Whee, another chapter. Dunno if anyone was looking forward to it. Thank you if you did. Anyway, kind of a generic premise this time around, but I'm getting kind of brain-dead for ideas. If you have one, please mention it in a REVIEW or something. Ah well, I'm satsfied wth the result for once. Enjoy!
Turnabout Amusement
Despite her constant abuse, both verbal and physical, I cared for Franziska deeply, and that was how Elena and I ended up taking her to the new amusement park that had opened a couple blocks away from the house for her eighth birthday. This was somewhat like the old tourist attractions that were everywhere back home in Los Angeles, and after all I had spoken of them Franziska was eager to go, though her attitude certainly did not broadcast it extensively.
Because we walked, we were able to simply bypass parking, as opposed to spending minutes upon hours looking for an available space. That, and paying the outrageous fees charged for said parking space. We got in line, ordering two adult tickets and one children's, though it was quite obvious we were all children, ticket brackets were simply over fourteen and under. The cashier, a young lady with brown hair and a cheerful smile (though the bags under her eyes indicated she was clearly in a grumpy mood) bade us a good day and let us through.
The moment my eyes adjusted to the colorful lights going off left and right, Franziska took both of our hands and dragged us to the gigantic roller-coaster that had been so extensively advertised, much to Elena's excitement and my dismay. Meekly, I pointed back to a gentler ride, the whirling teacups, but she, as usual, ignored me and hopped on, taking the seat furthest to the inside. Elena gleefully climbed in, taking the center seat, and I, with a groan, occupied the outside seat.
"Franziska, do we really need to ride this one…?" I muttered dejectedly, looking sideways at her.
She smirked, making a whipping motion with her hands at me. "You are a coward, Miles Edgeworth. Just you wait. When this ride is over, you will be thanking me." Elena gave me a sympathetic smile and opened her mouth, but was cut off by some rattling chains and a sudden jerk forward.
Each clack sounding as we inched ever closer to the apex served even more to heighten my fear. My perpetual dislike of wild, dangerous things was an old one, caused by a nasty incident in my youth involving Larry and a turning play structure, but it had never hindered me much until now. Of course, that was all forgotten in the moment as we careened down with a collective scream, both the loudest I had heard and given in a very, very long time.
Up, down, left, right, sideways, forward, backward, any which way. I could barely keep up, and looking back I would observe that if I had been able to follow along I would have an even more horrific retching session. Which, after the ride ended not a moment too soon, was exactly what I proceeded to do, collapsed upon the ground centimeters from the exit. Half the people looking on laughed, the other half turned up their noses in disgust, and Franziska slapped her forehead in embarrassment, but I was far too absorbed in my own agony to care what anyone else thought of it.
Finally, I recovered, and the instant that happened Franziska turned to another roller coaster, but thankfully Elena took one look at my face and steered her to the shooting gallery. I followed behind slowly, slouching my head and back and weaving about like a drunkard. As such, by the time I caught up with the two, they were already popping caps off left and right.
I noticed the sweat trickling down the stall-keeper's face. It was quite obvious that he feared losing money, and with the combined force of my sister and friend his worries were not unfounded. He turned and pulled out a different gun from his drawers, a rifle to Franziska's pistol, and interrupted the shooting. "Hey, you're really good at this, huh? This must be far too easy for you. In fact, I've got just the thing to remedy that!" He handed over the rifle. "I never give this out, since it's too challenging for anyone else, but someone like you will ace it! Just stand on the other side of the street and shoot down this here target." He patted a bullseye with a toothy grin. "If you make it in three shots, you win a voucher for a dinner for six at any restaurant of your choice!"
She was barely listening, instead stepping back to a white line of chalk. The rifle flipped about, and with barely even a glace, she fired and hit the center immediately. The man, having dodged during the shot, gaped on as Elena gave Franziska a gigantic bear-hug. We were just about ready to leave, Franziska towing a gargantuan bag of prizes behind her, when the shopkeeper called out once again. "Warten sie einen moment!!!" he cried, throwing out his arm for dramatic emphasis. "One last time! Truth is, I've got something else I've never put out before! "
Sighing, I put my hand on Franziska's shoulder and started to steer her away. "Let's go, he's just trying to sucker us out of our money-"
"If you lose, you give back all your prizes-"
"See, what'd I tell-"
"But should you win, one thousand American dollars are yours!"
