He flips the sheet of paper over now that most of the front is filled with our hasty scribbles.
I’m not a bully!
You just bullied me into being your friend.
I charmed you into being my friend. There’s a difference.
Whatever.
I smile, finally lifting my eyes to his.
Who is this boy?
This sweet, happy boy with a smile as bright as the early morning sun and eyes like the green grass of late spring? He’s definitely charmed me. I’m not sure if I find that annoying or cute.
He looks away, back to our paper, and writes something else. My eyes follow his hand as he pens his final words…
Friends forever.
After I read it, he balls up the piece of paper and tucks it inside the front pocket of his backpack.
I have no idea how very true those words would be.
Past
“Linc, I’m scared,” I whine as he drags me closer to the ominous contraption.
“It’ll be fine. I’ll be with you the whole time.”
“Yeah, I don’t think that’s gonna keep me from throwin’ my guts up.” I try to tug my hand from his, fear clawing at my chest, but he only grips it tighter.
Spinning to face me, he brings his free hand to my shoulder. “Listen to me, you can do this. It’s all in your head.”
“I’ve been afraid of heights since birth. Please, let’s go ride the tilt-a-whirl or something,” I beg, trying to reason with him, but I can see it in his eyes, he’s determined, and when Linc Matthews sets his mind to something…there is no stopping him.
“No, we’re doing this, and we’re doing it together. Now quit being a baby and c’mon.”
Linc’s firm voice conveys what I already knew. One way or another, I’m getting on this stupid thing. My heart races furiously in my chest as he hands the carnie our tickets.
He can be so freaking annoying sometimes.
In the three years we’ve been friends, he’s made me do a lot of things I didn’t want to do. He loves pushing me outside of my comfort zone. Like the time he talked me into riding on the back of his dirt bike even though they scared me to death. Or the time he made me go swimming in a pond even though he knew how much I hated not being able to see the bottom.
He knows my deep fear of heights. I can’t even ride an elevator to the third floor of our doctor’s office without hyperventilating.
But Linc has a way of talking me into just about anything. He brings adventure and fun to my simple world, and just like the scribbled words on the sheet of wide rule paper had promised, Linc and I had undoubtedly become friends.
Friends forever.
I trust him. Tell him things I don’t dare tell anyone else, not even Rachel.
But I’m not so sure about this.
As the controller closes the cage, locking us in, I begin to panic. My vision blurs as we move upward, only to stop a few feet above the ground so he can lock some other poor soul into the cage behind us.
“Relax, Syl.” The endearment rolls off his lips like a balm, soothing me instantly.
But then the damn thing starts moving again.
