"Fosteeerrrrr," Keefe whined. Sophie just rolled her eyes. Keefe had been her best friend since kindergarten, so she knew that dealing with his whining meant ignoring it.
"Foster, that roller coaster looks scary. No way am I riding that thing."
"Yes you are Keefe," Sophie said impatiently. "You're gonna love it!"
"No I'm not," he threw back at her. "I haven't been on a roller coaster since you made me go with you when we were in third grade, remember? My seat belt was loose, and I literally almost flew out of my seat!"
Sophie winced, remembering the incident. He had also barfed on her new dress when they got off. "Well," she said, "this one has better harnesses. Plus, you were a lot lighter when you were in third grade."
"I know," Keefe said grudgingly. "I'm taller than you now, too. I wasn't back then." He smirked, and Sophie punched him playfully in the arm.
"Shut up!"
Keefe stuck his tongue out.
"Come on," Sophie grabbed his wrist. "We're almost to the front of the line!"
Keefe had begun to get the feeling in his stomach that preceded full out terror. His hands were shaking, but Sophie didn't notice. He was just glad his palms weren't sweating. The truth was, he was terrified of heights. Ever since he was tiny, he had problems with them. The big slide at the playground? Nope. Climbing the rope in gym? Heck no. Riding a big huge scary tall twisty evil looking roller coaster with his daredevil best friend who never gave death a second thought? Definitely. Freaking. No.
But of course, if Sophie was there, he wasn't allowed to say no. He slid down the big slide at the playground, her at his side. He climbed the rope in gym, Sophie shouting encouragement from below. And now they were about to ride the roller coaster.
Together, Keefe had to keep telling himself. We're going together. It'll be fine. Together.
"Keefe!" Sophie's shout brought him back to his senses. They were at the front of the line now, Sophie trying to pull his arm out of it's socket. "Come on!" She dragged him to the two seats at the very front of the coaster. Keefe gulped, sat down, and fastened his seat belt as tightly as it went. Sophie seemed to vibrate with excitement.
After a couple minutes, the employees came around and started fastening the harnesses.
Keefe smiled- in a terrified sense considering the fact that he thought he was about to die- when he saw who was walking over to close theirs.
"Hey Fitzy," he said.
"Hey Keefe," his friend returned. "Hi Soph."
"Hi," Sophie blushed. Keefe groaned internally. He knew they had crushes on each other, he was pretty sure it was the most obvious thing on the planet, but that didn't make it hurt any less.
"What's takin' so long over there Vacker?" another boy wearing the amusement park staff shirt called. Fitz and Sophie broke eye contact for the first time since they said hello to each other.
"Nothing!" he slammed the bars down over their shoulders, and pulled up to check that they were secure. They didn't budge, so Fitz gave them both a little wave, and walked away.
Sophie was shaking again. "Oh my gosh this is gonna be so much fun!" she squealed. "Are you excited?"
"Yep!" Keefe told her. "No," he muttered to himself.
Come on coward, he scolded himself, just do it for Sophie. For Sophie. Sophie. Besides, there's no backing out now.
His heart leapt into his throat as he realized they were moving. Slowly, yes, but they were gaining on a vertical pillar of track that had to be fifty feet tall. And as far as Keefe could see, it wasn't a gradual decline. Pretty soon they were facing straight up in the air, and the clatter of the tracks was the only thing penetrating Keefe's mind.
