When the ride stauntered, we barely even noticed. When it fell, our hearts were filled with terror. It was the night of my life. Our families’ vacation to Las Vegas was going great. Tonight was our last night in Vegas, and as a tradition, went to our favorite place there: the High Roller. Lexie and I sat on the benches to wait while our parents bought beverages for the ride. They forgot to get us some, but the line was now so big that we agreed to skip the drinks. After all, we were here for the action, not just lemonade. Lexie looked at me weirdly as we boarded our cabin. It was just us, our parents, and two other tourists holding cameras that looked to be in their early twenties. Lexie and I sat together, as best friends normally do, and watched together as our cabin ascended higher and higher into the sky. Lexie and I spent the next ten minutes to the top pointing out locations we’d been to on our vacation to each other. We were as happy as we could be. Finally, our cabin reached the top.

     A female voice coming from the speakers said to us, “Woohoo! You’ve reached the top of the High Roller! Let’s get some boogie on!” While some party music played in the background.

     Nobody danced. We all just stared out of the window, captivated by the numerous buildings, hotels, pools, and shopping centers.

     We spent about twelve minutes doing this, until one of the young tourists said, “Wait, the ride hasn’t even moved. We’re still at the top!”

     Everyone but the two of us started to panic. This happens to Lexie and I all of the time. We always have the worst luck when it comes to rides, whether it be the sign saying one of us is too short, the attendant dozing off for ten whole minutes before starting the ride, or the mechanics having to come in during the middle of our ride, making us wait a whole hour before it starts again.

     Everybody stopped and looked at the speakers as another voice, much rougher and coarse this time said, “Stay calm. The ride is currently being fixed. You’ll be up here for an hour at the most. It’s ok. It’s not an emergency situation.”

     See, just minor mechanics. I don’t know why everyone was so panicked.

     “Just in case we fall and never see each other again,” Lexie said sarcastically, though there was another emotion in her voice that I just couldn’t pinpoint, “I want to tell you something.”

     I searched her eyes for even a small hint of what she was going to whisper into my ear. They weren’t scared, anxious, comedical, secretive, or just normal. It was a new emotion for me to add to my list of things I don’t know about fourteen year old girls.

     She leaned towards me and whispered something into my ear. My green eyes immediately turned the same way her’s were. It wasn’t any look I’d seen directed at me before. It was love, like straight from the heart love.

     I nodded and said, “Me too…”

     Her eyes glittered up and we hugged each other for quite a bit. We didn’t notice anything else until the speakers buzzed to life again.

     “Please evacuate all cars immediately. Explosion imminent.” It screeched repeatedly

     Now we were scared. I looked towards the parachutes on both sides and saw all four being taken by our parents and the tourists. They opened the emergency exit doors, and without further notice, or even a goodbye, jumped outside. I was stunned. We weren’t going to make it out this time. This time I recognized the look in Lexie’s eyes. Pure terror. There was nothing we could do. We hugged again, this time as a goodbye, as we heard a low rumbling coming from beneath us. There was an ear-splitting boom, and I could feel what Mrs. Trawney was talking about during our inertia lesson. We hit the ground amidst a big pile of rubble, and everything went completely black.