Personal Narrative: A Day Before Dying

My phone screen lit up as if a million fireflies were trapped beneath the glassy surface. I triumphantly scrolled through the list of notifications, certain that this time my parents would answer me. To my dismay, I realized that none of these messages were from them. I felt my eyes become glossy as I assured myself that they were simply busy. I attempted to call them, but was redirected to immediate voicemail. As I dazed off into the distance, I felt a sweaty palm brush against my shoulder. Startled, I whipped my hair around and faced the culprit.
“Get your hands off of me! Looking at you, this shirt is probably more expensive than all of your belongings put together,” I exclaimed as I stomped away. Many eyes were trained on me as if I had
a red target painted on my back. After traveling about twenty feet, I stopped dead in my tracks and screamed to the crowd: “What? Do you want to take a picture or something?” A million thoughts were racing through my mind, yet I found myself solely outraged. A familiar voice helped soothe my anger.
“Isabel? Are you okay?” Connor whispered behind me.
“Ya whatever I'm fine” I said, turning to face him.
“Alright, well it's almost our turn to ride.
Cmon” he stated while heading in the direction of the roller coaster. My eyes grew wide and my legs turned into noodles. I felt my knees begin to buckle and I struggled to remain upright. The garish letters spelling out “Superman” didn't fail to intimidate me. Connor caught up with the rest of the group at the gate, and they all stared at me.
“Isabel!” Jenna hollered, “Are you afraid of roller coasters or something?” She smirked and held up the loser symbol.
“Haha very funny. I've been riding roller coasters since I was five. Let's go” I said, attempting to move my legs normally. As soon as I arrived at the gate, Jenna and Connor grabbed my wrist and thrusted me into the line.
“Took you long enough! We have to catch up with the group” he stated while weaving through the crowd. After walking for what felt like forever, we were relieved to see the countenances of our
friends.
“Isabel thank god you're here I thought we were going to have to go on without you!” Lilly exclaimed as she twirled her scarlet hair around her finger. I faked a smile and nodded. I pretended that everything was okay, but in reality I was petrified of roller coasters. I could never admit to his fear or my reputation would have been ruined. I took deep breaths and convinced myself that these rides were completely safe. I had nothing to be afraid of except my own paranoia. As we neared closer to the to the entrance, my adrenaline started pumping. I felt my hands start to tremble, so I discreetly placed them behind my legs. I knew I couldn't back out due to the fact that everyone else was going to ride.
“Isabel!” Will screamed, aggressively tapping my shoulder. I jerked my head forward and immediately snapped out of my trance.
“What?” I shouted, evidently irritated.
“We are next!” he declared, defiantly stepping forward in the line. I heard the tremendous roar of machinery, and the screeching coaster halted to a stop. Walking up to the gates felt like trudging through mud. I forcefully grasped the metal gate leading into the cart and attempted to stabilize my balance.
“Please keep your hands away from the gate” a muffled voice boomed. I surveyed the area and saw the operator of the coaster standing on the opposite side of the landing. I was gripping the gate so tightly that my knuckles turned a ghastly white. I gradually released it as I glared at the young man. His hair was shaggy and untamed. His brown curls fluttered in the breeze, occasionally covering his eccentric blue eyes. I noticed that his hands were fidgeting at his sides, like he couldn't control his own movement. He looked as if he hadn't slept or showered in weeks.
“Look, last time I checked, you don't own this gate. I can hold on to it if I want to.” I scowled.
“Ma'am, it's for your own safety.” He replied, refusing to look at me.
“Stop being a washed up coward and look me in the eyes when you talk to me! Until then, go back to your mediocre job or I will get you fired!” I angrily screamed, placing my hand around the gate once more. Almost simultaneously, his eyes casually locked with mine. Gazing into his eyes was like staring down into a deep blue abyss. They were as cold as the devilish eyes of a snake. His icy stare sent chills down my entire body, and I immediately looked away. I continued to feel the presence of his eyes on my skin, yet he remained deadly taciturn.
“Okay this is ridiculous. You've been too busy staring at her for two minutes that you haven't opened the gates for us to ride. The cart is empty!” Will cried, pointing to the abandoned coaster. He attempted to draw the man’s attention away from me, but to no avail. “Hello?” Will questioned, waving his arm in front of my face.
