The Coolest Roller Coaster

 

 "I can't wait until tomorrow," David exclaims.

"Neither can I," replies Jay. The two best friends are talking excitedly about their trip to Combs Adventure Island, a brand new theme park. Jay pulls the brochure out of his backpack and opens it. "There it is." They stare in amazement at the most tremendous roller coaster they had ever seen--the Hurricane. Loop after loop is followed by hairpin turns, corkscrews, boomerangs, camel backs, and batwings. "This is going to be great!"

Mr. Barnes walks up to them. "What are you looking at?"

"The Hurricane," David replies. "We're going to Combs Adventure Island Saturday, and we're going to ride it."

"It looks scary to me," Mr. Barnes says as he looks at the picture. "I don't think I would ride it."

"Oh, it's nothing. We've ridden roller coasters before. They're tons of fun," Jay explains.

"I'm sure they are. Well, there's the bell. You two should be getting back to class."

"Yes sir," the boys say in unison.

The day seems to drag on and on as they study grammar and history and math. Finally, the bell rings, and Jay and David race to the bus. David is spending the night at Jay's house, so they can get up early in the morning. The bus pulls up to the bus stop, and the two boys run down the steps and head to Jay's. They eat dinner and then go up to Jay's room to play video games for awhile. Before they know it, it's time for bed.

"Boys, get ready for bed. We have to leave early tomorrow," Jay's dad calls up to them.

"We are," Jay replies. Jay gets out his flashlight, and they play flashlight tag until Jay's dad warns them that if they don't go to bed, they won't be going tomorrow. The two are really not tired because they are so excited about riding the Hurricane, but they soon drift off to sleep. At 5:00 a.m., the alarm clock rings, and Jay and David awake slowly.

"Hey! It's Saturday. We're going to Combs Adventure Island!" Jay jumps up and shakes David's shoulder. "Come on. Get up. We have to eat breakfast and get ready." David gets up and follows Jay to the kitchen. Jay's dad has breakfast waiting for them. Scrambled eggs, toast, bacon, and pancakes are sitting on the table. "Wow! This looks great, Dad!"

"I'm glad. Now, you two eat and get ready. The park opens at nine, so we need to leave no later than six."

When the boys finish, they rinse their plates in the sink and put them in the dishwasher, and then head back to Jay's room to get dressed. They are ready by 5:55. "Dad, we're ready!"

"Okay, get in the car, and I'll be there in just a minute." The boys climb into the car and wait for Jay's mom and dad. Soon, they walk into the garage and get into the car also. "I think we have everything, so it's off to Combs Adventure Island."

"Yea!" The boys settle into the backseat and prepare for the trip. They are not on the road long before the boys fall back to sleep. After awhile, Jay wakes up and looks out the window. There, to his right, is the sign for the theme park. "David, wake up. We're here!"

David awakes and smiles. "All right!"

Jay's dad drives up to one of the gates, pays the parking fee and gets the ticket, and then follows the arrows to a parking space. Everyone jumps out of the car and stretches their legs, and then they walk to the ticket gates. As they stand in line, they hear a voice on the intercom welcoming them to the park and reminding them of the rules. Soon the gates open and they hand their tickets to the attendant and walk into the park.

The boys head straight for the Hurricane, and Jay's parents follow closely behind. When they turn the corner, Jay and David stop and stare in amazement at the roller coaster. It's bigger than they thought, and it looks a lot scarier than it did in the brochure.

"Well, boys," Jay's dad says, "There it is. This is the roller coaster you've been talking about all week. We'll wait for you at the exit. Go ahead and get in line."

"Uh, maybe we should wait," David says as he continues to look at the coaster. "I mean, there are a lot of people in line, and we could go ride something else and then come back."

"Yeah, um, that's a good idea," Jay agrees.

Jay's dad smiles and says, "Okay, that's not a problem. We'll just get two passes so when you come back to ride, you won't have to wait in line."

"Okay," Jay replies.

"You two aren't scared are you," Jay's dad asks them before he walks to the entrance to get the passes.

"Us? No, we're not scared. We just think it would be good to ride some other coasters first, you know, to work ourselves up to the Hurricane."

"All right. Let me get the passes for you then." Jay's dad gets the passes, and they find another coaster to ride. They ride coasters and play games all morning. David wins a basketball, and Jay's dad wins a teddy bear that he gives to Jay's mom. They eat a small lunch and ride a few more coasters. Near the end of the day, Jay's dad asks them if they want to go back to the Hurricane.

"I guess we could," Jay says. "I do want to ride it."

"Me too," David agrees. They walk back over to the Hurricane, and the boys hand the attendant their passes.

"Okay," the attendant says. "Let's make sure both of you are tall enough before I send you up." They stand up next to the wall and the attendant tells them that they are the right height. She then sends them to the top, and they choose a middle car and get on.

Slowly, the coaster creeps up the hill. At the top, Jay and David look at each other, both a little scared, and then they scream as the coaster barrels down the hill and into a loop. The loop is followed by a batwing and two corkscrews. They go up a camel back and through a tunnel. When they come out of the tunnel, they go into another large loop. They corkscrew into another batwing and loop and then boomerang back to where they started. As the car comes to a stop, the boys push back their bars, race down the exit, and rush past Jay's parents.

"Hey! Where are you two going," Jay's dad asks. "We're going to ride again," Jay exclaims as he and David head back to the entrance.

"Okay." Jay's parents laugh as they watch the boys run back up to ride again. "Funny, isn't it," Jay's dad says. "Those two were so scared. Now, we're not going to be able to get them to stop riding!" And he is right.

Jay and David ride the Hurricane five times in a row. Finally, Jay's dad convinces them that it is time to leave. As the boys get into the car, they talk about the exciting day they had. "I can't wait to tell everyone about that coaster," David says.

"I know. That was the greatest," Jay replies. They settle in for the long ride back and fall asleep and dream about their great day.