A/N: Hello! Here's the next chapter. It's a bit longer than the last one. Hope you enjoy it and don't forget to share your thoughts by leaving a review!
Chapter 28: Let's Celebrate!
The cafeteria was always the busiest place in school during lunch. As soon as the lunch bell rang, students quickly made their way to the long line near the ordering area. Others already occupied the tables they've assumed ownership of at the start of the year. You won't really see clusters of people based on stereotypes. There were still some, but it was more of groups of tightly-knit friends. That didn't mean everyone was nice and friendly though—if you're a new kid, you can't just sit on any vacant chair, unless you're invited over by other students.
Luckily, before school even started, I became friends with these people I always sat with.
Lately, however, I haven't been so participative in everything they were talking about. I didn't want to transfer tables, that's for sure. And the conversations weren't even boring. It's me, I guess. I tried to listen and chat, but I always ended up observing the students from other tables. Not sure why.
"April!"
"Huh?! What?" I had no idea what they were talking about.
"Why does it take so long for her to answer?" Mae muttered, shaking her head.
"You're going to the Winter Dance, right?" Claire asked me.
I shrugged. "Uh, I don't know yet. How about you guys?"
"Wait, what do you mean you don't know?" Mae asked, like she couldn't believe I would even think twice of going. "You said before that you'd go." This probably wasn't the first time they talked about the dance.
Of course I completely forgot when that conversation happened, or how I said yes.
"You're going with Matt?" Claire asked Mae.
"Of course. And you with Ethan?"
Claire nodded gleefully. She was obviously the most excited out of the four of us. Olivia sighed heavily. I looked down at my food and ate silently.
Claire looked at both of us. "It's not required, guys. Don't worry."
"Ugh, who needs dates?" Olivia said, somewhat bitterly. She didn't even look up from her book.
"Olivia, you're going, right?" Mae asked.
"Yeah." She was quick to answer. That's when she put her book down and added, "I mean, it's bonding with you guys. Just don't ditch us completely, you know." She gave a laugh.
Smiling from ear to ear, Mae and Claire looked at me. Without them saying anything, I could see the attempt to convince me written all over their faces.
"I don't know yet, guys. It's during exam week." I said.
Claire immediately replied, "Aw, come on, April! The dance happens after the exams."
Olivia also said something, surprisingly. "Yeah. And it's gonna be your first school dance here."
"Yeah, you wouldn't want to miss it. Besides, it's a great way to celebrate the end of school and the start of our Holiday break," Mae added.
I didn't look them in the eyes. I was still half-hearted. "I mean, I don't even have a dress yet," I answered.
"A dress? Girl, that's a piece of cake! We can help you with that. We can help you prepare whatever you need!" Mae said.
The exams, the dress—those weren't the only things stopping me. It's just that, school dances usually suck for me.
"Please just go? It'll be fun!" Claire said enthusiastically.
"We're literally asking you to the dance right now," Olivia joked.
They kept whining and convincing me. Talk about peer pressure. A partial one—I kinda wanted to go, but I also kinda didn't want to (I think that was the wallflower in me speaking). Ah, whatever, I thought.
"Alright, fine. I'll go, I'll go," I said, finally.
"Yaay!" exclaimed Mae and Claire, their hands up in the air. Olivia laughed, giving me a pat on the shoulder.
"Yeah, okay. You can calm down now," I told them.
Just as they were starting to do so, in the far distance, I saw her—Anne. She was walking amidst the cluttered students in the cafeteria. Soon enough she disappeared from my line of sight, heading to the table behind a group of guys who were standing and shouting because they were playing some intense board game. Though I didn't see, I was pretty sure she was going to sit with Heather and Madison. Huh. Not even a single glance to our table.
"It's gonna be so much fun! I'm excited!" Claire lightly clapped her hands.
Mae agreed, then started talking to me. "So, April," she called my attention. "Sometime this week, we should all go out to help you find a dress."
"Oh no, you don't need to." I was embarrassed that they always had to help me do these sort of things. "I can do that on my own."
"We insist," Claire said.
I gave a shy smile. "Thanks guys. But I'm okay."
"Fine. But if you haven't found one by Monday, we'll help you. Deal?"
I nodded. "Okay, deal." It's nice to have friends like them.
It didn't take long before one of them brought up another topic. Mae and Claire had already gone back to chatting about it while eating, with Olivia replying from time to time while she read her book.
I barely listened for the most part, responding only when they asked for my opinion. All while still observing other people in the cafeteria.
A few moments passed when I saw Rodrick pretend-kicking one of his friends-slash-bandmates. They were laughing and probably joking around with each other as they headed towards the exit.
He still had that big grin on his face when he glanced at me. He did a quick hello-salute with two fingers. I smiled at him before he and his friends left.
. . . . . . . . . .
"I'm sorry I wasn't able to send in the results of your presentations last week," Mr. Martins said after checking our attendance. "I promise to send them within the week."
That barely got any reactions from the class. About half of us probably didn't care when he'd send the grades in anyway. Me, I'm just curious if we really did well or not. But who knows when Mr. Martins would actually send the grades.
After English class, Claire kept bugging me about my plans for the Winter Dance as we walked to French class. She kept asking a bunch of questions—How are you going there? Who are you going with? What time will you start getting ready? Where will you buy a dress?—etcetera, etcetera. It felt like I emulated a robot as I repeatedly answered "I don't know."
That went on until we entered the room. I didn't want to crush her enthusiastic soul nor end up in an argument with her so I just kept up with it. Besides, this was normal Claire. I was used to it already.
Moments later, Rodrick came in just before the teacher did. As he passed by my seat on his way to the back, he whispered, "Bonjour, Prescott." It was so weird and random to hear him say that. But still, I smiled, trying to suppress my laugh.
Another one of his little gestures happened the following day, Tuesday. My hair was tied up in a ponytail because we just finished a laboratory activity for Science class. While I was walking down the hall after we were dismissed, someone pulled my hair. It wasn't too painful, but I got annoyed. Of course, you already know who it was. After Rodrick did that, he ran past me and looked back, making a funny face. I wanted to throw my bag at him, but there was no use, and I might even get called to the principal's office or something.
