We were now off the plane and currently leaving the airport. This time, with the rest of Michael's family with us. "I can't wait!!" I said to Michael happily. He smiled and squeezed my hand briefly. All of us piled into the shuttle bus that would take us down to Disney.
As soon as we stepped on, that cold wind from the air conditioning swept down on us. Why is every bus and plane we get on so cold today!? Goosebumps gathered on my arms and legs as I shuddered. Luckily, I brought along a hoodie just in case something like this happened. I pulled it out of my suitcase and put away the rest of my bags. Flopping back into a chair, my bare legs were met with chilliness from the seat exposed to the relentless air conditioning. I folded my legs to create some type of warmth.
Everyone was just about done putting their luggage away and was comfortable. That impatient mixed with excited feeling tingled my body and we had only just pulled off. I could barely sit still as I stared at every sign that we passed.
Mike rolled his eyes and laughed at my antics.
"I see you're excited," Jermaine acknowledged with a grin.
"Who me? Excited? Uhh I guess you could say that" I joked, earning a couple of chuckles. "But yeah I can barely sit still! I've been dreaming of this since the plans were made last month! I've only ever been to Disney World once so the park is still so fun and new to me."
{Michael's POV}
Seeing Y/N's eyes sparkle with glee as they talked made my heart soar. They're so cute..
. . .
{Y/N's POV}
I was too busy listening to Marlon, Tito, Janet, Randy, and Y/S/N argue about which ice cream flavor was superior that I didn't even notice we were getting closer and closer to the park by the second.
"Look out your window guys!" La Toya blurted.
Everyone on the bus rushed to a window and erupted into cheers and yells of excitement.
We're almost there!!
. . .
We just left from checking in and seeing our rooms. Now we're back outside.
"I wanna go shopping!" La Toya beamed.
"Don't we save the shopping for the end?" Jackie questioned.
"I'm a little hungry, can we eat now?" Janet begged.
"Well, now I know who not to sit in front of on the rides," Randy added.
"Can we go on that ride first?" little Stacee asked shyly.
"It's too hot out here!" someone shouted out.
More arguing and bickered ensued but I wasn't even paying attention to them right now.
The music that added to the wondrous feeling of the park comforted me, the delicious aroma of food and sweets floated through the air; reaching every corner of this place, iconic buildings surrounded us, others walked by with their chatter and smiles of joy reminding you that you've now entered the most magical place on earth.
However, Joseph's sudden outburst of anger brought me back to reality.
"EVERYBODY QUIET!!"
And we sure did go quiet..
People nearby who had heard the shouting gave us weird looks.
You know how in cartoons when it's just silence and all you can hear is the character's eyes blink? That was us right now. His scowl slowly turned back into his usual cold, emotionless expression even while Mrs. Jackson scolded him for his unnecessary behavior.
"Anyway.." Rebbie spoke up. "I was thinking that we should split into groups. That way each of us could go where we want since everyone wants to do different things. There are 20 of us so we'll have five groups of four. Does that sound good to everyone?
Approving nods and "why didn't I think of that's" were expressed.
"Great, now go find your groups," Rebbie smiled. "And remember, we should all meet up at..let's say near the bakery by 2 o'clock. It's 10:23 right now."
Michael and I immediately glanced at each other. We didn't even need to talk, our eyes told one another that we were gonna be in a group.
"I'm joining you two," Marlon announced with a serious expression. "To make sure y'all don't get into any trouble." He eyed us down with squinted eyes and furrowed brows before the three of us bursted into laughter.
Y/S/N ended up tagging along too. And since each group needed at least one adult, mom came with us as well.
"Where off to first guys?" mom asked with a cheery smile on her face.
(Pretend the rides Disney has today existed back in the 70s too, just for the sake of this story lol)
"Let's ride Expedition Everest!" I shouted.
"Okay, I'm down," Marlon shrugged.
"Me too!" Michael added excitedly.
"Do we have to ride that one first? I was thinking something like the carousel," Y/S/N sulked.
"We can ride the carousel later! C'mon!" I laughed before grabbing their hand.
. . .
The wait for the ride didn't up being too long surprisingly. About 13 minutes passed before we were up next in line. The workers let us through and we hopped in.
