It wasn’t easy to convince Marie to head to an amusement park, of all places; in her opinion, there were much easier ways to be amused,which she thought so very ironic. Simply staying home and playing video games would give her much more enjoyment than any sort of amusement park. After all, what was there that wasn’t a death trap? A ferris wheel could come crashing down at any moment, and though the food stands might not have looked dangerous, they’d take a few months off your life nonetheless. Unless you were Callie, of course; in that case, you’d need them just to keep yourself from withering away from activity. Well, those, and a few restaurants, soda shops, bakeries and maybe a Marie. Or two.
   But, as little as Marie wanted to head down to the nearest freakshow carnival, and as many times as Callie had offered, only to be turned down and take their grandpa instead (bless the poor old man, his spirit for fun never faltering), today was different from usual, in the sense that it was at last those 24 hours of the year where Callie got to drag Marie around wherever she wanted to.
“C’mon, Marie! It’s my birthday today! That basically means you gotta!”
“Blech… What’s so special about having been hatched a multiple of 365 days ago, anyway?” Now, by no means did that imply that Marie had never used her own birthday as a means to force Callie out of her comfort zone - she had been dragged to all sorts of salons, fancy diners, dramas and about tens of other places that all screamed “Marie”. But those places were different. Callie usually found something to like about wherever she had been taken - having her hair done was a fun new experience for her; the diners were renowned for their food, as well, a particular favorite of Callie’s; and she had found musicals particularly striking, so much that she had once tried taking Marie to see a rock opera. Yet, how was Marie, without even the assistance of Callie’s rose-tinted glasses, supposed to find some joy in what amounted to a death-wrought playground?
   Regardless of how much Marie dreaded the moment, it had finally arrived. The two of them were now in the driveway.
“By the way, I’m driving!” Callie shouted. Marie shuddered. Callie’s driving was in every sense of the word a representation of her personality, in that it was careless, reckless and entirely overbearing.
“Can you at least wait until we’re actually there before you try to kill me?” Marie meant to give a sardonic comment, but what came out sounded a little more sincere than she had hoped.
“Fair enough. You can drive.” But instead of a smile, a look of concern had spread across Callie’s face. It looked as if Marie had given the wrong tone after all. “But you know… If you’re really that uncomfortable, we can always stay home.” As she got into the passenger’s seat, Callie thought that perhaps it was a little reckless to ask Marie to come to a fair with so little prior experience; for her last birthday, the two of them had gone to Callie’s favorite soda shop together. Maybe Callie should have taken her to one of those kiddy fairs first? Perhaps a petting zoo? Callie wondered if they had training courses for amusement parks.
   As soon as Marie heard that, she was reminded of the kind of squid that Callie was. It was her birthday, and the poor girl was concerned over whether or not her cousin was brave enough to have fun with her. Marie frowned, mostly at herself, and made up in her mind that today was a day for Callie, not her own personal desires.
“Ah… Don’t worry about it. It’s your birthday, after all.”
“I guess, but… I’d have no problem with snuggling under the covers and playing video games all day instead!” Callie gave the kind of smile that let Marie know she was being entirely sincere.
“Oh, come on. You know that wouldn’t be special enough for your birthday. That sounds more akin to any other Saturday.” Marie turned the ignition key. “But you definitely owe me for this.”
“Owe you what?” Callie looked over.
“Well, first of all, you’re going to let me stay in bed all day tomorrow.” Callie chuckled as she realized Marie wasn’t really expecting anything, but to Marie, that promise would mean the world to her. Plenty of Sundays, Callie didn’t let Marie sleep past 10 AM. She would always want to do things with her, like go to a tennis match or see a concert. Callie didn’t quite seem to understand that Sundays were not for doing things. That isn’t to say, of course, that she hadn’t had her fair share of lazy Sundays; Callie alternatively spent her Sunday cooped up in her room, playing video games. At times, usually after a particularly jam-packed week for her, Callie would sleep longer than Marie; and when she slept, she slept. She wouldn’t respond unless she either woke up of her own accord (in which case she would gasp at how late it was and ask why Marie hadn’t woken her up) or Marie made breakfast (in which case she would immediately run to the kitchen and ask why Marie hadn’t woken her up).
   But, considering Callie had woken her up last Sunday at 4 AM to go on a birdwatching expedition, Marie didn’t particularly feel like pressing her luck.
“Okay, deal!”
“Wait, I didn’t finish yet.” A look of confusion came over Callie’s face.
“What else?”
“Make sure that… you cuddle with me too. A significant amount.”
“I thought you’d never ask!”
“Oh, and one last thing.”
“Eh?”
“I want breakfast in bed.”
“Marie, you know I can’t cook!” Though Callie had been getting lessons for cooking from Marie for a little while, Callie didn’t think she was nearly up to the task.
“Well, you seem to have perfected the art of egg cooking.” Callie giggled at this; she could make an egg over-easy, sunny side up, fried - but that was about the only ingredient she could use. “And, we have a toaster. Think of it as your first test.” Though she didn’t say it, Marie would have enjoyed anything Callie made for breakfast. Not only to see the fruits of her labor - but also to eat something made by Callie. As far as she was concerned, that alone made it worth eating.
“Eggs and toast it is! Yes, ma’am!” Callie cheerfully replied.
“Hey, you know I hate being called that; not everyone can have black tentacles, y’know.” And with that, the two of them were off to the fair, Marie in considerably higher spirits than before.
   That, however, did not stop the fair from being exactly the madhouse Marie had imagined. Immediately, Marie found her senses being overloaded from every direction. Sounds from all over pierced her ears; the whirr of the machines, the chatter of passersby, the screaming of the riders - is that how these people announced they were having fun? Screaming? Not even her nose was safe - the poor thing assaulted by the scent of sickly sweet death that Callie was bound to ingest. It also didn’t help that it was absolutely sweltering out the day of.
“Couldn’t you have at least tried to be born in a cooler month?” Marie was not particularly resistant to the elements, and thus she tried to dress to suit them; but there was only so little you could wear before the tabloids started lambasting you.
“You really were born for the stage, Marie. It’s not even that hot out!”
“Well, it certainly isn’t cool out. How can you go from that nice, air-conditioned car to this cruel, humid outside world without every drop of your body begging for you to get back in, turn around and read all day in your nice, air-conditioned home?”