Author's Note:
Hi! How is everyone?
So, this is the second chapter to go up today; I just want to let you guys know so you don't miss one of them and read the other.
And in here, the roller coaster story is based off a true one!
Wearing His Jersey
Chapter Twenty-Three
Tris's P.O.V.
"Ah! Yes - I finally won!" I grinned at Four as I chose my prize at the ball-in-the-bucket stand. I played a few times and lost; the ball always just bounced out, but then I got the hang of it. The trick is to spin the ball when you toss it, so it circles the bucket instead of bouncing back out.
"Good job!" he said, and I thanked him before turning back to the stand, where the person running it glared at me.
"You know what? You pick a prize," I told Four.
"Me?"
"Well, yeah!"
"All right," he said, "But, you know, this is supposed to be the other way around. Im supposed to win and get you a giant unicorn, or dolphin, or dog or something."
"Whatever, there's no way it's supposed to go with carnival games and dates," I laughed.
"I know. I just kind of wanted to win you something." I smiled.
"Thank you, for the thought." I paused. "Now, choose!"
"Okay . . . how about the unicorn?" I laughed.
"Which one?" There are about four different kinds of unicorns to choose from, each of them being about as tall as I am.
"How about . . . the rainbow one!"
"Okay!" I turned to the man running the stand and gestured up toward where the large, smiling unicorn sat. "That one, please!" He nodded and grabbed it, handing the magic to me. "You take it. I can't see," I said, turning toward Four and handing him the unicorn. He laughed and obliged. Then, we set off toward the rides.
"What do you want to go on?" he asked. I looked around before deciding on a roller coaster.
"How about that?" he nodded.
"Sounds good." We walked over, weaving between the crowds of people and occasionally responding to a compliment on our unicorn. The line was long, but moved in a short amount of time. After about five minutes we were climbing into our side-by-side seats (there were five rows with two seats in each) and I gripped his hand. Our unicorn waited for us with the lady who runs the ride.
"I'm nervous!" I said. "This doesn't go upside down, does it? Because I have never been upside down on a ride, and I don't want to fall out! I just made it to the height requirement!" He laughed.
"Don't worry: you won't fall out. You are taller than the height requirement. Plus, I've got you."
"You didn't deny that it goes upside down!"
"It does. I watched it while we waited."
"Oh, my goodness. Holy moly." I gripped Four with one hand, and the harness that goes over my shoulders and torso with the other, checking to make sure my seatbelt was tight.
"Tris, deep breath; you'll be fine." I could tell he was trying not to laugh.
"I know I'll be fine! But it's still scary."
"We don't have to ride; I can ask the lady to let us off before she starts the ride, if you want."
"No, that's fine. We'll be fine. I'll be fine. We'll be all right." I saw him bite his lip, but could still hear him trying not to laugh. Just then, the ride started. I heard the girl behind me swear, along with the little boy in front of me scream, even though we were only going up the hill to the top right now.
"Ow, ow, ow. Tris, you're breaking my hand."
"Sorry," I said, and loosened my grip, but it tightened even more than before when we reached the top.
As we began to go down, I still didn't scream, and not even when we began spinning upside down, then right side up, then upside down and right side up again. I actually laughed, watching the sky whenever we went upside down again, seeing the clear blue. It was nice.
After the spinning, the roller coaster went up and down with a few turns before stopping back at the beginning. I laughed, and looked over at Four, who was red, but smiling. When the locks on the seats released, I tried to get out, and found it just as hard as it was to get on because of my size. I pushed myself up and hopped down, almost tripping, but staying steady.
I saw Four, who was looking at me as he climbed down, and laughed. He did, too.
"Your hair is a mess," he smiled. I reached up and touched it; it was frizzy; I laughed.
We headed over and grabbed our unicorn.
Next, we headed over to the roundoff, where we were right next to each other and then we grabbed ice cream, which I insisted upon paying for.
"You know what we should do?" I asked. "The slides."
He smiled and nodded, so we ate the rest of our ice creams and headed over to where the huge rainbow slides stood. We each grabbed a gray mat and began climbing up all the stairs. We went one flight after the next, and I could hear Four suck in a breath when we were near the top. I turned and looked back at him.
"Are you all right?"
"Yeah," he said, and I noticed he was avoiding looking over the railing on our left, his eyes glued to the slides on our right and me.
"Heights?" He nodded.
"Yeah." I reached down and took hold of his hand before pulling him up the next flight, then we were at the top. The boy working the slides looked about our age, and we waited, watching, as he helped a young boy onto his mat and held it so it wouldn't slide down. There were about ten slides, each one a different color or shade of a color. Each one had a child waiting on a mat, talking and laughing while the boy helped everyone to get ready.
"All right, is everyone all set?" he asked.
"Yes!" they all chorused back.
"Ready! Set! GO!" I watched as they all slid down, using their hands to push themselves forward and go faster over all the small hills. When they reached the bottom, I could hear them yelling about who won. I laughed. The boy turned to our group, which was made up of a mom and dad with their little boy, a group of small girls, and Four and I. We headed down to the end of the line after listening to the boy's instructions to wait before racing. I set my mat down, and Four sat down on his.
"Want me to hold it?" he asked. I nodded with a "Yes, please," and he held the cloth in place while I went to sit down, then I felt a hand on my arm.
"Hey, you need some help?" I turned to find the boy running the ride smirking at me.
"Um, no, thanks."
"You sure?" His hand slid down from my elbow to my wrist.
"Yes." I glanced down at Four, who was glaring at the boy. I pulled my arm away and he narrowed his eyes before turning to help one of the little kids. I sat down, and turned to face Four, who still looked a little mad. I poked him and he turned to me, softening.
"You ready to lose?"
"Me? I never lose!" he said with disbelief. I looked over at the boy, who was helping another kid.
"Ready," I began, and he and I set ourselves. "Set, go!"