At lunch time that same day, I made my way through waves of students to get food in the cafeteria. The queue was long, so a lot of students waited before they could actually get trays to pick a meal and stuff. As I lined up, I realized that the person in front of me was Rodrick. A little plan of revenge started brewing in my mind. It commenced when it was about his turn to get his food.
He stepped forward and was about to take one of the trays. Right then, I flicked the back of his neck with my fingers.
"Ow!" he responded naturally, rubbing that part with his hand and looking behind him to see where that came from.
I was shorter than him, so I ducked, took a tray, and took his place in the line. In a flash, I was already ordering food. When he turned around, he saw me. I acted as if I've been there in the first place.
"Hey Prescott, why'd you cut the line?!" He threw his arms up in the air, annoyed as I was after he pulled my hair in the morning.
I looked at him blankly. "Don't know what you're talking about."
"Dude, what's the hold up?! I'm hungry!" the impatient kid behind Rodrick almost yelled.
Rodrick groaned, got a tray, and started getting his food.
A mischievous smile spread across my face. "Oh sweet revenge," I whispered before leaving the ordering area and walking to our table in a fast pace.
And the rest of the day was as boring as it could be.
. . . . . . . . . .
"April, Mr. Martins sent the emails!" Claire said in an urgent and excited tone, her eyes glued to her phone which just gave her the notification. We just finished showering and changing our clothes. Yeah, it was a sweaty and tiring Phys Ed session.
"Really?" I scrambled for my phone in my bag to check the email as soon as I could. "What did you get?"
"Got a B!"
"Not bad." I was still looking for my phone. I got ahold of it as we walked out of the girls' locker room.
"They said it's out! The grade's out!" Rodrick shouted as he appeared out of nowhere. Again, he was successful in startling me and Claire.
"Aah!" I almost dropped my phone. Good thing I caught it. Claire had her hand on her chest as she breathed heavily.
"Woah, careful there," Rodrick said.
"Dude, you gotta stop startling people!" I glared at him. He was fresh from the shower with his hair still wet. And boy, did he smell good. That kind of distracted me from getting angry at him.
"I didn't mean to. So did you check the email al—"
"Claire got startled too this time." I pointed to her. "Say sorry."
Rodrick rolled his eyes. "Sorry," he said, holding up a peace sign.
Claire nodded. "Yeah, it's fine." She checked her phone—someone texted her. "Hey, I'll go ahead. Ethan's looking for me. See you at the table, April?"
"Yeah, I'll follow. See you!" I waved. Claire started walking towards the cafeteria.
Rodrick and I started walking the other way—to my locker.
"So can we look at the result now?" he asked impatiently.
I also wanted to look at it already, but I decided to hold it a little longer because he was annoying earlier. "I'll just drop off my stuff in my locker."
He slowed down. I didn't. In fact, I walked faster just to annoy him. "Can't you check it while we're walking?!"
"Can't you check your phone?!" I knew he was too lazy to open up his inbox.
"Ugh. Wait up, Prescott!" He ran to catch up on me.
After I finished dropping off my bag of used P.E. clothes in my locker, I immediately whipped up my phone and checked my email. I tapped the only unread one in my inbox. It took a while to load.
Rodrick peered from behind me, but soon gave up because he couldn't see it. "What did we get? What did we get?"
The suspense was killing both of us. After a few more seconds, text appeared on the screen. Our grade for the presentation was typed in bold.
My eyes widened. I stared at my phone for a while just to verify if it was real. I was speechless.
"What's our grade?" Rodrick asked again.
"We got an A," I muttered in a barely audible volume.
"What? Talk to me, not to the locker!"
I swiftly turned around. My eyes as excited as ever. "An A. We got an A!"
"What?! An A? Are you sure?"
I nodded and raised my phone to show him the email. He grabbed my phone and looked at it himself.
"We got an A!" he yelled, the biggest grin on his face. "Ha! YES! We got an A, WOOO!" He hugged me quickly, and then jumped up and down, while I just watched, smiling. He was so full of joy. At that moment, he didn't give a damn about what other students passing by would think of him.
I took my other bag and then closed my locker. "Hey, can I have my phone back?"
He finally stopped. He walked towards me, returned my phone, and said, "This calls for a celebration. Come on!" He grabbed my arm and started walking briskly through the swarm of students.
I realized he wasn't heading to the cafeteria. "Rodrick, where are we going?!"
"I don't know yet." He walked faster, almost a run. "But I won't take no for an answer!"
Before I knew it, we were at the parking lot by his van. He hopped in, and told me to do the same, but I didn't move.
He looked through the passenger window. "What's wrong? What are you waiting for? Get in!"
"Look, I know you're happy, and I'm all for an awesome celebration. But we still have classes later, Rodrick!"
He sighed. "I said I won't take no for an answer."
"But—"
"Just this one time. Please?"
I looked back to the school, then at Rodrick. I took a deep breath. Just this one time, I told myself. "Okay, fine." I opened the door and got in, hearing another 'Yes!' from Rodrick. "I can't believe I'm doing this," I mumbled.
He fired up the engine and soon we were out of the parking lot and on the road. The usual bumpy ride to I-don't-know-where began.
"Where are we going?" I asked him again.
"I have an idea already. You'll see." He smirked.
The guilt and panic started kicking in. "Gosh, I hope we don't get in trouble. We're having exams next week, and it's gonna be so bad if they knew we cut class—"
"Hey, you have to chill out okay? They won't find out. Trust me."
"What if they do? Oh no." I buried my face in my hands. "I might fail my exams. I might get suspended... Or expelled! My parents are gonna kill me."
"Woah, woah, woah! What's with all this negativity? A moment ago you were smiling and now this? Today's a winning day, remember? We got an A!"
I looked up slowly. "Right... Ugh, I just don't want us to get in trouble." It was obvious that I wasn't used to breaking the rules.
He patted my shoulder. "Relax, okay? Don't worry. I got you." He put his hand back on the wheel. "Besides, we're celebrating! You gotta loosen up. Learn to take a break!"
