'God, how long is she going to be?' I thought to myself, stifling what must have been my seventh yawn in just the past thirty minutes, thirty minutes I had spent standing beside the entrance to Cilton Dives Amusement Park in wait.
As I stood there anxiously for Helen to arrive, accompanied by a mountain of trepidation alongside a bundle of erratic butterflies in my stomach, I wanted to once again kick my past self for not getting even the slightest bit of sleep the night prior. Even though I knew it wasn't for a lack of trying.
The entirety of last night and this morning, I had found myself on edge, unable to relax and fidgeting constantly. It was so bad that after only twenty minutes since the call between Helen and me ended, and Sam had given me some of his clothes for the date, he proceeded to kick me out of his house. He had said it was to focus on his homework, but from the sigh of relief I heard from behind his front door the moment I was gone, I knew that wasn't entirely true.
With one more rub of my eyes and face which thankfully, whilst not healed fully, was past the point of making me look like a beaten up panda, I checked my outfit, making sure no stains had managed to magically appear in between the few minutes that had passed between my last nineteen other checks. Once happy that I looked at least presentable, I looked around at the crowd of people swarming before me. All of whom were rushing through the entrance gates and towards the myriad of rides that could still be seen from behind the tall brick wall that surrounded the entirety of the park. The rides zipping and zooming at such speeds I could feel myself starting to get sick just from watching them in motion.
"Alright, let's go."
I jumped into the air in shock at the closeness of the sudden and recognisable voice I heard beside me, wondering how she had gotten so close without me noticing the moment I realised who it was. I quickly looked to my left to spot the retreating figure of Helen as she barrelled passed me without even a glance and headed towards the amusement park. I simply stood rigid in place as I observed her, too lost in admiring her beauty from not having seen her for over a month. And god did I find her stunning.
Her wavy chocolate hair was placed into a high ponytail that swayed from side to side with each step she took. She wore a white flowy t-shirt that wrapped around the side of her shoulders, along with a pair of blue denim shorts that reached her knees. Even though I could only see her back, I was still left in a daze. I was only brought back to reality from the irritated tone of her voice as she swiftly turned around and faced me.
"Are you planning on moving anytime soon or are you going to continue standing there while you stare at my arse?" That, along with the tapping of her foot and the stern glare she held, gave me no doubts about her current mood.
"I.. I wasn't staring. I mean I was, but not at your arse. It's just so beautiful. You, I mean! Not your arse. Not that your arse isn't amaz-." Shutting my mouth before I could embarrass myself further and a brighter shade of red than I thought humanly possible, I quickly scurried along next to her.
"After you." I turned to her and squeaked out, only to receive a muted grunt in return before she continued walking towards the entrance to the amusement park, not even bothering to check that I was following after her.
Seeing Helen's clear disdain, I could feel my nervousness and anxiety begin to peak, along with a growing sense of nausea that grew with each step I took that made me question whether a place filled with rollercoasters was really the best idea. As we got in line and the stony silence between us continued, I rattled my brain for something, anything to say that could improve Helens mood.
"So… How's school been this past month?" I eventually asked, thinking it was an innocent enough question.
"Much better. For some reason, I didn't see any annoying idiots this past month like I usually do." She replied, still not even glancing in my direction. Her eyes simply set dead ahead towards the line that seemed frozen in place.
"Ahh, I see…" And with that, I shut my mouth, resulting in the most awkward wait I had ever experienced. Slowly, we meandered our way to the front of the line after what felt like hours before finally being able to pay for our tickets and pass through the entrance and into the amusement park.
The moment we stepped past the gates, my senses were assaulted by a symphony of sounds ranging from gleeful laughter to terrified screams. The delicious scent of hot dogs and pizzas drifted through the air, making my mouth begin to water almost instantly. After a moment, both Helen and I tried to move forward further into the park, fighting against the swarms of people that crowded the path and towards a more open area where we could be able to see something besides the back of a person's head.
"Phew, thank god. Feel like I can finally breathe now." I said in yet another failed attempt at conversation, receiving only a grunt from Helen before she began looking around the park and all but ignoring me.
"So.. What do you want to do first?" I asked, looking around at all the rides I could see, not expecting to receive an answer.
"The Descent." Helen suddenly replied, pointing to her left after seeing the confused look on my face.
I turned to where she was pointing just in time to witness a carriage full of people begin to scream as they fell from the sky at a breakneck pace, their screams still able to be heard even as they vanished out of sight in an instant. It was with such a sight, witnessing the speed at which the ride moved, that the nauseous feeling that had slowly been vacating my system came back at full throttle, along with a large amount of both apprehension and fear. The truth was that I had never been to an amusement park before, so to say I was scared shitless would have been an understatement.
