Dark Ride (6 page)

Chapter 13

The crew waltzes past many of the other attractions at the park, intent on their plan to hit the Forrest. To Jack's astonishment, the plan is actually the last thing on his mind right now. While Scotty and Mason are talking about a new video game, Jack is still debating in his head what to do with this newfound admiration of Amy. His head tells him to let it go, but his heart tells him to take the opportunity to hang back and focus on Amy. His heart wins.

“Oh man, I love Blackbeard's Pirate Ship.” The girl looks longingly at the ride as they pass.

“My mom hates it. She won't even step into the park because she got so sick on it once.”

“Really? That's too funny.” Amy brushes her bangs over her ear and giggles at the absurdity of Jack's statement.

“Hey Jack, let's ride it. Can we?”

Is she asking me to ride? Just me?
Jack wonders, allowing himself to think of Amy and him alone on the ride.

“Get the guys to stop,” she urges.

Snapping out his fantasy with a little disappointment, Jack calls ahead to the guys. He has to play this right. If they think he is acting on her behalf, there's no telling about the ribbing he would take.

“Hey, Mason, Scotty, hold up. Let's ride Blackbeard.”

“I thought we were headed to the Forrest?” Scotty says.

“We have another two hours, plenty of time to jump on the ship for a ride.”

This time Mason agrees. “Okay, Jack, but why the sudden interest? You hardly ever ride the ship.”

“Oh, I don't know. Call it a trip down memory lane. A last voyage.”

They make their way past an employee dressed like a buccaneer and take their place on the ship. Mason slips past Jack and settles down next to Amy. Paranoid, Jack hopes Mason's maneuver is unintentional.

“Amy, you sure you are up to riding the Enchanted Forrest?” Mason coyly asks.

Jack knows immediately that Mason is in the midst of another scheme.

The ship begins its gentle rock.

Mason continues, “You know what happened to Douglas Finch, right?”

“Of course, everyone knows that urban legend,” Amy responds.

“Oh, it's no legend. It happened. My dad told me all about it. He was involved in the lawsuit. Finch was in the ride with that creepy old maintenance man, and no one ever saw him again. I think that old guy murdered him.”

This was too much. Jack had developed a friendship with old Clyde over his many trips to the park. He counters by saying, “Mason, even if that really happened, Clyde had nothing to do with it. He's harmless.”

The ship steadily rises.

“Sure, whatever you say, Jack. I just wanted to make sure Amy knew what she was getting into. It's not a kiddie ride.”

“Come on, Mason, it's not like Amy hasn't ridden it dozens of times.”

“Actually, Jack, this will be the first time.”

“Gee, Amy, first King Midas and now the Forrest. You have no idea what you've been missing.”

Jack wonders what it is about Amy tonight and why he has this new feeling for the girl. He thought it was so fun seeing her react to King Midas, and now he has the chance to show her his favorite attraction. He decides to make sure, though, that Mason does not sit between them on that ride as well.

Jack is a decent looking boy with a thin frame and youthful, ruddy looks. His unkempt brown hair is his signature trait, and he is constantly brushing his bangs from his eyes. In spite of this, he has had very little experience with girls. Although he'd had a couple of “girlfriends,” they were the kind of relationships that you have in fourth grade—having a girlfriend just so you can say you have one. In fact, Jack had probably talked to those girls less when they were his “girlfriends.” The closest thing Jack had ever had to a romantic interlude was in sixth grade at the Brentwood skating rink. The announcer had called out the dreadful words “couple skate,” and Jack consigned himself to the Miss Pac-Man machine, waiting for the song to end. While he was looking down at the screen waiting for his turn, Jenny Pappadill came skating up from behind.

“Jack?”

He turned to see the fifth grade girl. He couldn't recall if he'd ever spoken to her before.“Wanna skate?”

The invitation evoked a tingling feeling in his face—a couple skate with a girl.

“Umm….” he stuttered. “I'm not a great skater.”

“That's okay, neither am I.”

With a nod, Jack took his position beside her, almost tripping as he stepped down onto the hardwood floor. The song was by a band called R.E.O. Speedwagon. The floor was dark, lit only by dim red lights that hazed off and on. Jenny reached out her hand and clasped it with Jack's.

This was a first, and a totally new sensation filled Jack's body. He felt flushed, but he liked it. Unsure of his footing with the boat-like skates, Jenny steadied him more than once. It was total euphoria. But, just as Jack allowed himself to let the sensation wrap around him, he felt a heavy blow in the small of his back, which caused him to topple backwards, and his head struck the hardwood floor.

Instantly, the music stopped and the lights flashed on. Mr. King, the sixth grade physical education teacher, was already kneeling over him.

“You okay, Jack?”

Lindsey Cho was there as well, a tiny fifth grader who was apologizing over his dazed head.

Great
, thought Jack,
I've been pummeled by a fifth grade girl. Of all the embarrassing things.
He replied, “I'm fine, just help me up.” He grumbled with a touch of anger.

Then he heard, “Jack, Jack!”