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath to calm myself. "Okay. Just this one time."
"Alright. You okay now?" He looked at me, concerned.
I opened my eyes and watched the road ahead. "Yeah."
"Okay, great! Let's gooo!" He sped up for a moment, just for show, and then went back to normal speed.
I was quiet for a while, so he tried to engage me in a conversation. It was also to lighten up my mood.
"I'm so glad we got a high grade," he said.
"Yeah, me too."
"Good thing we were partners, huh!" He tapped my shoulder lightly with the back of his hand.
I laughed sarcastically. "That didn't go so well at first. Honestly, you sucked at being a project partner."
And a sarcastic reply was what I got from him. "Ouch. But thanks. And you're welcome, because I came up with the video idea."
I nodded. "That's also true. Thanks. But I came up with the content. So you're also welcome."
Our conversation of random topics continued as Rodrick kept driving. I had no idea how much time had passed nor how near or far we still were from the destination. I was starting to hear and feel the silent growls of my stomach.
"Are we near the place yet?" I asked after Rodrick just finished talking about how he hates P.E. "I'm getting kinda hungry."
"No, not yet. There might be some food in the back. You can check if you want."
I shook my head. "No thanks. I'm not gonna swim in that polluted space again."
He rolled his eyes. "Pfft. Suit yourself."
My stomach growled, louder this time. "Can we at least go for a drive-thru or something?"
"Ugh. Fine. I don't want to get eaten by you."
I scoffed. "As if. If you were the last pizza—the last food on the face of the earth, I won't even touch you."
"The feeling is mutual." He turned the wheel to enter the drive-thru area of this burger place we just spotted.
After ordering and getting our food, he continued driving to who knows where.
"Why is it taking forever to get there?" I said while munching on my burger.
"Hey, don't talk while your mouth is full." He took a big bite of his burger after that.
It was as if my own words scolded me. I chewed my food, almost gritting my teeth as I did so. I replied just after I swallowed it. "Aha. You've learned, Heffley. Anyway, cut me some slack. I was just too hungry."
"Whatever." Now it was him talking with his mouth full. I didn't even bother to tell him off.
"Why can't you just tell me where we're going?"
He replied, mouth not full this time, "You'll see it anyway."
I sighed. "Just make sure to take me home safely after this."
Although we still chatted about random stuff, the trip became more quiet. Soon after we finished our food, I started feeling a little drowsy. So I relaxed against the paasenger seat and decided to close my eyes for a bit.
. . . . . . . . . .
"Wake up, Prescott."
The car stopped. I faintly heard the handbreak being pulled up. The engine was turned off.
I slowly opened my eyes and realized I was already leaning onto the window of Rodrick's van. I yawned and stretched as I sat up. My hair was tangled a bit. What a mess. The only thing missing was drool from my mouth.
"Seems like you had a good sleep," Rodrick said, looking at me.
I tied my hair into a ponytail, while blinking and squinting as I tried to figure out our location. All I could see were a few other cars parked. "Where are we?"
He smirked as he opened the door. "I hope you like rollercoasters." Then he jumped out.
Huh? Rollercoasters?!
I didn't like the sound of that. Just the thought of literal rollercoasters got me nervous.
Rodrick opened the door—the one on my side. "What are you waiting for?"
I took my bag and got out of his van.
As we walked from the parking lot to the entrance, the place painted itself before our eyes. I had no idea when I last went to a place like this.
"An amusement park!" I said, partly in disbelief, partly in excitement. I glanced at Rodrick, who nodded proudly. "How far from Plainview are we?"
He shrugged. "Not that far. Probably an hour or two away."
"That's kinda far." It might have been obvious that I was about to start worrying again.
Rodrick started reassuring me. "Don't be stressed about it too much. Take a break, Prescott. It's not every day we get to celebrate like this." A smile spread across his face. We continued to walk faster towards the entrance.
While we paid for our tickets, all the more could we hear the clanking of the rides that moved, the screams of the passengers, and the lively music playing everywhere.
As we entered the gate, different colors met our eyes, forming the happiest picture I've seen in a while. The fun vibe of the amusement park made up for the cold weather of December. It felt odd that we were there on a winter day, but at least the place wasn't as packed as, probably summer. And that was great. Less people, less waiting time for the rides.
For an afternoon arrival at an amusement park, we still got to hop on a good number of rides and try a few activities.
"Let's go there!" I ran towards the carousel, and Rodrick followed behind me. There wasn't any line on our first ride, so we got in immediately. I got on one horse, and he rode the one beside mine. It instantly reminded me of my childhood and how the merry-go-round was a staple during our amusement park visits. I had a big grin across my face the entire time. Meanwhile, Rodrick seemed bored with the ride.
"Won't this go any faster?" he complained, kicking the horse.
I chuckled. "No, Heffley."
He groaned, probably thinking that we were wasting 3 minutes on a ride for kids. "Why did we even ride this one? It's for babies."
"Whatever. I think it's a good way to start this amusement park celebration."
"Ugh. I get to decide the next ride, okay?" He pointed his thumb to himself.
"Fair enough."
As an attempt to take revenge after he got annoyed at the carousel, he picked the bumper cars. And we all know how 'amazing' of a driver Rodrick is.
As we drove around the small arena, Rodrick unintentionally showed a demo of how he drove on actual streets—wild zig-zags, unexpected turns, and of course, there was the bumping. For the most part, he was the one who owned the battle field. He chased me, so I tried to avoid him. As expected though, he always managed to bump my car—making sure no side was left out. It was extremely frustrating for me at first, but after a while, I decided shut down my competitive side and just have fun. The frowns during the first few minutes turned into smiles, and later on, laughter. Rodrick laughed a lot as well—why wouldn't he? He felt he was winning. But there were a few moments of triumph for me too—maybe twice or thrice, which only prompted Rodrick to chase and bump my car again and again.
We also had a splash at the river log ride. It was a very impractical choice because it was already cold. I was sitting in front, Rodrick behind me. We both knew it was coming—a huge warning sign met us at the entrance. Anyway, it started off slow like a raft floating along a straight path.
