Falling (Bits and Pieces, Book 1) (11 page)

“Then the bumper cars is our first stop.” I declared. It was hard to stay in my funk with Andy there. I would much rather get sucked into his vortex of excitement than my own created by my mom. Maybe he and Patrick would teach me how to have fun.

* * *

When we got to the carnival, I was surprised on how big it was. The rides seemed to stretch out forever. Despite the sunlight, I could still see the lights shining from the rides. I could just imagine how brightly they’d glow in the evening. The music came from all directions. It was amazing how the different songs didn’t clash but complemented each other. No matter which way you turned, you’d hear a different tune.

We found the ticket booth and got in line. I looked at the price list. There were different prices for ticket packages. I had no idea which one to get. How many tickets did we need for each ride? Did it vary? What if we had tickets left over? What was the best deal?

Patrick explained to me what the advantages were for each option. “I think we should get the ‘All You Can Ride’ wristband. That way, the first time we go on the ride for fun, the second time will be for our project. You need to experience it first.”

“Okay, if you say so. You’re the expert here.”

We bought our wristbands and headed to the bumper cars. Andy was so excited. Once they slide open the gate and let us into the bumper car area, he took off running to a green and yellow car. Patrick and I chose cars near Andy’s.

A buzzer sounded and music played. All of a sudden, cars started moving. Andy immediately drove toward his brother and rammed into him. Random people ran into me. I wasn’t very good at maneuvering the car into others. Andy kept following Patrick and bumping into him and anyone else in the path.

“Andy! Why do you keep hitting me? Why don’t you hit Liz?” Patrick called out.

“’Cause she’s a girl. You’re not supposed to hit girls.” Andy shouted back over the music.

“Hey!” I yelled as I bounced around in the car after Patrick hit me. “I’m a girl!”

“Bumper cars doesn’t count!" Patrick laughed.

I steered my car toward Patrick. Andy and I were able to hit Patrick at the same time. “That’s no fair! You’re ganging up on me!” Patrick shouted.

“That’s what you get for hitting me!” I laughed.

The music ended and buzzer sounded all too soon. It wasn’t fair. I was just getting the hang of it.

Andy ran up to me and gave me a high five. He laughed, “That was fun! Squishing Patrick!”

I chuckled, “Yeah, it was. So, what’s next?”

“Patrick gets to pick next.” Andy informed me.

“No, it’s okay. Liz, you pick.” Patrick deferred to me. Andy was about to say something but Patrick stopped him. Patrick shook his head ever-so-slightly, but Andy saw.

“Hey, I don’t want to mess with any ritual you guys have. I’m just glad to tag along. Whatever you guys want to do is fine with me.” I didn’t want to rock the boat or come between anything they had.

“Patrick, I like her. She’s not like Becca.” His voice was full of the innocence that a little kid should have.

Huh? What was that supposed to mean? Good, I guess. I looked curiously at Patrick.

“No, she’s not.” He agreed and looked around. “So, it’s my choice, huh? Then, let’s do the Gravitron.”

I had no idea what that was. We waited in line for a spaceship looking ride. I couldn’t tell what it did, the whole ride was enclosed. I just saw the lights flashing around the outside, in a spinning pattern. What does this ride do?

The entrance to the ride was the door to the spaceship. It lowered down, like a drawbridge. Smoke spewed out of the bottom of the door and eerie space music played. The last group that rode exited. The operator let us board. The three of us walked up the ramp and entered inside.

I looked around inside and there didn’t seem to be much there. There were no seats. There were individual padded spots around the walls with a safety chain on each side. Patrick and Andy picked a spot against the wall. Andy leaned against the wall.

Patrick helped Andy with the safety chain, then took the spot to the right of him. I was on the right side of Patrick.

“I don’t get it. What does this ride do?” I finally asked him.

He grinned coyly. “You’ll see. It’s one that I want to do for our project.”

The operator walked inside, gave a couple of instructions, such as don’t get up and walk around, then left. The door closed and the outer space music played. The room got dark and the lights above our heads chased each other. The room was spinning. I felt my body get pushed against the wall. My arms felt heavy. I tried to lift them, but it was really hard to. Before I knew it, I was sliding up. The padding sat between two rails that allowed it to slide up. My feet no longer touched the ground. I looked over to my left and saw Patrick had slid up as well.

He turned to look at me. “Cool, huh?”

“Weird.” I answered. It was like some odd out of body experience. But, it was pretty cool.

When it was over, the pads slid back down and I could touch the floor again. It felt like I was re-inflating after being pressed against the wall. I stepped away from the wall and didn’t have my balance. I couldn’t walk straight. At least, I wasn’t the only one with the problem, Andy was wobbly as well. Patrick held onto Andy. I walked along the wall, holding onto it as a guide. As we walked outside, I had to hold onto the railing. I must have looked like I’m drunk. It took me a few minutes to regain my balance.

“So, Andy… what’s next?” I was ready for my next adventure.

“No, it’s your turn. You pick.” Andy told me.

“Hmm… I don’t know what to pick. What about the Ferris Wheel?” I suggested.

