Megan, Cruz, and I ended up hanging out a lot in the waning days of summer, enjoying our freedom before school schedules would start to regiment our lives. I got to know both of them much better, and was hardly nervous about attending high school at all. We walked into town for coffee or just lounged around listening to music. They introduced me to the area, taking me around Aptos and into nearby Santa Cruz. One beautiful late summer day we drove to The Boardwalk, pulling up to a seaside amusement park dominated by a giant wooden track poking high into the sky.
“You’ve never been on a roller coaster?” asked Cruz incredulously.
“There’s not a lot of call for thrill rides where I used to live,” I said, looking up suspiciously. “It looks dangerous.”
“The Giant Dipper’s a classic!” enthused Megan. “It’s been here nearly a hundred years.”
“That’s comforting,” I said, inspecting the structure. From my vantage point it looked like it was made out of toothpicks.
We waited in a short line, winding through a rattling wooden tunnel that vibrated each time the cars ran on the track. Listening to the muffled screams was unnerving, but every time I glanced over at Cruz he just grinned. Our turn came much too soon, and the three of us loaded into a small car that jerked forward, immediately plunging us into a black tunnel. It made me claustrophobic, and so relieved to emerge into the light that I didn’t even fret about the nearly vertical ascent that followed.
We crested the top of the tracks and were treated to a beautiful view of the sandy beach bordering an endless expanse of teal-blue ocean. The old wood creaked and swayed in protest, and then the bottom dropped out, taking my stomach along with it. The little car accelerated down the track at tremendous speeds, twisting and turning, tossing me from side to side like a pinball.
Megan and Cruz’s screams still echoed in my ears when the wheels lurched to a sudden halt. We piled out onto a wooden ramp, bodies vibrating from the wild ride.
Megan took my arm. “You look as white as a sheet. Are you okay?”