“Linda...Linda…” the man muttered to himself, twitching his head and shaking his legs. He made a hearty grunt and continued to look at me vengefully. “Linda, don't do this again. Leave me alone!” He nervously yelled to me.
“Um, I think you've mistaken me for somebody else.” I stated while receiving concerned looks from my friends. There was an awkward silence and you could feel the tension in the air. After about thirty seconds, the man stopped shaking and seemed to return to reality.
“Ah, yes. I'm truly sorry, but you remind me of someone that I used to know. Let me open the gates for all of you.” He said calmly, flipping a switch at the control panel. The gates immediately swung open and our group cautiously stepped onto the cemented landing.
“Isabel,” Lily whispered, “we can go on another ride if you want.”
“No, it's fine” I stated “this loser is simply too stupid to keep his facts straight” I purposely shouted so that the operator would hear. Lily laughed and glanced at the man, who was looking down at the ground again. Our group of five took our seats in the coaster. I sat in the second row, with Jenna and Connor. Will and Lily sat in the first row and left an empty seat to their right. Other passengers quickly boarded the cart while anticipation buzzed throughout my body. I pulled the raised shoulder harness down so that it was tightly compressing my upper body. Jenna squeezed my hand as the operator checked our harnesses to make sure they were locked in place. Once everyone was safely seated, the machinery buzzed to life.
“All clear!” the cold-eyed man hollered, flipping a switch that started us on our journey.
We slowly ascended up the steel hill that led to an incredibly large drop. The incessant screech of metal against metal allowed me a minute of pure bliss, a period of time where I was dauntless. We finally arrived at the top of the drop, where we sat for a while. We looked at each other and smiled, knowing that we were on top of the world. In an instant, our cart bolted down the drop. My long blonde hair became tangled in the forceful winds, and I screamed with joy. Butterflies arose in my stomach as I willingly threw my hands in the air. Ever so slightly, my chest felt as if a little bit of pressure had been lifted from it. I worriedly glanced at the rest of the group, and they seemed to be fine. I assured myself that I was just paranoid and tried to push the harness back down again. To my surprise, the harness became looser and looser. I started to panic once I realized that something was seriously wrong. I tried to speak, but nothing would come out. I managed to release a dog-like yelp, and frantically reached for Jenna. My hand searched the entire seat for anything resembling life, but I found nothing. Jenna was gone and I hadn’t even noticed. Hot tears started streaming down my face as I desperately tried to lock my harness back in place. The only thing preventing the harness from loosening all the way was the tiny seatbelt connecting it to my seat. This iota of protection was not
enough to keep me from flying out of the coaster. I angrily surveyed the ground for any sign of Jenna, but I was too dizzy and flustered to perceive clearly.
“Isabel!” Connor screamed over the deafening winds, “Isabel help me!” I rapidly looked at him and reached my arm far out enough so that he could grasp it. I screamed in horror as I noticed that he was falling out of his seat.
“Connor, listen to me! Hold on to the top of the harness and don’t let go!” I cried, attempting to point to it.
“Isabel, I can’t, I can’t hold on any longer” he muttered, struggling to catch his breath. In an effortless motion, his hands released the harness and his body was flung from the cart. A tremendous thud overpowered the winds, so that I could hear my friend plummeting to the ground. I didn’t know what to do; I felt completely numb. My arms became weak and I felt the harness raise. My arms were then fully extended as my flailing legs tried to find some sort of grip. Out of the corner of my eye, I watched Lily and Will entwine their fingers as they let go of their seats together. I screamed for them to come back, but I realized that I was merely talking to an echo. Sirens began blaring in the distance, but I knew that they would never come in time to rescue me. I was the last one on the coaster and everyone else was dead. I couldn’t hold on any longer, and the winds lifted my body from the cart. I closed my eyes and felt my body gain momentum as I neared the surface. Horrified screams filled the air, but I continued to keep my eyes shut. I can’t tell you the name of the man who did this to me because I didn’t bother to look at his name. I’m sorry mom and dad, maybe now you will notice me. A large thud sounded, and then I was gone.