Coney Island. Its Ferris wheel and roller coasters towered above us. Adrenaline was already rushing through my body and we hadn’t even entered the park yet “I think Astroland would be the best one to go to. It has the Cyclone Roller Coaster and The Breakdance.” Yay! I love amusement parks “I think I made a good choice of going here” I was practically squealing with excitement. I was gonna have so much fun!

We had a little discussion on who would buy the tickets. I wanted to buy them because Kristin had already treated me to lunch. “Just let me pay for them! You already paid for lunch. I want to do something for you too!” Kristin shook her head “No, just being with you is enough” huh? Brain meltdown in progress. “I haven’t had this much fun in ages. And you’re a really nice girl. Very friendly, tons of fun and you seem really honest, open and loving” aaaaaaaaaw! “That has to be the sweetest thing someone has ever said to me! And coming from you, that’s like… like… like I can’t even describe in words.” Mental note, Kristin wins at life.

Reluctantly I let her pay for the tickets to Astroland. I would pay her back somehow. I had to! She was spending a day with me, doing everything that I want to do and now she was paying for everything too? Cookies wasn’t gonna be enough. I needed something better. It would hit me in time.

We stepped through the gate “what do we do first?” Everything looked like so much fun, I couldn’t choose. “Okay, let’s do the roller coaster first; it will probably have the biggest queue. After that we can do the pirate ship and than see the arcades” I said looking at the map in front of me. “Are you sure you want to go on a roller coaster after we just ate?” Riiiiight, I forgot about that bit. Hmm, was it a good idea to go on something that would throw your stomach around at a hundred miles an hour? Probably not… still. “I’ve never thrown up after a roller coaster. I think I can handle it.”

Mischief twinkled in her eyes. I think she was more then eager to go on this ride. “I won’t clean up after words!” she called out to me, while she suddenly split and slipped through the mass of people. “Oh, no you don’t.” I ran after her, trying to catch up. For some one with shorter legs than me, she was really fast. “No fair!” she laughed as I passed her after a while. I beat her, but it wasn’t just lucky. I was wearing sneakers, she was in heels. “I’m surprised you can run in those things, I can hardly walk in them” She looked at her shoes and shrugged “I’m used to it I guess”.

There was indeed a long queue for the roller coaster. We had been waiting for about 20 minutes, when I noticed a tall blonde in the line of people. She was about 10 people before me. But something about her attracted my attention. A very blonde ponytail was bouncing up and down. She was wearing a grey t-shirt with purple seams that reminded me of my own “I love OZ” shirt. I felt a poke in my side and squirmed “you zoned out again” I looked at Kristin and smiled “Sorry, I was looking at this girl a little in front of us in the queue. She looks familiar.” Kristin took a peep passed my shoulder “Which one?” No pointing, pointing is rude “The one with the grey and purple shirt”

As if she had heard my words, the girl spun around. I screamed “FIRESPRITE!” Her eyes went wide, gaping at me in surprise “ICEQUEEN!” she screamed back at me. I gave an excited look at Kristin, who had her ears covered and a look of pain in her eyes. I bit my lip “sorry, I didn’t mean to scream. It’s just that I spotted Megan! Fellow Glitterite and another friend for live I found, thanks to you” I gave Kristin a quick hug “keep our place in line, I have to rush over to Megan for a sec. Sorry” Kristin looked surprised, whether it was because I hugged her or because I left her, I couldn’t tell.

Megan and I ran towards each other and ended in a hug and jump type of greeting. “Megs, what are you doing here?” “Me? Mo, why are YOU here? In New York” I quickly explained about the competition and winning the trip to New York. That I was together with Kristin I kept a secret for now. “Meet me after the ride okay? I have to introduce you to a friend of mine”. She agreed to wait for us after the ride. And we both walked back to our place in the queue. “Okay, Megs is meeting us after the ride. I really hope you don’t mind. She really loves you about as much as I do. And she lives in Texas! You have something in common, haha”

The line seemed to move slower and slower. I knew it wasn’t really true, but it felt like that. I guess that happens when you are waiting for something, time slows down. But finally it was our turn. Megan and her friend had gotten on the ride before us, so they were already waiting for us probably. We stepped in to the front seat, yay! "What do we do for the photo? do we scream our heads of, make funny faces, what?" I was so excited! Kristin thought about it "Let's scream our heads of!" We snickered "then when we do something else, we'll make funny faces, okay?" I was in for sure!

