The sun had been hot that day, as was expected for a summer in Gatlinburg. Lucy and Madison huddled around her, each of them waving the dollar bills in front of their faces like a fan, mostly because it had been the only thing they had on them that would work as such.
Rachel took one step forward as Matthew Young got his tickets and got out of line. Only four more people to go.
"I think every year we say we should come here earlier and every year we suck." Lucy mumbled, wiping the sweat off her forehead.
That was true. Every year the three girls went to the Memorial Day carnival. Every year they showed up an hour after it officially started and every year, they waited in the long line to buy tickets for the carnival rides while sweating their butts off.
It was worth it to ride the rides though. The carnival was the first chance every year to get a little adrenaline rush in.
"That's because Madison always has to babysit her siblings until her parents get home, and you know we can't leave the poor girl behind." Rachel gently reminded Lucy, bumping shoulders with the girl being discussed.
"You should go on ahead and buy my tickets. Like stop by my house so I can give you money, you guys get the tickets, and then I meet you here." Madison exclaimed as though they could enact her brilliant idea. If only the girl had thought of it, oh, two hours earlier.
Rachel smirked at her friend, "Next year." She knew very well that none of them would remember by the time the next year came around. They took one step forward.
"Hey, Rach! Like your shorts. Like the way they make your ass look!" Toby Ritzinger shot her wink as he walked by with his stupid group of friends. Rachel didn't reply, just rolled her eyes and flipped him off, an action that only made Toby's friends giddy as they laughed and shoved the boy around. A few people nearby sent him dirty looks, Madison and Lucy included.
Lucy huffed and shifted so Rachel was blocked from their view, "They're so stupid. I thought boys were supposed to have grown up by now."
"Boys mature slower than girls." Madison sighed, with a disappointed frown. They all took one more step forward. "Apparently twenty years slower."
"So that's why girls normally date older men. We have to wait for them to mature in those extra few years, so they become dateable." Rachel shook her head, watching as Toby and his friends walked away towards The Blizzard. She hoped the boys would be on and off the ride by the time they got over there.
"Speaking of older boys," Lucy's interest piqued, and she fully turned to look at her two friends. "I heard that Steven Mooney and Jacob Reiter are home from college. And I heard that they didn't seem to pick up any western Tennessee girls."
Rachel and Madison shared a look between them. Both boys Lucy had named were a year older than them. Lucy had crushed so hard on Jake all throughout high school, but Jake had been in a relationship with Hailey Gibbard until his senior year. When they broke up, Lucy had been so hopeful that she finally had gotten her shot, but Jake never really pursued anything other than returning Lucy's friendly greetings. The poor girl had been too nervous to make the first move and thus, Jake had gone off to the U of M completely single.
"Finally going to make a move this summer, Lucy-Lou?" Madison teased. She looked past Lucy to a group of townsfolk before returning her gaze. They took a step forward and Rachel begged Megan to hurry in her head.
"Maybe. We'll see." Lucy played it way cooler than she actually was, even subtly tossing her hair over her right shoulder. "I'm just letting the summer play out."
"You let the school year play out and that didn't go very well. You should talk to him. Just walk up and ask him how Memphis was. Act like you might want to go to college there or something." Rachel suggested, watching Megan as she handed over the money.
Lucy shrugged, "I guess."
Madison shared a look with Rachel before the three stepped up to the counter.
"Twenty tickets please." Rachel handed the man her money. He had a fan running inside the little shack and she relished the moving air. Once she had her tickets, she stepped out of the way so Madison and Lucy could get theirs.
She looked around at the rides, trying to scope out which one had the shortest line. The only tradition was that they ended with Ferris wheel. That way, they could see the city all lit up and enjoy a little relaxing ride before having to go home. A peaceful end to the night.
Zero Gravity didn't have too long of a line, so that was where they started. It was a standing ride. They strapped you into this big circle and the circle part you stood against spun around while the entire thing lifted up in the air at a 90-degree angle. Rachel wouldn't exactly call it a 'zero gravity' feeling, but it was disorienting and fun.
"How was it?" A voice she couldn't quite see yet asked her as she started walking towards the path to wait for her friends.
Rachel rubbed her face, trying to blink the glare from the out of her eyes at the same time, and turned nearly straight into Emmett McCarty. His bright blue eyes were full of humor, no doubt noticing how disoriented Rachel was and apparently finding it hilarious. If she hadn't been so focused on his little dimples, she might have quipped at him. Instead, she nodded and said, "Good. It was good. Not zero gravity, but it definitely feels weird."
"Sick." Emmett nodded as he glanced at the ride. He looked back to her, analyzing her for a second before asking, "Rachel, right? I'm Emmett."
He didn't need to introduce himself. Though they had never had a real conversation before, she knew who Emmett McCarty was. Everyone in town knew him…and everyone else who lived there. Emmett was a year older than her as well and had a whole slew of words and gossip surrounding him - most recently, how he had broken up with Sara Bennett. Not that it was surprising. Emmett had lots of 'girlfriends' from what Rachel had heard throughout the years. He stuck with one for a while, then moved onto the next without so much as a full breath of air in between.
The McCarty's were good people though. Rachel knew they owned a bunch of farmland just outside of town and apparently his mother was a darn good cook who always brought food over to those who had just had babies or deaths in the family. Thankfully, Rachel didn't have either, and couldn't speak from personal experience, but that was the rumor.
She also had heard one of Emmett's older brothers, Jackson, had recently gotten married. Jackson had been dating the same girl since high school, so it made sense that they'd finally tie the knot. Many people considered it a scandal for them not to invite the entire town though. Rachel felt bad for all the flack the couple had gotten. It was their wedding….
