Callisto had reached the entrance to the carnival only after a short trek from the bridge and through the outdoor amphitheatre.
The loud music accompanying the rides, booth attendants calling the attention of potential customers, and the excited voices of visitors enjoying their time in the carnival mingle in Callisto's cat ears, creating an uplifting symphony that elicit excitement from within the young lady.
At the same time that Callisto entered the carnival, Adela reached the bridge her daughter crossed not too long ago.
Not wanting to waste even a second longer than necessary, the thud of Adela's heels hitting the floor sounded as she began to cross the bridge.
Back at the carnival, Callisto found herself standing before the bumper cars. Immediately, she recalled going in with Hinata and Elesis the first time they came to the carnival together.
* * *
"Hey, guys!" Elesis turned to Callisto and Hinata, who were discussing a particular problem in math that the young lady haven't learned yet. "Enough studying, you two. We're up next."
The two watched the red head go ahead of them, immediately occupying one bumper car. Callisto and Hinata followed suit.
On the way to get to their own bumper cars, Hinata apologized to the young lady. "Sorry about that, Calli. The problem came to mind just now, so I thought I should tell you about it before I forget again."
"It's all right," A soft smile arched Callisto's lips as she replied to the young man with kind words. "I'm glad you remembered and taught me something that's quite complex. I can't wait to try and solve it on my own in our next study session! But for now, El is right, enough studying. Let's have some fun!"
Hinata watched as Callisto went on ahead wih a spring in her step and mounted her bumper car, silently agreeing to her words with a nod.
Soon after their exchange, the three enjoyed their time with the bumper car ride.
"Hey, El, stop running!"
"Why am I the only one getting chased?!"
"Well, you hit us both so we're trying to get back at you."
"Stop ganging up on me!"
* * * *
A wide grin spread Callisto's cheeks after recounting one of the joyful moments of her life. And there was more of it in this carnival. However, she didn't come here just to reminisce.
She wanted to take advantage of being in the carnival all by her lonesome. And so, she continued roaming around until she stumbled upon a target shooting booth.
Her sky-blue marbles were glued at a guy holding a gun with a serious expression on his face and a girl standing behind him.
"You can do it, Babe," The girl encouraged, pumping her fists in the air in support for her boyfriend.
The guy remained stoic as he took a deep breath. There was a fire in his gaze.
This was probably the most important day of this young man's life. To impress the one girl who stood by her side and supported him, he must hit the target in his sight in the dead center, decorated with only two words — BIG PRIZE!
Callisto caught herself silently giving her own support to the man.
The man sure was taking his time. The target shooting booth staff was visibly growing impatient with the young fellow's indecisiveness, scratching an eyebrow as he tried to keep his professionalism intact.
However!
If there was one thing the staff was wrong about, it was him thinking that the young man was being indecisive.
No. He was far from that.
Rather, the man was waiting for the perfect time to shoot. No one knew exactly when that perfect time would come or how would he even be able to recognize if the moment was right.
But!
After taking his time, so much that his girlfriend was also beginning to lose patience...
"Hey, Babe, are you good?"
That perfect time that the young man was waiting for finally arrived.
At least that was what the young man thought to himself.
The young man finally pulled the trigger, the airgun's bullet flew out of the barrel as it headed straight for the target.
Time seemed to slow down around the booth as all of Callisto, the staff, and the man's girlfriend's jaw dropped upon seeing the bullet fly out of the airgun.
Surely, this one shot would hit home, right? Surely, the bullet would strike the target dead in the center, right?
The man was confident, assured that this shot would be the one that would impress his girlfriend. And maybe reward him in return.
Unfortunately, out of everyone present and watching the scene unfold, only he had such confidence.
The look of anticipation and hope in the eyes of everyone that was present, if there was any hope at all, soon disappeared as they realized the trajectory of the bullet.
It barely grazed the edge of the target. The target was supposed to be twice the size of an average clock one would hang on the wall, and yet, he only barely hit the edge.
The air was filled with disappointment after that.
All that time of preparation, concentration, determination, just to hit the edge of a big target felt like a waste.
Holding the gun with one hand, the man let it fall to his side as he rubbed the back of his head. "Aww, too bad. Guess we'll just have to try other games and hopefully win there."
Behind him, the man's girlfriend gave him a cold stare, clearly mad at him for wasting so much time just to miss a shot.
"Forget it," said the woman, her calm tone contrast the obvious fact that she was teetering at the edge of her tolerance for him. "We came here to ride the feris wheel, not indulge yourself with these stupid games!"
"What? I'm not indulging myself. I'm doing it for you!"
The man followed his girlfriend as they disappeared into the crowd.
An awkward chuckle escaped Callisto's lips as she watched everything unfold. "What the heck was that?"
The young lady approached the target shooting booth with a calm stride. The staff noticed her and could not help but be bewildered by her looks in a good way.
The staff straightened himself, trying to look professional. "50 pesos per round, 200 per 5 rounds. Hitting the center earns you a random big prize. Would you like to try your shooting skills?"
At the staff's challenge, there was only one answer that came to Callisto's mind. "Yes. One round please."
After their exchange, Callisto's gaze roam at the prizes hanging at the well around the big target. There were big stuffed toys, a long toy sword, an unboxed RC car, and also some minor prizes like the white cat mask.