8/7/2019 Form and Technique 2

1/2

1

Kristen McCullough

Form and Technique #2

Christina Robertson

2.6.11

Adrenaline Rush

I pull myself down the sidewalk one foot at a time until I collapse onto a wooden bench.

I feel the wood suck at my clothes, wet from a day of water rides. Kenzies knees buckle and she

lands next to me, a sigh puffing her cheeks and escaping with a whoosh. I pat her back and

shield my eyes from the sun to find my dads face. I smile at the dark red spilling from the

armpits of the once dry areas of his usually pale red button up. He smiles back at us. My eyes

travel from his wrinkled forehead to the moving speck in the distance. It halts, a crackling voice

echoes over the fair grounds, and a snap precedes the scream. The speck falls from a height of

eighteen stories.

I point, my lips twitching into a smile. Lets.

Lets not, my best friend groans, shifting on the parched wood.

Dad turns to look. Ill pay, he offers, if you both go.

Come with us.

Dad pats his belly and says, We dont want to break the ride.

I turn back to Kenzie. Come on, itll be fun.

She pushes back a wet strand of auburn hair. Well. . . alright.

I shift back and forth on my feet, watching the ride attendant slip the body suit around

Kenzie and tighten the straps. Kenzie winces and tugs on the area wrapping around her thighs.

This will be interesting, she turns to me, her eyes bright. She begins to pull her hair up,

tugging a band around making a pony tail.

Yep.

8/7/2019 Form and Technique 2

2/2

2

Are you scared?

Of course Im scared, I snap, watching the cable pull another two people into the air.

Itll be okay.

I know. I hop on my heels, laughing when a scream punctures our short silence. I look

for Dad and see he has his camera out. He grins at me.

Okay, come on, the ride attendant coaxes.

We step onto a platform that starts to rise, taking us to the cable hanging above. The

attendants clip Kenzie and I together on the cable. With a jolt, we flip forward, facing the

ground. A breath rattles out of my mouth in shock. Kenzie and I lock arms as instructed, and

inch by inch, we climb above the attendants sweat dripping brows. As the grass loses its detail

and becomes a sea of green, we rise above the smell of smoke, hotdogs, and popcorn. My heart

is trudging through the thick sludge of fear that is now secreting from my pores. I laugh

nervously as Kenzie waves to my dad. I look sick. I keep my eyes peeled, looking at the top of

my dads balding head.

I hear a snap as the cable locks into place. Kenzie lets go of my hand to grasp the release

cord. My chest squeezes tight as the loudspeaker crackles.

Three. . . two. . . one. . . pull!

Kenzie must have yanked the cord, because the next thing I know Im fighting to keepmy stomach out of my throat. We hang suspended, the cord slack; I feel like Ive just jumped

from a building without a parachute. My eyes water and my nose clogs as we pick up speed, air

ripping my hair from the band holding it together. I fling my arms out, superman-style, as we

rocket over the attendants, their mouths split into smiles. For a moment, Ive forgotten that Im

strapped into a harness, hooked to my best friend, suspended by a thick cable. All I see is blue.

All I smell is the moisture within the thin whips of cloud. I reach out, and for a moment, all I feel

is the sun poking holes through my skin, down to the fear, melting it away. My ears pop as the

cord swings us around to face the glowing ball of gas in the sky. I whoop, and as feeling comes

back to my limbs and the sun exits my ears, I hear Kenzie laugh.