Rodrick's overconfidence started showing again. "Psh. This is nothing."
"I don't think so," I replied as the path was cut and the slope that lied ahead came into view. I got nervous. My heart started beating faster.
We got closer. I held tighter to the railing on our sides. Slowly we got closer to the edge, until it started tipping off.
Rodrick decided to add to the tension. "Here we goo—WOOAAAHHHHHH!" Slow became fast. The log zoomed down the slope, which, thankfully, wasn't as steep as I thought it would be. My scream matched Rodrick's. The rush of adrenaline flowed through my veins.
Cold water sprayed by our sides, and before we knew it, as a finale, a big splash hit our faces—no, our entire bodies. I was panting by then, speechless for a moment.
As the log went back to its starting point, I turned and looked at Rodrick whose wet hair was all over his face, but his big grin still visible. Oh, he definitely enjoyed that. I smiled when he combed his hair back, and his eyes, which were full of excitement, met mine. It somehow reminded me of that time we had that stupid water fight at the fountain in the park.
The log stopped abruptly, just as I faced front. "How awesome was that?!" Rodrick exclaimed. I laughed and untied my wet hair as we got off the ride. Oh goodness, we were so drenched.
"I should've brought extra clothes. Or an extra thicker jacket, at least." The jacket I was wearing was good enough for the type of weather that day, but not for the current type of situation. I hugged myself as I felt the cold even more.
"I guess it's time for the flying swing." Rodrick pointed to the circular contraption that rotated at a moderate pace, its swings flying mid-air. He started walking towards it.
I caught up and walked beside him. "That doesn't go too high nor too fast, does it?"
He shook his head. "It's just an upgraded... more windy version of your carousel."
That was an accurate description. I held on to the thick ropes that connected the swing to the top of the ride, closed my eyes, and allowed the cool breeze to sweep across my face, my hair, my clothes. The height was just right. The speed was just right. It was such a relaxing moment spent mid-air, like I was flying without the need to flap my wings.
I opened my eyes, and saw Rodrick, not far away, smiling at me. It seemed like he'd been looking at me for a while, but I wasn't sure if he was observing me the moment the swings started moving. He showed a thumbs-up when I looked at him, and I nodded, smiling back.
"Bet you liked that one, huh?" His hands were instantly in his pockets after we got off the ride.
"Yeah. My favorite so far."
"Great." He laughed. "Now it's time for my favorite."
"And what's that?" I asked. All he did was smirk, and then walked briskly ahead of me, with big steps. I had a bad feeling about it. I followed behind him, half-running. "Hey! What ride are you talking about?!" He didn't answer until we got near to the short line for the ride.
"I hope you like rollercoasters!" He turned and walked backwards, spreading his arms. Behind him was a huge track with loops and steep slopes.
I slowed down, gulping. I thought we didn't have to ride this one. "Uh, no thanks. I'll... I'll wait for you here." I forced a nervous smile.
"What?!" He stopped, his arms dropping to his side. Then he walked towards my direction. "You rode the river log ride. I'm sure you could handle this!"
I didn't know how many steps I took backwards, but he sure took bigger ones. "No, no, no. Anything... Anything but rollercoasters," I said.
Soon he was already in front of me, hands clasped together like he was begging. "Please? The celebration isn't complete without riding this rollercoaster!"
"I'm good here. Besides, you can ride it alone! Why do I have to ride it with you?!"
"Because you're my project partner? Right?" He chuckled. I didn't find it funny at all. He placed his hands on his hips and said, "Wooow. I thought we were in this together, Prescott. I mean, I endured that baby carousel ride with you." Rodrick really had his way of convincing you to do things.
I tried to fight that internally as I stared at the rollercoaster. Heavy breathing. Heart pounding. I glanced at him.
"Pretty please?" he said, mustering the best puppy face he could. He looked like an idiot.
I heaved a sigh. "Fine." I should have taken that word back before it was too late.
"Yes!" He swiftly put his heavy arm around my shoulder and started dragging me towards the line again, which has gotten shorter this time. "You're gonna love this."
My voice was shaking—heck, my entire body was probably shaking. "I doubt it."
Of all the people who lined up, what were the chances we'd end up sitting in the front, right? Huh. Just my luck.
"Front seats?! Awesome!" Rodrick was the first to jump in.
The staff pulled down the steel harness in place for safety. No turning back now. "I can't believe I'm doing this." I took deep breaths. The ride hadn't started but my insides were taking endless rollercoaster loops already.
Meanwhile, the giddy Rodrick beside me kept stomping his feet. He really couldn't contain his excitement. "I'm so ready!"
Pretty soon the train started moving forward slowly. I held on to the harness for dear life.
It's started going up. I closed my eyes tightly. Higher and higher. How high will this go?!, I thought. My heart was beating faster and faster I think it wanted to jump out of the rollercoaster seat for me.
It reached the top and moved forward with a slightly increasing speed. The build-up was killing me. Faster it went. I tightened my grip onto the harness.
"Rodrick, I can't. I can't do this." My eyes were still shut and my voice was shaking so bad. He didn't hear me over the sound of his own pumped up yells. "Rodrick." I opened my eyes, which I immediately regretted. "I think I'm gonna d—AAAAAAHHHHHH!"
It was all so sudden. It felt like the rollercoaster was an asteroid falling straight from the sky about to hit the ground with full impact. And I think my internal organs and my soul were left up there. Just as we were about to hit the ground there was a sudden turn. And another and another. It climbed up in full speed and zoomed back down again. Rodrick threw his arms up in the air and was having the time of his life. Meanwhile, turn after turn I screamed. Before I knew it, we were already approaching a loop. A freaking loop.
"Best part coming ahead! Woooo!" Rodrick shouted.
I closed my eyes shut again. My knuckles probably turned white already from gripping the harness too hard. The roller coaster went up and around fast. We passed the loop in less than a second, but my stomach remained upside down and my head went in circles for a hundred times longer.
"That was AWESOME!" Rodrick yelled out loud.
I remained the same, except that I screamed during the loop and at that point was already panting harder.
"Ma'am?" a voice called. "Ma'am, the ride's over. We have to pull the harness up."
