Uyangijabulisa

eight

Happy New Year my loves🎉! To a 2024 filled with love, dreams coming true and everything else our hearts desire💟🎈. Happy ❤️.

Our first ride of the day is the golden loop.

I thought since it's later in the day, the park would be empty. But instead, it is packed, throngs of young people everywhere. A group of girls pass by us while hopping and singing a Nicki Minaj song I don't remember the name to.

"Cute," I say and Thabo just grunts.

The same girls are in line for the golden loop. We get there just as the ride is about to start. There's a moment of pause and then the thing zooms away so fast, I get whiplash. The screams are loud and I start having second thoughts about going on the ride.

"I don't think I want to go on here. What if it falls off? Is this even safe?" I whine to Thabo, who responds by laughing.

"Don't go being scared on me now babe. It's safe, don't worry." I'm not assured by his words, but the word babe puts butterflies in my stomach. I start stepping back from the line, but he catches my arm. "Come on, live a little!" he encourages.

He's right. I've wanted to come here for a million years. Now that the opportunity has presented itself, I should grab it with both hands. Mentally talking myself up, I'm ready by the time it's our turn. And so are the group of girls from earlier.

Thabo takes a hold of my hand, looks down at me and gives me a sweet smile. Before I can smile back, the thing goes off again and a loud, horrified scream leaves my mouth!

"Oh my God!" I scream when it goes back and then forward again in that same speed. I scream until it stops and Thabo is beside me, laughing his ass off. Clearly someone is having the time of their life!

"How was it?" he asks once we're safe on solid ground.

"Horrifying!" I respond.

"Wait till we get on the tower of terror!" he exclaims with a laugh.

"I want to go home!"

***

Safe to say, I didn't, in fact, go home.

I got on every ride, feeling like I was tempting death on each one. I passed out when we were on the tower of terror because my body just couldn't take that. I felt so embarrassed because I always judged the people on the sling shot thing on YouTube, but look at me now, turning out just like them.

It's a good thing the tower of terror was our last ride, because Thabo got genuinely worried and called it a night.

"I'm fine Thabo, I promise," I repeat. His jaw is tight, he's looking straight ahead, stiff as a stick. I let my hand travel up his arm until I am clutching his bicep. "Look at me please," I say softly, which pauses him in his movements. He looks down at me, worry swimming in his eyes still. "I'm fine okay? I'm okay," I say, both my hands on either side of his face.

"I should've known that it would be too much. You screamed on every ride when it wasn't bad, my mind should've concluded that you'd react negatively on the tower of terror," he says gruffly. I make him look at me again when his gaze wanders.

"Don't worry baby, I didn't die, that's what's important," I say. His facial expression completely changes. From furrowed eyebrows and clenched jaw to smiling widely like a fool.

"You just called me baby," he points out. I'm confused for a second, and then realise how long he's been wanting me to, from the first day we met.

"Ugh, you're so idiotic!" I say, slapping his shoulder and start walking ahead of him, cheeks flaming wildly. I hear him chuckle behind me and then his footsteps as he catches up to me.