My Blue Orange Day

"Mommy mommy" i screamed out as I ran into the kitchen where my mother was starting to cook dinner, the smell of the southern styled fried chicken had almost distracted me, "oh my, was that sweet water cornbread" no I must not be distracted.
"Mommy mommy" I started again as I fought against the urge to take a wing out of the finished piles. "What boy" mommy said. The way mommy answered I knew that she had a long day and was not in a good mood. Her boss at work must have made her mad again.
As I took a second to wonder if I wanted to bug her I worked up the nerve stood tall and got brave and said.
"mommy the fair will be here tomorrow and can i go this year please"?
I thought maybe she didn't hear me because she took soooo longg to answer. By the hurt look in her face I knew that it wasn't looking too good for me on this one.
"Well, i wish I could tell you yes," she began, "but the money is really tight right now and If you go your will have to go."
"Awww mom, he don't even like the fair, he don't ride any of the rides or play any of the games I tried to plead my case, but not too much because I didn't want to make mom mad.
"I know but it wouldn't be fair to give you money and not let him go and I have too many bills this week son, I'm sorry." she told me and by the way she looked I know that she was sorry because I loved the Orlando fair, the roller coasters, the bumper cars with the music playing loud in the big speakers, the cotton candy, the "GIRLS.

As I took in what she said and got ready to walk away my cousin Maurice walked in. He was smiling his normal smiling self counting a lot of money. After giving my mother some of his money he looked down at me and said "hey squirt"
I hated that name, "hey Maurice," I said quietly quicking the invisible dust bullies on the kitchen floor.

"Whats wrong squirt" he asked me.
"I wanna go to the fair but we don't have enough money, unless you wanna give me said I said with a gleam in my eye."hoping hoping hoping.
"Well squirt I work for my money everyday and your old enough now to start working for your money so... if you wanna go you can go to work with me to make your own money." he said but for some reason I didn't hear anything he said because of the big chicken leg had totally taken my attention and the corn on the cob was starting to boil.....
"Squirt did you hear me" Maurice said snapping me out of the trance I was in. "yes I heard you, whatever. yea, I can do it." I told but not really caring about anything except the grumble that had started in my stomach.

"Ok be ready at 5 tomorrow morning" Maurice said already walking to the back of the house.
"yea yea, 5 work, got ya" i said watching mom make a big plate of chicken cornbread corn on cob, greens, whewwww and it was only friday.


5 a.m. came really fast but I jumped up put on my courderoy brown pants, my converse, and my sweater, it was gonna be a cool day. Maurice looked like he had been up for a while as he was sitting at the table drinking what smelled like a strong cup of coffee.
As I slumped my self over to the table and sat down with a thud, Maurice jumped up put his cup in the sink and said "Allrite squirt lets go, the sun gonna be up soon and we don't wanna be out there when the sun breaks the crowd." "What I just sat down, wait, hmmm what" i tried to get out but he had already left so scrambling I rushed with him to the corner where a big bus came by and we climbed aboard.

All of the men on the bus were wide awake," how could this be? Who gets up this early" I said to myself as I plopped down next to Maurice and tried to put my head on his shoulder and catch up on the dream that left me last night.
Bam!!! the sound of the bus door opening woke me up. As I looked out the window I saw a sea of trees and I thought okay this is gonna be fun and easy.

Maurice was out of the bus quickly picking up a long sack. After explaing to me what he would be doing, which was climbing to the top of the tree and putting the oranges in his sack, my job was to get the good oranges that fell to the ground and pick the ones that were at my height.

We started picking as they called it but my stomach started its usual grumbling. So while I kept picking I ate an orange. "Man that good" I thought to myself. 15 minutes later my stomach was grumbling again, so I ate another one, and another and another, 3 hrs later and 9 bins later I had ate 25 oranges.
I was feeling good, we had picked a lot of oranges, "boy you did real good today" Maurice said to me rubbing my head as he handed me my share of the money. 100!! 100!!1 wow. I felt so good today, I was becoming a man.
I went and made my own money and......
"OUCHHHHH" I yelled out. my stomach had turned really hard.
"no. I was going to the fair this year and I was a big man because......" my stomach did it again, this time i doubled over into the seat.
By the time I got home I knew I wasn't going to the fair anytime too soon. I had ate too many oranges that day. I didn't make it to the fair that weekend, it was a "Blue sick orange day"