Symbolism+Story

First Roller Coaster Ride

Chloe was afraid of roller coasters; any heights at all scared her. Every year Chloe, her sister Emily, and her parents would take a trip to any amusement park they wanted to go to. This year the girls chose to go to Six Flags. This would be their first time there. Emily loved to get on all the rides, especially the high, fast ones. “Come on Chloe! Let’s go before the lines get too long!” She would always try to get Chloe to ride the roller coasters but Chloe continued to refuse. This year Chloe refused not to ride the big rides. She made a promise to herself and her sister that she was going to face her fears. “No matter what, I’m getting on a roller coaster today, I promise”, she said with a forced smile. So Emily and Chloe decided to ride the Kingda Ka. The line was long and so was the wait. As time went on the line grew shorter and shorter, then it was time for the girls to get on. Chloe decided for the first time to sit in the front row middle seat. Emily was surprised at her gesture, thinking as a first timer her sister would want to sit in the middle somewhere. As the ride attendants came around to check the seat belts, Chloe’s heart beat faster and faster with anxiety. As the ride ascended up the 229 ft hill, Chloe could see straight ahead of her with nothing hindering her sight. “Just be calm and don’t think about how high you are”, Emily suggested. As they reached the top of the hill, the coaster quickly descended at what seemed like 100 miles per hour. With everyone else screaming because of the adrenaline, Chloe couldn’t find it in herself to scream. She was so afraid that nothing came out. About two minutes later, after flipping, and twisting, the ride finally came to a stop at the station. As she took off her seat belt and walked away from the station, she had realized how excited she was that she had finally faced her fear of heights and roller coasters! As they got on more and more rides filled with adrenaline rushes, Chloe became less and less afraid. “I could get used to this”, she would exclaim after almost every ride. Finally it was time for lunch and everybody was starving. The family decided to eat at a little restaurant named Dilly Dolly’s. Emily ordered cheesy tater tots with fries, and Chloe ordered a cheese burger with cheese fries and a sprite. Both the parents had a nice Caesar Salad. By the time they finished eating, they park was saturated with people and their families scurrying to the next line before it got any longer. Chloe, Emily, and their parents went around to the rest of the rides they weren’t able to get to before. A few hours passed and it was time for them to go. Before they left, Chloe wanted to go into the gift shop. She looked around for a couple minutes and couldn’t find anything she really wanted to buy. Until she saw a trophy for Worlds Best Coaster Rider. This caught her attention immediately and she didn’t even think twice before buying it. “Sixty dollars please”, said the cashier. Chloe was stunned for a minute at the cost of the trophy. But she paid anyways and took the trophy with pride. On the way to the car, her mom and dad asked how much she paid for the trophy. She announced happily, “Sixty Dollars!” Her father looked at her like she had just committed a crime, but just kept his mouth shut and continued to walk toward the car. To Chloe this trophy signifies her overcoming her fear of coaster, and heights. This will be a day she will never forget!