Fairgrounds

	Monika's voice was the first one to greet me, “Oh, looks like they're finally here.  We were wondering if you were sick or something.”  She stole a glance into the hall behind me, and her smile dropped the smallest amount.  “Is Sayori with you?”
	I shook my head.  “Not today, I think.  She said she wasn't feeling good and wanted to head home right after school.”
	“Ew,” I heard Natsuki's voice come out from the closet in the back of the room, “I hope she didn't get you sick.  Then you come in and get all of us sick.”  She emerged, holding a box heavy with manga.  “That'd be just my luck right before the bake off.”  There was a silence to that comment that she wasn't expecting.
	Yuri broke in with the question, “Bake off?  What bake off?”
	“W-wh-what!?” Natsuki stammered, dropping the box on a nearby desk.  “Don't tell me you forgot, Yuri!”
	Yuri buried her nose farther in the book she was reading, but I could still see her turn red from where I was standing.  “I...uh...no, I didn't forget.  I just...might need a reminder.”
	“The sweets bake-off at the fairgrounds!  I've been waiting for it ever since I found out!”
	Yuri put down her book to fiddle with her hair.  “I'm sorry Natsuki.  I guess I had forgotten it since it was so long ago.”
	“I told you on Wednesday!”
	Wait a minute.  “You mean two days ago?” I asked.  Monika giggled.
	Natsuki, who had been advancing on Yuri, had to sidestep her to get a look at two two of us.  “Ah jeez, don't tell me you two forgot, too?”  Monika might have been wearing a better poker-face than me, but she definitely could tell we had forgotten.  “You guuuuys!”
	Monika put her hands up defensively and stifled a smile, “Sorry Natsuki.  I guess we all are a bit scatterbrained after the festival.  We all put in so much work, and no one decided to stay and join the club.”
	Yuri found her courage, now that she wasn't the only offender, “N-Not for lack of trying, though, and everyone came to look around because of your cupcakes.  They were the big hit of the festival.  I'm sure you'll do great in the bake-off, Natsuki!”
	The short girl huffed and put her hands on her hips.  “Well, duh, I'm going to win, but I was hoping you guys could come and vote for me.”
	That didn't seem like an unreasonable request.  “Well, sure we can, no problem.  We'll come and vote for you.”
	Natsuki broke our in a big grin.  “Yes!  I knew it!  Now I've got four votes for sure!  Plus, we all get to hang out at the fairgrounds all Sunday.”
	“S-Sunday?” Yuri paled at a realization.
	Monika looked apologetic, “Wait, do you mean this Sunday?”
	It turned out both of them were indisposed.  Yuri and her family were going to visit her grandparents, and Monika had piano classes every Sunday.  Natsuki became a pink-haired fury until she rounded on me.  I didn't have any real excuse.  I was just going to play games, watch anime, and read manga, maybe check on how Sayori was feeling, but when I saw her eyes light up like that, I couldn't say no, and ended up promising that both of us would come to cast our vote for Natsuki's cupcakes.

	“Sayori,” I sighed as I pulled out another bill from my wallet, “I don't see why you want to get so much junk food before we even get to eat cupcakes for free later.”
	She smiled as she tore off a chunk of pink cotton candy.  “Well, you did say you wanted to make me feel better.  It's coping food.  The best way to a woman's heart is through her stomach.”
	Natsuki didn't miss a beat.  “That's the way to a man's heart, goofball.”
	Sayori smiled coyly as she popped another chunk into her mouth with an audible 'Mmm.'  I think I had it figured out.  “I think it's through your sweet tooth, not your stomach, Sayori.”
	“Ehehe, you got me there!”
	“Well then,” Natsuki started, “it sounds like you'll be in love with my cupcakes when the contest comes around!  No sweet tooth can resist one of my sweets, and that's the truth!”
	I chuckled.  “Sweet tooths' sweet truth?”
	Sayori giggled while the shortest set of eyes in the group rolled over-dramatically.  “Well, whatever it is, it means I'm going to win this one!  Speaking of,” Natsuki pulled out her phone and checked the time, “I think I better get the the stage.  Backpack, please.”
	The backpack on my shoulders was mine, but she had it loaded with trays, utensils, and a few secret ingredients.  She was going to make me wear her backpack, but I traded it for my own.  I didn't want to be seen wearing her pink and girly version.  She looked up at me and thanked me prettily when I handed it off to her.  “Hey, Natsuki, before you leave, how are we going to find you when the contest if over?”
