Hopefully just the beginning of a series.
Disclaimer: All characters in this work of fiction are above the age of 18 years.
Comments are welcomed and greatly appreciated.
Enjoy!
*
Between the sea and Sahara by Eugene Fromentin. It was quite the selection for Friday night reading but here I was, re-reading the last paragraph because I couldn't bring myself to concentrate. That's when Adam, my college roommate and best friend since age ten, knocked on my door and entered. It was Adam's and I sophomore year at college and we shared an off campus apartment.
"Hey Matty, what are you doing tonight?"
I looked at him from behind the dull pages,
"Reading for my European Lit class," I replied.
He chuckled,
"Okay, well as awesome as that sounds, you gotta come out with us tonight, we're going to the fair," Adam stated.
"No thanks man, I don't feel like thirdwheeling it with you and Summer again," I replied.
Summer was Adam's girlfriend since high school; I had known her for quite a while too. We were pretty close but in a very brother sister way. She lived on across campus in an apartment.
"No, it's not just the three of us, Summer's roommate is coming with, and Jack and Sara from her chem class," Adam explained.
I thought about Adam's offer and stared back up to my book, it did seem pretty criminal to be spending a Friday night like this.
"Okay I'm in," I announced.
"Great, go get ready, we have to pick up Summer and her roomie," Adam stated.
I rolled out of my bed and took a quick shower. Dressed in a simple black cotton v-neck and jeans I met Adam in our humble living room slash kitchen. The drive across campus was a quick five minutes. When we pulled up, I willingly gave up the front seat as was my custom, to let Summer and Adam sit upfront together. Minutes after placing a call to Summer, we saw the two girls strolling along the walkway towards Adam's black Acura. Summer had on jean shorts and an orange blouse, her roommate, ripped jeans and a fitted white shirt.
The passenger and rear door opened almost simultaneously and the girls got in. I smiled politely at the petite shy looking brunette that sat down beside me.
"Hey Matty, how's it going?" Summer asked in her accustomed bubbly tone.
"Great Sum, everything's great," I replied.
Summer looked back from the passenger seat to her roommate and me,
"Matty Kimmy, Kimmy Matty," she bluntly introduced.
I extended my hand to the girl,
"Matthew actually," I introduced.
The girl shook my hand and smiled, her touch soft and delicate,
"Kimberly," she replied.
Adam drove off headed in the direction of the fairgrounds, a twenty minute drive.
"So Jack and Sara are meeting us there?" Adam asked, looking over to Summer.
"Oh didn't I tell you?" she asked, "They had to bail, they have to work on a class project, apparently one member of their group dropped the class, so now they have all his workload to cover," she explained.
"Wow, that sucks," Adam replied.
Kimberly and I now smiled awkwardly at each other as this night had just become some kind of weird unexpected double date.
When Adam pulled into the parking lot, an abandoned field, it was already dark out. We stepped out and noticed the temperature had dipped a little. The night sky was clear, brightly illuminated by a full moon, dotted with stars. The four of us made our way to the entrance, paid, and began walking around. We immediately tried our hands at some games, skeeball, whac-a-mole and the like. The place was filled, being a Friday night; it seemed like hundreds of kids running round, their parents in quick step after them. We rested awhile, Adam and Summer sharing a stick of cotton candy, Kimberly and I opting for some popcorn.
After a particularly competitive round of bumper cars between Adam and myself, we headed over to "The Spider."
It was one of those rides with a centerpiece with a bunch of arms sticking out in a circle, and pods at the end of the arms that you sit in. Once started the centerpiece spins and, simultaneously, the arms move up and down, making for a thrilling ride, since the spinning can get up to some pretty terrifying speeds.
Adam and I had always loved rides like these ever since we were kids. We made our way into the line and Summer noticed Kimberly standing to the side.
"Come on Kimmy, you've gotta try it," Summer prodded.
Kimberly politely declined, opting to sit this one out, but Summer continued to insist. The slender brunette finally relented, and reluctantly joined us in the line.
When we got to the front of the line, the ride attendant seated Adam and Summer in one pod, and Kimberly and I in another. We sat there silently, determined to match the other's polite smile, although I could sense a look of nervousness on her face. We held on to the cold metal bar as the ride began. At first we went around and up and down very slowly, but the pace was just building. After circling a few times, we were almost up to full speed. The cool night air rushed against our faces and our hair blew haphazardly in the wind. I could hear Adam's and Summer's joyous screams from infront of our pod, I myself was happily yelling. It was when we were up to full speed that I heard the panicked sounds from Kimberly; it was definitely not joyous screams. I turned to face her and was heartbroken by the horrified look on her sweet face; I could even see the tears welling up in her eyes as she whimpered. I felt completely helpless as I watched on at Kimberly's trauma. I placed my hand over hers, which was curled tightly over the metal bar, and did my best to scoot over to her side. I brought my face close to hers, feeling her hair brush harshly against my cheeks as it flew in the wind,
"It's okay, you're okay, it'll be over soon, you're fine, I promise," I whispered into her ear. I repeated this to Kimberly for the duration of the ride, which for her must have seemed like an eternity. After a while the ride finally began to slow. When the bar automatically rose, I place my arm around Kimberly's shoulder and helped her out of the pod. We made our way over to Adam and Summer who immediately saw the distressed look on Kimberly's face, her eyes waterlogged.
"Oh my god! Babe, what happened?!?" a concerned Summer asked.
Kimberly began to stammer, searching for a response, when I interrupted her,
"Just a little too thrilling of a ride, she'll be fine right?" I explained, then looked to Kimberly for a response. The brunette nodded. Summer had now also wrapped her arm around her friend, and rubbed her shoulder consolingly.
"Why don't you guys go ahead with the rides, Kimberly and I are gonna take a little breather," I suggested.
"Are you sure?" Adam asked with concern.
Kimberly looked up to Adam and Summer,
"Yeah, I'll be fine, just need a minute or two, go ahead, we'll catch up in bit," she stated.
Summer hugged her roommate then she and Adam walked off hand in hand.
I placed my hand around Kimberly's shoulder once more and looked down to her face; she still looked pretty shaken up.
"Are you sure you're okay?" I asked, raising my hand and wiping a tear from the corner of her eye.
