Summer Festival
At the center of the plaza is a tower. It is tall and weathered and made of stone.
It recalls structures associated with Wizards, with odd outcroppings and precipitous drops. Those similarities are just for show, of course, Ven thinks. They doubt any actual Wizards would have been allowed on school grounds.
At the foot of the tower, a person in an embellished robe, an outrageous hat—and what appears to be a false beard—helps passengers onto a metal platform.
Aja, Rem, and Venetus watch as those in line before them are raised into the air, then dropped at dizzying speeds with much gleeful shrieking and exhilarated laughter, only to land safely on the ground moments later.
The whole thing is a marvel of engineering, which Aja heartily appreciates.
"How do you think they got it here?" she asks. "I don't see any seams where it could've been disassembled." She peeks around those waiting in line in an attempt to get a better look at the base.
"Perhaps it was simply rolled," Rem jests, as the three arrive at the front to take their turn.
They all begin to fasten their safety harnesses, preparing for liftoff. Aja at one end, Rem on the other, and Ven in the middle.
"Oh, mine's stuck," Venetus says, tugging on a safety belt.
"Here, let me help." Rem leans over, untangling a fastener from Ven's tunic. Their fingers brush against embroidered birds of paradise, and Ven feels a familiar flutter in their chest. Probably just nerves.
"OK. Got it." The straps slip into secure alignment, and Rem leans back.
"Ready?“ Aja asks, smiling.
"Ready." Ven returns a grin. They breathe in slowly and close their eyes as their feet lift off the ground, and the device takes them up up up.
And then stops.
They open their eyes. All is strangely quiet, and their chest fills in anticipation of the drop.
The whole of the plaza is visible from up here. From the campus, to the gardens, to the village far on the horizon, the world seems to spill out endlessly before them.
In this moment, as they sit perched on the precipice, the air is sweet, the sky is clear, and the world feels full of promise.
END
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