I Hate Football Players 3 | 18+

Chapter 55: Logan

"I'll tell Axel to swap out for a heavier duty gondola," he muttered and sized me up. "Maybe one for five to six people."

Before I responded, Elias and Ellie both broke out into laughs.

"I'm kidding, you're absolutely fine." His shoulders shook lightly as he laughed. "We only use the single-person baskets for air shows or demonstrations."

"Hilarious," I muttered and looked straight at Ellie, who still giggled at probably a mental image that I plummeted to my death.

Fortunately, Elias continued, "We need to go over some safety and general information, sign some forms then we'll get you two up in the air. Rain cleared off so we'll have a bright and clear afternoon flight with Axel, who's in the field setting up."

"Sounds great." Ellie twitched with excitement next to me, then tightly squeezed my hand. I wasn't quite on the same level as her but was curious about exactly what we'd see. So far we'd driven up to a flat, suburban neighborhood intermixed with flat farmland.

"First of all, consent forms." Captain Elias passed a few pieces of paper that I tried my best not to read before I signed, for fear 'plummeting to death' really was included in the fine print.

Elias walked us through a brief description of the science behind the air balloons, which I appreciated from the thermal dynamics perspective. Prior to today, I'd assumed a hot air balloon was a big piece of fabric strapped onto a basket over a large Bunsen burner that floated back down to the ground once all the heat was gone, but I couldn't have been more wrong.

Over the next ten minutes, from the envelopes to the steams, coatings, vents, propulsion system, burner, and propane fuel tanks, Elias hadn't left a single detail behind. I actually found myself really interested from the thermal dynamics side, even though Ellie stifled a slight yawn.

A few signed forms later and a short ride in their vehicle later, Ellie and I stepped out into an open field that in fact had a gigantic, multi-colored balloon partially inflated and ready to go from the other two people in the office.

"This is Axel," Elias introduced us to the short-haired guy who stood inside the gondola. With his long, scraggly beard, shaved head, solid black clothes, and gauges in his ears, he looked more ready for a rock concert, but shook both our hands and helped us inside. After we all climbed in, Elias secured the door onto the outside, then waved us off.

The gondola itself felt just like a giant, plastic basket, but made with industrial strength materials weaved together with air-tight tension. On the inside, large cylinders of the propane gas were strapped into each corner, held in place with red fabric sleeves. There was enough space for possibly two more people before we crammed in like sardines, but with this setup we definitely were in there tight.

"Wanna pull us up?" Axel asked Ellie with a lopsided grin and pointed to a large handle overhead.

"Of course!" She beamed brightly and I smiled at her contagious positive energy. Her small hand lifted, grasped around the handle, and lit what sounded and vibrated the air with a whoosh.

The gondola twitched, shook, then lifted effortlessly off the ground. Captain Elias grinned and gave us a small two-finger salute before he got smaller.

We were surrounded with a sense of weightlessness as the loud sound of the propane gas burned above our heads and surged us upwards. The whole gondola rocked back and forth a little with how high we shot up but Ellie only giggled and her free hand clutched one of my forearms. Both of mine grabbed onto the edge of the gondola wall like an oh-shit handle since this girl obviously had a lead-hand when it came to balloons.