The Bucket List

9

"Corey, for the love of God, if you ask for ice cream one more time I'm unbuckling you on the top of a rollercoaster," said Jake.

"Only if it's the rollercoaster next to the ice cream cart," Corey replied.

"Rose, we've been here all day for this bucket list thing and you have yet to ride a rollercoaster with us," said Colby.

"I know, I know," I mumbled. He was right. I was here with the trap guys and we'd been at the park for at least five hours, but I'd just stood alone at the bottom while they all went on the rides.

"No more chickening out," said Sam.

"What if I throw up, though?" I asked.

"Just throw up on Jake," said Corey.

"Shut up, you slut," Jake said.

"I'm only a slut for ice cream," Corey replied.

"Hey, Rose, it's okay. You don't have to do this if you don't want to," said Sam.

"Yes, she does. We made a deal. You don't have to do it today, but you won't be any more ready later than you are now. We're here and we're in line. Just do it. You can sit next to me. I promise you'll be okay," said Colby.

"Softie," said Jake.

"Dude, enough already," said Colby.

"Ha ha, you made Colby mad," said Corey.

"You too, brother," said Colby.

"Next!" yelled the woman at the gate to the rollercoaster. There were about five people in front of us and the ride sat 20.

"Fine. But you're not allowed to make fun of me if I scream like a little bitch," I said.

"Oh, I'm definitely going to make fun of you," said Colby.

"Colby!" I whined.

"But not for a while. Now come on, we're up," he replied. I shuffled along with the guys to the seats, which were two per row. I sat next to Colby, Sam sat next to Corey, and Jake sat next to some bald dude behind us.

"You ready to rock and roll, brother?" Jake asked the stranger as the worker fastened our seatbelts and safety guards.

"Uh, sure, I guess," the man replied awkwardly.

"Hell yeah!" Jake exclaimed.

"I hate taking him in public," Colby chuckled.

"I think he's fun," I said.

"He definitely is. Maybe too much fun," he replied.

"Corey, bro, Rose is going to channel some serious Wah Wah Wah if she cries on this thing," Jake said.

"Huh?" I asked.

"She makes Colby's heart go Wah Wah Wah," said Sam.

"I make his heart cry?" I asked.

"No, it's a song. Our song," said Sam.

"And she doesn't make my heart do anything," Colby added. The woman that buckled us in began her speech about the ride, telling us the usual 'keep your arms and legs inside the moving cart at all times' stuff.

"You ready?" asked Colby.

"Nope," I replied.

"Great," he said back.

A knot in my stomach began to form when the ride began to squeak and we suddenly lurched forward.

"Oh, god," I mumbled.

"You're okay," Colby assured. I nodded in response, too anxious to even talk. I really wished I had Krystal or Jess with me, but Krystal was in Washington and Jess was at work all day.

Before I knew it, we were stopped. Perched at the top of a giant hill, I was too scared to look down at the oncoming track.

"Here it comes," Sam said excitedly. After another few agonizing seconds, I felt the ride begin to move again. Oh, god. I didn't want to be on this metal death trap.

We rocketed forward and my stomach flew up into my chest.

"HOLY FUCK!" I screamed. I doubted anyone could hear me over everyone else's screams and the deafening sound of the wind rushing past us, though. I looked over at Colby, who had his eyes squeezed shut and a giant smile on his face. How on Earth did people actually enjoy this? I looked down at my lap and focused on breathing. I could get through this. Thousands of people did this stuff every day. I just had to live through five minutes of it.

It was the longest five minutes of my life.

"You lived!" said Sam, hopping out from his seat.

"And you didn't throw up on Jake. That's okay, maybe you can do it next time," said Corey.

"Ooh, Rose likes Colby back," said Jake.

"Huh?" I asked. Jake nodded down in between us and I realized I must have grabbed Colby's hand halfway through the ride. I quickly dropped his hand and got up out of the ride.

"Oops. Sorry. I would have probably grabbed baldy's hand too if he had been the one next to me," I said.

"His name is Marty and he's a motorcycle salesman, actually," said Jake.

"I feel replaced," said Corey.

"You were together for not even fifteen minutes," Sam laughed.

"Have you met Jake? He doesn't stop asking questions," said Colby, getting up along with us. "But hey, Rose, you did it! We get to check another thing off your list!"

"One step closer to dying," I said.

"Hey! No! If you die, Jess is going to kill me and I'll be dead, too," he replied.

"Cool. Then we can chill in heaven together and stay away from all of God's rollercoasters," I said.

"You think Colby's getting into heaven? Funny," said Corey.

"It was really that bad?" asked Sam.

"Mhm," I said, nodding.

"That's okay. You don't ever have to do it again. But at least now you know what it's like, right?" asked Colby.

"I guess," I replied. He pulled the notepad out of his pocket and handed it to me. "Do you just carry that with you everywhere you go?"

"Yes, actually. In case we need to cross something off, add something, or if I need to remind you that you just have to hold on long enough to finish this list," he replied. Aw, okay. That was kind of sweet. "Now come on. We're going to go get Corey some ice cream."