Read Introducing Serina K., Ph.D. and Future Famous Person Page 7

  Chapter Seven: The Cage of Fear

  It took only a minute or two to run to the carnival. Even though we didn’t have far to run, we still worked up a sweat. We stood in line at the concession stand for ten minutes before ordering a hamburger, funnel cake, and a Coke. It cost me $12 to eat from the concession stand. I couldn’t believe that a medium Coke cost $3. As hot as we were, we quickly gulped down our drinks. As expensive as they were, I hoped that the refills would be free. After standing in line for five more minutes, I didn’t argue when I had to pay another $3 for a refill. I had to have something to drink with my hamburger and funnel cake. We were so hot that we drank our first Cokes without even touching our food.

  We were still in good shape, though. I still had enough money for an armband, games, and maybe enough to get that Ph.D. I sure am glad Grandma Becky and Dad gave me the extra money. Autumn’s dad had given her an extra $20 to be on the safe side. He still maintained that it was worth it for him not to have to go.

  Autumn said that I swallowed my whole hamburger without chewing a bite. I couldn’t help it. I was as hungry as a hippopotamus. All of the work and stress of making money for the carnival had drained most of my energy. Besides, I finished my burger quickly so that I could get to the funnel cake faster. I usually look forward to the funnel cakes at the carnival more than I do the rides. It’s a shame you can only get funnel cakes at carnivals and fairs. When I become a chef, I’m going have funnel cakes on the menu in my restaurant.

  After we finished eating, we headed to the ticket booth to buy an armband. From the ticket booth line, we could see the Cage of Fear. It was huge! Deafening screams came from the tumbling cages as the giant Ferris wheel revolved. As the Ferris wheel stopped to let the people on the bottom cages off, the cages at the top of the wheel continued to spin. They must have been fifty feet in the air while they spun over and over.

  After finally getting our armbands, Autumn and I raced to the Cage of Fear. The line of people waiting to ride the monster looked like it was a mile long. I began to worry if we would even get a chance to ride or not. We had to meet Dad back at the Fish Fry by 9:00. It was almost 8 now. Luckily for us, the line moved pretty fast. A lot of people got tired of waiting and left the line early. Autumn said that they were probably chickening out. I think the sight of the spinning cages at the top might have scared her a little as well.

  “Do you want to go ride something else?” she asked.

  The armband would let us ride anything at the carnival as many times as we wanted. We probably wouldn’t get a chance to ride anything else if we continued to wait in line for the Cage of Fear, but I was determined to wait.

  “No way, I’ve waited all day for this,” I answered.

  We finally got our chance to enter the ride after about 20 minutes of waiting. The tattooed man that controlled the ride locked our door as we sat in the small, caged dome. As soon as we were locked in, Autumn and I began spinning our cage. With each passenger that entered the ride, the tattooed man pulled a lever that advanced the Ferris wheel. We spun our cage continuously until we reached the top. We must have spun a thousand times by the time we reached the top.

  I began to feel dizzy and light headed. When we stopped spinning, the cage left us dangling upside down. For what seemed like an eternity, we dangled upside down until the tattooed man advanced the ride to let the next passengers in their cage. I had once heard that all the blood in your body would flow to your head if you were left upside down too long. The ride hadn’t even begun yet, but I was ready to get off. Autumn seemed to be ok. She just kept talking about how cool it was to be upside down staring at the sky.

  Luckily for me, the cage straightened itself out as we advanced to the next position. Autumn kept wanting to spin, but I begged her not to. It didn’t take long for the ride to fill with passengers. Once all of the cages were full, the giant wheel began to rotate. I screamed until my throat got sore. Even though we quit spinning the cages, they spun by themselves as the wheel rotated. I just closed my eyes and hoped that it would be over soon.

  Once the ride ended, it was almost time to meet my dad. We had to be back in ten minutes, but I had to sit down for a minute. I probably shouldn’t have eaten so much before we got on the ride. I now know how Dakota Jackson feels. I’m glad we were out of town. I didn’t want anyone else to find out about this. The teasing about Suzy was bad enough. I would have to move off if anyone found out about this. Autumn swore that she wouldn’t tell anyone that I freaked out.

  I slept the entire way home. I still didn’t feel good, and I was disgusted that I had spent all of my hard-earned money. I spent $27 at the carnival and only got to ride one ride. The Cage of Fear was not worth any of it. It was a nightmare that I never want to relive again. If I had eaten at the Fish Fry with my dad, he would have paid for my food. I could have saved the money I spent on the hamburger and Cokes. I can’t believe that I paid $3 for a medium drink. Oh well, I still had a little money left. I made a mental note to check the prices of Ph.D.’s at Wal-Mart with the money that I had left.

  Dad was right. Carnivals are nothing more than vacuums for a kid’s money. I don’t think I ever want to go to another carnival again. Well, I might go for just the funnel cake anyway.