We make it to the front of the line, and I can feel myself shaking inside. I love rollercoasters, but the dread leading up to them makes me not want to go on them half the time.
“We don’t have to ride it if you don’t want to,” Teddy whispers in my ear. I almost take him up on his offer, but something inside me pushes me to do it.
“I’ll be fine, I love rollercoasters,” I say, trying to sound enthusiastic.
“If you say so,” Teddy replies, peering over heads to see the end of the line. It must be easy for him since he’s so tall.
As we approach the front of the queue, we are told to move onto the carts.
“You want me to go first?” Teddy asks.
“Ah, yeah,” I squeak dubiously.
I climb in and slide against Teddy, who’s smiling like an idiot.
“Hey there,” he says.
“Hi,” I reply, smiling at him.
“Get a room!” Elijah shouts from the back. He is sitting on his own until Kai slides in beside him. His face goes slightly red, and I can’t help but giggle as I turn around.
“I remember during our first date when we rode this together, you were terrified, it was so cute,” Cat says to Daisy behind us. Daisy blushes and mumbles something I can’t hear. Cat smiles like embarrassing her girlfriend is a hobby.
Then the bar comes down and rests on my chest tightly.
“You okay?” I ask Teddy.
“Perfect,” I say sarcastically.
We begin to move slowly, and my nerves build up quickly. We’re going up a hill slowly, and I can feel the vibrations of moving parts beneath me as we reach the top. We’re so high up now, and I can see the entire park. Children are running around, and teenagers are laughing as they run to the next ride. There are so many different rides, there’s a go-kart track, restaurants and?—
The rush of air is quick and massive. We all begin to scream as the coaster soars through the air at a speed I can’t fathom. We’re going round and round at a multitude of different angles, and I love the sound of Teddy screaming in my ear. He’s making me laugh in between screams. I move my hands to be over his on the bar.
The ride comes to a quick halt, and we both jolt forward, then back again. A laugh escapes us both as the ride starts, slowly creeping forward to the start.
“Oh my god, that was so good! Can we go again?” Elijah asks the man controlling the coaster. He’s a big, bald man who would serve better as a bouncer, I think.
“Do you not see the queue of people waiting to get on? What do you think?”
“No…?”
“Correct.” The man grumpily says.
Elijah looks defeated as he climbs out. Kai jumps out behind him with Elijah’s assistance. I offer Teddy my hand, which he grabs before I start pulling up. I somehow don’t get sent flying with Teddy’s strong grip.
“Ice cream sounds reallygood right now,” Elijah announces to the group as we walk towards a little stall. We’ve been on every ride at least once and even tried some of the stall games. I learned today that I can’t throw for shit and that Teddy is very competitive.
“What would you like, work colleague?” He asks.
“Stop calling me that!” I shout, and both of us laugh. “Could I get a ninety-nine, please?” I reply, only to be met with confusion.
“A what?”
“Oh my god, you have to be taking the piss. How can you not know what a ninety-nine is?” I ask, my eyebrows raised.
“I just don’t!” He laughs, and his face goes red.
“It’s like… the best!” I exclaim. I tap Cat’s shoulder and ask her, “You know what a ninety-nine is, right?”
