It was weird what time did. Lolly felt like she was in a movie and the film had slowed down. Every detail around her became sharp. The aluminum stadium seats, the yellow goal posts, the way Trevor’s hair caught the wind. He seemed to be moving ever so slowly across the field. It was almost like he was floating. He was with some of his track friends. She waited with utmost stillness for him to maybe, hopefully, look her way.

Beside her Munch waved, but before he could call out Trevor’s name, Lolly clamped her hand over his mouth and hissed, “Don’t you dare.”

Against her fingers Munch mumbled, “Why not?”

She removed her hand from Munch’s mouth. “Please, I don't want to be too obvious. Let’s just walk around okay?”

Munch shrugged and said, “You still got scars from that jerk, Jive Turkey Brown?”

Lolly did not even like to hear that boy’s name. When she was in seventh grade, she had gotten her very first to her soul crush on a boy. Her heart had done all the stupid stuff it did when she saw Trevor, but in seventh grade her heart had not yet been rejected. She had been so enamored with David Brown, she talked about David to a few people, not many though. When she finally got the courage to get Munch to find out if David liked her back. It had not gone well at all. He told Munch, he did not like her because she’d told too many people that she liked him. It wasn’t true. She remembered wanting to just disappear in a vapor. Never had she been so embarrassed or so hurt. Later she had over heard some girls talking, and one of them had said, “That bald freak really thought David would like her back.” The memories still stung. Since then, she never told anyone, not even Munch when she liked some one. If Trevor was supposed to talk to her, if he wanted to talk to her, it would just have to happen.

They wandered from booth to booth, without once crossing paths with Trevor. Lolly did her best to NOT try to find him in the crowd. She and Munch were in line for the Ferris wheel, when a voice behind her said, “Wow. Look at you two.” It was Trevor.

Lolly and Munch turned around. Trevor was alone. Lolly’s mouth went dry and she could swear her tongue was starting yo swell. Was it possible she was allergic to Trevor Long?

He said, “Y’all look amazing.” Lolly couldn’t help but notice the inclusive y’all. Had she honestly been hoping he would give her, her own personal compliment? Of course she had.

Munch said, “Thank you, kind Sir.” He gave Lolly a little nudge. She forced a smile but couldn’t talk.

Trevor asked, “Can I ride with ya’ll on the Ferris Wheel?”

“Oh, Lord,” said Munch. “I do fear I am afraid of heights.” He was not. “Lolly isn’t though.”

Panic ripped through Lolly, could Munch be any more obvious? NO! The sound of her heart thundered in her ears. What was she going to do when Trevor said, “Uh, no that’s okay.”

Trevor asked, “Lolly, want to ride the Ferris wheel with me?”

“Uh, sure.” The pace of her breathing shot up. Good grief she wasn’t going to hyperventilate was she?

He smiled at her and said, “Good.”

Once again, being totally obvious, Munch said, “Oh, I see Mitzi heading for the ring toss booth. I promised I would help her win a gold fish.” Had he really promised that? Munch had no skills at ring toss. The little Liar! How could he abandon her like this?

The Ferris Wheel stopped. People got off and Trevor and Lolly got on. Neither of them spoke. The Ferris Wheel lifted them up. One of them really needed to say something. Awkwardly she blurted out, “Did you have a meet today?”

“No, this week we are off. Next Friday, we have a home meet. Have you ever been to a cross country meet before?”

“No.”

“Not many people come. They are kinda boring and slow. My mom and dad always come. Amber comes sometimes when she’s off or not with the infamous Bill. Amber told y’all went out for burgers the other night.”

“Yeah, we did.”

A hint of contempt crept into Trevor's voice when he said, “I bet she talked about Bill the whole time. I don’t know what she sees in that guy.”

Lolly hadn’t seen enough of Bill to form any sort of opinion.

Trevor looked down. He waved. Lolly glanced down. Lisa and Viv, from her Geometry class were smiling up at him. For the first stupid time, it occurred to her that she was not the only girl with a crush on Trevor Long. She looked back up at the sky line. A thin streak of fading light lay flat against the horizon. The wind caught her wings and caused them to flutter. If only they worked! If they did she would fly right off of this stupid Ferris Wheel.

Trevor turned his attention back to her. “Munch showed me the sketches of your costumes. I can’t believe how close the real things are to the drawings. He is crazy talented.”

“Yeah, he is.” So, she was back to responding in one syllable words. Great. The Ferris wheel was going back down. The ground was rising fast. Lolly prayed the ride was over. Only, it wasn’t. They were lifted back up again.

“Uh, Lolly?” Was there a trace of anxiety in his voice?

She turned to him.

“I've been wondering something. My sister and Munch both told me the same thing." He actually seemed nervous. "So, could I have your phone number?”