	She shrugged, but Sayori had no worries.  “We can find her easy.  Her hair is the same color as this cotton candy.”  She smiled again at the 'Hmf' that Natsuki returned her way.  We wished her good luck as she headed off, and true to Sayori's prediction, I could see her hair bobbing between people until she turned a corner.
	The two of us continued wandering around the rows of food stands and games.  Alone with Sayori, she got a bit quieter, but I couldn't understand why.  She was always so bubbly and cheerful most of the time, but when she had her moods, that Sayori was replaced with a far more somber version of herself.  It was normal, I guess, but I still wanted to keep her happy.
	When I asked her why she was feeling so melancholy, she answered that she just wanted an excuse for comfort food.  I sighed, rolled my eyes, and stared at her smile until it faltered.  “I don't know,” she admitted.  “I guess I just wanted the festival to go right.  I just...I wanted everyone to love our club and join it.  But, they came for Natsuki's cupcakes, and Yuri's decorations were great, and Monika brought a couple popular girls and guys around, and none of them stayed.  All I did was read a few poems.”  She fidgeted with her hands, her walk slowing.  “I didn't do anything, and it feels like, if I did, then we could have had new members.”
	I didn't have anything to say to that, really.  I grabbed a chunk of her cotton candy, stalling for time, and split it in two.  I ate one in front of Sayori and licked my lips, and held out the second one.  She snatched it from my hand and stuffed it in her face.  She couldn't stay upset while eating sweets.  “Does it really matter how many members the club has?  Sure, I mean, it'd be interesting, but I like the club as it is.  What would anyone else bring in, really?”
	She admitted she didn't know.  “It's just... I feel like having more people there was supposed to make it more lively.  It would make everyone happy.”
	“You knucklehead,” I chuckled, poking her in the ticklish part of her side.  We got moving again.  “The club makes everyone happy as is.  Do you enjoy it?” She nodded, and I continued on, “See? I know Monika, and Yuri, and Natsuki all enjoy it too.”
	She looked at me with puppy-dog eyes out of nowhere, “Do you?  You never said you like it...”
	“You dummy!  Of course I like it; I get to see you, don't I?”
	Sayori turned a shade of red.  She stammered out something that would have been cute if it made anything close to a real sentence.  When she had realized that she wasn't making sense, she occupied her mouth with more cotton candy.  I tried to hold in a laugh, but failed.  “You make everyone happy, Sayori.  That's one of the things you do better than anyone else.  I'm here to make you happy, now, so where do you want to go?  What do you want to do?”

	We wandered a lane of game stalls while she finished off her cotton candy.  She was looking for something specific, I could tell, but didn't feel like telling me just yet.
	“There!” she exclaimed, finger pointed across the row.  It was a game when you had to catapult beanbags into cups to win a prize.  “That's what I want!”
	“Seems like a pretty specific game to look for.”
	She shook her head, eyes fixated on something.  “Not that.  That!”  She pointed again.  I followed her finger to the biggest prize in the booth, a stuffed panda bigger than her torso that had pink spots instead of black.
	We headed straight for the booth.  The man running the show had noticed her pointing.  “You gonna win something nice for the pretty young girl?”
	I reached for my wallet. “You're darn right!”
	It turned out my confidence was premature.  The targets were moving once he started the game, and hitting the catapult with just the right strength while also trying to time the shot was really hard.  I didn't get anything my first couple of tries, and got a few points for the next three.
	The owner pointed to the bottom row of prizes.  “All your points from three rounds gets you anything from here.”
	Wait a minute... “So I can't just keep playing for better prizes?”
	He grinned at me.  “Sorry, buckaroo.  Them's the breaks.  All your points over three rounds.  I didn't count your first two since I was feeling generous.”
	That's what he calls it.  At least now I know.  I grabbed a giant swirly lolipop from the bottom row and gave it to Sayori, who had been watching like a hawk.  It wasn't the panda, but she sure was excited for it.  I went back for another round of three, this time with her cheering me on, and did a lot better, but still didn't get any really high scores.
	The man pointed at the middle row.  I still wasn't even close!  I grabbed a small stuffed animal.
	“A sheep?” Sayori wondered.
	“It-It's just for a warm up, okay?  I'm going to get that panda.”  She smiled back at me as I continued.  “Anyway, I thought it would match your cow and rooster animals in your room.  It's like, a whole farm or something, right?”
