LOTF: Before and After

Phase 3: Chapter 27

"Please don't be mad" Jack Merridew pleaded on the other side of the Magma Mountain rollercoaster line up. They had just gotten off the ride, and Jack tried to focus his attention on the curly headed girl standing in front of him; but the corner of his sight was fixed on Ralph standing behind them, rubbing at the bruised bones in his swollen hand.

"I'm not mad, what reason would I be mad?" Emma wondered curiously.

"Well, I ditched you at the last second" Jack hesitantly reminded her.

"You needed to make up with your friend, I totally get it. It's one ride, I'm not one of those whiny, jealous girls who need to be with their guy every second of everyday" Emma laughed at the thought.

Maybe she should be, Ralph thought to himself as he eavesdropped. He wasn't really eavesdropping though; they were right in front of him and the only thing else going on in this particular moment was Sam and Eric bickering with one another. Again. By the time the clock struck 1315 hours, Ralph could tune out the twins without even trying.

The group started working their way through the rest of the rides on Sam and Eric's well-thought-out list. Part of that list included a twenty minute window to stop at one of the several concession trucks or stands for a snack. Or as Eric called it; "recharging our bodies' theme park batteries."

In a 3-2 vote, they'd democratically decided on stopping at the deep fried pork stand. Unfortunately for Sam and Emma, there wasn't enough time to make two separate stops and be back in the next line on schedule. Emma just got a Pepsi while Sam and the others shared a twenty piece deep fried pork bucket.

The next ride they went on was the Supreme Space Shuttle, a ride that required passengers to stand up against the wall on a gravitational board of some type that spun around so fast, gravity would keep them still on their boards. Ralph got nauseous just thinking about it, but was teased by Jack and Eric when he mentioned he was prone to motion sickness.

"Don't be a whimp" Jack slapped him playfully and mockingly on the back.

"Yeah, I thought Sam was the only weak link" Eric chuckled.

"Okay, asshole, your jokes are getting old" Sam finally retorted after hours of verbal torment.

Eric caught Jack's eye and shook his head at the blond, a devilish smile on his face. Jack shook his head back at the boy, a silent agreement that the jokes definitely weren't getting old. Ralph watched the exchange out of the corner of his eye and rolled his eyes at their childish antics.

Ralph was already starting to feel a little nauseous as he climbed into the space shuttle ride, leaning back against the bright green board behind him.

"I have a hard time believing we're not about to go flying without seatbelts. I've never heard of gravity working like this" Emma suggested as she leaned back beside Jack.

"Trust me, babe, it's science" Eric had the same devilish smile on his face as he addressed the girl.

"Dude" Jack scoffed at Eric. "Call her that one more time and you'll be digging your teeth out of the dirt."

Sam raised his eyebrows fearfully at his twin before he awkwardly diverted his gaze downward. Nobody noticed that Ralph was glaring at Jack, at least, not before the ride started spinning. The pace picked up slowly at first but it felt like only a few seconds before they were spinning faster than light itself. Or at least that's what it felt like to Ralph's stomach.

The ride only lasted three minutes at the most. By the time the five kids got off, Sam wasn't sure he couldn't remember what day it was.

"That's why it's called supreme" Eric pointed out. "It's the s-word for extreme: extremely fast, that is. I can't believe you didn't puke!"