Miami Heat

The next ride we jumped on was Miami Heat. I was nervously excited as it was front facing and much closer to the crowds. We sat down and got strapped in securely. I scanned the crowd and yup, there were those same group of boys. I looked away before they caught me looking – *don’t give them the satisfaction*, a voice whispered inside my head.

"How much do you love this ride Chloe?" I swung my legs and tried to act natural, forcing a smile that felt brittle. *This is wrong, pushing her like this… but if I don’t, they’ll just move on.*

"Oh this is so good, I remember this from last year! It's way more exciting than that easy Star Flyer with it's gentle spins. This ride gives you serious bumps! My butt always leaves the seat, it's so thrilling!" Chloe was in full flow and chatting happily as the ride filled up. She pulled her safety bar down and checked hers.

As soon as she did mine clicked down too and locked tight.

Thud!

Our seats lurched backwards and then shot upwards.

"Wow, look how high we are!" Chloe gasped, peering over the edge of our seats. I gripped the armrests tighter than necessary, feeling a nervous tremor run down my spine. Below, I could see the entire park layout spreading out like a map and those boys again - standing near the exit ramp and staring up at us. *They're watching*, I thought grimly, cataloging their exact positions.

The ride dropped suddenly, both our butts leaving the seat as Chloe had mentioned. We had a second of free fall before we hit the plastic seat with a hard bump. My skirt fluttered harmlessly in the breeze; this layout was actually quite safe for me. But Chloe....