“I’ll be back before you know it.”
“Why does it have to be for so long?”
“It’s only six weeks. And we’ll talk every day.”
“Wait…” I grab his arm.“Take me with you.”
He smiles at me. “We can go together next summer. After graduation.”
“Promise?”
“Don’t worry, we can travel every summer for the rest of our lives, okay? You and me.”
“Okay,” I say. And then I remember something. “Wait—your jacket!” I take off his denim jacket to hand over before the door closes, but Sam stops me.
“Keep it for me.”
I smile and hold the denim close to my chest.
“You better have written a ton by the time I’m back. I can’t wait to read it.”
“I’ve barely started anything!”
“Well, now you won’t have me as a distraction.”
“You’re not a distraction—” I start.
But the train doors close between us.
Sam and I look at each other through the window. Then he breathes onto the glass and writes something. I read the letters right before they vanish.
S + J
I smile and place a hand on the window. Sam presses his hand against mine. We look at each other for as long as we have left. I wish I could frame this moment between us.
A voice comes through the intercom, reminding those of us on the platform to stay behind the yellow line. I take a couple steps back as the train begins to move, taking Sam with it. I stand there clenching the jacket, watching the train pick up speed until it becomes a roaring blur of lines, blasting air up from the tracks, blowing back my hair.
And then spots of light appear from behind me, twirling through the subway like fireflies as the ceiling suddenly lifts itself, pulling in a cool breeze. I turn around to find the underground platform has vanished, replaced by an evening sky and carousel lights from the fair.
Gravel crunches beneath my shoes as I look up at the Orbiter, a carnival ride that lifts people into the air and spins them around like a hand mixer.
“What about this one…” I ask, pointing at the ride. “Too scary?”
I’m holding hands with James—Sam’s little brother. It’s just the two of us at the moment. He doesn’t answer me. He hasn’t been speaking to me all night.
“Do you want some food instead? We can get cotton candy.”
James says nothing. He stares at the ground.
I don’t know why he’s so quiet. I take him to the cotton candy stand, hoping this cheers him up. He’s never like this. He and I have always gotten along. It was my idea to bring him here tonight.
A man behind the stand taps impatiently at a sign.
I tap James’s arm. “What color would you like?”
No answer.
“I guess we’ll take the blue,” I say.
