𝑠𝑝𝑎𝑐𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑤𝑏𝑜𝑦

          truthfully, ishi had been wondering about going in there herself.  she knows pitiful little about fortune-telling that wasn't from television and movies.  and while she had her fair share of suspicions, it wouldn't be fair for her to write off fortune-telling when she hadn't had first-hand experience.  what better time than now  ?     "     is there something you've been wanting to know  ?  from what i've heard, people get this done more for the experience than anything else, like buzzfeed quizzes.  people want to know about themselves, especially from strangers.     "     and, well, she'd be lying if she said she didn't want to walk in there and ask the person there banal questions just to hear what she wants.     "     i'm in if you are.     "

" nothin' too specific — guess i'm just like everyone else, interested in the experience more than the consequences of knowin', " she admitted. van was always a curious person, often a bit too curious for her own good. it got her in her fair share of trouble, but surely a charity carnival psychic wasn't going to make her lose her mind . . . right ?! " but screw it ! it's my first time in coney island, guess i should make the best of it. " and if she left here thinking her future was done for, well, what was it to her ? van smiled neatly, " if it gets real bad, we can duck outta there and drinks'll be on me, alright ? "

          “   nothing's  wrong  with  being  a  little  crazy  sometimes  ,  but  seeing  a  fortune  teller  is  probably  like  the  least  crazy  thing  you  can  do  around  here  .  i  mean  ,  what's  the  worst  that  could  happen  ?  it's  not  like  the  predictions  are  real  .   ”   camille  truly  doesn't  believe  in  the  whole  being  able  to  look  into  the  future  kinda  thing  and  it  shows  .   “   you  should  still  give  it  a  try  though  .  i'd  say  you  shouldn't  trust  them  one  hundred  percent  ,  but  if  you're  into  that  sort  of  thing  ,  you  do  you  .  after  all  someone's  gotta  believe  them  ,  am  i  right  ?  that's  how  they  keep  the  business  going  .   ”

" well when ya' put it like that, i definitely sound crazy, " van chuckled, rolling her eyes at herself. suddenly fortune-telling was the tamest thing she could do in new york city . . . but what could she say ? she had her fears, and there was always something super off-putting about an old lady and her crystal ball. " maybe it's a business . . . but you don't think they're even a tad bit real ? never read your zodiac horoscope and thought, well, damn, that makes total sense ? "

leaning back in his seat , wes shook his head in disbelief , a grin stretching across his face . “ to this day , i still can't believe that warner brothers fumbled the bag so badly , ” he began , amusement audible in his voice . “ i mean , imagine if they had actually done the smart thing and made spooky island into a real theme park .. disney would be absolutely shaking in their fucking boots . ”

" wes, bless your heart, but a spooky island theme park ? isn't that kinda . . . spooky ? most folks can't handle a haunted house, let alone a whole theme park, i'm tellin' ya, " van mused. she remembered going to disney world as a kid, making the fifteen hour drive from arlington, texas to orlando, florida with her parents. she still had the mid-ride photograph of herself on the haunted mansion, crying in her daddy's lap 'cause it was just too scary. ghosts always felt so real as a kid, and always extra frightening. " they'd be missin' out on a whole lotta business with parents not wantin' to take their kids 'cause it's too scary. disney'd be doing just fine. "

          head  tilts  to  the  side  as  they  observe  the  tent  the  other  woman  points  out  .  “  is  it  really  playing  with  fire  if  all  you’re  doing  is  getting  a  preview  into  your  fate  ?  ”  listen  ,  she’s  not  big  on  fortune  telling  or  the  occult  .  thinks  it’s  mostly  a  gimmick  .  a  hustle  .  and  ria  can  respect  that  .  everyone’s  gotta  survive  one  way  or  another  .  preying  on  those  who  believe  in  such  things  ?  well  …  not  exactly  the  most  ethical  thing  to  do  .  “  don’t  tell  me  you  believe  everyone’s  fate  is  sealed  the  moment  they’re  born  .  i’d  say  it’s  worth  giving  it  a  shot  .  my  guess  is  that  they’re  going  to  say  something  along  the  line  of  meeting  your  one  true  love  soon  .  ”

" i saw this musical once — poor girl hears her fortune's a great fall and spends the rest of the show lookin' for signs, too scared to do what she wants 'cause she's too busy tryin' not to make the psychic's prophecy come true. and when she finally lets go and forgets, ya know what happens ? she dies at the end ! " van exclaimed. she felt the story told itself — don't mess with fate, don't tempt it, don't even look it in the face. " that'd be me, i'm tellin' ya. make fun of me all ya' want, but some things are better left to fortune cookies and horoscopes. " yet even beyond her crazy rants, van was still curious . . . she just didn't know if any possibility of good news would be worth the risk. it was a scary gamble !

a grin formed on glossy lips as gemma looked from van to the tent in question and back again. while she did believe in things like the power of manifestation and indulged in the occasional astrology chart, fortune tellers were just one of those things she took with a grain of salt. van's accent brought a smile to her face. "nah, you're not crazy. if you wanna check it out, no harm in it. i'll even go with if it makes ya feel better." she offered with a casual shrug of her shoulders. gemma wouldn't mind seeing what they had to say. hopeful that it would be something about her love life looking better than how it's been. even if she didn't fully trust a fortune teller, it'd be nice to hear. "just don't take whatever they say to heart too much, good or bad." she walked over to the entrance of the tent and encouraged van to follow with a wave of her hand. "c'mon... this should be interesting."

" alright, alright, " van started, nodding her head as if shaking out her nerves in agreement. gemma had been somewhat of a guiding light since she fled to new york only a few months back — surely her producer had some merit, and at the very least, van believed she'd never steer her in the wrong direction. gemma was someone she could trust in an unfamiliar city where, despite being thousands of miles away from austin, she still felt like there were hunters lingering in every corner, ready to take her down at a moment's notice. at the front of the psychic's tent, van linked her arm with gemma's, a huff of air leaving glossed, puckered lips before she added with a teasing grin, " and when this is all i can think about for a good week afterwards, you're gonna be the one to talk me down — right, gem ? "

logan's not particularly superstitious himself — doesn't really believe in a lot of things . " i think it's only gonna be as true as you want it to be . " that could be said about most things , he thinks . " i say fuck it . if you wanna do it , do it . " shoulders lift in a shrug , " if you like what's said , internalize it and make moves that point you in that direction ... and if you don't ? well , forget about it . probably a shit psychic anyways if they've gotta rely on being employed by a once a year carnival . "

van looked at him with wide eyes, as if what he was saying was the craziest thing she'd ever heard. " you're real funny, i'll give ya' that, " she started, a light smile playing onto her lips. it wasn't that van didn't buy into free will. she liked believing she had choices — but there were pulls in everything she did, a sense that it was all apart of something greater, something written in the stars. she could either fulfill that destiny the way she was meant to, or design something different. it stressed her out either way. " but i'm a believer . . . and a lil' bit of an over-thinker, " she admitted. " and i dunno, maybe that's what makes it feel more real. she books this gig, then disappears 'til next year. mysterious as hell. how do we know she ain't a big deal outside this carnival ? "

Space Cowboy by Kacey Musgraves