Love In Destin ✔

33 - rollercoaster

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𝑹𝒊𝒄𝒌

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MY ENGINE SPUTTERS at Mark's curb as I wait for him outside his house. Lowering the music on the radio, I finish replying to Maya's text about going to some sleepover. Mark's racing steps grab my attention. "I'm all set!" he exclaims as he gets into the car, smelling of lemongrass and aftershave.

"Did you change to a different scent?" I ask, sniffing his cologne-infested air.

"My usual ran out of stock, and this didn't seem too bad,"

We drive out the curb as he starts yammering about how he almost got a stain on his jean jacket. My car doesn't glisten as usual, and the sky gives me the answer to why when I notice the many clouds covering the sun. I have to admit with the sun not striking Destin today, the air feels a lot cooler and appeasing to the touch.

My chest and mind are slightly less constricted today after the conversation Mark, and I had the other night. Nerves raced up and down my system when I woke up the following morning. The thought that things might be awkward between Mark and I had burrowed deep in my mind. But he acted like that night never happened. Now we're back to being the good old pals we were before my walls began to build up.

Sometimes, I want to crawl back into that bubble and close up. In spite of that, when I look at my friend and all that he is, it makes me want to pop that bubble. Mark is like a light creeping into my dark hole, and when I follow that light right back out, I'm open again. Because more than anything, I care about him and I want to keep pushing for our friendship.

The sounds coming out of the building overpower the rumble of my engine when we reach. With it being a Saturday, I'm sure it's packed with kids. Few people know this arcade exists because it's stationed far from tourist attractions. Its exact location is only known to those who've lived in Destin for a while.

Destin's beauty is that it has all this secret charm known only to the people who've grown up here. Like if you scrape off enough of the dirt, there will be a shiny diamond waiting underneath. Dad used to bring Noah and me to this diamond. As time passed, it became more of a hideaway for Mark, Luke and me. That is until Brent and the others crawled in like bugs and infested the place.

The sound of gravel is loud beneath our feet as we walk to the entrance. "Man, has it been a minute since we've been here," Mark mutters to himself.

When we step inside, the air conditioning blasts us. The earsplitting chatter and game noises reach our ears as we pass the second set of auto double doors. When we do so I note how the arcade is the same as usual, dimly lit with rows and rows of games. The place is crammed with kids and teens all over. Most of them shout at the top of their lungs while others race to the counter with a wall of prizes to trade tickets for. Stuffed animals and plastic jewellery fill the wall of prizes.

The air smells like grease, popcorn, and a little pot. "It hasn't changed!" I yell to Mark over the chiming bings from a nearby pinball game.

"Yeah! Where do you wanna start?!"

Squinting in the low light, I search the rows of games and motion toward Blood Apocolypse-one. It's a game the three of us could never get our hands off of. Mark gets us coins while I wait for him at the game. A young boy grunts at the screen as he struggles to survive against the mass of zombies. Meanwhile, his friend yells at him to run away from another oncoming mass.

The scene jerks back a memory of the three of us trying to beat the high score while a long line of kids yelled at us to hurry the hell up. When the boy loses, I take his place and ask them both to watch. They gasp as each zombie that steps through the doorway barely makes it a step before I blow them apart like an egg left in the microwave for too long.