Night at the Fair

Night had fallen at the fair. Nan walked through the midway stalls and watched people get sucked into difficult games of skill or chance. One stall was drawing quite a crowd. She stopped to look and see what kind of game it was.


It was a simple game- for 50 cents you could shoot targets through a small window and get a toy. Nan eyed the prizes hanging above the booth.


One prize in particular caught her eye. It was a stuffed bear with a red Christmas vest and long ears. She looked again. Or was it a reindeer with a badly shaped muzzle?



She wasn't sure, but it was charming. It had character, and she wanted it badly.

The truth was, this Christmas-vested mishap of a stuffed toy did have character. A mind of its own and a heart. A heart which belonged to his Lady Love, a delicate ballerina who could hold a pose for days. Who had held that exact pose for as long as he could remember.

His admiration for her knew no bounds. He knew he was ugly and awkward by comparison, but felt that if she would drop her pose just once and turn around, his chivalrous qualities could win her.


Entranced by the lights and goodies, Nan was easy prey for the hawker. "50 cents is all you need to play the game and win a prize," she said to the crowd in general. Nan glanced sideways at her. The hawker leaned over.

"Why don't you give it a try. I'm sure you'll be good at it."

Nan considered. The little reindeer was looking more and more like it should belong to her by the minute.

"This is the cheapest game at the fair. 50 cents today. 50 cents tomorrow. Always 50 cents. And it's a sure shot at a nice prize."

Nan knew in her heart of hearts that she should not play- these games were risky, designed to make the player lose. But she couldn't resist. Getting a shot at that bear, or reindeer, or whatever it was, was definitely worth 50 cents in her mind.

"Sure, I'll try," she said.

"Fantastic!" said the hawker. "Leave your bag there and choose a weapon. And be thinking about which prize you want!"

Nan already knew. She shook out the last bit of change from her satchel and handed it over, even the wheatback penny she'd saved for two years.

She chose a gun with a long barrel. "Going for precision, eh?" said the hawker, as she moved towards the edge of the tent. "That's smart. You have 3 shots. 5 points wins a prize. Light green soldiers are worth one and a half points each. The dark green guy is worth 5 but he moves so he's harder to hit."

Nan felt a little jittery. She swung the gun around and aimed through the window. Slow and steady was the way to go about this game.

She lined up the first soldier, made sure it was right, and took the shot. Much to her disappointment, she found that it was an air-powered gun. Instead of a loud bang it gave only a small pop, and the beanbag "bullet" fell short of the window.

"Hey!" she exclaimed. "This isn't working."

"Maybe your aim was off," the hawker shrugged. "Try again."

Nan scooted the box forward with her knee, but the hawker snapped, "Now leave that be. Moving my setup isn't going to help you if your aim is bad."

"My aim is not bad," she said slowly. She entertained brief thoughts of setting her sights on the clown and then seeing what she had to say about her aim, but there was only one bullet left, and she would rather have the stuffed toy than exact revenge on a peevish clown.

Nan put it out of her mind and took aim at the dark green soldier. She took her time. She counted the number of seconds it took him to move from one side of the window to the other, and then the number of seconds she would have a clear shot at him, and then tried to guess how many seconds it would take to fire the gun. Her finger twitched on the trigger. 3, 2,-

"Don't take all day, kid, we've got other people waiting," the hawker interrupted. Nan jumped and fired by accident. The pellet skittered around on the ground in front of her.

The bear reindeer- lost! Her wheatback penny- gone! Nan put her head down and cried.

"Stop it!" the hawker hissed. "Get out of here."

"That was not fair!" Nan yelled.

"Shut up and get out of here! I've got a business to-"

A shadow fell across Nan. The hawker herself shut up.

"That still was not fair," Nan said sullenly.

"Sure it was," said a voice behind her. "You look like a smart kid. Don't you know you get what you pay for at these things?"

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve

Nan and Breindeer waiting up for Santa. Complete with night vision goggles.

Don't stay up too late!

Merry Christmas from the 4th Story!

Fashion Shoots

Little knowing that her younger sister and her fair-haired companion were wandering the countryside, penniless and directionless, Gavin was quite enjoying herself. After gaining a great amount of attention for her success in the Fall Fashion Festival, several major names in the industry had contacted her, asking her to appear in their ads.

one for Toblerone Chocolate. . .(she received a year's supply of chocolates as payment.)


and a new line of millinery. . .(they let her keep the hat.)


and finally one for a new company that specialized in black pearls. (She had to negotiate with them to be able to keep the necklace. They eventually agreed, but only on the condition that it was not to appear in any of her creations.)

Yes, things were going quite well for Gavin and company. She congratulated herself on a job well done, and retired for the evening with a latte and a box of hard-earned Toblerone.

Enter Nan

While Charlotte and Colette were finishing their gloomy picnic lunch, a few miles away, a country fair was in full swing.

A small figure with blazing red hair surveyed the scene from afar, and then decided that it was worth her time to check it out.