Elena's eyes immediately lit up and she marched Franziska right back up to the counter. "Deal, old man! Get your checkbook out, because you're going to need it real soon!" She grabbed the rifle from the counter and shoved it into Franziska's hands, pushing her back to the chalk mark. "What's your target?!"
With a sinister grin, he reached down and pulled out a bullseye so absurdly miniscule I could barely see it. Franziska thought the same, her eyes widening, but Elena merely got even more pumped up. "Three shots!" she said happily. "You can do it easy!" She gulped, nodding shakily, and fired with her best aim, but the bullet missed by over two inches. The shopkeeper grinned. "Two more!" he said along with Elena.
Another shot, missing by even more. Understandable, as Franziska was getting visibly agitated. Sensing her agony, I stepped up and tried to turn her away. "C'mon, you don't have to do this. Let's go do something else."
Angrily, she knocked my hand away, raising the gun back up. "What do you know, Miles Edgeworth?! This is a matter of pride! Now back away, before I end up putting a bullet through your head!" She pulled the trigger, even as I accidentally disrupted her shot, bringing down her arm with mine. The bullet hit a bell on the counter, ricocheted off a hanging medal, and hit the target so hard it passed straight through and dragged the thing clean down with it.
A few seconds passed, and everyone got up slowly, looking about as if in a daze. Elena, a light going off in her eyes, walked up with one of the snarkiest smirks I'd ever seen and snatched up the envelope on the counter, riffling through its content to confirm Franziska's prize. As the man looked on, gaping, she stuck out her tongue, tossed the money to Franziska, and walked away without looking back. In turn, Franziska and I looked at each other, gulped, and hurried after her.
"No," I said flatly.
"Don't be such a coward, Miles Edgeworth."
"Call me names all you like, I'm not going."
"Miles, it's just water!"
"Something I detest in large quantities."
"C'mon, do it for us!"
"…I have no bathing suit."
Franziska reached into her bag, interrupting my argument, and pulled out a pair of bright yellow swimming trunks. They dangled uselessly in the air by the hook made by her finger, acting as one giant elephant in the figurative room in the very, very awkward silence we were experiencing.
I grabbed the trunks forcefully and put my finger to Elena's half-open lips. "Not a word," I said, glaring at her mischievous eyes, and stepped into the adjacent changing room.
A few minutes later, I stood perched at the top of the waterslide, shirtless and shivering, rubbing my arms furiously. Franziska smirked on at me from below, floating languorously on the clear water far below. "Hurry up, Miles Edgeworth! We don't have all day!" she called up at me, cupping her hand around her mouth. I twitched, swearing to myself that I would do her horrible harm once I recovered from the trauma I was sure to experience.
"I'll never forgive you for this…" I muttered, grinding my teeth. Gulping, I took a tentative step forward with my toe. Then Elena, behind me, reached breaking point of impatience and pushed me forward. The lifeguard raised his megaphone and yelled at her, but I was too busy screaming to give him a second thought. Down and down I went, much like the roller coaster from before, the only difference being that torrents of water were slamming me about from every which way.
I finally managed to take a breath. Then I realized that was because there was no more water. Then I realized that was because I was in the middle of the air. I craned my neck back to catch a glimpse of the slide curving up at an obscenely steep rate, but that was interrupted by the beginnings of a freefall.
And of course, adding to the day's misfortunes, I happened to land belly first, perpendicular to the water. There was a gigantic splash, and I rose to the surface as everyone stared at me, my face submerged downwards. Elena ran off for the lifeguard, while Franziska swam over and tried to rub away the gigantic red area on my chest. Naturally, that didn't work, and the lifeguard ended giving me a couple of odd ointments and a towel. Shivering as I sat on the cold bench, I stared blankly ahead, waiting for the two to finish changing.
Out of respect to me and my aches, they finished up quickly, much to my appreciation. On the other hand, Franziska immediately grabbed my arm and led us to yet another roller coaster.