I opened my left eye slowly, unsure if the rollercoaster had actually stopped. True enough, it did—finally. I thought there was never going to be an end to that ride. Someone cleared his throat and I looked up to see the staff member waiting. He forced a smile, implying that I should get out of my seat. I let go of the harness, which he pulled up. Right out of the cart was Rodrick, waiting for me while silently snickering.
I tried to ignore him as I got up. The ride made me so dizzy, so I made my way out carefully. That didn't go so well. As I stepped over, my feet decided to lose coordination, so I totally tripped and expected to fall onto the ground. Suddenly, and luckily, someone's arms swiftly caught me before I crashed to the floor.
Still dizzy, I blinked a few times, then looked up and saw his face—Rodrick's face—so close to mine. Again, I couldn't help but gaze into those hazel brown eyes. I thought I'd seen the last of the ride, but my heart just kept beating faster, trying to catch up with the rollercoaster's speed. Did we get stuck in an endless rollercoaster loop? No, the feeling wasn't the same—it wasn't panic nor fear. I couldn't find the words to explain what exactly it was.
April, snap out of it! I told myself.
I got myself together and managed to stand up with my own two feet. Rodrick was still holding my arm. "Are you okay?" he asked.
Still somewhat disoriented, I nodded. But a moment later, I realized how annoying that question was. I shook his arm off and instantly moved away from him, still trying to get over that awkward moment. "Okay? You're asking if I'm okay? Seriously, Heffley." The tone was a mix of I'm not that weak and I almost died, why are you even asking that? When I looked at him, it seemed like he didn't understand what I was saying. I just shook my head and started heading to the exit. But since I was still dizzy, after a few steps I almost lost my balance.
"Okay, you're not. I get it," Rodrick said when he caught up to me and put my hand on his arm as if he was escorting me. We made our way out carefully. By that time, it wasn't completely dark out yet. The sun had just started to set, but it was getting colder every minute.
"This is all your fault," I mumbled.
"My fault?!"
"You were the one who forced me to ride the freaking rollercoaster!" I said loudly, and then coughed right after.
"Woah, woah." He extended his arm, moving me away from him. "Don't puke on me."
"It would make me feel better if I did." I walked towards him and made fake puking sounds.
He stepped backwards, but made sure that my hand was still on his arm. "Hey. Hey! Stop. If you do, I'd wipe it all back on you."
"You're lucky I'm not the type to keep vomiting around."
"Except when you're drunk," he muttered silently as we continued walking.
"What?" I shot him a glare.
"Nothing! Hey, you wanna sit down there for a while?" He pointed to the small tables and chairs near some food stalls.
"Ah, yes please."
I heaved a sigh once I took my seat while Rodrick bought something to eat. I think he got hungry after all the thrill he just experienced. While waiting, I started feeling a bit better and more relaxed. Wow, that ride really drained all my energy.
Rodrick returned carrying a paper bag. "One for me, one for you," he said as he took out two sandwiches, placing one in front of me.
As I stared at it, I realized how hungry I was too. "Thanks," I said, taking the sandwich and peeling off the wrapper.
He took a seat and started eating as well. "That was an awesome ride, wasn't it?"
"For you." I scoffed.
"But that's not the best ride ever." He then pointed to something behind me. "That's the best ride ever."
I looked around, and I saw something worse than a rollercoaster. There were like little cages, where the people were supposed to stand, and they went around this huge oval in a very fast pace while violently shaking and tumbling round and round. I felt like spitting my sandwich just thinking about it.
"The Cranium Shaker. You haven't lived until you've tried that ride," Rodrick said.
Didn't he hear anything I said about the rollercoaster? I turned back to him and saw him smiling mischievously. I knew what was going in his head. "I'm never going to ride that—"
"Oh come on. You'll miss half of your life when you don't ride it!"
I shot him a death glare. "I felt like I already lost my life riding the rollercoaster! So, no thanks. None of your little antics will convince me to ride that thing."
"If you got through the rollercoaster, you can make it through this one!"
"I barely made it through—uugh!" This entire conversation was getting frustrating. "Look. If you wanna ride it so bad, go ahead! I can wait for you here."
There was a hint of disappointment on his face as he stared at me after I said that, but he tried to keep it from me by smiling and nodding slightly. I avoided eye contact as I continued to eat. When I looked at him again after a while, he was focused on finishing his sandwich.
When he finished, he got up and walked away. I wasn't sure where he went but I guessed he really was going to ride The Cranium Shaker. What's up with Rodrick and crazy rides? Fine. Whatever makes you happy, Heffley, I thought.
Just as I took my last sandwich bite two minutes later, I found myself looking at a large drink that suddenly appeared in front of my face. Someone was holding it of course, and when I looked up, I saw Rodrick taking a sip from the straw of his own cup. He raised his eyebrows and moved his hand closer, signaling me to take it.
"What's that?" I asked. I had to make sure there wasn't anything alcoholic in it.
"A milkshake," he said so casually.
"Ah. A milkshake." Though I tried to hide it, it made me smile. Rodrick was offering me a milkshake. Funny if you think about it. I took the cup as I got up from my seat. We started walking leisurely again.
I took a sip. "Hmm, not bad. Thanks."
He just glanced at me for a second, and then smiled while nodding once.
"I thought you left me back there and went to ride that crazy Cranium Shaker thing."
"Didn't I tell you? That's where we're going now." he said coolly. I stopped in my tracks. I was about to tell him off but he continued, "I'm just kidding, I'm just kidding!"
My breathing went back to normal after I heaved a sigh. "Stop scaring me like that!" He just laughed. I added, "If you wanna ride though, just go ahead."
He shook his head. "Nah, it's no fun without you."
That made me look at him. He drank more milkshake and watched his footsteps as we walked along. A smile started forming across my face, but I did my best to keep it to myself.
"Aww, I'm touched," I replied while directing back my attention to where we were going.
"I mean, it's really funny to hear you freak out and all," he joked.
"Hey!" I slapped his arm playfully, and he just laughed.
