Like Sweet Serendipity

One | Like Waffles and Cones

One | Like Waffles and Cones

"I really don't understand why we can't get ice cream first before heading to the amusement park." Irritation rang clear in my voice; my friends rarely agreed with me on anything. 

"Because," Riley smoothed down her pale blonde hair. "The park's going to close soon, and we all know how suckish that would be." She gave me a pointed look. 

"The amusement park doesn't close for another two hours." 

"Two hours is nothing." She waved it off with her freshly manicured hands. "Look how big that place is," she continued, waving dramatically over at the amusement park at a distance from where we were standing. "We'll need more than two hours to explore the whole place and ride everything. And since that's all the time we've got, we might as well cherish it." 

I was about to add my own rebuttal to that, when Layla grabbed my arm. "Let's go, Valerie," she urged. Then when she was sure I was following along, she released her grip on me, linking her now free arm around Eric. They've been shamelessly flirting for the whole day, and now their blooming relationship was finally showing signs of sparks. 

We had spent the first day of summer vacation on Priston Beach, and now that the sky was starting to darken, emphasizing the brilliant lights of the amusement park up ahead, we were making our way towards it. As we walked across the boardwalk towards the seemingly bejeweled park, I couldn't help but notice my surroundings. The sky sported a beautiful sunset, already silhouetting the oncoming night. Looking like it came straight out of a painting with its reds, oranges, and occasional dashes of pink laced with gold, I couldn't help but smile at its unique beauty. Summer had always been my favorite season. It was the time of ceaseless fun and one of a kind adventures. 

The amusement park was already nearing. Sounds of laughter, screams, and loud music was already making its way towards us. But I couldn't help but eye Paradise Ice Cream Shop that already had a trailing long line that consisted of more than thirty people. Well, it would be insane to get on that line, wouldn't it?  

Oh, but I am the epitome of insanity. 

I mused silently at the thought. Then, after a few more steps, I casually went the opposite direction that we were originally walking in. Making my way towards the line, I quietly hoped that it would be worth it. After all, I was doing what was universally known as "ditching." But as I thought about all the times they've gone against my plans, and my overpowering need for ice cream, I realized it would be worth it. My logic was definitely simple. It was almost as if it was a secret rule of the menu: you can't start the first day of summer without a delicious ice cream cone.   

A lot of people were already there when I made it on line, almost like an early Black Friday, except this time, it involved ice cream, not clothes. I was not the most patient person on earth, I could grant you that. So as I slowly moved along the frustratingly slow line, I tried my best to interest myself in the cheesy slogans that the ice cream shop had plastered against the wall. Paradise Ice Cream, one read, Where Every Cone is A Dream! Another one consisted of a pensive-looking little boy considering a sundae with headlines that read Embark Your Journey to Your Ice Cream Dream! But even as I went through their unattractive slogans and posters, I could barely try and stop myself from getting angry.  

Before long, I found myself tapping my foot harshly against the blue and white tiles of the ice cream shop. My fingers were joining the beat with the drumming on my arm. I was retying my hair, and rereading the slogans on the wall. In short, I was slowly becoming irritated. 

When I thought I couldn't handle the wait anymore, I suddenly heard a suppressed chuckle from the person directly behind me. Looking back on it now, it probably shouldn't have drawn my attention the way it did, but it was one of those sounds that seemed to hold a type of unsolved mystery, drawing you in like a child with wide eyes. I turned around, quickly noticing the person behind me.