Posted: Apr 28, 08 7:46am
MAXIE'S RIDE
By TraumaGoddess
Maxie was afraid of roller coasters. It's not that he was afraid of having fun or going fast; his two favorite rides were the Scrambler and Mad Mouse; it was the drops he hated; how his butt would leave the wooden seat and feeling that he would just fly out of the car, the metal safety bar not really holding him in. And he hated the loud clackety- clack of the chain as it pulled its long train of cars up the steep incline; he was always afraid of it suddenly slipping and the whole train tumbling off the tracks and splatting on the concrete below. The people screaming bothered him too; they never sounded like they were having fun; it sounded more like they were being scared to death.
But Momma had given him and Jessie enough money to buy each of them four rides and a soda at the boardwalk and told them to go have fun. She was going to lie on the beach and take a little nap. Jessie was five years older than Maxie and thought he was the dad, even though he was only twelve. He bossed Maxie around and told him what to do; well, not when Momma could hear but it was pretty often, anyway.
"Come on, Jerk," Jessie called out to him. "I'm not gonna wait for you all day."
"I'm comin'. And Momma told you to stop calling me that," Maxie panted behind as he hurried through the sand to get to the boardwalk steps.
"Okay, Stupid-head," replied Jessie. Maxie didn't think that was what Momma meant.
This trip was the first trip the three of them had taken since Daddy had left. Maxie was glad that Momma had finally stopped crying and glad that Auntie Judi had offered them her beach house. It was walking distance to the boardwalk, and even though it was kind of small and old, Maxie was happy to have something to do during his summer besides watch rerun cartoons.
The boardwalk was built in the early 1900's and after years of blowing sand and salt water breezes, it was showing its age. The paint on the carousel horses was all chipped, the bowling alley was warped, and the bandstand had been ripped away by a freak winter storm. But the roller coaster was still the prize jewel it had always been. It was dubbed "The Giant Dipper" and was at one time the biggest wooden roller coaster in the state. It had long trains of orange cars and the owners had repainted all the white boards and replaced every light bulb along the track. It cost six tickets to ride and the line was always at least twenty minutes long.
"So, you gonna come with me or you gonna wait like the titty-baby you are?" Jessie asked him as they climbed the stairs out of the sand.
"I'll come, but you can't keep calling me names or I'll tell," Maxie said.
"Tell, schmell, titty-baby," said Jessie over his shoulder as he hurried to get in line.
"Will you hold me down so I don't fall out of the car?" Maxie asked.
Jessie looked at him with a scowl. "Don't be such a baby. You won't fall out. And don't scream like a girl, either; you'll embarrass the hell out of me."
"Don't cuss. Momma….." Maxie began.
"But Momma ain't here and you ain't gonna tell her, are you?" Jessie threatened, his hand balling into a fist.
"No, I ain't gonna tell her," replied Maxie quietly. He swallowed hard. He had been the recipient of quite a few of Jessie's fists lately and he didn't really care to receive any more.
They climbed around and around the inside of the building that housed the loading dock of the coaster. The track was visible through glass windows and the cars whooshed by every minute or so, full of screaming people with their hands in the air, smiling and laughing.
Maxie wished Daddy was here. Daddy would understand that Maxie needed to be held in and he wouldn't make fun or call him names. But he wasn't, so Maxie decided he needed to be a big boy and show Jessie he wasn't a baby.
"Can we get our sodas after this ride?" Maxie asked.
"You ain't gettin no soda, so don't even start with me," Jessie answered back.
"Why can't I get a soda? Momma gave us enough money for a drink," argued Maxie.
"I'm gettin the soda, you ain't getting squat. I'm gonna use your drink money to buy the picture of you screamin like a girl and then show everybody what a big loser you are," explained Jessie.
Maxie knew better than to argue. He knew that Jessie would get his way and there wasn't anything he could do about it. Maxie said a little prayer that he would grow up big and strong so someday he could beat up Jessie and then he'd stop picking on him.
"Tickets," requested the long-haired, shaggy man. He held out his greasy fingers and plucked the paper stubs from Jessie's hand.
"We want the front car," exclaimed Jessie. Maxie pleaded a silent 'no' with big eyes and a slight shake of his head that Jessie ignored.
"All the way to the left, two to a car," stated the man and thumbed over his shoulder.
"Come on, baby," said Jessie as he tugged Maxie's sleeve. "The front car is always the best 'cause it's the fastest and hangs on top the longest."
Maxie didn't really want to ride now but it was too late to back out. Besides, he thought to himself, maybe Jessie would share his soda with him if he didn't complain. They settled themselves onto the seats and pulled the metal safety bar down snug across their thighs. Maxie slid a little to the center and braced his feet against the bottom of the car. He wrapped his hands around the bar, squeezed his eyes shut, and hoped for a quick ride.
"Clackety-clack, clackety-clack." The chain grabbed the car and it lurched upwards. Maxie could feel the chain bouncing under the car as he braced his feet. He was trying to figure out how long the ride up would be because he always held his breath from the very top of the first hill to the very bottom and he didn't want to start holding too soon.
"Open your eyes, Stupid!" Jessie exclaimed as he poked Maxie in the ribs.
Maxie squinted his eyes open barely enough to see that Jessie had both arms up and was leaning over the side of the car. He slammed his eyes shut again and took a big breath.
The chain assembly that had functioned for over a hundred years had been exposed to salt air for a long time, and rust and fatigue had taken their toll. The car was shiny orange, the boards had been recently re-painted, and every light bulb worked perfectly, but no one had checked the chain. The clacking sound gave way to a pop and suddenly, gravity ruled. The train wheels stayed on the thin rails but their speed was unchecked as the line of cars sped backward down the incline towards the loading area. The next train hadn't arrived and they zoomed backwards past the waiting crowd and continued gathering speed along the narrow track. The waiting crowd stared and someone screamed. The cars jerked and shuttered as they flew along, taking the turns and curves with ever-increasing speed and runaway craziness.
"What the hell?" Jessie yelled as he grabbed the safety bar. "What's happening?"
Maxie sat very still, gripping the bar so tightly his little fingers were white. He took a breath after realizing they weren't going to fall, gravity holding him firmly in, and decided he was having fun.
Jessie panicked. He hated the feeling of being out of control, helpless, and he screamed and screamed. He bit his tongue. He tried to stand up and jump but the bar held him fast. In his terror, he wet himself.
The train coming down the track was slowed to a near stop by a quick-thinking carny. He threw the emergency brakes before it was met by the backward speeding cars but they still collided with a crunch of metal and several people were injured. Because Jessie had insisted on the front car, the boys escaped unscathed.
As they were being helped from the wreckage, Momma appeared.
"Are you two okay?" she cried with worry tears streaming down her face.
"We're fine, Momma," said Maxie. "That was fun!"
Jessie held his hands in front of his crotch to hide the wetness and stared at the ground.
"Can I get the picture to show back home?" asked Maxie.
"Well, sure, I guess," replied Momma. "Would you like that Jessie?"
Jessie didn't answer. Maxie smiled as he purchased the snapshot of them; Maxie laughing and Jessie screaming in terror. Maxie realized he wasn't afraid anymore.
