NOVEL NEXT Chapter 19: The Sidekick and the Fair (Part 4)
The queue of people lined up to ride the ferris wheel was mercifully short, probably because most people in a sleepy town like ours had retired for the night by now; however, the groups ahead of us were the polar opposite of ours. They mostly couples, hands locked and whispering sweet-nothings in one another’s ears. While they had such a lovely atmosphere between them, we had an entirely different mood going on.
Nora crossed her arms. “Argh! I told you to shut up already! There’s no way that’s true.”
“If you don’t believe me, why don’t you look it up?”
Amelia’s sardonic smile said it all. Whether what she claimed was correct or not, she was good at baiting Nora into arguments. While normally, their casual banter wouldn’t bother me in the slightest, they were drawing attention to us. A lot of attention, to be clear.
It was things like that which kept attracting stares and turned those whispers of sweet-nothings into hushed insults. And although the ground refused to swallow me up and hide me from the humiliation of being in public with those two, we eventually made it to the front of the line.
The attendant, under multiple layers of fall attire, wiped his brow free of sweat. Then, he motioned us to step forward. I moved along with everyone else, not even upset at how he managed to be so warm that he was sweating.
Not upset in the slightest.
“There’s four to a ride, so four of you can get into this one,” he tapped the edge of the cart, “and the rest of you can go on the next one.”
Rika wrapped her arm in mine and pressed against me. I shuffled to the right, careful to avoid stepping on Chloe’s shoes while trying to get her to unlatch herself from me. In response, she shuffled closer and snaked her arm tighter. Realizing the situation was hopeless, I gave up and accepted my fate, definitely not relishing the feeling of how warm she was. Her frame vibrated against mine when she giggled. “We’ll go together, so you guys can get on first.”
“But,” Nora jabbed a finger in my direction, “ I was going to ride with him. Our competition isn’t over yet.”
Rika’s eyes narrowed the slightest bit. “And how are you going to decide a winner on the ferris wheel?”
“We were… um…”
“Hurry up and decide, please. People are waiting.”
The impatience of the man sprung Ethan into action, and he herded everyone except me and Rika into the cart. Nora allowed herself to be led into the cart but refused to break eye contact with Rika. Whatever the cause of the impromptu staring contest, it ended upon her taking a seat. She looked at me before digging into her sweatshirt pocket and withdrawing a scarf.
“Catch.”
With no more warning than that, the object in question was thrown in my direction. It billowed in the wind, worrying me that it was going to float over the railing, and I would have to give up my place in line to retrieve it. Instead, I managed to catch the end of it and pull it in toward me.
I blinked at the short-haired girl in confusion, causing her to pinch the bridge of her nose. “Do I have to spell it out for you? It’s a scarf. Put it around your neck, so you’re not as cold.”
Not needing to be told twice, or even once really, considering I knew what a scarf was, I wrapped it around my neck. “Thanks.”
“Whatever. Just remember that you owe me a favor because I won our bet.”
I don’t exactly remember agreeing to anything close to that but nodded regardless. How bad could something she came up with be?
The attendant grunted and went over to the control panel. “All set? And please keep your hands and feet in the ride. Also, don’t throw anything out of the cart either.”
His last statement was said with a pointed stare in Nora’s general direction, not that she noticed. She was too busy grumbling about something to Amelia, and, surprisingly, Ethan as well.
Grumbling to himself about teenagers and audacity, he pulled a lever and the ferris wheel continued on. He stopped it again when the others were at the peak of the ride, allowing them to revel in what I assumed was an amazing view.
“You’re good to go.”
Rika and me stepped into the cart, sitting opposite one another. I set the stuffed animals down next to me as the operator slammed the door closed on the cart. Almost immediately after, there was a grinding of gears and the cart lurched forward, letting out an awful screech that I hoped would soon subside. It didn’t though. The more altitude we gained, the worse it sounded. Even more worrying was the sheer amount of rust covering the beams of the ferris wheel I had failed to notice until now.
“Rika, you think this is safe?”
A shrug and noncommittal hum were my answers. “Maybe, but, if not, at least we’ll die together.”
Our cart halted before the apex of the rotation, swinging wildly back and forth. I was acutely aware at that moment that dying together would bring me no comfort. In fact, I wasn’t sure how she could be so relaxed about everything. This thing was a death trap.
She patted my knee. “Relax, they're just letting other people on.”
I’d have to take her word for it because there was no way I was looking over the edge to confirm that. I was afraid that I’d either tumble off or get the cart to start rocking again after it had settled down.
“Ri–”
I quieted down when I heard the ferris wheel operator shouting something. He must have had quite the set of lungs on him for us to have been able to hear him over the wind whipping around our heads.
“Hey, folks. We just lost power to the ride, but we already got people working on it. We should be back up in a few minutes.”
Sadly, this was not the news I was hoping for.
“Rika?”
“Yes?”
“If I don’t make it, can you make sure these stuffed animals get to my sister? I want her to have something to remember me by.”
Her smirk betrayed her mirth. “I promise.”
“Thanks. For being so selfless, I’ll let you have one of them as a reward.”
“You’re far too kind.”
“Here.” I handed her a stuffed animal, which she accepted in her outstretched hand. “The panda’s perfect for you.”
“Why’s that?” she asked, fiddling with the toy I gave her.
“It’s just like you. Annoying and irrational, but people like them anyway for some reason.”
She snorted. “How long have you been working on that one?”
I placed a hand over my heart, pinning the scarf against my shirt, and gasped dramatically. “Hey, I’ll have you know it only took about twenty minutes to think up. I just wasn’t sure who I was going to use it on.”
“Wow, and you decided a cute girl like me was the perfect target?”
It was my turn to make a sound of disbelief. “You mess with me all the time.”
“Yeah, and it only makes me more endearing.”
“You’re impossible.”
“You might be right.” Poking at the button eye on the panda, her smile faded. “Did you have fun?”
I considered her question. It certainly wasn’t what I expected going into today. If someone had told me a week ago I’d be at the amusement park with Ethan’s group and enjoying myself, I’d have told them they were crazy. I mean really? Playing games with Nora and having a good time? Absolutely insane. And yet, it was fun. There was no doubt about that.
“I did.”
My response seemingly satisfied her, and she nodded. Her gaze dropped from my face, falling onto the fairgrounds below. It was admittedly a pretty view from the little I could see by merely turning my head. Not enough to convince me to draw closer to the edge of my seat. I was plenty satisfied sitting in the middle, thank you very much. A good thing too, because, without warning, the ride roared back to life. Startled, I gripped the railing until my knuckles turned white. An overreaction on my part, so I let go and turned my attention back to Rika. Our conversation had died and neither one of us appeared keen to restart it. Her because she seemed lost in thought, and me because I didn’t want to disturb her.
Rika’s dark hair flowed behind her, but she remained still, entranced by something more than the sights. This would have made a nice picture. It was a strange realization, but true. There was something charming about seeing a side of the girl that was so different from her normal self. Still, taking a picture of this moment wouldn’t feel right. So, it was a sight I committed to memory instead.