Oh no
, realized Jack.
Mom's here.
His mother, who was chaperoning the event, was running out to him. Three other male teachers had joined the rescuers. Before Jack could protest, the men lifted him and carried him to a bench in the food court like pallbearers at a funeral. This was beyond humiliating. The whole time, his mother wailed, “Jack, are you okay?”

After being laid out on the bench, Jack caught a glimpse of Jenny. Seeing that he was okay, she skated off. Jack never spoke to her again, except for once when she asked him if he could give a note to another boy.

During the whole bus ride back to Cassidy Falls from the skating party, Mason had dogged Jack about the ordeal. And, now, as luck would have it, when he is perhaps in the throes of his first real crush, Mason, instead not Jack, is enjoying the ride beside Amy.

The pirate ship slows and creaks to a stop.

“Well, if we still have time tonight, we'll have to ride Bigfoot's Rapids,” Mason crows in high spirits. “But now it's time we hit the Forrest.”

Mason's tone implies that all is good between Jack and him, but just to make sure, Jack approaches his friend and asks, “Ready to roll, Mason?”

“Yep, are you?”

“Of course.”

“Just watch where you step, Jack. Don't trip.”

Chapter 14

In the back corner of the park, the Enchanted Forrest casts a dark shadow over a large swath of the area. The foursome approaches the ride and immediately Jack knows something is wrong. The lights are off. No music pipes through the outdoor speakers. There are no screams of fear or cries of delight.

In front of the ride, Jack notices Clyde speaking to another employee.

“Well I don't think we should try again.” It's the girl speaking. Jack does not like what he hears.

The trusty old man sees them approach.

“Jack, good to see you, captain. I was wonderin' if you were gonna come see me before we closed.”

“Clyde, what's up? Why are the lights off?”

The old man gives an exaggerated sigh and wipes his forehead with a towel. “Well, Jack, we've been having a heckuva time with the ol' girl tonight. Electrical problems. Every time we think we got her fixed, the blasted power shuts off again.

No, not tonight
, thinks Jack.
“
Are you serious?” he asks,
“
Is it closed for good?”

“Well, yes, I was just about to call it a night, in fact. Probably won't have her running again by the time we shut the park down.”

“Clyde, you have to let us ride one last time. With the park closing and all, we just have to.”

“I know how you feel, cap. It's just the Forrest has been acting strange for the last two days. I would hate for you kids to get stuck in there.”

“But this is our last night. You know how much I will miss this ride.” Jack shoots his best puppy dog eyes at the old man.

“There's really little I can do. This one's got us over a barrel.” Clyde looks at his watch, then at Jack. “I tell you what. Only for you, captain, will I try to crank her back up again. It will take a while, so you kids go have fun for 20 minutes or so. Come back here, and if we have power I'll let you take her for one last spin.”

“Great, let's go ride Bigfoot's Rapids, then we can get back to the Forrest,” Mason suggests.

There is nothing on earth at that moment that Jack wants more than one last trip on the Dark Ride. Clyde has given them all a glimmer of hope. “Thanks, Clyde,” says Jack. Clyde offers a short wave as the kids move along.

Mason pulls Jack aside. “Good job with the codger back there.”

Jack feels relieved that Mason seems to have forgotten about his missteps.

“If you hadn't pulled that off, I would have never forgiven you for letting us miss our chance. Your little trip and the whole pirate ship deal could have cost us our shot.”

So much for Mason letting it go
, thinks Jack.

Chapter 15

Jack is trying to figure out some way to get Mason off of his back about the whole Amy situation. He thinks,
Please come through for me Clyde, or I will never hear the end of this.

“One dolla', a throw. Win the lady a prize!”

A row of carnival games stretches out in front of teens. The mid-way games line the path to the Rapids. College-aged workers bark at and challenge perspective contestants to test their skills while blinking lights and fanciful decorations enhance the lure of the games.

“It's so simple, a baby can do it blindfolded. Toss the ring over any one of these bottles!”

“Shoot the ball through the hoop. Win the lion!”

“One dollar for a lifetime of memories!”

Jack asks Scotty, “You think Mason can make it past without playing one of these mind-numbing games?” Then he realizes,
That's it.

If there is one thing the taller, faster, and stronger Mason Chick enjoys, it's showing off. It comes naturally to Mason, alpha male, son of local high school sports legend Titus Chick. While Jack could never hope to equal his friend on the physical fields of athletic combat, Jack knew for sure he had the edge with his mind.

This is my chance
, thinks Jack, who knows that the large stuffed animal prizes are like precious metals to Mason. He would win one and almost always force Scotty to lug the thing around the park—that is, unless a pretty girl was walking by. It was like Mason thought a gorgeous high school cheerleader-type would see that Mason had won a stuffed hippo and fall head over heels in love with him. Last summer, Mason won a huge purple gorilla that was so big, it took up two seats in Mr. Chick's BMW. Jack wondered where in the world Mason put all of those things. He imagined that Mason had a garage full of the stuffed relics.

“You there with the lady, why don't you win her a nice big stuffed bear?” Jack turns to see who the barker is talking to. But the barker stares straight at him. He realizes that he is with a lady: Amy is right beside him. Jack watches as Amy blushes.