	She hadn't thought of that.  “I...You...You remembered what animals I have.”  It wasn't really a question.
	“Of course!” She was hugging the sheep in a death grip, trying to hide a smile behind it.  “I come over to visit enough.  Now, for that panda.”
	That proved premature.  My next three were worse, and the next set not any better.  Sayori liked the sweets I won, but my wallet was running dry.
	She tapped me on the shoulder after the last round.  “Hey, um, can I have a try?”
	I could only afford one more set, but I was willing to let her try anyway.  She really seemed to like the sheep, at least, so I think I did alright.  “Yeah, go ahead.  Three for the lovely lady.”  She handed the sheep to me and got her game face on.
	What followed saw my jaw drop, and it surprised the game owner as well.  She nearly got perfect scores for all three rounds.  Faster than I had finished any of my sets, she already had the Panda in her arms.  “Sayori...how did you do that?  I couldn't even get half that!”
	Her voice was muffled by her fuzzy prize in front of her face.  “That's the power of comfort food!”
	“Wha-?”
	“Also, you were getting frustrated.  You got worse as it went on since it was so hard.  You were just going to keep doing worse, maybe, I think.”  She jumped up and down in place.  “But who cares!  I got a giant panda of my very own!  Thank you sooooo much!”
	I think it was my turn to be bashful.  “I think we can add fair games to your list of things you are amazing at.  I didn't really do anything, though.”
	Even with the panda blocking her face, I could hear the smile in her voice.  “You cheered me up.”

	We killed a little more time wandering around before the competition started.  Sayori figured out the best spot to see the fireworks would be on a hill off the fairground, and I dragged her through a haunted house.  I'm not sure it she clung to her bear or me harder during it all.  I didn't mind either way.  She was smiling through it all.  That was what was important.
	She took the lead then, and started our meander to the collection of stages for various shows and contests.  I did my part by telling her to stop looking for food, and getting her to save room for Natsuki's cupcakes.  We arrived at the stage as the organizers were laying out paper plates and various plastic-ware for people to eat the confections when they were finished.  We grabbed a trio of chairs near the front, and had the panda occupy Natsuki's seat for whenever she was finished backstage.
	As time passed, more and more people filtered into the seating.  At the top of the hour, all the contestants, including our favorite pink-haired fireball came out carrying a bunch of trays.  They set down everything and went back, doing a number of trips.  Everyone brought out something different every time, probably to keep the audience guessing who made what.
	When everything was brought out, they began calling us up by rows, to grab a sample of all the cooking.  I asked Sayori if she was hungry, but she never answered.  I think she was transfixed by the sight in front of her.  There were doughnuts, pies, cupcakes, eclairs, crumbles, and repeats of a few.  While she was gazing longingly at the spear, Natsuki had sidled up to us without either of us noticing.
	“Hey guys!”  She nearly startled Sayori out of her skin.  She had a huge grin, obviously pleased with herself.  She was still wearing her apron.  While Sayori pouted, she asked her favor.  “You guys!  I need you to eat as much of the competition's snacks as you can.  Like, I mean helpings and helpings.  Go up for seconds and thirds and eat them out of house and home!”
	That was an unexpected request.  “But, why?” I wondered.  “I thought we'd want to eat yours.”
	“Yeah,” Sayori chimed in.  “Plus, your cupcakes are the best!”
	Natsuki accepted the compliment, smug as can be.  “Well, duh, mine are the best tasting, but everyone else has unfair advantages!  They had way more ingredients and decorations.  All I had was some basic batter and essentials from home.”  She crossed her arms and glared at another contestant.  “Plus, SOME people stuffed their eclairs with liquor-filled chocolates.  That's totally cheating!”
	The man obviously wasn't listening.  Sayori was still puzzled, and cocked her head to the side.  “So, wait, why are we eating all his eclairs?”
	“Because if he runs out, no one will have eaten his and will have to vote for someone else.  I had to go with quantity instead of secret ingredients.”  She grabbed Sayori on the shoulders and gazed deep into her eyes.  “Sayori!”
	“Y-Yeah?”
	“I need you to pig out like just saw the saddest part of a sad movie.”
	“Which one?”
	Natsuki paused for a moment to think. “The ending of Click.”
	Within moments, Sayori was at the front of the line, grabbing handfuls of chocolates and pastries between hiccups.  “Aww, come on, Natsuki!  I just got her out of her funk!”  I was going to stay seated.  She would bring back enough for all three of us.  Natsuki, for her part, went to go get napkins to wipe away any tears.
