“I wish I had a camera right about now”
“Why?”
“So I can remember the look on your face forever. It’s priceless.”
I look at him sternly. “Shut up.”
“You would be saying the same thing if it was me.”
“And?”
He looks at me with laughter pouring from his beautiful eyes. I look down and remember that that’s the stupidest thing I could have done.
“Ow” I moan sitting back up to look straight ahead.
“Told you not to look down.” He said with that smug look on his face.
“No you didn’t.”
“Oh, don’t look down. There, I did now.” He smiles his lovely grin at me.
I roll my eyes and cross my arms.
“Don’t pout just because you know I’m right.”
“I’m not pouting. I just want to get off this God forsaken thing.”
“You can’t be serious. It’s not like it’s an alien spaceship. It’s just a ferris wheel.”
“Whatever.”
“Well, I guess being stuck on it with me does make it a little better.” He grins thinking it will cheer me up, when all it does is annoy me to no end.
I look at him with disgust and turn to look out towards the giant buildings that surround me. I much rather watch people in their offices than listen to him comment himself. I realize that looking out into the distant makes me dizzy and see fuzzy dots. I decide to look down at the people below. I much rather feel nauseous because of my fear of falling then experience vertigo, hallucinations and listen to him shower himself in flattery. This went from heaven to hell in about 3.2 seconds. The big tumbling circular machine comes to a stop and we are first to get off. He gets off first and walks to the Exit gate as I follow. We step out of the gate and stand there for a minute while I look at the ground and he scratches behind his ear.
“I think I love you.” He says while I am still watching the ground and he looks at the top of my head.
My head rises up and I tilt my head like a dog that doesn’t seem to understand.
“What?”
“I think I love you.”
“No. I heard you the first time, I just don’t understand. You have a girlfriend and all I’ve ever been to you, since 3rd grade, is your best friend.”
“Exactly, I’ve known you for such a long time and now I am realizing that you’re what I’ve always wanted.”
“I don’t see how. I would have never guessed.”
“And how is that?”
“You treat me like your pet fish. You always forget about me, you insult me to my face and act like I’m not even there, and you blame me for everything.”
“I don’t even have a pet fish.”
I sigh and look at him. I yell at myself in the back of my mind because I expected him to actually use his brain, but doubt that he even has one. “That’s not the point.”
“Then what is?”
“You can’t love me. You don’t love me. It isn’t possible.”
“Well then, fine. I don’t love you then.”
“What?” I say even more confused than before.
“I don’t love you anymore.”
“Uh…” I stand there silently except for the occasional stutter, unable to think, move or even blink.
“Bye.” He says with a shrug of his shoulders and a flip of his hair. He waves over to his friends and joins them happily, as if nothing had just happened. As if he hadn’t just broken my heart.
I close my eyes and promise myself that I will never even look at another ferris wheel again. I open my eyes and realize that someone I’ve never seen before is about 8 inches from my face. I jump backwards, startled.
“Why are you crying?” The strange boy asks me.
I reach up to touch my face and I realize that it’s wet with some kind of liquid. I wipe my face with my finger and examine the fluid carefully. I stick my finger in my mouth and taste the salt. I realize it is tears and feel like a total idiot with my finger stuck in my mouth. I pull my finger out of my mouth and reply.
“I don’t really know.”
“Let’s hope not over a boy.”
“Actually, yeah.” I look down at the ground once more, this time in shame.
“We suck. I know.”
I look up at him in surprise.
“What?” He says not quite comprehending.
“I don’t think I’ve ever heard a guy say that.”
“Ha Ha, I’m not very normal.”
I smiled at him and he smiled back at me.
“Um, how about we go get something to eat?” He says to me gently.
“Sure. I’d love that.”
He grabs my hand and we walk side by side acting as one. I came with a battered heart that had no recollection of love, which was broken into a million pieces by my best friend in about 5 minutes of ferris wheel hell and awkward conversation. And now I am holding hands and making small talk with a stranger that cares more about me then my best friend ever did. My heart is healed and for some strange reason I’m not afraid of ferris wheels anymore. I think I’ll be visiting the carnival more often than I thought I would be.