Enter Nan

Nan has been living as a street urchin for a long time now, and has seen several fairs come and go, but they still hold a certain appeal. If she had any extra change, she would probably have spent it on a candy apple, but as it was. . .

Besides being expensive, the rides were too risky. She passed"The Spider", a green, 8-legged spinning machine. The last time it had come through town she'd ridden it, but being so small, she'd almost slipped under the lap bar, a terrifying experience she didn't wish to repeat.

Not that she was afraid.

No- what was scarier was the grafitti left by gangs. Gangs that would stay in town long after the fair had left.

At least there were still a few role models to look up to.

And a wall of anime! Standing beside it, Nan didn't feel like she was dressed so strangely.

Into the Woods, and a Revelation

In which the girls stop for lunch, and Charlotte reveals a secret about her past

It was getting on toward late afternoon. The girls had just made a stop at a local farmer's market and picked up enough food to make a picnic lunch.

The day had turned sticky and hot, so they took a break in the shade of a leafy tree.

"It's about time for lunch isn't it?" Charlotte asked.

Colette agreed that it was.

"It's a pity we didn't think to bring a tea service with us," she remarked. "Then we could have had a lovely afternoon tea. As it is, we'll have to make do with this cherry pie."

Charlotte unpacked the basket. There wasn't much. Besides the cherry pie, which was had been an impulse buy and would provide no lasting nutritional value, they only had a loaf of bread with sesame seeds on top.

She began to worry. The plan to run away from the boarding school could have been better executed, she thought. In fact, it would have been nice to have actually had a plan.

"How much money do you have left?" she asked Colette. "I didn't bring any except for what was in my pockets. And most of that we spent at the Farmer's Market."

"Oh, I don't carry money," Colette replied.

"Well, that's not good news," Charlotte said, but this didn't have any effect on Colette. Moneyless, she seemed perfectly happy to be sitting in the shade with the prospect of eating half a cherry pie still ahead.

"We can always get in touch with out parents when we're ready," she said. "Shall I cut the pie or will you?"

"On that subject, Colette, there's something I should tell you," Charlotte started.

"Don't worry; I've never been very good at cutting pies either," she smiled. "But we don't have a knife today, so we'll just have to use our fingers."

"I don't have any parents," Charlotte said.

"No parents!" Colette exclaimed. "Why not?"

"I don't know," Charlotte said. "But I do have a sister. She lives in the city. Her name is Gavin, and we need to find her."

Colette shrugged. "It's up to you," she said, and then added. "I didn't know, about your parents. I'm sorry."

Charlotte didn't have much to say. Everyone was sorry, including her. But what needed to be done now, was to finish lunch, and find Gavin.

Who's Who on the 4th Story

The stars of this blog are as follows:



Gavin, a Dynamite Girl by Integrity Toys, doesn't just have her finger on the pulse of the high fashion scene, she's the heartbeat of high fashion, or at least, she likes to think so.

Always casting an appraising eye on the outfits of others, Gavin can either make you feel like you've got it all together, or like you should run back to your room and change into something else.

Bold and decisive, she usually accomplishes all that she sets out to do. She runs a small fashion studio out of her loft apartment. The studio has gained some local recognition, but Gavin has bigger plans for it in the future.

Gavin is confidence embodied. If she has a weak spot, we don't know it yet.

Sooki, a Dynamite Girl by Integrity Toys, is the quiet type. She is sentimental and takes time to look at things in great detail.

With such a sweet look to her, Sooki has learned that more often than not, people are more willing to do things for you if you convince them that it was their idea to begin with. A bit of a manipulator, Sooki nonetheless finds time for friends, and knows when and just how far to push them.

We believe she is waiting for a Prince Charming, but there is no one on the horizon at this point.

Currently, she is living with her friend's fashion apartment/design studio. Since the two girls wear exactly the same size (imagine!), she is often the stand-in model for Gavin's creations. She has never complained about this.

Charlotte, originally a "Jun" Juku by Jakks Pacific, is a drama queen, with a knack for stirring up trouble and then finding ways to extricate herself (and hopefully anyone else involved).


This photo is a perfect example of Charlotte: movie star style and mischief combined!


Charlotte and Colette met in their boarding school, which they escaped only recently. Charlotte may be a little older than Colette, but not by much. And we all know that age is not always an indicator of maturity.



Even with her quirks, Charlotte is a fiercely loyal companion and is so resourceful, you'd want her along if you had to be stuck on a deserted island.









Colette, originally a "Hayley" Juku by Jakks Pacific, is the youngest of the bunch. She likes frills and girly things as they suit her bright blue eyes and yellow hair better than other clothes.



She is usually very tightlipped, but that doesn't mean she doesn't have her own ideas about things.



Sweetnatured and calm, she loves to throw tea parties and apply lipstick.



Her makeup palette is inspired by her favorite page of history: the 16th century. She simply adores the Rococo dresses, immaculate makeup, shoes, accessories, and did we mention the dresses?


We have yet to find out what really makes her tick. . .