Rollercoaster

Chapter 1

"Cristina!" yelled Ha-Rin from across the crowded bar. This wasn't really Cristina's scene, but she had showed up because Ha-Rin had begged her to get out of the house. It was time. Cristina knew it was about time she stopped moping about her break-up with Sean and started living again.

When Ha-Rin got close to Cristina, she screamed, "Girl!! You look so hot! Look at that skirt!" She twirled Cristina around so she could get a better look at her black mini skirt. Again, a choice that was somewhat uncharacteristic for her, but she was trying to make this moving on thing work. So, she figured the least she could do would be to try to dress up. Most days, she lived in a hoodie and jeans, which suited her just fine for her carpentry work.

She had never intended to go into carpentry, but she had spent a summer doing odd jobs with a carpenter, and she had found that she really loved the work. So, she had dedicated herself to it from that point on. She found that wherever she went, people wanted carpenters. So, she had decided to go to Seoul since she had always wanted to learn more about Korean culture. And she found enough jobs there to sustain herself and to take Korean language classes at night.

"What do you want to drink?" Ha-Rin yelled over the loud music.

Cristina shrugged. "Anything but beer," she finally answered. So, Ha-Rin returned with two shots of tequila.

"I see we're going straight for it," Cristina remarked as she downed the shot and made a loud sound of satisfaction as Koreans often did after drinking alcohol. Tequila was in her wheelhouse. She was used to it from all those summers she had spent in Mexico with her abuela and her cousins.

Ha-Rin dragged Cristina onto the crowded dance floor. They danced with their arms in the air, enjoying the feeling of being young and free. At one point, a short young man with spiky hair tried to dance behind her, but Cristina had just turned around and given him a withering look, after which he kept his distance.

Ha-Rin pulled Cristina aside. "You know this is never going to work if you won't even try," she scolded.

"You wanted me to go with that guy?" Cristina asked, incredulously. "He smelled like Axe body spray," she protested.

"Well, it doesn't have to be him, but you need to be more open, or you'll never find anyone," Ha-Rin pointed out.

"Not that open," Cristina replied.

Just then, there was a commotion at the entrance of the bar as a thin, tattooed man entered. The crowd immediately swarmed around him.

"Guys!" he yelled above the noise. "Just give me some space, okay? I want to have a good time just like you guys," he added.

The press of sweaty humanity pulled back a bit, deciding to give him a little respect as he had requested.

As he approached Cristina and Ha-Rin, Cristina leaned over and asked her friend, "Is that Christian Yu?"

"Oh, my god! I think so!" Ha-Rin replied, equally stunned. They watched as Christian took the stage and someone passed him a guitar.

"I promised my friend Calvin I would come tonight and play a song for you guys! Calvin's behind the bar. Wave at everybody, Calvin! There he is! I love that guy!" Christian yelled into the microphone causing it to squeal a bit as it got feedback from the other mic.

With that, he launched into an acoustic rendition of his hit, "No Blueberries."* Cristina leaned over to Ha-Rin and commented, "I love this song, but the lyrics don't make any sense to me."

"That whole album is about his bipolar disorder," Ha-Rin answered back.

"I know!" Cristina yelled back, "but don't you think the lyrics should still make sense?"

Ha-Rin just shrugged, dismissing the matter. When he finished the song, Christian left the stage and walked past them on his way to the bar. He accidentally knocked into Cristina, causing her to almost lose her footing. He stretched his arm behind her to keep her upright.

"Thanks," she said.

"No problem. Sorry for bumping into you. You're not from here, are you? Hey, what are you drinking?" he asked, all in rapid succession.

"Well, I had a tequila a little bit ago," she answered, "but ---."

Suddenly, Christian yelled out, "Tequila, all around! It's on me!"

The crowd cheered his generosity as Calvin began lining up tequila shots on the bar for people to pick up. Christian brought one for Cristina.

"Hey, I brought you a tequila!" he yelled.

"I see that," Cristina replied. "Just this one and I'm done, okay?"

"Come on! The night is young," Christian screamed as he began jumping in place to the music. He went back to the bar and brought back two more shots. He tried to hand one to Cristina, but she held up her hand.

"No, thanks. Two is enough for me," she responded.

Christian proceeded to drink both shots himself. "Whoa!" he screamed, hyping up the crowd. "Let's dance," he suggested, turning to Cristina. She turned and looked at Ha-Rin who was making a shooing motion with her hand. Cristina moved in rhythm to the music, winding her hips seductively, despite her standoffish demeanor. She was Latina. It was the only way she knew to dance. Christian watched her and whistled.

"Girrrl!" he said in admiration. "Go on! Get it, girl!" he encouraged. At that, he went back to the bar and got another two shots. Again, he offered her one. And again, she refused. So, he drank both.

"You might want to slow down," Cristina yelled over the din.

"I'm fine!" he assured her. His dancing had become frenetic as he waved his arms all around him. "Yeah!" he screamed, again trying to hype up the crowd. Cristina marveled at his stamina. He had been jumping about energetically for almost an hour with no sign of wearing out. She was getting tired just watching him.

Suddenly, he put his hand over his mouth and held up one finger to Cristina as he ran out of the bar into the street. Cristina ran after him and found him crouched down by a streetlight, vomiting violently.

She patted his back gently. "Just let it up and out," she encouraged. Much to her surprise, as soon as the vomiting ceased, Christian was back on his feet again.

"Come on!" he urged, guiding her back into the bar. Cristina resisted, pushing her way back into the street again.

"Let's dance some more!" Christian cried from the doorway.

Cristina shook her head. "I'm done for the night. Thanks," she said.

"But we're young and alive! We've got to celebrate this moment!" he screamed unnecessarily loudly into the night air.

"No, I'm good," Cristina replied.

"Well, at least, let me see you home, then," Christian offered.

"It looks like you might be the one who needs help getting home," she observed.

"So, you're saying you want to take me home?" he asked seductively, his speech slurring slightly.

"You only hear what you want to," she answered.

Christian leaned against the streetlight again and began to vomit yet again.

"Alright," Cristina said in her take-charge voice. "That's enough for you. Let's get you in a cab and get you home before you hurt yourself," she admonished.

"Will you help me home?" he asked in a voice that sounded almost childlike.   

*"No Blueberries", DPR IAN, from "Mood Swings in This Order", 2021