“Come on, strapping lad like you, make the lady's day. Simply shoot the water in the clown's mouth.”

“Uh, Mason,” says Jack. “Why don't you play? I'll pay.”

Like a fish going after a worm, Mason jumps at the offer.

“Okay, Jack, deal…but if I win I get the prize.”

“Of course,” Jack relents. Mason is playing right into his hands.

Mason hops on a stool in front of the “Crazy Clowns” booth. Jack, Amy, and Scotty prepare to watch Mason compete against a couple of older teens dressed in black with piercings, and all sorts of various tattoos arranged in scattered patterns on every visible inch of flesh on their arms and legs. Seated next to them, also competing for the prize, is a small freckle-faced boy, probably around eight years old, who is being watched with one eye by his mother standing a mere two feet behind him. Her other eye rests firmly on the two blacked-out teens. A voice yells at Jack from behind. “You there, don't let your friend have all the fun.” Jack turns to see another park employee motioning toward him. It's Colton Spurlock, the very same one who his sister gushes over. He stands in a booth manning his own game of chance.

Oh no
, thinks Jack.
He could blow the whole evening. What if he recognizes me? He'll text Blair.

“Come on, kid. Think you can outwit me?”

Kid, huh?
thinks Jack, who is actually relieved that Colton has no clue about his identity
.

Normally, Jack would have ignored the challenge, but the prospect of perhaps outwitting Blair's love interest and maybe impressing Amy in the process is too much to ignore. Jack shuffles towards the booth followed by Amy and Scotty. Their curiosity is peaked as well.

“So what's the game?” Jack asks.

“It's called the shell game, kid. All you have to do is keep your eye on the ball. I will place it underneath one of these three cups and then shuffle them. When I'm finished, simply show me which cup hides the ball and you win a prize.”

“Sounds easy enough,” Jack declares, laying a dollar on the counter.

“Pay attention, Jack, these guys are good,” Scotty points out.

Colton places the ball under a cup and begins to whirl the cups in and out of one another. At first Jack has a hard time keeping his eye on the ball, but as Colton continues to maneuver the cups, Jack's confidence rises. Finally he stops.

“So which cup is it under?” Colton asks with a cocky grin.

“That one.” Jack points to the cup on the left.

The smile on Colton's face disappears. “No way!” He lifts the cup Jack selected, revealing the red ball.

“Good going, Jack,” Amy says and laughs.

Jack beams with pride.

Obviously not pleased, Colton continues, “Good job, kid. How about best two out of three? You're not going to be so lucky twice.”

As Jack ponders playing again, Mason strolls up to the party. He is carrying a huge blue stuffed bear. Jack looks to Scotty, who marvels at Mason, not realizing he has been doomed to lug a bear the size of a medium-sized dog around the park for the next two hours.

Colton coaxes Jack, trying to win back his pride. “Look, I'll let you play for free. You win again, and I'll give you the biggest prize I've got.”

With Mason already winning the bear, Jack has no desire for the gang to be saddled with two such monstrosities. However, he likes the feeling of besting the older boy. It gives him something to tease Blair about.

“You're on,” he accepts.

Colton repeats the shuffling again, but this time he's faster, concentrating on making it extra hard. When he is finished, he confidently announces, “No way you followed that.”

Jack shrugs and calmly points to the cup in the middle. This time Colton is incredulous. “No way!” He lifts the cup, and once again, the ball is revealed.

“You've got to be kidding me. No one has ever been able to beat me twice!”

“I guess I've got beginner's luck,” says Jack, who likes this game that he is obviously good at.

“Wow, Jack, you're a natural,” says Scotty, applauding.

“What prize do you want?” the defeated Colton asks in an irritated voice.

Jack looks at Amy and asks, “You want something?”

A small blush of red appears on the girl's cheeks. “Thanks, but no thanks. I don't need another stuffed animal.”

“Come on, Jack. Get that big orange rhino,” encourages Mason, who points to the colossal beast hanging above their heads.

“Uh, no thanks,” Jack declines.

“What? Come on, chicks dig these things.” Colton pats his blue bear.

“But, you won. You need to choose something,” Spurlock offers.

Jack thinks for a moment, looking at the cups. “I tell you what, do you have another set of those cups and a ball. I think I like this game?”

“Yea, we've got plenty of them. You want a set? You can have one. I'm sure the boss would rather part with a set of these cheap, ten-cent cups over a five-dollar animal.” Colton ducks behind the counter and pulls out a set of grey cups and a bright red ball.

Jack thanks him and places them into his backpack.

“You should have taken the rhino,” Mason advises.

Jack ignores the statement but makes sure to stroke Mason's ego. “So, I see we both won. You sure know how to play these games.”

“It was nothing—like taking candy from a baby.” Mason beams with pride. Looking down at his prize, he declares, “I think I'll call him Lucky. Here ya go, Scotty. Take care of this for a while for me.”

As they head off, Mason's glowing, like he just won a championship or something. He's even strutting. Jack and Amy share a glance and then a chuckle at Mason's expense.