Thrill Ride
Chapter 1
Summer job possibilities...decisions, decisions
Work at Hart's Diner"Work at Hart's Diner
Pros: Weekly paycheck; Nick, my new boyfriend, works there; chance to kiss in the cooler
in between serving customers?
Cons: Aching feet; aching jaw from continually smiling to get better tips; living at home
while Mom and older sister, Sarah, go through the insanity of planning Sarah's summer
wedding (They can't agree on anything! Mom? Hello?!? Sarah is twenty-three, old enough
to plan her own wedding. Note to self: Stay out of it!)
* * *
Work at the local movie theater
Pros: Weekly paycheck; watch the latest blockbusters for free; eat complimentary no-limiton-
the-butter popcorn until I pop.
Cons: Aching feet from standing behind the concession counter; sweeping up spilled
popcorn; sticky floors; see less of Nick; live at home while Mom and Sarah...
* * *
Work at amusement park near lake far, far away
Pros: Weekly paycheck; get on all the rides for free; gone all summer; dorms are available;
being totally absent from home while Mom and Sarah...
Cons: Share a dorm room with someone I've never met; never seeing Nick; and okay, I
have roller coaster issues...like, I totally don't get what is so great about the whole queasystomach,
heart-in-throat, up-and-down, faster, faster, higher, higher experience.
* * *
Decision: No brainer. Living with a stranger has got to be better than living with Mom and
Sarah while The Wedding is being planned. I don't have to ride the big roller coasters. It's
only three months. True love can survive that, can't it?
And that's how I, Megan Holloway, a life-in-the-slow-lane, carousel-ride type of girl, packed
up the essentials of my life following my junior year in high school and headed to the Thrill
Ride! Amusement Park, vacation destination extraordinaire on Lake Erie.
That afternoon I'd flown into the airport. With my backpack dangling off one shoulder, I
pulled my large wheeled suitcase to the passenger pickup area outside the main terminal. An
impossible-to-miss bright red Thrill Ride! shuttle bus was parked nearby, motor running.
So I headed over to it and peered in the door.
"Going my way?" I asked the driver.
He wasn't exactly what I was expecting. White-haired, wrinkled, slightly hunched. Still, he
laughed and climbed out of the bus. "You here for the summer?" he asked.
"Yep."
He wore a red shirt, cargo shorts, and his name tag read PETE (SANTA FE, NM).
"You from Santa Fe?" I asked.
"Before I retired. Got tired of playing golf so came up here to work. Being around young
