The roller coaster climbed higher and higher up the wooden tracks. In the first car sat two people. One being an 8-year-old girl, smiling with excitement. The other was a teenage boy, shivering with fear.
The girl was myself, and the boy was my cousin, Matthew. My family had taken a vacation to Six Flags, and I had somehow convinced my older cousin to ride the Texas Giant with me.
Now, as the car climbed higher, I sat there with an excited expression plastered across my face. My cousin, on the other hand, looked like he had just seen a ghost. Or was about to become one himself.
The coaster reached the top of the track and paused for a split second before plummeting down toward the earth. My hair was whipped back from my face which was frozen in an excited grin. Matthew opened his mouth and let loose a terrified scream. My arms raised above my head as his hands gripped the security bar tightly, turning his knuckles white.
The car flew down the track, picking up speed as it went. The air blew past us in a whirlwind. Matthew paled as the car approached another incline. Up we went again, and my excitement grew. So did my cousin’s fear.
When the car dropped down again, he screamed a second time, finally letting go of the bar to cling to me. I looked over at him, finally realizing he wasn’t enjoying this at all. A wicked smile stretched across my face.
He’s never going to live this down. I’ll never let him forget this moment in time.
Too soon for me, the ride was over. I skipped happily off the ride to join my mom and other cousin, Shannon. We all laughed as the shaky-legged Matthew followed behind me. The pale boy was rewarded with a few taunts and laughter from his family.
“It’s okay, Matt. I’m sure all teenagers hate roller coasters.”
“Where did you learn to scream like that?”
“How is it you were more scared than the 8-year-old?”
He responded with glare. After a minute he said, “I wasn’t scared!”
Another wicked smile spread across my face. I ran to his side and grabbed his arm. With my sweetest smile and puppy dog eyes, I looked up at him.
“Well, if you weren’t scared, then let’s ride it again.” I started dragging him off to go stand in line again.
He paled and tried to stop me from dragging him away. Pure terror flashed across his face as I lead him back to the roller coaster. Finally, halfway there, he stopped me by shouting, “Okay! Okay, I was scared! I was terrified!”
I turned back around to face him.
“Well, Matt, that’s all you had to say.”
Then, I turned and ran to the line, ready to ride alone.