A few moments later, he slowed down and pointed to the small tents right ahead of us. "Oh! Oh! Let's play one of those mini games!" Then he started rushing towards it like a little boy. It was kind of cute to watch him get all excited over something like that. I followed him while taking sips from my cup of milkshake.
We stood a few feet away from a wall with a bunch of balloons attached to it and spaced apart. The lady asked us if we would play. Rodrick immediately nodded his head.
While the lady gathered some darts, Rodrick asked me, "Have you ever played this game?"
I shook my head. "But don't you just try to pop the balloon with the darts?"
"Huh. Think it's that easy? This requires a level of skill." He handed me his milkshake, and then started shaking and stretching his arms and fingers.
I gave a sarcastic laugh. "And you have that skill?"
"Haha! Of course. Watch and learn from the expert, Prescott."
The lady handed Rodrick three darts, and then said, "You need to pop at least one so you could win a stuffed toy for your girlfriend. You'll get a much better prize though if you get all three—"
"Girlfriend?!" Rodrick sounded like he was disgusted.
I shook my head, cringing inside. I tried to be polite. "Oh no, no, no! He's not… We're not—"
"Ah, I get it. Heh. I'm sorry." The lady nodded gently, while stepping back so she won't get hit by the darts. "It's just that, there's only the two of you. And you're both so young and, you know…" There was a few seconds of awkward silence wherein Rodrick, the lady, and I just stared at each other. "Anyway. Please, sir. Whenever you're ready." She signaled Rodrick to start playing.
Rodrick shrugged the awkwardness off and, with his right hand, raised one of the darts close to his mouth, and blew it—for good luck I suppose. Then he focused on his target, a balloon in the middle, right across him. After a moment, he threw it. The dart went straight, and for a second I thought I had to eat my words. But instead of hitting the balloon, it hit the wall.
I smirked. He saw it, shrugged, and naturally replied in a defensive manner, "Psh. It's just the first try."
Again he tried, doing the same exact thing, and the dart was a centimeter away from the balloon. So close. I raised my eyebrows, impressed. "See that? Ha! One more," he boasted. For his third and last attempt, he did his best to make sure he'd win. He did the same thing, but leaned even closer over the table. He threw the dart with full force, but instead of going straight it sloped downward and hit the eye of the teddy bear below the balloon he was targeting.
He rolled his eyes when he caught me trying to hold back laughter. "You're an expert, you say?" I told him.
He snorted. "Why don't you give it a shot?"
"Why not?" I let him hold the two milkshakes and stood in his position to play the game. I never played this game before, but there's no harm in trying, right? That and I started feeling competitive again.
The lady took the three darts, two from the wall and one from the teddy bear's eye. I took a deep breath as she gave it to me, and focused on my target—the same balloon Rodrick was targeting.
First throw. A miss. Rodrick cackled beside me.
Second throw. I thought it was going to hit a balloon, yet it landed on the head of the same teddy bear Rodrick hit earlier. I laughed nervously as the lady stared at it. "Maybe it's not a really good idea to put this here," she mumbled, taking the teddy bear away and placing it beside the other stuffed toys on the side.
"Not easy, right?" Rodrick said, sipping loudly from the straw of his drink.
"I guess we're of the same level of expertise." I smiled sarcastically.
He almost choked on his drink. "Ha. No way."
I shrugged. I took another deep breath to prepare for my last attempt. I raised the dart in front of me, and narrowed my eyes as I measured if my throw would hit the balloon, moving my hand forward, and then back, forward and back again. When I felt ready, I threw the dart and it flew straight across the space in full speed.
POP!
I screamed for a split second as I saw and heard my target balloon pop. "YES!" I then said, bragging to Rodrick. He looked back and forth at the popped balloon on the wall and at me, frowning in shock and confusion.
"What prize would you like, ma'am?"
"Hmm. I'll just get that one!" I pointed to one of the stuffed toys on the side.
The lady hesitated. "Are you sure? There are a lot of better ones here."
"Nah. That's alright. It'll remind me of my dart victory." I glanced at Rodrick when I said the word 'victory'. He rolled his eyes, drinking from his milkshake, which was probably almost empty.
The lady smiled as she took the teddy bear with the slightly pierced eye and a small hole on the head. Yes, the same teddy bear Rodrick and I hit with our darts.
She gave it to me and I thanked her. I turned to Rodrick, smiling widely. "That was fun. I learned fast, didn't I?"
He scoffed. "I'm finishing your milkshake." He turned around and started walking away.
I thanked the lady and immediately ran after him. "Hey!" I grabbed my milkshake once I caught up with him. "You're not finishing my milkshake again."
"I bought that!" He pointed at the milkshake cup I was holding, and reached out to take it from me.
I avoided his hand just in time. "You gave it to me. It's mine." I held the milkshake close to me. "You can have the teddy bear if you want. I'm not really a stuffed toy collector." I offered the bear to him.
He gave it one disgusted look. I thought he was going to laugh because the corners of his lips started to curl. But then he said, "It's ugly. Besides, Rodrick Heffley doesn't like those stuffed things. So, no thanks."
I shrugged. "Whatever you say… Anyway, don't be so butthurt anymore. And thanks for letting me try that mini game. I think I've passed your level of expertise."
"Psh. Yeah, that's right. Without me, you wouldn't have unleashed your 'amazing' talent," he replied, partly sarcastic because he sounded like he was mocking me when he said 'amazing'. But I knew he was just joking and being playful. I smiled thinking of that.
Not exactly sure where we were going, I just kept walking alongside Rodrick, hugging my teddy bear. It was a silent yet happy stroll. The rollercoaster aftershock had faded and I felt a lot calmer as I finished the last of my milkshake.
"Are going to ride anything else?" I asked after we threw our milkshake cups in the trash bin. I noticed it was getting dark already. "'Cause if not, maybe we should get going?"
He slipped his hands in his pockets like he always did. "One more. Just to cap it off." And he led the way with a grin on his face.
It turns out that the last ride he was talking about was the ferris wheel.
"That's… That's pretty high." I gulped as I looked at it from the moving line below. "Are you sure you wanna ride this one? Heh. Maybe something else?" The calm feeling I had earlier started to get replaced by fear again. Just a few steps away and we were next.
