The Ride of My Life (an Ansel Elgort story)

Chapter 1

There I was, waiting in line for my favorite rollercoaster. The line was unbelievably long, and the air was excruciatingly hot.

My friends, Natalie, Chloe; and I had just walked up to the line, so unfortunately we were the last ones.

They were already starting to get on
my nerves and we had only been at the park for 10 minutes. Chloe is such a diva.. She's complaining about how her hair is going to frizz in the heat- oh just shut up! No one cares! Natalie is somewhat tolerable, but when she's with Chloe, she can be just as annoying.

I just need to get through this line and onto the rollercoaster and for a few minutes I'll be able to forget about all my worries and enjoy the ride. I look around and try to count how many people are in line. I lose track at 36. Ugh. In the corner of my eye I see a sign that says 'single riders lane'. BRILLIANT! I could get away from The Divas AND get on the ride faster!

I had toned Chloe out around the time she was talking about her manicure but now she was on the topic of puppies. I have heard enough. Luckily, Natalie was more of a listener than a talker, so Chloe had no idea I wasn't paying attention to her.

'Hey I think I'm gonna go in that line, so, I'll meet you after the ride' I say

'But,' Natalie says, probably hoping I won't leave her with Chloe. Not a chance.

'Okay great! Bye!' I cut Natalie off before she could change my mind or follow me.

I duck under the railing and head towards the front of the line. Within ten minutes I am next in line.

The gate opens and it is my turn. I hop in the seat and buckle myself in. I turn to the person next to me, it's a guy. Great. I'm not the friendliest person, especially around obnoxious boys... no thanks.

"Just so you know, I might scream like a little girl" the guy says. He was attractive, but I probably wouldn't give him a second glance if I passed him on the street.

"Don't worry, I saw a little kid getting on it, so if he can ride it, I'm sure you'll be fine" I tell the dude. He laughs.

"Well that makes me feel much better!" He says sarcastically. It almost sounds like he's.... Flirting?

He is tall. I can tell because his legs look very cramped in the small seat.

The operator of the ride lectures us to keep our hands and feet in the ride, blah, blah, blah, the usual.

After the workers come to make sure our seat belts are secure, we take off.

As we ascend the first hill, I look over at the person next to me. His name is unknown to me. I imagine what it would be like to have a boy that is genuinely interested me. Not many 18 year old boys are looking to have a relationship that doesn't involve things you do in the bedroom, if you know what I mean.

Who am I kidding? I know nothing about this guy. He's probably just like all the other douchebags my age.

I have been too distracted by my outrageous thoughts to notice that we are already at the top of the hill. I also didn't notice that the boy next to me has put his shaky hand on mine. I look over at him, he has his eyes squeezed closed with all his strength. I have never seen a grown boy so afraid of a roller coaster. It is actually pretty cute.

In a flash we descend to the bottom of the hill and are already climbing the second. My seat partner has been letting out blood curdling screams since we started to drop. He hasn't opened his eyes since the ride started, and his fingernails are digging into my palm.

After two loops and a corkscrew, the ride is over. I had barely gotten to enjoy it because I was too fascinated with how scared the boy next to me was.

Once we are off the ride and my hand is freed, I start to walk toward a bench to sit and wait for Chloe and Natalie.

My plans are interrupted when I feel a hand grab my shoulder.

I turn to look and it is the boy that I sat next to...

"Hey, sorry. That was really embarrassing. My friends made me go on it knowing I hate heights and then they were going to make me sit alone.' He says.

'Sounds like a loving bunch of friends' I reply.

"Definitely," He laughs. "No, actually they're assholes. Anyway, I'm Ansel."

"Lucy." I tell him.

"It's nice to meet you, Lucy. Are you here alone?"

I contemplate telling him that I ditched my friends, but that would make me look like a jerk.

"Actually, yeah. I just come here and go in the single riders line. It's way faster." A little fib never hurt anyone. Besides, Chloe and Natalie have each other, they don't need me.

"Well, do you want to go ride some more rides with me? You really kept me calm." He asks.

"If you call that calm, then I'd like to see what you're like when you aren't calm."

Ansel laughs as we walk towards another ride.