“Sure. Which one?” Patrick asked with a glint in his eye, like he was testing me or something.

“Which one? There’s more than one?” That was news to me.

“Yeah. There’s a stationary one, where the baskets swing in place. In the other one, the baskets are on a track that can swing around in its own loop.” Patrick pointed to the differences on the Ferris wheel.

“I don’t know. I’ve never been on either.” I looked at each one and couldn’t decide. I was willing to try either one, but I was a little scared. “Andy, which one do you want to do?”

“The moving one.” He answered and grabbed both me and Patrick’s hands and pulled us in the direction of the moving basket Ferris Wheel. Of course. This kid was fearless. Wish I was.

The ride on the Ferris Wheel was a good kind of scary. I laughed so hard. We watched people and made up stories for each of them. The basket swung back and forth. The three of us worked to get the basket to swing around its loop. When we got off the ride, my cheeks hurt from all the laughing.

It was Andy’s turn to pick again. He wanted to play some games. We walked over to the gaming area. There were so many different games. Each had their own kind of prize, mostly stuffed animals. The game attendants called out to each person who walked by, trying to get them to play. Andy stopped in front of one of the booths. It was a basketball game.

“This one.” He told Patrick.

“Okay.” Patrick took out his wallet and paid the attendant. “Go for it. Remember what I taught you.”

Andy nodded and bounced the ball on the ground. He looked up at the basket, which was smaller than the standard size, and shot the ball. It was a pretty good shot. It hit the side of the rim and bounced off to the right. He had two more tries and needed one to get a prize. He tried again and this time missed to the left. Patrick adjusted Andy’s position a little and gave him some suggestions. Andy shot his last ball. It bounced on the inside right edge of the hoop, rattled around and out.

“That was really good. You’re getting a lot better. You almost got it that time.” Patrick hugged his brother.

“Yeah?” Andy was proud to hear he was improving, the prize didn’t seem to matter as much as his brother’s praise. “Can we play again?”

“Sure.” Patrick indicated to the attendant that he wanted more basketballs and paid him. “Here you go.”

“No, I want you to. I want to see how you do it again.” He passed the ball to Patrick.

“Alright.” He picked up a ball, bounced it twice and shot it. It bounced around before falling in.

Andy gave him a high five. “Cool!”

“Thanks. You want to try now?” He offered the ball to Andy.

“No. Two out of three you get the bigger one.”

“What makes you think I can sink another? Maybe that was just luck.”

“Because I’ve never seen you miss!”

“Gee, no pressure. Thanks.” He dribbled twice and shot the ball. This time it was nothing but net.

“See, told you!” Andy grinned.

“Okay,” he laughed. “Which stuffed animal do you want?”

Andy looked at the different stuffed animals that hung around the sides of the booth. His eyes landed on one and they lit up. “The giraffe.”

The attendant handed Andy a giraffe. Andy’s face lit up as he held onto it.

Patrick smiled and looked at his brother like they were sharing something special. “Nice choice! Now, do you want to try again?”

“Nah… I want to play a different game.”

“Liz, you want to try? Still got one shot left. Might as well use it…”

I quickly shook my head. “No, I can’t play basketball. I just watch, remember?”

“Well, this isn’t really
playing
basketball.” He insisted.

“You know what I mean…”

“Yeah, Liz. Try!” Andy encouraged me.

“You don’t understand. I might cause bodily harm.” I tried to talk them out of it.

“Come on, I don’t think so.” Patrick clearly didn’t get it. He whispered something to Andy.

“Please, Liz?” Andy gave me these big puppy dog eyes that I couldn’t resist.

“Okay, okay. Geez, you guys don’t play fair, do you? Tag teamed by the Connor brothers.” I put my hands out for the ball.

I held the ball with both hands and was ready to shoot when Patrick stopped me. “Wait! That’s not how you shoot the ball. Put one hand behind it and the other to the side.”

I tried to hold it like he said, but I couldn’t quite figure it out. “Like this?”

“Uhh… no. Here let me show you.” He put his hands out. I gave him the ball and he showed me what he meant. “See what I mean?”

I nodded and he handed the ball back to me. I mimicked what I saw him do. I looked at him for confirmation and he nodded. I wouldn’t dare dribble and hold the ball wrong again. I didn’t want to shoot an air ball. I closed my eyes and I pushed the ball away from me with as much force as I could with the hopes that it would get
near
the basket.

I heard the distinctive sound of a ball hitting flesh. I heard a shout of pain. I opened my eyes and saw the game attendant grabbing his face. Oops.

“I guess the laws of physics cease to exist when a basketball is in your hands.” Patrick looked at me with surprise.

I bit the inside of my cheek. “Sorry.”

The attendant gave me a piercing look. Andy burst out laughing. It was a good thing that Andy had already received his prize, or the attendant may not have given it. Patrick tried to quiet his brother down, but couldn’t. In fact, Patrick was having a hard time containing his own laughter.

“Patrick!” I slapped him in the chest. “Stop. It isn’t funny.”