"Uh, yeah. Nice to officially meet you." She ran a hand through her hair to smooth it if it was out of place, eyeing her two friends as they finally came to join her. The worker opened the gate and Rachel nodded to the line, "Have fun!"
Emmett glanced back before turning to give her a way cooler nod, "See ya around, Rae!"
Rae? She rose an eyebrow at the nickname. No one had ever called her Rae before. Rachel or Rach, sure. But not Rae. Maybe Emmett thought she was a different Rachel. She thought there had been a Rachel in his class too, though she couldn't remember other Rachel's last name.
"Emmett McCarty?" Madison whispered, throwing her arm around Rachel's shoulders to pull her along to the next ride. "What the hell, girl?"
Rachel just shrugged, looking between Madison and Lucy, who had stepped closer to try and hear better. "I dunno. He just asked how the ride was. I mean, it is new this year, so I guess."
Madison looked impressed, dropping her arm so she could give Rachel space again. Rachel wasn't sure what had been so impressive about talking to Emmett. He talked to everyone…almost everyone, anyway.
They waited in line for Evolution next. As they did so, Lucy nudged the girls and nodded over to Jake Reiter. Rachel pushed the girl out of line towards him. She gasped, turning quickly to grab Rachel's arms so she couldn't be shoved around anymore. Rachel and Madison laughed at their friend, each of them giving her a hard time about not being willing to talk to Jake.
Rachel, ever the assertive one, decided to take matters into her own hands. If Lucy wouldn't talk to Jake on her own, maybe she would in a group. "Hey Jake!"
The boy turned at the sound of his name and Lucy shot Rachel a death-glare. "Don't." She hissed, but Rachel had already made up her mind.
"How's Memphis? Any good over there?" Rachel called, pretending not to hear her friend.
As expected, Jake walked over to the girls, "Yeah, it's really nice. There's so much music history there. It's awesome. You thinking about going to college there? You're a senior right?"
"Yeah, I am. I'm not sure about Memphis, but Lucy was really interested." Rachel lightly pushed Lucy forward. The girl shot Rachel a look before turning back to Jake.
"Oh really? You should totally go. Nice to get out of this tiny town and there's so much to do on weekends." Jake gave Lucy a smile, one that seemed more polite than anything, but Rachel would take it. It was a start.
Lucy nodded right along with Jake, eating up his every word, "That's awesome. I've definitely been thinking about a bigger school."
"Well, it's a good option." Jake shrugged, looking back at his friends.
"What's your major?" Rachel asked, trying to keep the conversation going while Lucy got her head on.
"Public Relations, so not necessarily music related, but they have a bunch of concerts throughout the year that are cool."
Finally, Lucy's brain engaged, and she started asking about the different groups the college had. Lucy played the cello, so she was most interested in orchestra.
Madison and Rachel shared a look, Rachel proudly grinning at her other friend. She couldn't wait to call Chloe and tell her. Their fourth friend spent the summer in New York with her mom every year, and therefore often missed out on summer activities. The girls made sure to call each time they had a sleepover, or other times during the week, to keep her filled in.
When it came time for them to board the ride, Lucy bid goodbye to Jake and promptly shoved Rachel as soon as the boy's back was turned. Rachel didn't mind, smirking at the girl with a pointed, "You're welcome."
After a few more rides, the girls took a break for dinner. There were numerous food stands around and it was a real struggle to decide what to get each year. The one thing Rachel always had to have was French fries. There was one stand that came up every year with the absolute best homemade fries. She couldn't explain what made them so good, but it was something and she would share it with anyone who asked.
"S'a good choice, Rae." Emmett McCarty lightly elbowed her. She hadn't noticed him behind her in line, too busy internally debating between a small or medium fry. The medium was the better deal cost-wise, it even said so on the board, but Rachel wasn't sure she needed that much French fry. Madison was ordering a hotdog and fries from another stand and Lucy had run off to get cheese curds, which made it unlikely they would want more than a couple.
"They're the best thing here." Rachel shrugged.
Emmett pressed his lips together, brows furrowing like he thought her to be crazy, "Uh, have you even had the bubble waffles?"
He had a good point. Bubble waffles were a strangely delicious waffle (with bubbles instead of the normal waffle dimple – hence 'bubble waffle'), folded like a taco and filled with ice cream and your choice of toppings. She slowly nodded, placing her hand over her chest, "You are so right, and I apologize for not being more clear. The fries are the best non-dessert food here."
Emmett chuckled, nudging her arm again, "I appreciate the clarification, because if you had disagreed or said you hadn't had one, I was going to have to take you over there and buy you one so you could rethink your opinion."
"Actually, can I go back on my words and say you're wrong, so I can get a free bubble waffle?"
She briefly worried that he'd miss the joke and she'd just sound greedy, but dismissed the thought when Emmett laughed again. "I'll buy you one anyway, how's that sound? You find me later tonight and we'll go get one. Promise." He shot her a wink, gesturing for her to step ahead of him as the guy in line ahead of them left.
Rachel exhaled a laugh, tucking her hair behind her ear before placing her order. As she stepped to the side – a force of habit, they only had one person up front who placed orders and delivered food – Emmett clicked his tongue at her, muttering something about her only ordering a small. She blushed and rolled her eyes, taking her small fry from the worker. As she turned to head back to her friends, she stuck her tongue out at Emmett and warned, "You better not leave without my bubble waffle, McCarty. I'll kick your ass."
Emmett found the threat thoroughly hilarious, laughing hard at her as she walked away. There was absolutely no way that Rachel could come close to putting Emmett on the ground. She'd probably punch him and hurt herself more than him. Emmett had played football in high school – scandalously turning down a scholarship from Knoxville to work on his father's farm instead – and was built like a brick house.
Still, he had held up his hands and agreed, "Yes, ma'am, Rachel Rae. Yes, ma'am."