I held onto the edge of my seat tightly. If I wanted to get a piggyback ride for the first time ever, I needed to be strong.
After a while, I closed my eyes as well.
Then I heard:
"Ten more minutes!"
I guess the dude controlling the ride had timed us.
I opened my eyes, stared at Daven, then smirked.
But I couldn't keep them open any longer.
I shut them immediately.
"Why are you closing your eyes, Aubrey? Look at me."
I heard him say.
I opened my eyes and stared his way.
Then another voice followed.
"I am the monster you created."
That was Daven's voice.
But his mouth hadn't moved.
What the hell was going on?
I couldn't help myself.
"STOP!!!"
I was feeling a lot of things at once, but above all one threatened to come out.
Vomit.
"Ma'am, are you sure? You only have five minutes left to win the bet," the ride operator asked.
"I said stop this ride already!"
Soon enough, the ride came to an end.
I guess piggyback rides just weren't for me.
I unbuckled my belt and jumped off immediately.
I ran to the nearest corner and puked wherever I could.
I honestly didn't care.
Daven rushed over and held my hair back as I continued throwing up.
When I was finally done, I collapsed onto a nearby bench.
Daven told me he was going to get water and that I should stay put.
I could only comply.
As I sat there, I kept thinking about what I had heard on the ride.
I am the monster you created.
What was that?
I didn't see Daven's mouth move, so why did I hear his voice?
What is wrong with me?
I know for a fact it wasn't him but...
"Aubrey, look at me."
No.
Not again.
"Aubrey."
"STOP!!!"
I yelled just like I had on the ride.
It was then I realized Daven was standing right in front of me, holding out a bottle of water with a puzzled look on his face.
"Ohhh, it's you," I said, relief washing over me.
"Did you come here with someone else?" he asked sarcastically. "Are you okay?"
"No," I blurted out honestly. "What exactly did you say to me on the ride?"
He sat beside me.
"I saw you staring at me, then all of a sudden you closed your eyes. So I asked why you were closing them and told you to open them."
I stared at him.
"So you never said I am the monster you created?"
I was secretly hoping he'd say yes and laugh it off as some terrible joke.
"No, I didn't," he answered honestly. "Why would I even say that?"
"I don't know. Maybe as a joke or something."
I shook my head.
"I really don't know. But I'm completely sure that's what I heard."
"Aubrey, calm down, okay?"
His voice softened.
"What if you only thought you heard me say that? Maybe the nausea and the speed mixed together and caused you to hallucinate," he suggested, trying to come up with a reasonable explanation.
"No. It couldn't have been a hallucination. I heard it, but I didn't see your lips move."
"I just want you to understand that this is a fair and it's crazy loud. Plus, you were on a ride spinning ridiculously fast. Maybe someone around us yelled and you just happened to hear it."
I had to admit he was making sense.
But there was still one problem.
"I heard your voice. It was your voice," I insisted.
"This place is packed. There are like a bazillion people here. There's always a chance someone in the crowd has a voice similar to mine."
I thought about it for a moment.
"Okay. You're right, Daven. You are absolutely right," I said, finally giving in.
"Of course I am," he said proudly. "Speaking of being right, you lost the bet, which makes me the winner."
"No, I didn't lose. I just puked. I didn't get dizzy and pass out," I defended myself.
"But you stopped the ride before the time was up, so either way you still lost," he said with a smile.
I rolled my eyes.
"You surprise me." I said before I could stop myself
"What?" he asked, genuinely confused.
"Just last night I thought this date would honestly be boring, but here I am happily chatting with you. Maybe I judged you too soon."
His expression softened slightly.
"That's the point of a date. To get to know a little bit about someone. It's impossible to know a person fully in a day, but at least now I can describe you in one word."
My curiosity immediately woke up.
"Go on. Tell me the word."