I gasped as I stared up at the humongous purple and orange ride while entering the Southwest territory of Six Flags. The twists and turns glared down at me through the black sky.I meandered forward, determined to get out of riding the rollercoaster of my nightmares.

“Kayleigh, try out the seat for the ride to see if you can go on it,” my brother, Chase, said as he thrusted me towards the large seat. I gripped the radiant yellow handle, that was shaped as a bull’s head with handles on either side, as I launched myself into the burgundy seat. I squirmed around, trying to get comfortable in the irritating seat. Chase gripped my right shoulder to hold me still and shifted the handle down until it couldn’t go any farther. I sighed as it clearly fit me. I shoved Chase away so I could free myself from the uncomfortable seat. I took my time, hoping I would be left behind.

“Chase,” I pleaded, my petite hand gripping as much of his large wrist as it could, ”please don’t make me go on it, please! I bet the Viper would be a lot more fun if we went on it instead of this.” I spat through the puppy-dog look that covered my face. As the words tumbled out of my mouth my right arm extended towards the old wooden ride, my pointer finger wobbling as I tried to hold it straight.

“No!” He boomed, aggravated. “I’ve told you a million times before that the Viper is a drag Anyway, this is the best ride in the whole entire park, maybe even the whole world!”
“Hmph!” I huffed, crossing my arms and pouting like a five year old as Chase ripped his wrist from my weakening grasp and started striding away.

Suddenly, he whipped around with a sneer etched across his face. “Maybe if you acted like the eleven year old you are, you wouldn’t be scared of a little, harmless rollercoaster,” and with that he sprinted off towards the entrance, stopping to wait in the hour long line.

“Maybe if you acted like the eleven year old you are, you wouldn’t be scared of a little, harmless rollercoaster,” I mocked, sticking my pink tongue out at him. “Harmless? Yeah right!”

“Come on Kayleigh!” Chase called over his shoulder.This pulled me from my thoughts, causing me to stamp my foot and stalk towards the entrance with my head held high. I quickly stood next to Chase as his two friends, twins Alex and Christopher, showed up on the other side of him. Not wanting to revisit the embarrassing tantrum I had thrown seconds earlier, I turned to their mother, Mrs. Judy. I smiled at her, my anger dissolving as nervousness bubbled.

“They finally talk you into it?” She asked as I shook the nerves taking over my body. I nodded slightly, running a clammy palm across my sweating brow. I tore off my blue sweatshirt as the air around me heated up and the room began to blur. We shifted forward and I rested my boiling back against the cool metal railing. My knees wobbled as my hands were forced to grip the bar, hard. My aching knuckles paled from the forceful grip I used to keep myself up. We inched forward and the world spun around me.

“You look pale,” Chris stated staring at my face, waiting for a gesture to giveaway that I wasn’t feeling well.
“Yeah,” Alex exclaimed, pressing a large hand to my sizzling forehead. His hand jerked backwards the moment his icy hand brushed my forehead. 

“Kayleigh, are you okay?” Mrs. Judy cried out as I slumped to the ground only to have my brother wrench me back up. Chase shook the arm he was gripping, causing me to whip around like a rag doll. My weak arm strained against his iron grip until he noticed. He pulled his hand back and I slumped as if the world rested on my shoulder. I nodded wearily, not trusting my voice. I gulped trying to swallow the bubbling nerves. We were nearing the dark staircase that rose straight up to the monstrous ride. My stomach twisted and turned each time distance was closed between that horrid ride and I.

“It’s never too late to back out, never too late!” I chanted to myself in my head as I slowly climbed the tall staircase. With time ticking as slowly as ever, the trek up the stairs felt like hours. My sweaty palms rubbed against my dark jean shorts, touching the burning skin on my legs slightly. The cool night felt good against my sweltering skin.  I rocked back and forth on my heels, stopped just steps below the top of the staircase. My heart was pounding straight out of my chest as if it was going to grow legs and run away. “Another step,” I thought as I stepped just one shaky step up. I could feel my stomach doing flip flops inside of me before ending with a bang, the pain in my abdomen increasing. “I can always back out, not going on the ride is perfectly fine,” dashed through my mind.

“No!” Flashed across my brain, “I have to face this fear, I can’t just act like a baby forever!” As my fight inside my head went on, everyone ahead of me stepped up the rest of the stairs up. Chase turned and looked at me strangely.

“Are you coming?” He asked. I dipped my heavy head which rose his suspicions.  “Are you sure you’re okay?” My older brother asked worriedly.

“Yeah, yeah I’m perfectly fine,” I assured as I walked up the few steps towards the loading dock. He looked at me questionably but his face morphed into a blank look before he turned away from me. My hands resumed their grip on my shorts as I shakily breathed in and out.

“So,” my shaky voice cut through the heavy silence hanging in the air, “what row are we riding in?”

“Well,” Chase spoke with authority ringing in his voice, “we are riding the last row, I don’t know about you guys.” His hand gestured towards Mrs. Judy and me as the last word echoed through the peaceful night. I turned to find Mrs. Judy with her eyebrows raised, the unspoken question hanging in the air.

“I think it’s going to be scary if we go last row but probably even scarier in the front row,” I pondered out loud, tapping my stumpy finger to my chin.

