yeah , I wanted to make a good memory for you before I turned non grata on this waste filled planet ".

She giggled and went back to making fun of costumes and people in general .

Clay apologized with his eyes and hands and heart , was this how parents felt when they watched their children prepare to go down the wrong path?

Jade's face soon began to lose its colour and her voice became more and more raspy.

Clay didn't want to tell her , she would stop in her own time .

" Doesn't he know ....know that Faes are .... always.... always t..tall ? "

She was gasping now and had promptly stopped talking , she fell back on the bench and into Clay's arms , her eyes were closed .

Clay smiled at her scrawny arms and legs and stroked her hair out of her face .

" What did the Doctor say to you then ? I thought she had told you that I was dying , hence , the theme park ".

" She said you must have been in a lot of pain and that you needed surgery ".

She used her thumb to trace her little face, pulling at her ears and nose .

" Surgery sounds more painful and expensive".

Clay began to nod but stopped when she realized that her eyes were still closed .

" You will be placed on injections that make you feel numb , leave expensive to me ".

" It's called general anesthesia , idiot ".

She opened her eyes and frowned up at her , even her frowns were so cute .

Clay refrained from mentioning that though .

" It probably costs a whole lot more than we can afford ".

" Leave that to me to worry about ".

Her cell beeped .

Clay pulled it out of her pocket , it was Tommy .

He had sent a text that read ;

Landlord outta u hair . Safe to come home.

She pocketed her phone back.

" Who was that ?"

" It's just Tommy ".

" Why is he texting you ?"

Clay did not reply her and just continued to stroke her hair .

" Don't make this some sad movie where you become a prostitute to get me another heart ,that is too cliche for my heart to take ".

" Your heart can't actually take anything".

Clay regretted it the moment it fell out of her lips , dark humor on hee baby sister? Really ?

Just how low had she fallen ?

Jade jumped off of her legs and punched hee arm , she was smiling brightly , almost like she was proud of her.

"What's up ? what's up bruh ?"

Clay grimaced at her attempt to play gangster , she finally sobered up and studied her face.

" You have plans already and you don't intend to tell me ".

Clay nodded , there was no use lying to her .

" Are they dangerous ? ",she asked testily .

She shook his head .

Jade came forward and rested her forehead on hers,she sighed softly ,her skinny frame heaving as she did so.

" Nothing dangerous please ".

" There ls no use having a new heart if you won't be there with me ".

" I promise , nothing dangerous ", she promised softly .

Clay chuckled and she kicked hee.

" And nothing that gets you incarcerated , I love you but I do not intend to ever grace the four walls of the American Judicial criminal dollhouse with my celestial presence ", She said with a grimace on her face .

It took a second for Clay to realize that she meant she wouldn't visit her in prison .

She laughed and pulled her to her chest , the kind of hug that felt like it could fix anything.