The Manchester Early Summer Carnival
A “How I Spent My Summer Vacation: I Became a Girl” Gaiden
by
Rebecca Coleman

-4-
Sights and Sounds!

It seemed the whole of Manchester had decided to turn out for the carnival. The lot was filled with people, all dressed in summer casual clothing. The carnival was one half flee-market, quarter adventure park, and quarter food truck heaven. Aunt Flora had been blessed with the foresight of giving me my allowance for the week, and a little more for volunteering for the dunking booth. So I had plenty of cash to my name. Well plenty of cash if I did not squander it on knick-knacks.

And trust me their were plenty of people selling knick-knacks. There were dozens, and dozens of local merchants had set up frame tents with long tables under them. The tents shield the merchants from the harsh sun above and the tables were just draping with their wares. Some even had fans to provide a bit of cooling breeze to help ward off the heat.

You could find anything, one guy was selling retro gaming gear, and games, another woman was selling hand painted flower pots. Another guy was selling comic books and manga, another woman was selling second hand clothing and shoes. Another guy was selling hand crafted knives.

All of the merchants would stand by their tables and hawk their wares at the top of their lungs. Cash here though was king, no visa cards, no master cards, no discover cards, not even paypal was allowed. Everybody wanted cold hard cash. And the princes were insane too!

But after thirty minutes of roaming around I did find a few things I wanted. I found an old woman was selling second hand books, most of them were old paperbacks that had seen better days. Like the paper had turned from a whitish color to a more yellowish color. The colors on the front cover were fading and some even smelled a bit musty. But hidden among the rubbish I found a few slightly used manga's from a series I followed.

I felt bad, most used manga goes for around six to maybe seven dollars a pop if from a popular series, the new, slightly used second hand stuff goes for a little more. But she had a whole collection of 'YuYu Hakusho' for just twenty five dollars. Let me break that down, that the whole freaking series, we were talking around twenty tomas for around twenty five dollars. And from what I could tell, all were in near mint condition.

I felt like a thief as I forked over a twenty and a ten and told the old lady she could keep the change. Her eyes went as wide as saucer plates as she looked and the twenty and ten dollar bills in her hand. But the shock soon wore off as she quickly placed the two bills into her pocket and smiled as she watched me collect the box that held the whole collection.

“I never knew young folks loved those Japanese comics so much!” She said as she watched me haul the box off. “I got those from my grandson. He was going off to college and was getting rid of stuff. I told him I'll sell them for him.” She said smiling.

I nodded my head, and breathed a silent prayer under my breath.
“When I was your age it was all about 'Nancy Drew' and 'Cherry Adams' those were the books young ladies read when I was your age. Of course, that was right after the war of course. We still saw the Japanese as 'Japs' and hated them something fearsome because they bombed our battleships. Never understood why so many people fell in love with their characters.” She said gleaming at at me.

I wanted to say something but I did not.

“Also when I was your age. We did not go around wearing pants. Our mothers would have tanned our asses if we did. Only girls who were looking to get picked up would be seen showing that much leg. A woman has to save something for the bedroom. If you go around flashing your goods around, nobody is going to want to take them home. You know that right?” She said as she settled back down in her seat she then fixed her eyes firmly on me.

“I guess.' I said inching my way away.

“My grandmother told me when I was your age. 'Edith' was my name. 'If a man can buy the milk straight from the cow, there is no sense in him buying the cow'. It took me a while to understand what she was saying, but what she was trying to say is, if you give the boys all the attention they want. If you let them kiss you, squeeze your tits, play with your kitten. Stick their fingers into your kitten, and ride you like a Memphis trolley from sunset to sunrise. Then they're not going to put a ring on your finger.”

“...” I wanted to hurl. I wanted to scream. I wanted to just run like hell..

“Yes ma'am.” I said blushing as I shook  my head to clear that mental image away.

“And the way you're dressed, showing your bare legs, you bare arms. You look like a Memphis trolley that is just looking for a rider.” She said as she leaned back into her chair. “Not trying to be  rude girl, just trying to tell you, we women gotta look after each other, help each other. Build each other up. And that means being frank with each other.”

I bolted then.

Thirty minutes later I found myself sitting under the cooling shade of a tent belonging to the Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. Or just Shriners. A Masonic group.. they were cooking hot dogs and hamburgers and beef steaks, they also had ic cold A&W rootbeer for a dollar a can. I was three cans in and shaking like a leaf facing the first cold breath of autumn. That old woman and thrown me for a loop.

I mean, had she just called me a 'Slut' in a very roundabout way.And the talk about boys 'Squeeze my tites' and 'Stick their fingers into my kitten' had just shook me to the core. I mean Aunt Flora had warned me that I might get some boy attention when I started transiting. Mom, bless her heart, had not been well enough to give me the 'Birds and the Bee's' talk when she was alive. Cancer was eating her alive and daily I had to contend with the horrors of watching her slowly transform into a living skeleton right in front of my very eyes. So you know sex was the last thing on my mind.

And damnit all! I did not have a 'Kitten' that just.. OH God that made me want to march myself to the bathroom and wash my own mouth out with soap just thinking about that. I felt unclean. Sure I'd thought about kissing a boy but that's it! Heck if Andy reached down below my waist line he'll not find a 'Kitten' but a 'Stick'.
At that moment I reached over and picked up the can of A&W rootbeer, it was still pretty cold and I chugged it. I drained it in one go. I then crossed the can and tossed it over my shoulder and somehow it found it's way into a nearby trashcan.

“Another one.”

“Afraid I gotta cut you off. That's your fourth soda young lady.” Said a Shriner behind the wooden counter. Was dressed in a white cotton, long sleeve shirt with brown buttons and dust colored pants. He had dark jade colored eyes, and short cropped blonde hair. I could see on his third finger a large golden ring that must have weighed a ton. And on his head was a red fez hat.

I mutter something under my breath.

“If I order one of those heart attacks on a buns would you allow me to get a few more cans of soda?” I asked as I looked up from the barstood. The 'Heart attack on a Buns' was of course the cheap sausage dogs they were selling. It was the cheap kind of smoked sausage, the kind you could buy in bulk from any meat shop. From the look and smell of the stuff it was Red Rope, a kind of mock smoke sausage that was famous here in Mississippi. Red Rope was a staple in any meat market, and you could normally find it in the 'Pick Five' section.

Red Rope was not smoked sausage, it was bits and bobs of chicken, beef, and pork that had been stuffed into a casing that always seemed to get stuck between one tooth. Each sausage dog was a long link of this cheap, smoked sausage that had been nestled on a cheap hotdog bun and piled high with colorful peppers. In short, if you eat one, you will be shitting it out in the next hour or so.

“Sorry..” The Shriner said. “I gotta cut you off.”

I muttered something under my breath as I climbed down from the wooden bar stool and left the tent. Hauling my box of manga with me. I figured I'll go check the dunking booth out. Andy should be almost through with his shift. Maybe I would get a chance to dunk him.

And so that brings another chapter to a close.