He twirled his mustache and sipped his slushy.
“Alright, keep your secrets. Take the day, I don't care. Your job is a lot more..."
I smirked. "For show?"
I was supposed to take this entire week and learn my job, but it barely took an afternoon. I sat down with a PR team who made me a social media account. With it, I'd take photos and videos of myself and others having fun at the park. Easy peasy.
"Not exactly. You're gonna be in commercials and the PR team wants to do a photoshoot for banners and stuff. Your face is gonna be plastered everywhere!"
I frowned. That part was not as easy. I didn't want to be the poster child for this death trap of a park.
"How is that girl who got hurt? I saw the ambulance taking her away the other day."
His smile fell. "Leeanna Mullins? She had to have her leg amputated." He cleared his throat and looked at his shoes. "She was compensated heavily."
My heart sank. Another victim of this place, and we just threw money at her. I stared at my brother, and the urge to snap his photo overtook me. I lifted my camera and clicked. His sad eyes now memorialized.
“I can’t believe you still do that.” He batted me away. “And that you still have that same camera Dad gave you.” He chuckled. I shrugged and rested my camera back down.
“Let’s go back to the park’s newest victim.” I reminded him.
"We're working on it." Fabian forced a smile. "Now that you're here, we can make some positive changes. Other than Marisol, is everyone treating you well since your return?"
We kept walking.
"For the most part. There's a few cold shoulders, but I kind of understand."
My mind went to Swayze and Koi. I could feel their cold glares every time I walked anywhere on the campgrounds. They hadn't spoken to me since my arrival, but they didn't have to for me to know what they were thinking. They deemed meresponsible for their best friend's death, and I didn't blame them one bit.
"Koi and Swayze?" He nodded. "Yeah, they like to toss their weight around camp and the park. I wouldn't let them get you down."
"Aren't they just ROs?"
"Ride operators? No, they are section managers. Swayze runs the water park, and Koi the rides. Mostly just making sure everyone else is doing their job. They kind of earned it, considering…" He chuckled.
"Considering what?"
Fabian reached for his curly mustache and twirled it. "Uh... Koi lost his eye last year, and I think the year before that, Swayze was impaled and they took his kidney."
"What?" Oh my god! This place was horrible! I spun around, my vision growing spotty. What kind of fresh hell was this park now? "This wasn't nearly as bad when Dad was alive."
"Yeah, he actually put money into things. Upkeep, safety stuff. Uncle Carlos won't. This is why we needed you to come back."
"Koi is blind?" I shook my head in disbelief.
"His other eye works fine, last I heard. We got him a nice glass eye, you can’t even tell. They say he’s got killer aim now. Swayze's okay too. He covered the scar with a tattoo and everything. Really, it's no big deal now. They still came back this summer."
I stepped away from him. "It is a big deal, Fabian. How would you feel if it had happened to you? How could you act like, like…"
"Marisol?" He rolled his eyes.
"Yes! How can you not care about real people and their lives?"
People were beginning to stare, but I didn't care. This place needed to be closed down before more people got hurt.
"You learn to pick your battles, and giving this park to Uncle Carlos was one none of us wanted to lose. Go, take the day off, and go see your friend before their surgery. Actually, take two. The PR team wanted you to get your hair professionally done and a new wardrobe for the photoshoot anyway. No more of Marisol's old stuff. Take one day for shopping, the other day for your friend, and when you come back, we can talk more about everything. I want change too," he reminded me.
"Thank you," I relented. While I was angry with him, I understood where he was coming from. He had to bide his time to eventually make the changes this place needed. "Uh, there's just one thing. I need a ride to the bus station."
