A Family Podcast (english)

Chapter 26

Noah

"Izzy, what are you doing here?" I hissed. I had made plans with Amanda to watch the fireworks together, and suddenly Izzy showed up. I thought she and Jerome weren't interested in the fair, but apparently, she had changed her mind.

"I'm going to this wonderful fair, just like half the town does" she retorted, gesturing around. "What's the problem?"

I rolled my eyes. "The problem is that you can't stand any of this crap" I clarified. Was she here because of Amanda? I knew Izzy couldn't stand her, but her sudden appearance surprised me.

"You can't stand this crap either!" Izzy said defiantly. She wasn't entirely wrong, but that wasn't the point.

"I'm not here for the fair either; I'm here because of Amanda" I replied, annoyed. A brief hurt expression seemed to flicker across Izzy's face, but it disappeared so quickly that I wasn't sure. Izzy was about to say something when Amanda hooked her arm through mine. She had just come back from the restroom.

"Is everything okay with you two?" she asked, noticing the tense atmosphere, and we nodded simultaneously.

"Perfectly fine" I grumbled.

"Oh, look, the Ferris wheel!" Izzy exclaimed instead, looking at me provocatively.

"Hold your-" I was about to insult her when Amanda interrupted me with an enthusiastic exclamation.

"We have to go on that!" Amanda pulled me towards the ticket booth, and I heard Izzy laughing behind us. Oh man, really? This evening was getting worse by the minute.

"Well, Ferris wheels are boring anyway. You have to wait forever, and then it spins super slowly" I tried to somehow get out of the situation.

"But it's so romantic" Amanda pouted at me.

"Yeah, and the line is really short right now. It must be our lucky day" Izzy added with a challenging grin, and I gave her a warning look. Izzy knew about my fear of heights, and she found it amusing. I had no idea what was going on with her at the moment. Normally, she would never put me in such a difficult spot. She was mad about something, but I couldn't for the life of me figure out what.

"Please, please" Amanda begged, and I forced a smile.

"Fine, whatever" I replied through gritted teeth.

Less than five minutes later, we were sitting in the small cabin, which jerked into motion.

Another three minutes passed, and I was already feeling dizzy, even though we had only reached halfway up. Seriously, who came up with these torture devices and called them attractions? Who voluntarily subjected themselves to this? Amanda kept talking non-stop. Normally, it didn't bother me much, but in that moment, it was downright annoying.

I felt sweat drops forming on my forehead, and my hands clenched around the metal handrails. Damn it.

"Are you okay, Noah?" Amanda looked at me, puzzled, and I attempted a grin that probably failed miserably.

"Yeah, everything's fine"

"Are you sure? You look pale" Izzy chirped, and I discreetly kicked her. I had no idea what was going on with her at the moment, but I wanted my friend back. She wouldn't leave me hanging like this.

"Hey, look!" Amanda leaned slightly out of the cabin, and just watching her made me feel sick. Oh, shit.

I glanced at Izzy, seeking help, as I was on the verge of pulling some emergency lever. There were emergency levers in Ferris wheels, right? Izzy met my gaze and pursed her lips. She felt guilty. At least that. After all, I was stuck in this thing because of her.