By: Claire Liu
I love thrills. Thriller movies, thriller stories and books, and even Michael Jackson’s “Thriller”. But, I absolutely HATE thrill rides. Specifically, this 300-foot-tall roller coaster my friend was about to make me ride.
“Please don’t do this to me!” I wailed. “What have I ever done to you to deserve this?”
The whole line I whined and stomped, gripping my friend’s arm in an attempt to pull her out of line.
My friend, Maisy, had somehow managed to convince me to step into this rollercoaster’s line.
“If you ride a roller coaster of my choice, I’ll pay you 20 dollars,” Maisy had told me. How would I know that she was about to make me ride the tallest roller coaster in the park?
“Shut up!” Maisy shushed. “Everyone’s staring! Quit acting like such a baby!”
I didn’t care. I could already see the worker who organized which people sat in which row. The people in front of us were already situated in their seats, lap bars down. Glancing up at that hill, I swear it looked as tall as New York’s Empire State Building.
“Anna, you are not bailing after almost a whole hour of waiting,” Maisy ordered. “Or else you owe ME 20 dollars.”
“You’re being so mean!” I stomped. “Besides, I’m broke! You can’t make me do this.”
At that moment, I didn’t care that the workers and people in line were giving me concerned looks. If Maisy was going to make me ride this, I was going to make her as uncomfortable as possible.
“Oh my god Anna. Shut up!” She shushed again. “We’re almost up. Get ready.”
Oh, I was not going to shut up. Throughout the process of us getting into our seats, and the workers checking our lap bars, I blabbered all the way through. Even as the ride started, I would not stop.
“You owe me more than 20 dollars for this! 50 dollars! You hear that Maisy?” I hollered as the roller coaster ascended the first giant 300-foot hill.
I could feel the stares of the other riders boring into the back of my head–but I didn’t care.
“After this, we’re riding what I want! I’ll make you go on the Merry-Go-Round just because I know you hate it!” I continued at the top of my lungs.
If Maisy cared about what I said or not, she didn’t show it.
“We’re almost at the top! Brace yourself.”
Whatever chain of rants I was about to let out, didn’t. We were almost at the drop. I could feel my pulse increase as I took a big gulp. At that moment, as the ride inched closer and closer to the top, my mouth was incapable of forming any words,. I tried distracting myself by looking at how small everything was below me now. Shops, people, and other rides were so tiny down there.
Then it came. The drop.
I’ve never experienced a high drop like this before. And I was not ready. My stomach jumped, the wind overpowered me, and I gripped the lap bar handle with all my life. An enormous high pitch scream escaped my lips, and I let it out. The drop probably lasted about five seconds, but it was sure a heck of an experience.
The rest of the ride was a quick blur, consisting of loops, twists, and smaller hills. Hey, this isn’t even half as bad as I expected!
My veins were full of adrenaline as I screamed my heart out.
“I’M SORRY MAISY, YOU WERE RIGHT THIS IS ACTUALLY FUN. I PROMISE I WON’T MAKE YOU RIDE THE MERRY GO ROUND EVER AGAIN!” I hollered through the wind.
As the ride came to a halt, I was filled with buzzing emotions. But unexpectedly, I wasn’t relieved the ride was finally over. Instead, I was actually disappointed the ride didn’t last longer.
Me and Maisy giggled as we stepped out of the ride. Maisy playfully punched my arm.
“See? That wasn’t even that bad! You owe ME now, for acting like such a crybaby in line. You made the whole crowd stare at us! This one kid gave me the nastiest look.”
I laughed. “Maybe I overreacted a little. But forget about the 20 dollars, you don’t have to pay me anymore. In fact, let’s ride that again.”