"You said anything but rollercoasters. That doesn't look like a rollercoaster to me," he replied, pointing at the ride.
"But still…"
"Last one. Please?" he asked. I still couldn't give my reply. "You'll love it up there, I promise. You won't want to miss it. For real." It felt sincere—no sarcasm, no mockery, no just-to-make-fun-of-April.
I took a deep breath, and tried to ignore the unfolding panic inside of me. "Okay, sure. Just to cap this day off."
"Next!" the staff said.
"Alright. Let's go then," Rodrick told me.
He let me climb up first, and then he sat beside me. The staff guy who assisted us made sure the door won't open, and told us not to rock the cart so hard, which made my brain come up with a bunch of possibilities that could lead to my ultimate end. At that moment I kind of wanted to get out and run away. But it was too late. With a jolt it started moving, and then stopped abruptly again so the next passengers could hop in.
"Don't worry. You're not gonna die. I got you," Rodrick whispered. He was probably joking and trying to calm me down at the same time.
When it suddenly moved again, I held on to the bar in front of us with my left hand and hugged the teddy bear tighter with my right arm. A second later, it stopped again.
"Is this your first time riding a ferris wheel?" he asked.
Though I tried, I couldn't hide the shaking in my voice. "O-Of course n-not. I... I rode one w-when I was w-way younger."
He eyed me from head to toe. "You look like you're riding it for the first time."
I gave a laugh, which came out more nervously than I thought it would. "Ha. Haha. N-No, I don't! W-What are you saying?" I let go of the bar and placed my hand on the space between us, trying to prove my statement.
Suddenly, the ferris wheel started moving again. And naturally, I got startled, probably even stopped breathing. This time, it moved continuously in a slow pace, though my heart just kept pounding as we went higher. I was already scared, yet I still followed a stupid idea, which was to peek over to see how far we already were from the ground.
I faced front again and practically froze, my left hand balled into a fist. I hugged the teddy bear tighter with my right arm. Starting to feel panicky, I closed my eyes shut in attempt to calm myself down.
A moment later, Rodrick's fingers brushed against my clenched hand. Feeling more nervous and scared every second that passed by, I instinctively grasped his hand. Might have squeezed it a bit too hard, because it was still open. Then, gently, he closed it, fingers clasped around my trembling hand.
"Breathe in... Breathe out," he said to me. I followed, and I heard him doing it too. "Breathe in. Breathe out," he repeated.
I did that three more times, and it helped. The nervousness was still there, but I was able to calm down a little. My grip on Rodrick's hand had loosened a bit, though I still held on to it because I was still slightly shaking.
"Better?" he asked.
It took a moment before I nodded, opening my eyes slowly as I did so. "Thanks."
By that time, I assumed that we were already near the peak of the ferris wheel, because we were getting closer and closer to the stars on night sky. I focused on that as I continued to steady my breathing. There were a lot of stars that night. It was beautiful. From the top, I also got a bird's eye view of the entire amusement park, the facade of the rides now lit up with different colored lights. I started not regretting riding a ferris wheel this high. Both of us were silent during those moments, appreciating the view. Soon, we started going down again. Wow, we're done. It wasn't that bad, I thought. However, no other passengers went down and the ferris wheel didn't stop.
I tightened my grip on Rodrick's hand a little as we started going up for the second time.
"Don't worry. It's not gonna go any faster," he reassured me.
"How many more rounds 'til we go down?" I asked, looking at him.
He shrugged. "Not sure. Besides, we don't have to know. This won't go on forever."
"Right. Okay." I faced front and watched as we went higher again.
"So why are you afraid of rollercoasters and ferris wheels anyway?" he asked. I just shook my head. "Are you afraid of heights?"
"I'm not afraid of heights," I said. "I'm afraid of falling."
He was quiet for a few seconds. When I looked at him, he was already looking at me—maybe trying to understand or figure something out, I don't know.
"But when we rode that river log thing, you were fine," he said.
"Well, that one wasn't as steep nor as high as the rollercoaster."
"But it was fast. Didn't you feel like 'falling'?"
"I was honestly a nervous wreck deep inside. But that's different because there was water. The water calmed me down a bit." Again we were getting closer to the top. But I wasn't shaking that much anymore. The conversation was probably helping.
"This one's not steep too. And it's slow."
"But it's very, very high."
"Good thing we rode it at the best time," he said, a loud sound interrupting him in the background. I looked for where it came from. As if on cue, colors and lights lit up the night sky. "And the best view."
Out of excitement, I let go of his hand and placed mine on the handrail as I watched the fireworks display in front of us. The fear of falling was momentarily forgotten. "Wow," I said in awe. It's been a while since I got to watch fireworks in an amusement park. "It's beautiful!" I exclaimed, a big smile on my face.
"Yeah. It really is," Rodrick replied.
I glanced at him. His arms were relaxed on the railing as he leaned slightly over it. But instead of looking at the fireworks, he was gazing at me, a trace of an earnest smile across his face. I blinked, unsure of how to react, unsure of how long he'd been looking at me like that after I let go of his hand.
A second after my eyes met his, he looked away and directed his attention to the fireworks. After clearing his throat, he said, "Told you it's not something you'd want to miss."
Still processing what just happened, I looked up to watch the display. Moments later, I was surprised I was able to muster a reply. "You're right." Then I noticed that one of his hands was massaging the other. "I'm sorry about that."
"Hm? About what?" He looked at me again.
I pointed at it. "Your hand. Did I squeeze it too hard?"
"Ah." He gave a laugh as he glanced at it for a second. "Yeah, you did."
"Sorry." I looked down.
"No, no. This is nothing. Psh. It's not like you can break my hand or anything," he joked.
I shook my head, smiling. "I didn't squeeze it too hard then."
The fireworks display was coming to an end just as we were going down from the peak of the ferris wheel. I leaned back and relaxed.
"So…" Rodrick started after minutes of silence between the two of us. "Fear of heights—no, fear of falling. You got a story behind that?"
I shrugged. "I don't think so. I can't even remember when it started."