"Ah, to be honest, I've never been on a roller coaster before. Maybe we could do one of the slower rides first? Just until I get familiar with how it feels and all that." I cringed at the whine and fear present in my voice. Yet Helen seemed to have barely noticed, walking confidently to the ride without even a backwards glance.
For a moment, I thought about simply leaving, after all, it wasn't as if I was being forced to follow after her. But as I saw Helen's retreating figure and remembered how I had treated her before, I decided that if this was what it was going to take for her to forgive me, then I would do it. I would not throw away my chance for forgiveness because of my damn fear and unease.
'And who knows,' I thought. 'Maybe after seeing the terror in my eyes and the blood-curdling shrieks I produce, she might find me so attractive that all her anger just dissipates.' I chuckled silently to myself before, with a heavy sigh and a large swallow, I swiftly picked up my pace, catching up with her before I lost sight of her completely, just as she reached the line for the ride.
The line to the ride felt as if it lasted a lifetime as I stood there nervously. My fear and anxiety grew stronger with each scream I heard and each person I saw violently throwing up as they exited the ride. Yet the moment we got to the front of the line and the carriage rolled to a stop in front of us, I wished the wait had lasted even longer. I watched in trepidation as the many nauseous-looking passengers all exited the ride, and it was with shaky legs and a pounding heartbeat that I stepped up, taking a seat at the very front of the ride along with Helen.
What happened next passed by in a blur. A monotonous voice could be heard as the large metal bar that was positioned above slammed down towards me, pressing me tightly into my seat and making me feel like a prisoner as it cut off any chance I had of escaping. Feeling a gaze to my right, I looked over to see Helen's face mere inches away from my own and her eyes staring directly into mine. She looked at me with upturned eyes and a mischievous grin on her lips, the first time that day her expression wasn't marred with some form of anger or annoyance. As the wait continued and I clenched my teeth in preparation, I thought I felt a small hand land on my upper arm and give a soothing squeeze. At least I think I did, I wasn't quite sure. In the state I was in a cat could have landed in my lap and I doubt I would have noticed.
Suddenly, the sound of machines coming to life rattled around us at the same time the death machine we were in began to edge and clank forward. I clenched my hands forcefully against the metal bar in front of me as the machine started to quickly build up pace. Before I knew it, we had exited the wooden hub area we had been in before and out into the outside world, soaring up high towards the sky with the entire park spread down beneath us. Though it's not like I saw any of it with my eyes locked closed as they were.
This went on for god knows how long, until, after many embarrassing screams of panic, I felt the ride come to a stop. At that moment, moronically, I believed that it meant the ride had come to an end, forgetting how the ride got its name, and with a sigh of relief, opened my eyes. Immediately, rows of clouds blanketed my sight in arm's reach as I was met with the sight of a drop so steep it seemed to head straight towards the centre of the earth. I promptly clenched the metal bar even harder than I thought physically possible as a girly shriek escaped my throat, to the clear amusement of Helen, if her snort was anything to go by.
"Oh god, oh god, oh god." I muttered incessantly as I pushed my body against the seat in a vain attempt to get as far away from the edge. "Why did we have to sit at the bloody front!"
"Quit being such a baby, look at this gorgeous view." Helen said in a gleeful tone before, to my complete horror, she began violently rocking back and forth, humming a jovial tune as she did so.
"Helen stop! For the love of god, stop! If I die on this ride, I promise you I will haunt you for the rest of your life." Helen simply laughed, rocking with even more vigour than before. Enough that I thought I could actually feel the carriage start to tip closer towards the drop.
"News flash Adam, if you die from this ride, how do you think I'm going to make it out alive?" She quipped.
In my panicked state I didn't even realise that, for the first time that day, Helen was actually talking and joking with me, just like we had over a month ago before I screwed everything up. However, before I could respond, to my complete horror, the carriage suddenly moved. In an intense burst of speed, the carriage went cascading down the steep drop, leaving any words I had planned to say completely lost. Replaced with that of more screams of terror as I shut my eyes tightly and did my best to keep the pool of vomit threatening to come out locked deep within my stomach.
This went on for what felt like hours, the ride throwing my limp body in every which direction, until, thankfully, I could feel the ride level out and come to a gradual stop. When I finally cracked open my eyes once again, I was greeted with the beautiful sight of the oak wood walls and the crowd of impatient park attendees all waiting for a go on the death machine. For god knows what reason. The moment the bar went flying up and off my chest, I all but leapt off the seat with energy I didn't know I had, thankful for the feeling of the stable ground beneath my feet, before I sprinted towards the trashcan not far away. Copying the same action I saw many of the other guests do as they exited the ride.