CHAPTER 8

HOLY NIGHT SEBASTIAN

As soon as I entered the gate of the amusement park, while Moryn was pulling me along, a happy memory with Mom came rushing back to me. The two of us had a great time at this very amusement park all day long. But in the afternoon, I caught her secretly leaving the house with a suitcase, so I chased after her, but Dad stopped me. Dad knew. He knew that Mom was leaving that day, but why did he just let her go? And I also realized now that Mom brought me here because she wanted to make the most of our last moments together.

Since the day Mama left, Dad burned all the things in the house that were related to her. He even burned my toys and all the clothes Mom gave me. He told me back then, "Women are sinful and worthless. So from this day forward, forget that you're a girl." Since then, Dad no longer smiles. He's not the same as before, and he's become reserved when talking to people.

We went to the shooting gallery and my eyes immediately spotted the bunny plushy keychain that Mom gave me when we came here. She just bought it for me. I wanted to hit the big bunny target so that I could win the keychain as well. The prize we get depends on the size of the target we hit. But, this is how it is of being unlucky. I didn't hit anything. Perhaps, it's because I'm with Rhyme. He seems to bring bad luck into my life.

"Wait. What's our next destination?" Leah asked, looking at her cellphone, so the three of us also glanced at what she was looking at. It turns out that she had already written down our plans for the day in the notes on her phone. Wait, when did she start taking notes? When she mentioned that our next destination would be the Carousel, a surge of excitement rushed through me. It has been quite some time since Mom and I last visited this place, and I truly miss the joy of riding a carousel. The three of us couldn't help but smile as the carousel started spinning. As for Rhyme, it seems like he's just going along reluctantly.

We were laughing as the carousel went up and down, with the horses spinning along with it. "Go ahead, have fun. We'll see once we're on the roller coaster," Rhyme commented when he noticed how thrilled we were. He's such a spoilsport. It seems like he's scared to ride the roller coaster. He's been mentioning it since earlier and it's like he's discouraging Leah from riding.

After riding the carousel, we went to the bumper cars. While I was happily smiling, about to follow where Moryn's car was going, I was surprised when someone suddenly bumped into my side. As a result, I also bumped into the person next to me whom I didn't know. I turned to my right and saw Rhyme smiling as if he was bragging. I gave him a glare. The joy and excitement I was feeling earlier suddenly turned into annoyance. What a downer! That bump was so strong. It was obvious that he did it on purpose. Out of frustration, I followed him and planned to bump into him as well. However, this monkey was good at avoiding me, but I won't give up until I get my revenge. I won't be defeated.

There was a fleeting moment when I had the chance to catch up to him, but my hopes were dashed as a car swiftly passed in front of me, causing me to collide with it. To my dismay, I failed to notice that he had fallen behind and promptly crashed into me once more. I felt like I wanted to get off the car and chase after him myself. I circled the entire arena repeatedly, but the same thing kept happening over and over again. It's really frustrating! He was even laughing while teasing me.

Afterwards, we proceeded to the Viking ride, which fortunately wasn't too intimidating. Following that, we ventured to the drop tower. The sensation of being gradually lifted up was exhilarating, but our screams were inevitable when we experienced the sudden drop. "Up next, Ferris wheel!" Leah exclaimed happily, raising her hand like a child who never gets tired of playing. "What? Again?" Rhyme asked with a frown. "Are you really planning to ride all the rides? Big sis, please. Take a break." Honestly, I liked the idea of Leah trying out all the rides. However, it seems like we won't be able to do that with so many options available.

As we made our way towards the Ferris wheel, we happened to pass by the Octopus ride. Now, Leah expressed her desire to experience the Octopus first before riding the Ferris wheel. Oh boy. Out of all the rides, this is the one I dislike the most. I have no interest in riding that, unless Rhyme and I engage in another competition. I refuse to back down, even if it means enduring dizziness. However, I ultimately decided against riding the octopus because I simply wasn't comfortable with it. Surprisingly, Rhyme also declined the ride. It was Leah and Moryn who bravely carried on, ready for any adventure. As the octopus spun and everyone screamed, I stood beside Rhyme, capturing a video of their thrilling experience. It was Leah who specifically asked me to record their ride.

Wow. Even just watching them, I feel so dizzy. "Are you scared, huh?" I turned to my left when someone suddenly spoke. I saw Rhyme who didn't even look at me because his eyes were focused on the rides. What is he trying to say? Then why didn't he ride as well? That just means he's also afraid. It's not that I'm scared of the octopus ride, I just really don't like the feeling of getting dizzy. "If you think I'm scared, well, you're mistaken," he quickly defended himself even though I haven't said anything yet. "I'm just tired." He added. "Sorry, but I'm not asking and I don't care," I replied, looking back at the screen of my cellphone that I was using for recording.

I gasped when someone suddenly snatched my phone from my hand. I quickly turned to Rhyme and saw him holding the phone while continuing to record. "Hey, what are you doing! Give that back!" I said, annoyed, while jumping and trying to retrieve the phone from him, which he was lifting up to prevent me from getting it. "Let me handle the video. It might not turn out well if you're the one recording," he replied. Frustrated, I shouted at Rhyme, "It's my cellphone!" I couldn't understand why he didn't just use his own and leave mine alone. "So what?" he asked, still focused on the cellphone screen. I let out a sigh. I stopped trying to take my phone back from him. I looked at the octopus rides and crossed my arms while frowning.

He only returned it to me after the rides were over. Moryn and Leah approached us, laughing. "Oh my gosh! That was so fun, but it made me dizzy!" Leah exclaimed while still laughing. "You're already feeling dizzy, yet you're still so happy," Rhyme commented and shook his head. Well, he had a point. If it were me in that situation, I would probably have fallen to the ground. But it seems like both of them seemed to be doing just fine. In fact, I couldn't help but notice that their enjoyment only grew as time passed. They appeared to have an endless supply of energy. I understood the significance of these moments for them, particularly for Moryn. If only their parents were aware, they would likely not allow them to freely explore places like this.

Leah changed her mind. Instead of riding the Ferris wheel, she realized that the experience would be more thrilling at night due to the breathtaking view.  So, the next ride we went on was the roller coaster. I noticed Rhyme grimacing, which confirmed that he didn't want to ride the roller coaster. We decided to look for an ice cream stand first because Moryn suddenly had a craving for it. I felt my energy level rise when they mentioned the word, ice cream. We approached one of the pink stands. I swallowed hard in anticipation. My mouth was watering at any moment. I really loved ice cream. It's the kind of thing that makes me forget all my problems when I eat it. It's better to have this kind of relief than to get drunk.

"Guys! Let's save the ice cream for later. I really want to ride the roller coaster so bad," Leah said, her excitement evident in her voice. "Don't worry, big sis. After we eat the ice cream, we'll ride the roller coaster right away," I said to convince Leah because I really wanted to eat ice cream right now. "How about this, let's ride the roller coaster first, and whoever gets sick can't have ice cream?" Rhyme spoke up, catching our attention. I wanted to facepalm. My goodness, Rhyme! Not now! He always had a way of dampening the mood, huh. I was torn between wanting to enjoy my ice cream and not wanting to decline his challenge, as I didn't want him to think I was scared.

I hadn't ridden the roller coaster yet, and I felt confident that I could handle the challenge. Perhaps it was Rhyme who wouldn't be able to handle it after all. This was my opportunity to prove myself and defeat that arrogant Rhyme. It was ironic how he had been complaining about the roller coaster earlier, only to now challenge us.  Quite hypocritical. Now I know how much of an idiot he is.