The safety belts were in place, the carts lurched forwards up the hill. The ride had started. Kristin grabbed my hand and squeezed it "This is gonna be so cool" I nodded, adrenaline rushing through my body, robbing me from speech. This was something I had always dreamed about. Sophie and I had spent many a night talking about it, till the early morning hours. And there I was, in a roller coaster with Kristin. I wished Sophie could have been there, she would have loved this. I could see the horizon coming up, now that we were on the top. Two seconds later, the carts came crashing down the track. Twist after twist, we were shaken around like a James Bond martini. Shaken, not stirred.

The picture was taken and whether I wanted it or not, both of us were screaming at the top of our lungs. And knowing Kristin's vocal range, I wouldn't be surprised if she went passed her High F. I couldn't cover my ears because Kristin kept a death grip on my hand. When the ride was over, we stepped out, both a bit wobbly on our feet, but laughing so much, I almost peed my pants. She had taken her sunglasses and hat off before the ride, but now they were on again. Not for long if I had my say in it. I ran to the photo booth "I'd like two photos of number 1 please!" 5 minutes later, I handed Kristin one of them "Here's something to remember me by when I'm back in Europe" Kristin opened the booklet "oh my g... I look horrible!" she exclaimed.

"Uhm, excuse me. Earth to Kristin! you are like the most gorgeous person on the planet? you can never look horrible! You can make a potato sack look stunning" I said rolling my eyes at her "now I, on the other hand, look like a freaking ghost!" Then Megan came up "show me you picture!" She tried to grab it from my hands "no way! I look awful!" To my surprise, Kristin handed over hers to Megan "here, it's the same picture. Miss Mo here says she looks terrible, but I disagree" Megan eyes Kristin for a minute "Do I know you?" she asked carefully. "Psshh, yeah you know here" I stepped in between Kristin and Megan and took of Kristin's sunglasses and the hat "Taadaa!" I stepped away and looked at Megan. But Megan's reaction was not something I had expected. Instead of screaming or gaping, like me and Kat, she did something completely different. She passed out. Oops.

I kind of freaked out for a second when I saw her go down. But Kristin just sat down and put Megan’s head in her lap. People were crowding around us, gawking at the spectacle. It irritated me. “People, please. Could you give us some space? This girl needs all the fresh air she can use, right now.” Megan’s friend shooed them away and went for the Firs Aid people. Kristin took hold of Megan’s hand and waved some cold air in her face. I took a tissue and a bottle of water from my bag and wetted the tissue for a make shift cloth. The tissue went on her forehead, to keep her cool.

Megan’s eyes fluttered open “Morning sunshine” I smiled at her “Mo?” she croaked “what happened?” “Well, you passed out” She looked like she was trying to remember. “I thought I saw Kristin, why would I think I saw Kristin with you? It makes no sense!” I just smiled at her. When she realised that she was lying on something softer then concrete, she rolled her eyes upwards. The expression on Megan’s face was really priceless. She went from feeling dizzy, to gaping like a fish on dry land. “Hi Megan” Kristin whispered.

Megan set up quickly. Too quickly I noticed when she grabbed her head afterwards. “Wow, take it easy. Don’t want you to pass out again”. The paramedics came and lifted up Megan between them and carried her to this tiny building that screamed First Aid. Kristin, Megan’s friend and I followed behind. I gave Kristin her sunglasses and hat back “please, put them back on before we cause more accidents.” Kristin nodded and we both grinned “You have this effect on people a lot?” I asked her while we waited in the waiting room. Kristin shrugged “I’ve seen it happen once or twice before. One big guy actually hit his head on an iron fence once.” Ouch.

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