	When she returned, I was helping myself to a baked good as I consoled a grieving Sayori.  “W-what kind of sick-sicko makes a scene like that?  He just w-wanted his son to be h-h-happy-y-y-y...”  It really was amazing how she could cry, eat, and talk at the same time.  Maybe I'd add that to the list of stuff she's great at.  Natsuki handed me half the napkins and took up position on her other side, stopping only to marvel at the bear, and move it another seat over.
	By the time the polling was done, we had calmed her down to nothing more than the occasional sniffle.  We both gave Natsuki a thumbs and as she walked up to the stage.  There was a big reveal where they revealed which contestant went with which dish, complete with a drum-roll sound effect.  When everyone was introduced, they handed out the prizes to the top three, coupons for the fair for 3rd and 2nd, and a pre-paid credit card for the winner.  Our hearts sunk as Natsuki got her prize and round of applause second.  She always tried to hide her emotions, but we could tell she was choked up on stage.
	Another round of applause for the winner, with the eclairs, and all cooks went backstage to grab all their assorted supplies and cookware.  We both waited in our chairs for her to come back out.  It turned out to be a long wait.  There were just the two of us when she emerged.
	She had streaks from tears on her cheeks, and had her eyes fixed on the ground.  “It's not f-fair.  H-how stupid do you have to be to- to let someone use manufactured candy from a s-store in a cooking competition?”  Sayori stood up and wrapped her arms around her, giving her a shoulder to cry on.  “R-really dumb.  So s-stupid...”
	Sayori and eye shared a look at each other, not sure what to do.  I stood up and hugged her from the side closest to me.  There was a few moments of silence, broken only by the occasional sob.  Sayori looked to be, and guided Natsuki to my chest, freeing her from her grasp.  There was no protest, just another sob when she was on me, and tiny hands grabbing the cloth of my shirt.
	Sayori had a plan.  “Don't worry, Natsuki.  You still won.”
	“What?” Her voice was muffled against my chest. “It's just a stupid coupon...”
	“Nuh-uh.”  Sayori motioned me to hand her back, and I could see why.  “Even better.”
	I guided Natsuki back towards Sayori.  Her sob was choked off when she grabbed on to a giant pink panda bear instead of her friend.  “Wha-?”
	Sayori hugged her now, pulling her into the bear.  “You win best cook that's not stupid, or a dummy, or a cheater.  And,” she squeezed her tight “definitely best Natsuki!  That's the best award.”
	The sounds of grief had stopped.  Natsuki spoke timidly, not sure what to say or how to say it.  “That's...You...You didn't...”  She hugged the panda tighter and said something into it.  Neither Sayori or I heard it, but we knew what it was; 'Thanks.'  I approached the group hug from behind, and we squeezed Natsuki until he felt good enough to pack up and come along.

	The coupon proved useful after all.  I bought us some bottled drinks and a blanket to lay on the hill and watch the fireworks.  Sayori was on my left, sitting cross-legged with her sheep in her lap, head leading on my shoulder.  Natsuki was taking a picture of the fair grounds with her phone, all lit up against the night sky.
	I eyed the panda she had left on the blanket, to save her spot.  “Sayori, are you okay with losing that giant bear?”
	She nodded into my arm.  “Yep!  No question.”  She held up her sheep in front of me.  “This means more to me.  You won it for me, picked it for me.  It always mattered more than the panda.  I think I won it for Natsuki.  I just didn't know at the time.”
	“You really are better at making people happy than anyone else.”
	If there was any light out, Natsuki would have seen her blushing when she came back to the blanket.  “Alright, I think it's about to start.  Scooch over a little.”  She took her place on my right side, giant panda in her lap, and head against my arm.
	The only problem was that it was uneven, and it was hard to stay sitting up.  I leaned to the rear and plopped on my back, arms spread.  Sayori took the hint first, and lay next to me.  Natsuki had to take a moment to look me in the eye, look away, look back, and decide she was going to, too.  She lay next to me, and even put her head on my chest, panda sandwiched in the middle.  Sayori's head followed soon after, and she cradled her sheep in her arm.
	As the fireworks began, I wrapped my arms around their shoulders.  They stiffened a little, and then relaxed, getting heavy and cozy, but I didn't mind.  The first burst lit up the night sky.
	“You two have a good day?”
	Neither answered.  Neither had to.  They cuddled into my chest as we watched the show.