Heather goes to the fair

Written 2009

Happened 1998

We all trust our friends but when my friend asked me if I'd double date with her and this guy she met on the internet, I was less than enthusiastic- of course, this was many years ago before dating real people on-line through vetted websites was an en vogue thing.

So we go to the Red River Valley Fair to meet up. I thought, public place, lots of people, and security guards just in case things get a little dicey and we need to get away... that thought worked until I was up on top of a ride called the zipper.

A few years earlier, I learned through a vigorous roller coaster competition with my cousin that there's a trick to roller coasters (look up not down) and that I actually liked the rides because they're only two and a half to three minutes long, i.e. you don't really have time to be scared or uncomfortable, but that was before getting on this particular ride.

Because only two of us wanted to get our money's worth out of our tickets, I ended up boarding the little car with my friend's date not mine.

After we were a safe distance above the ground he starts jabbering away, and I politely reply until he says, "can I tell you something that you won't tell your friend?" The alarm bells in my head are going off but when you're 50 feet in a metal box there's not a lot that you can shout to get you off the ride that won't get you in serious trouble. He says, "I'm a lot more attracted to you than your friend, is that weird?"

Now remember the fact that this was supposed to be a double date, he brought a friend to be there with me. What did he figure he'd do? Just revert to being 12 and swap us like we were baseball cards? I wish I knew. He then asked, "so are you into romance and stuff?" What can I say, the guy was a real gem.

I wish I could say the ride ended there, but oh no we had to sit in this tiny car (which now felt so much smaller than it was when the ride started) and wait our turn to exit and act normal around our friends.

As soon as we were leaving the Fair (which couldn't have happened quickly enough at that point) I told my friend about the ride and I don't think she ever called him back, and neither did I.