He just nodded slowly, though I felt like he was waiting for some sort of explanation, or an elaboration at least. "But why falling? Not even heights."
I shrugged again. "It's just like that. I'm not scared of being in a high place. I'm scared of falling from there."
"I still don't get it."
Could people really explain such things in totality? I thought, looking up and observing the cart above us. It swayed ever so slightly because of the wind. Ours did so too. It was like that the entire time. And I'd be lying if I said I never felt a thing, nor imagined what could have happened if all things went wrong. I faced him then. "If you fall, it's either you hit the bottom hard, or you keep falling and falling and falling, not knowing if there's an end to it. Either way, the result is the same for both… If you fall, you get hurt."
He narrowed his eyes, processing what i had just said. Then he looked at me. "Not when someone's there to catch you."
"It's not all the time someone's gonna be there to catch you," I replied.
"Well… Maybe you should start thinking otherwise." He leaned closer and pointed at me. "That's the cure to your fear," he half-whispered, smiling.
I stared at him, and then couldn't help but laugh. "Wow. So you're a phobia doctor now, huh?"
He sat up straight again, and then shrugged, his palms facing upward. "I'm just helping you out here, Prescott. Up to you if you wanna follow my prescription." He then crossed his arms and leaned back.
"I'm surprised you know what that word means." I chuckled.
"Of course I do!"
I clapped my hands sarcastically and laughed. He defended himself by teasing and annoying me back. I did the same. In the end we both just kept laughing. He even bumped my shoulder with his in the middle of it all, a gesture that said he was just joking all throughout. I knew he was.
That covered it up. The claps, laughs, and little jokes thrown at each other covered it up—covered up what I was really thinking about. I didn't really feel like talking about my fears and all those things, especially while we were riding a ferris wheel. That's why whenever I found an opportunity to change the topic, I went for it. But honestly it also felt great to have someone to talk about it with. I even got a bonus, a small advice for sharing it with him. What Rodrick said may have sounded too simple, even translated by myself as a joke at first. But yeah. Maybe I should start thinking otherwise.
The ferris wheel had been taking pauses every now and then as the passengers went down. Soon enough it was our turn to go down.
I heaved a sigh as I stepped on the ground.
"Congratulations. You made it," Rodrick said.
A wide smile spread across my face. "Yeah."
We started making our way to the parking lot. We were already close to the entrance-exit gate we passed earlier when small white particles that looked like droplets of cotton started falling before our eyes. Rodrick and I stretched out our arms. One landed on my palm.
A snowflake.
I might have squealed like a little girl who had never seen snow in her life. I raised both of my hands, one still holding the teddy bear, and let the snowflakes touch them. "Wow. It's snowing. It's snowing!" I exclaimed, jumping up and down.
Rodrick was right beside me, beaming—almost laughing, actually—as he watched my absurd reaction to the snow. When I realized how stupid I looked, I stopped and wiped my hands on the sides of my pants, pretending that none of those just happened.
I cleared my throat. "Sorry. Shall we go?"
He walked past me, muttering, "And you say I look like an idiot."
"Hey!" I caught up to him and then hit his arm playfully.
He paused, and acted like he was punched hard by rubbing his arm. "Ow!"
I decided to play along anyway. "Huh. I think I could actually break your hand."
He straightened up. "No, you can't."
"Whatever." I started walking again.
"It's snowing! It's snowing!" Rodrick imitated me in a mocking voice as he followed.
"Admit it! You're amazed just as much as I am!"
He walked faster and when he was just a few steps ahead of me, he jumped up and down under the snow, chanting with mockery, "Woooow! It's snowing!"
"Hey youu—!" I started running towards him. He cackled and started running away as well.
Yes. Our night at the amusement park pretty much ended with me chasing him to his van under the first snowfall of the year.
We were still panting when Rodrick started the car. Soon enough we were on the road again.
"Gosh, what time is it?" I asked.
"I don't know. Almost 8pm?"
"Haha!" I leaned on the chair. "We're so dead."
"Better start thinking of an excuse." He smiled.
The trip back home felt shorter. Rodrick and I didn't even talk that much because we were both tired. I was asleep for the most part. He only woke me up when we were in the neighborhood already.
"Alright," he said as he pulled the van to a stop in front of his house. He rested one hand on the steering wheel, and the other on the gear stick. "That was a pretty good celebration, eh?"
"Well, you kind of forced me to ride and get scared as hell. But yeah." I nodded. "Still a pretty good one."
He looked at me, a serious expression this time. "You really were scared, weren't you?" he asked, trying to confirm it. I nodded again. "I'm sorry about that. It would have been boring if I rode the awesome rides alone. Won't happen again. I promi—"
"Stop. It's okay," I said, placing my hand on his. He glanced at it for a few seconds, then looked at me. "Scared or not, I had a great time. I couldn't have faced those tiny fears if you hadn't pestered me to try those stupid rides."
"So you're not scared anymore?"
I pulled my hand back. Looking down, I said, "Well, I can't say I've conquered them…" Then I looked at him straight in the eyes. "But thanks for being there. For making sure I wouldn't fall and hurt myself."
Again he had that look, the same one he had when we were at the ferris wheel. The look I couldn't quite explain. His gaze was fixed on my eyes. Snow continued to fall outside, yet silence filled the air, making it feel like time had started to freeze again. Did I say something stupid? Oh gosh. What could he be thinking right now?, I wondered.
"You're welcome then," he said finally, smiling.
I was relieved.
Then he casually proceeded to unbuckle his seatbelt and remove his car keys. I, on the other hand, did the same, but with the frozen scene engraved in my mind. I took my bag and made sure I had all my things with me.
I checked the time on my phone. "Oh wow. I have to go."
"I'll walk with you there," he said.
"No, it's okay. You go home too." I opened the door. "Thanks for everything today, Rodrick. Try not to get grounded." I smiled. I jumped out of the van, bag over my shoulder. After closing the door, I gave one last wave to Rodrick before running towards my house.
I looked back a few times. And I was pretty sure Rodrick stayed in the van, watching me walk home, waiting for me to get there safely.