Inside the Asylum (Book 1)

Chapter 14 - Ferris Wheel

The next day Max and I sat waiting for Grace and his mum so we could go out for the day. It was, according to Grace's nurse friend who had just been in, 7:45am and we were going out at 8:15am. This half hour seemed to drag out forever. I had been given a pair of light blue washed out jeans and a plain white top by Grace, when she arrived at 8am. While Max wore black jeans and a plain white top. I was so excited to go outside again. I couldn't wait. As always Grace's mum had signed all the paperwork meaning we were allowed to leave.

There was no sun today instead it was raining but it was still warm. Grace wouldn't tell me where we were going but I didn't care. I was outside and to me that was all that mattered and that was all thanks to Grace and her mum. I had the whole day to do things I hadn't done in a very long time. We walked out of the doors over to their car, which was parked in the small carpark at the back of the building. As the car roared to life, I felt anxious. I didn't know where we were going and that made me nervous. I trusted them but yet at this moment I felt I knew none of them, not Grace, not Max and not their mum. I knew they would never do anything to hurt me while we were out but yet I felt nervous.

After a very long drive that felt like it had at least been about 4 hours long we finally pulled into a car park, well a field. According to Grace we had to walk just over the hill then we would be at our destination. The hill wasn't very big but what was waiting on the other side was amazing! A field full of stalls, a big wheel and rides. You name it, it was there. I couldn't contain my excitement! The whole place smelled like a mix of cotton candy and hot dogs.

The carnival!

Grace gave me a bunch of tickets and asked what I wanted to do first. I didn't know where to start. There was so much to do, so much to choose from. Eventually I decided I wanted to go on the big wheel first. So off we went Grace leading the way through the crowd and Max following behind. As we moved closer, I see the line for the Ferris wheel. I was both excited and scared of it at the same time as I saw the carriages spinning and shaking in the air. I didn't know if it was meant to do that or not and I didn't know if I trusted it either! It was so big! It looked as big as or taller than the buildings nearby. It looked as if someone could push it over just by looking at it. The line surges forward pulling us with it as the ride stop. We walk through the gate and Grace hands the guy three tickets, he moved to let us past.

We move forward as the ride moves slightly to allow another carriage to be opened for us to board the ride. Each carriage had a different coloured roof. The carriage we sat in had a turquoise roof. There was some glitter on the roof almost as if someone wanted to create the illusion of rain. We sat for a moment then suddenly the carriage lurched causing me to grab onto the rails with white knuckles. The ride starts to move slowly. Grace smiles at me reassuringly and then looks out over the carnival grounds. I look over at Max, who is sat to my right, and see he is smiling. I loosen my grip and look out of the carriage at all of the people, who look more like ants from the top. I felt like I was flying. I look back at Max and smile. "This is incredible!" I say still feeling thrilled by the view. Grace sat by the cage door. We slowly started to descend and if I was honest, I felt quite sad as we reached the ground again. I sat waiting for the ride to stop. It didn't.

"Do we not have to get off now?" I asked confused. Max laughed and shook his head.

"Not yet. They usually give people two rounds and then they have to get off. So next time we get to the ground we will have to get off." Max says laughing slightly.

"Oh. That's nice of them." I say feeling grateful to have this opportunity.

It had stopped raining now and the sun was peaking around the clouds. After exiting the Ferris wheel, I asked Max if we could go back on before we left because I had enjoyed it so much. It had stopped raining and the sun had decided to peak around the corner of the clouds. We headed to play some of the fair ground games like the ring toss game with the bottles. Max won and got a small dragon toy; it was all black apart from a small patch of green on its stomach.