“Third row is probably our best shot,” Mrs. Judy asserted as we parted away from the boys, heading towards the miniature line formed in front of the empty track. My weight shifted back and forth on my shaking legs as the people standing ahead of us entered the newly awaiting ride. I watched carefully for any mistakes as the young workers checked everyone’s handlebars. The ride accelerated forward and the next car slid up. My breathing hitched as I followed Mrs. Judy with shaky steps. The cool metal slipped through my worn gym shoes as my shaky feet touched the steady platform. Mrs. Judy sat in the middle seat , leaving me glaring at the terrifying end seat. I slipped backwards, using my hands for height, into the burgundy seat. I shifted around, falling back and forth, trying to get comfortable in the awkward seat. Finally, I just sat back and hauled the handle down until it poked at my tumbling stomach. I threw my arms up as the busy worker passed, quickly thrusting the handle down. My arms dropped and my stomach lurched as the countdown ticked down to ten seconds. The clock quickly ran out and the nerves spilled as my stomach rumbled.

The car lurched forward as I gripped the horrid handle. My stomach plummeted at the car dropped a few inches before leveling out and advancing forward.  We accelerated around the corner before starting the crawl up to the 210 foot drop. My eyes snapped shut the minute the car elevated. The handle bore into my hands and they slowly sprouted blood. It felt as though my throat clogged up with each foot we gained.

“Can I get off yet?” I begged Mrs.Judy frantically, “can I please get off?” I stretched the word please as my voice dripped with worry.

“The ride has only begun,” she answered, chuckling to herself. Her large hand tried to break my death grip on the handle but soon gave up and instead rested her hand on my burning arm.

“In, out, in, out,” I thought as my breath came out in ragged gasps. My focus turned to Judy’s soothing hand on my arm. At that moment the car jolted forward, quickening it’s pace. Sweat dripped from my pounding head and my knuckled grew a couple shades lighter as they gripped onto the handle tighter. My eyelid fluttered open but snapped shut in fear. The car jerked to a stop as it reached maximum height. My heart pounded as a floating feeling settled over me, calming the racing adrenaline. The calming feeling lasted only seconds before dived forward.

“Ahhh-!” My screams got caught in my throat as air flooded my surging lungs. My eyes popped out of my head as the ground reached up at me. The blood drained from my sweating face and the adrenaline trickled away. Fear crawled into my stomach as the car met the ground. I was launched straight up as I rose my hands to brush hair from my face.“Why?” My screams echoed through the dark sky. “Why?”

Crimson blood mixed with sweat as my purple nails left their mark in my aching palm. Mrs. Judy’s laugh floated into my ears as my head whipped around to look at her. At that exact moment the car plummeted another hundred feet and my throat ached. Dry screams left my throat as my mouth begged for moisture. The next drop flashed through my line of vision and my eyes clenched shut.

“Whoosh!” Air rushed past me as we decreased another twenty feet. The world felt as though it was spinning as the ride strained on. Everything was black beneath my eyelids and I had no idea what was coming next. The handle bars slid from my loosening grip as the ride slowed to a crawl.

“Ooph!” The wind pushed out of me as we jolted, stopping briefly. A smile creeped across my face as we pulled into the crowded station. My eyes averted left and right, searching for the boys who I knew would be eager to know if I liked the ride. Pressure ceased from my now calm stomach. My tingling feet touched cold metal once again. Multiple pairs of strong arms engulfed me in a tight hug.

“Claustrophobic! I’m claustrophobic!” i screeched, desperate to get out of the tiny space. i heard chuckling echo around me as the arms released.

“So how did you like the ride, Kay?” My brother asked, patting me on the back.I wiped my head towards him, my eyes set hard and a frown upon my lips.

“I hated it! I can’t believe you made me go on that!” I rambled on as he stood there, frozen with shock.
“What?” He bursted, arms flailing around and his face etched with anger. “How could you not like it?”

My frown slowly turned upwards and laughter erupted from my lips. I started skipping away, my laughter filled with joy. Chase jogged to keep up and walked next to me, looking at me expectantly.  “I’m just joking!” I pushed his shoulder in a friendly way, “the ride was amazing. When can we go again?”

Before he could answer, cackling gushed from the speakers. “Good evening!” Rang through the air, “the park closes in ten minutes so start making your way to your cars.” Obnoxious beeping sounded before a calming silence took over once again. The bustle of people and rides moving started up again.

I threw a longing glance at the joyful ride before jogging towards the exit. I ran straight into my mother’s awaiting arms. Cheerful giggles spilled from my mouth as she hugged me and asked how the ride was.

“Amazing! It was so much fun. I just want to go again and again and again!” I chirped, bubbling with excitement. I bounced around, the adrenaline still jostled through my veins. My mother snickered and placed a strong hand on my shoulder, keeping my jumps to little bounces. Soon, everyone was crowded around us and questions were being thrown at me.

“Shut up!” I blurted, “if you really want to know if I liked it, just be quiet!” Silence fell over the group and a satisfied smile took place upon my lips. “Good! Now, I have one question.”

“What is it?” Bridgette, Mrs. Judy’s daughter, exclaimed from the bench she had been waiting on since we left for the ride.

“When can I ride the Raging Bull again?”