This question so shocked, Lolly her mouth dropped open. Embarrassed by her reaction, she quickly closed her mouth. HE WANTED HER NUMBER! “Uh, sure.”

He pulled a pen and a scrap of paper out of his sweatshirt pocket. She took it and scribbled down, her name and number and handed it to him. Silently, he read her number. When he looked up at her, he smiled. That smile.

Rhinos started racing around in Lolly’s brain. Would he call her, really? There was nothing worse than waiting for someone to call you when they didn’t. She handed him his pen.

He stuffed the pen and paper into his pocket and said, “I’ll call you.”

The question, Promise?, echoed in Lolly’s head. Aloud she said, “I’d like that.”

The Ferris Wheel stopped at the bottom. Trevor’s friends and Lisa and Viv were waiting for him. He got out of the seat fairly quickly and went towards them. He glanced back at her and smiled.

No good bye? Maybe she was reading too much into this situation. Maybe it was all so very impossible. She would have to wait and see. Would he call? He might. If he did would it mean anything?

Munch came up to her. His eyes were bright. He asked, “So how was it?”

“It was okay.”

“Did you give him your number?”

She nodded.

“I thought you’d be happy about it.”

Lolly thought she would too. She changed the subject. "So did you win Mitzi a goldfish?"

"No but Kevin did. Mitzi named the goldfish, Kevin."

"That fish better stay at Aunt Jessie's or Fluff will have Kevin for lunch."

There was a loud screeching noise and then the voice of the President of the PTA came over the loud speakers, "Please gather at the score board for the Halloween Costume competition."

Munch said "Show Time!" Every year he lived for this competition. He grabbed hold of Lolly's hand and drug her across the field.

Beneath the score board were a number of clowns, bums, hippies, witches and an odd assortment of animals. Munch jabbed Lolly in the ribs and said, "Check out Red Ridinghood. We got some competition this year!"

The girl was in their age bracket, but Lolly had never seen her before. Her cape was exquisite. Her dress looked like it came straight out of the movie, The Sound of Music. Beside Lolly Munch was frowning. He was worried.

Grandma Toady, Mitzi, Uncle Luke and Mrs Dutchendorph joined them. A crowd was forming. Uncle Luke went with Mitzi to the Five Years Old and Younger group. There was a fat baby dressed like a little pig. His mother was taking pictures of him. Lolly thought, That kid is going to be scarred for life. Munch took her hand and lead her to the teen section. Besides Red Ridinghood, there was a Genie, a cow, Kevin and Max as Burt and Ernie, two witches and a very sad clown. When, Lolly turned to face the crowd her eyes immediately landed on Trevor. He was looking straight at her. He gave her and Munch, the thumbs up sign. Lolly began to feel a little better about him.

The judges of the contest were the Mayor, Father Dinkins and Miss Buella the owner of Miss Buella's Hair Boutique. Once upon a time she cut Lolly's hair. Slowly, thoroughly the judges studied the costumes going from one age group to the next. Each group had First through Third prize and there was one Best of show.

Mitzi placed Second in her category. The Little Pig was First. Munch was pissed about this. Lolly whispered, "Everybody can see your face." He flipped his scowl into a fake smile. In the teen group, Red Ridinghood came in first, Munch was second. Lolly waited for her name to be called, only it wasn't. The Genie won third.

Miss Buella announced, "And Best of Show goes to the Blue Fairy, Lolly Phelps."

The crowd cheered! Trevor Long cheered! Lolly felt her face grow warm. The Mayor handed her a trophy and Father Dinkins gave her a $20.00 gift certificate from J C Penny's. She was overwhelmed. Every year she or Munch would place, but this was the first time, a costume Munch made won Best of Show.

As soon as the awards were all given out and the crowd started to break up, Munch picked up Lolly and swung her around. He shouted, "We did it!"

Against his neck, Lolly said, "You did it, it was all you."

He put her down and said, "We did it. You are my forever Muse." It was the nicest thing he had ever said to her.

Grandma Toady came up and hugged them both, so did Mrs Dutchendorph. Uncle Luke had Mitzi on his shoulders. She had a death grip on her red ribbon. She shouted at Lolly, "I'm Number Two!" And then she burst out laughing. Potty jokes, classic Mitzi. It was good to see her so happy. Max, who trailed behind them, shook his head, but he was smiling.

Kevin came up to Lolly and told her, "You look beautiful." He turned bright red.

"Thanks Kevin."

The smile he gave her was blinding. Was it possible he had a crush on her?She was instantly pleased and dismayed. As far as she knew no one had ever had a crush on her before. She was going to have be careful with Kevin. He was a sweet kid.

The stadium lights started flashing. The carnival was shutting down. People were leaving. Where was Trevor?