Velcro Shoes

                                    

                                          
Mason paced back and forth in front of the dragon coaster, waiting for the current group to climb off to see if the kids were there. He had texted Olivia that he would be there.
The ride seemed to go on for a millennia.
Olivia came around the corner, her eyes bright and her hair a horrible mess. She was smiling and laughing, while Jordan was stumbling around like a drunkard. His legs seemed independent of his body. His eyes squinted hard and he bumped into a trash can.
"That. Was. Awesomeness," Olivia said as she came over, holding a cone of pink cotton candy.
"Tha-t was not awesome!" Jordan exhaled. He leaned against a fence for support. "That ride was evil. Evil I tell you."
Mason laughed at the irony of the situation.
"I so want to go again," Olivia flipped her hair over her shoulder.
"You can. I'm done forever. I'm never going on another roller coaster ever again," Jordan vowed, closing his eyes.
"Surely it wasn't that bad?" Mason asked in a sarcastic tone.
Jordan didn't even respond. He was too busy catching his breath.
"Shouldn't have gone on there with five days of sleep deprivation," Olivia pointed out. "Where's the kids anyway?" She turned to Mason.
He looked at his watch and scratched at the back of his head.
"They should be here any moment. . ." He lied.
And from around the back of the coaster, Drake followed by his twin sisters came over laughing and chattering. He noticed a strand of white pearls draping from Sarah's coat pocket.
Mason slapped his hand to his chest and let out a sigh of relief.
"Sarah. What's that?" He asked, pointing to the pearls. She looked up at him with a grin.
"It was a prize from a game," she explained. 
He didn't believe her for a moment.
"Were you guys stealing again?" Olivia quizzed, bending to Sarah's level.
There was an intense moment of silence. Sarah glanced away from Olivia's stare and looked to Drake. Stuffed her hands in her pockets. Pulled her lower lip into her mouth.
Drake answered for her.
"No. Not really." He stated.
Mason caught a high five between Olive and Jordan.
"That's so-" Jordan stopped when he realised Mason was listening. "Terrible. Awful. Stealing is baaad." He winked to Olive. 
She snickered.
"That's it, no more carnival," Mason decided, "drop all your loot. I'm calling your dad and he's gonna come pick you up." 
He drew out his phone and flicked it open.
Drake lowered his head, and the twins took fistfuls of cash and jewelry from their pockets and dropped them to the ground. The loot kept coming. Coins, watches, necklaces. It was a never-ending stream of stolen treasure. Like they were pirates or something.
Jordan looked to the children sympathetically. Looked to Mason. Stepped towards him and grabbed the cellphone, pushed it away for a second.
"Mason," he whispered, "they're gonna be punished anyway. Let's stay a little while longer, till the sunset at least. It'll be a while till they see it again. They'll be grounded for weeks!"
Olivia stepped in.
"I agree with Jordan. Let them live this out." She added.
Mason groaned and sighed heavily.  Shoved his phone back in his pocket.
"Fine. Kids, we're staying till six thirty. We have three hours. OK? And that's it."
The kids were silent as death. Glancing at each other. Drake had one hand on the back of his neck, and his ears were going pink.
Sarah's eyes reddened and glistened with tears, and her chin scrunched up. She looked to the ground and started crying. She ran to Jordan and hugged his leg.
Olive just stared at her feet. Less affected than Sarah. She was mumbling angrily.
A scrawny man with dark brown hair and a patchy beard came up to Olivia. He was wearing a loose grey plaid shirt and ripped stonewashed jeans. He had a wild look in his eyes and nervous hands.
"Excuse me, miss?" He asked.
"Yes?"
"I'm Roger. My friend-" He pointed to a blond haired man next to the fried dough stand. "Carl and I think you're really pretty. We were wondering if we could get your number."
She looked at him, looked at Mason, and back to Roger.
"You both want my number?" She asked.
"Yeah," he said.
"Uhh."
Mason stepped in front of her, took her cotton candy cone, ripped the fluff off, handed it to Olivia, and wrapped his fist around it. Grabbed the collar of Roger's shirt. Tugged him forwards. Held the cone like a stake. Aimed it at the guy's face.
"Why don't you just back off, 'kay Roger?" Mason snarled.
Jordan stood beside him, with his fists up and a dangerous look.
Rogers' eyes widened and he put his hands on Mason's shoulder. Shoved against him. Mason let go and he turned on his heels. Bolted as if his life depended on it. Mason watched Roger and Carl mumble to each other, glance over at him, and then bolt off together.
"What was that about?!" Olivia demanded as she ran a hand along her hair.
He turned to face her and took a small tuft of her cotton candy. Put it in his mouth and let it dissolve before replying.
"You're welcome!"
"Did you have to threaten him like that?" She asked.
Mason shrugged and nodded. Reached out to grab another tuft of cotton candy. Olivia jerked it away and glared into him.
"He was a total creep," Jordan said, "Velcro shoes."
She kept her gaze on them, grabbed the handle of the stroller, and started walking away.