The Very First Night

As I waited in line for the next ride--a big one with steep drops and loops--I noticed a sign perched atop the fence that enveloped the line.

"SINGLES WILL BE PAIRED"

This was to be expected at a large amusement park. I had already been on multiple rides where I had to sit next to a complete stranger. Well I guess that's what I get for going to the park alone. Nobody that I sat with ever tried talking to me, they were just there to enjoy the ride. And I was perfectly fine with that; if anything, I preferred that to someone wanting to chat the entire time.

I glanced around at the few people that were right around me, trying to find another single that I'd be paired with. There were a few couples, a group of three, and someone with a little kid. I guessed that the group of three would probably be split.

They all looked nice enough. One boy had short brown hair and dark freckles. He was talking to a girl who had firey red hair worn in pigtails. The last boy had dirty blond hair paired with a green beanie and seemed to just be listening in on the conversation. I quickly looked away when our eyes met.

I scooted foward as I arrived at the front of the line. The red haired girl and freckled boy got into their seats; the last ones on the car. A worker held out his arm in front of beanie boy as the car started moving. Just a few seconds later, another car approached. Almost everyone was smiling with a few exceptions of people who looked terrified. They exited the car and the man moved his arm.

"Are you a single?" He was looking at me now.

I hesitated for a moment before answering, "yeah."

"Ok, you two will ride together." We both nodded.

Beanie boy turned his head so he could see me. He quickly looked away as the man instructed him into the seat. I quickly followed, plopping down next to him. I adjusted my pink dress so that it draped over my knees; good thing I wore tights underneath, I would not want my skirt blowing in the wind.

I looked over at him as he took off his beanie and set it in his lap. I noticed that there weren't any pockets to put things in, then took note of my small bag that I had slung across my torso. Sure, I generally liked avoiding any sort of contact with people, but I didn't want to be rude. I only thought for a moment.

"Here, do you want me to hold your hat for you?" I asked as I held out my bag to him. "So you don't lose it."

He looked at the bag, then back up at me before answering. "Uh, sure. Thanks." He gently placed it inside. I secured my bag to my side.

The car jerked back before slowly chugging foward. The safety belts lowered and we started moving faster as we left the covered area. I looked up to find the dark sky dotted with stars. The moon slowly rising as the sun dipped below the horizon.

I always had a strange love of stars and the night sky. It was probably because of my mother. She also loved the stars. And knowing that she was up there, watching over me, was always a great comfort. I gave her a weak smile, and I got some strange feeling that someone else was watching me. I quickly glanced to the side, then averted my eyes as beanie boy did the same.

I turned my eyes foward when we began ascending. It didn't take long to reach the top where there was a fairly small drop. But it did speed us up for the first loop. Most of the people behind us screamed. Neither of us did. I was never the type of person to scream on roller coasters. I would just scrunch up my face awkwardly. My mother used to always say it was cute when I did that, but I never liked it.

After the loop, everything moved past us in a blur. My hair blew around wildly and I was afraid that my loose braids would come undone. I adjusted my skirt once more as we began to slowly crawl upwards for the second, and bigger, drop. There was a small flat space at the top before the drop, that's where we stopped.