When they got closer to their destination John rolled the windows down. He never liked driving with the music blaring, so it wasn't hard to hear the screams coming from the amusement park.
Skylar leaned out the window when they heard the screaming. Despite knowing exactly where the screams were coming from, Skylar couldn't see much beyond the noise blocking walls and the trees along the highway. Only a bit of gleaming metal, and the tops of the lookout and drop tower were visible.
"That's a lot of screaming." Skylar pulled their head back inside the van. "Humans sure must think being scared is fun."
"It makes us feel alive!" Emily threw her hands up, flinching when her knuckles hit the ceiling.
John chuckled. "Save the hands in the air for the rides. Actually don't."
"Spoil sport." Emily stuck her tongue out.
"What, you are supposed to keep your hands inside the vehicle, not waving all over the place!"
"Like the engineers didn't plan for people to hold their hands above their heads to better able to open the lungs and get a lot of air before letting out some of the biggest screams of their entire lives." Emily placed her palms against the ceiling and glanced over her shoulder at Skylar. "Right?"
"Right?"
"Skylar can't back you up." John wiggled his elbow but didn't take his hands off the wheel. "They've never been to an amusement park before."
“But it makes sense.” Skylar protested. “Humans wouldn’t build something to harm others…” They sighed. “At least, not when it comes to something that’s supposed to be entertaining.”
John pulled off the highway, trees arching over the streets so Skylar still couldn’t much of the amusement park. They bounced their leg up and down, glancing between the windows. While the car was moving slower, it didn’t take long for the van to pull up to the parking lot.
“Woah.” Skylar gasped. While John settled the parking bill with the attendant, Skylar leaned close to the window. Now they could see the whole park. There was a ton of gleaming metal, mostly reds and greens to stand out against the blue sky. There were arches, loops, corkscrews, tall hills and big drops. There were colorful flags and tents everywhere. Screams and laughter carried over the parking lot, bouncing off the asphalt and the cars.
John found a place to park and made a note of which lamp post the van was next too. The three of them stepped out of the van.
“So Skylar,” Emily reached her arm out and Skylar looped their arm with hers, “what’s your first impression?”
“Amazeballs.” Skylar giggled. “Can’t wait to actually get inside!”
“C’mon then.” John slipped his hands in his pockets and led the way.
Word count: 460
