check mate.

          “ hmm, they curve the hoop. makes sense. the games are made to make the most money, “ jax considers, earning a wimpy key chain as a prize for his efforts. his mind muses over the millions of ways to raise the difficulty level, most of which unnecessary, but it feels unsurprising that dax would know. call the man what you may, but jax held a lot of admiration in his heart. “ well, good thing someone’s glad. “ yeah, he’s being dramatic. there was one or two slight hiccups, despite a warm welcome, but his pessimism claws its way up, even at a carnival. “ i don’t know why i’m feeling like i’ve been gone forever. it’s been, like, two months, but it feels weird, y’know ? “

          he couldn’t piece the words together, but the thankfulness in jax’s chest swells seeing his friend’s encouraging smiles. he knows he’s exhausting, the constant info-dumping and niche interests, but knowing he had someone, multiple people in fact, willing to listen ... it’s an irreplacable feeling. “ burlesque shows, “ he nods, reciting the statement a third time between the two. he could imagine one at eonia’s own carnival, the greek demigods blessed with an ambiguous adoration for what would be labeled ‘scandelous’ at other universities. “ i mean, if i’d never seen a ferris wheel before, i’d be quite shocked. it was before airplanes and just after the skyscraper, so heights were probably exciting. “ listening to virginia speak about herself soothes him, soaking in the information and creating a mental note to purchase tickets for opening day as soon as he can. the teasing yet causes him to smile, but he can barely keep up appearances when the topic is switched onto him. “ overwhelming, kind of. my return was kind of sudden, so it’s a lot to try and catch up to everyone. some people are easier to grasp than others. “ he pauses to step forward in line and scratch the back of his neck. “ but good. i’m doing good. “

          jax has never heard legos used in a derogatory way until now, an odd surprise considering the creative insults strewn about at camp. it’s almost endearing of liya to use his interests as a personal attack; although, his optimistic look is quickly bulldozed by his negativity urging him to escape the crowds of students. “ actually, i’m almost finished with my homemade lego tree house. maybe i’ll drop out of college to become a lego master. “ his eyes snap to the wallet, neither encouraging the generosity nor disduading it. “ can we at least play skee ball ? i think i’m good enough at it to win. “ the statement is reminiscent of a child asking their parent to have an extra hour of screen time, only aided by the charity liya is offering.

          “ travelling carnivals actually originate from the 1893 chicago world’s fair, where there was a small area called the midway plaisance with games, freak shows, even burlesque shows. spicy. it created the term midway and featured the original ferris wheel. though, it seemed to have been built to try and outdo the eiffel tower, which sounds insane, but actually — “ paused. jax makes eye contact with a few students surrounding them in line, stopping his history lesson in its tracks. the self-awareness overcomes his excitement to explain it to virginia while they queue up for the house of mirrors, and so he shakes his head, inserting an apologetic smile. there’s a sense of guilt; he disappeared for a few months only to reappear in everyone’s lives, and a foreigness appears despite eonia being home. “ sorry, that’s not important. what is important is what you’ve been up to. any new exciting roles to learn ? “

          there’s a comforting warmth in losing, a reminder that old dogs don’t learn new tricks. agility is a blessing to some athena children, but jax never received such blessing, to put it kindly. basketball reminds him of american jocks, letterman jackets shoving chess players, like himself, against metal lockers, so his reason for choosing the game ? the shortest queue time. after making one basket out of five, he laughs, tilting his head to the side. “ i could explain to you the physics of basketball, but i guess knowing theory and putting it into action are two different things, huh ? ” if it weren’t for jax’s diazepam lifting the mood, he would’ve departed hours ago. well, that, and running into dax. “ i can’t believe they threw a whole carnival to celebrate my return, ” he attempted to joke, inflection mirroring that of a class presentation.

“ and so what if i want to go home and finish my project ? what’re you gonna do ? murder me in my sleep ? “ now in the second day, the carnival has fulfilled all of jax’s wishes. cotton candy, rollercoasters, stall games; he did it all. his drafting table continues to call to him, his bed beckoning him with its soft warmth. being boring is his strength, but adelaide is constantly there to shatter his dreams. as if on cue, while his attention was fixed on his friend, wondering if she would murder him in his sleep, he crosses paths with a metal pole. he feels a strong pressure-filled-pain in his nose, hand moving to wipe what he assumes is snot. spoiler: it’s not. “ you gave me a fucking nose bleed, addie ??? see, if i stayed home, i’d be perfectly safe without a nose bleed. “ unsure of how to proceed, he slides off his flannel to use as a tissue.

          a child of athena had never been so possibily foolish, so weak to his own enchanated brain. seeing shiloh, a million separate voices in his head told him to abort the mission. run away and never come back. he knew of the pain he suffered in her own two hands, the emotional anguish she put him through, not once, but twice. and still, he’s cemented in his spot, blankly staring back at the blonde. her lips plump against her thumb was of no help either, his mind weak and meandering. “ i guess so, “ he offered with a shrug. neither enthusiastic nor antagonistic, he once again was dragged along for the ride. in his typical fashion. “ i was about to head out, but i’ll hit one more ride and then i’m exiting. “

          there’s a thousand different words jax imagined saying to anaïs, a hundred different moments he still wishes to share with them, but they still render him speechless with a simple hi. or it’s the overwhelming amount of weed he’s smoked that day, still not stopping even into the night. “ i love funnel cake, “ is his short reply. he suddenly forgets the massive pile of kabobs he finished eating twenty minutes ago as well as his current destination of his bedroom, because even if it's a drunken hunger driving her, he's thankful for the moment. as they joined the line, he broke the silence the only way he knew how. “ did you know they’re one of the first american fried foods ? and also, it’s named a funnel cake because the batter is poured through a funnel to make it’s silly little shape. “ yes, he did read up on carnival facts before the first day, and no, there was no limit to who he’d tell them to.