I remember my first time riding this some years ago I was terrified. But right now I'm just smiling away. The attendants went through and made sure everyone was secured and while I was waiting on them to reach the middle, I gave everyone encouraging smiles.
"You guys nervous?" I asked.
Y/S/N said yes.
Mom and Mike said no.
Marlon was quiet.
"Marlon are you scared?" Michael questioned, amused.
"I ain't scared man! It's just that it's been a while..this ride seems real fast."
"You are scared!"
"Shut up Michael!"
I held back a laugh. The attendants made sure we were secure and then went to do the back of the coaster. I grasped Michael's hand. Us holding hands just made me feel safe.
"Alright, are you guys ready to take off?" The ride attendant asked enthusiastically.
We all cheered and screamed yes.
"That's what I like to hear! Enjoy your ride!"
We took off to the right very slowly. The gears beneath us ticked. Then we encountered a hill, we went up that even slower. The speed of the ride right now seemed to mock us, tease us for what was coming next. Even when we came down the hill, we didn't speed up. My stomach churned as the suspense was killing me! But it was the excited kind of scared that I was experiencing right now.
It was once we turned left that the speed began to increase. A bird's cry played overhead and faint screams of elation could be heard from riders in the back. We took another turn to the left and now we were going up. I laughed in anticipation and squeezed Michael's hand. I turn to him to see a huge smile on his face with his eyes shut tight.
The snowy mountains came closer. We passed through them but still, nothing happened.
That was until we barely made a left that we took off! Everyone wailed and whooped with joy. Our shouts bounced off the dark tunnel walls as we shot through them. Emerging from the tunnel, we saw a bunch of colorful flags on lines. And also what was designed to be the "dead end" of the track.
I smiled uncontrollably for what was about to happen next. We came to an abrupt halt with the coaster stopping right in front of the bent and broken tracks. More birds shrieked overhead. Then we started going backwards. Even though I've been on this before, my jaw still dropped in surprise. You don't usually do something like this on a roller coaster, but don't worry, this is how the ride is supposed to go. We all squealed. The squealing rapidly turned into full-on screams as we made a sharp downward right turn.
We dropped. And so did my heart to the soles of my feet. It was completely dark, making this even more exhilarating.
We stopped. Then in the upper right corner, there was an animation of a yeti projected onto the wall. It let out a thundering roar before the animation showed the creature destroying the tracks. We watched in awe. Then the yeti grabbed onto something out of our view and swung away.
The ride started up again. We all shouted while we were yanked up the tracks, still in the dark. But we were met with an opening to the tunnel. Light was restored to our eyes once more. We shot down the tracks and let out high-pitched howls. We zoomed through another dark tunnel before being thrown out into the light again. Sounds of overjoyed laughter filled the air.
We were making a continuous left-turn leading us to a tunnel once again. The light was slowly disappearing as we made a right turn. We could hear that yeti roar again. Something bright like sparks flickered in front of us before we descended. I closed my eyes and held my breath.
Eyes still closed, I could sense we were coming into the light again and that we were riding on a forward track now. We were also slowing down.
"That was fun!" I heard a kid comment.
We pulled up back to the starting point. Attendants waved kindly at us for our return.
I looked down at Michael and I's entwined hands and noticed he was squeezing the hell out of mine.
I didn't even realize because I was so consumed by the ride!
"Sorry!" he yelped ruefully.
I told him it was no big deal and we laughed it off.
. . .
The rest of the day we spent watching parades go by, saying hi to Disney characters and getting pictures with them, eating all types of fun treats and food, riding a bunch of other rides, watching live shows, and we visited some gift shops.
To end the night, all of us watched the fireworks show together.
Michael held me close. I stared up at him. His attractive face was illuminated by the pyrotechnics that went off above us. Being in his warm arms reminded me of how we used to spend every minute together when we were younger. And this summer it's gonna be like that again.
"I really enjoyed myself today Michael," I smiled while laying my head on his chest.
"I'm glad you did," he answered as he caressed my back.
Then the two of us enjoyed the rest of the vibrant fireworks crackling up high in the jet-black sky.
(Happy 4th of July guys ❤️)