A LIME-GREEN BLUR by NICHOLAS NG

A LIME-GREEN BLUR

So there I was, standing in line at Great Adventure on a furiously hot summer day.  The line for the Extreme wrapped around the whole park. Yet I waited, curious on what was so extreme about this ride.  Two hours dragged on before I got to the start of a never ending line.  I was the last rider, riding solo.  “I'm brave, I 'm brave,” I whispered to reassure myself.

The sun started to set; and the sky darkened with every minute. The coaster gates shot up after five terribly boring minutes. I eagerly leaped onto the car-like seats. The black rubber seat belts floated down. Clink! They locked close.  As I sat there, my horrified heart pounded inside me like crazy.  I almost died from fright when the park employee unexpectedly pulled down a green lever.  Then I was as quiet as dreaming trees while I waited for the Extreme to zoom off. Three…two…one, I froze. Blast off!!!

The roller coaster sprinted with so much force I nearly fell out of it.  It zoomed straight and made a quick sharp right turn.  The Extreme moved vertically towards the sky.  Click! Clack! The tracks were screwing up!  By now I had passed the atmosphere and was heading into space.  I thought, Why am I going into space?

 As I sat at the peak of the tracks, I glimpsed down 2,000,000 miles for only one second.  I closed my eyes in anticipation of the roller coaster taking the 180 degrees drop in order to return to Earth.  Then I said something that I shouldn’t have.  I yelled at the top of my lungs, “Stop!” The roller coaster immediately hurled.

My body shivered uncontrollably as I stepped off the roller coaster. I couldn't believe I was standing in outer space.  This was not possible but there I was. Scary thoughts chomped away at my brain. I sat speechless and motionless for hours.  Finally, I turned my head and noticed all the planets.  The sight of the bright and beautiful planets calmed me.  Mercury burned fiery red.  Venus was mustard yellow.  Mars looked exactly like the clay my brother and I used to dig for.  Jupiter flashed especially huge and reddish.  Saturn shone beautifully in the dark.  Neptune was glowing shades of aqua blues.  Pluto, my favorite planet, couldn’t be seen in the darkness of outer space.  I stared at my planet Earth and was quite certain I saw my tiny big house far, far away.

Suddenly, I heard a whizzing in the far distance. The unexplained whizzing came closer and closer until I spotted a turquoise flying spaceship halted right next to me. I peeked into the crystal clear cockpit of the UFO.  And there it was - a lime-green alien.  The alien had three red frightening eyes, four small arms, and five squirmy legs.  An alien was standing in front of me?!  Suddenly, the alien blurted out something that I couldn't understand.  It sounded like HimynameisWreckingElf,whoareyou?Areyouastrangerfromearth?

“Why are you in space?’’ the alien said in a slower voice.

I screamed, breaking the outer space silence, “Ahh…An Alien!” 

“It's okay.  Calm down.  My name is Wrecking Elf,” the alien began. “Tell me, why are you stuck in space?”

“I-I was afraid to go down the steep roller coaster drop.  I didn’t want to get that weird feeling in my stomach.  So I stopped the ride in midair and got off the Extreme,” I answered cautiously.

“Well, I will help you return to Earth but you must do exactly as I say.”

“What shall I do?”

“You must be confident,” Wrecking Elf commanded.

I hesitated, “I-I am ready to start.”

“Keep your confidence until the roller coaster stops.  Has anyone ever encouraged you to do something daring?”

I told Wrecking Elf my daredevil brother Ryan always nudged me to do the daring.

“The next step will be simple.  What were the words Ryan used to encourage you?” Wrecking Elf asked.

“I don’t remember.”

 “Think! Think! Think! Think all the way to the back of your brain!”

I dug through my messy brain, and at last, recalled this one memory.

“Well, there was the time when my brother encouraged me to go on this 300-foot water slide.  Ryan shouted, ‘You can do it! You can do it!’  I did finally make it down the slide.  I always cherished this memory," I said as if I had known all along my brother’s chant.

“Now, sit in the roller coaster and repeat your brother’s chant.” These were Wrecking Elf’s last words.  In the next second, he flew into his spacecraft and up and away into complete darkness.

“No, don’t go! Don’t!” I called after the UFO, hoping Wrecking Elf would turn around and come back.  He never did.

I sat there motionless for what seemed like days thinking how in the world I encountered an alien.  I thought they were non-existent!  All of a sudden, a rush of energy overcame me.  I sprang up.  My feet automatically stepped toward the roller coaster.  I jumped into my seat and sat still. 

I announced confidently, “I’m ready!”  My words echoed in outer space. 

I gripped firmly on the handle bars.  The roller coaster rested at the peak of the tracks.  “You can do it.  You can do it,” I chanted. “I can do it!” I repeated to myself one last time before the devastating drop.

The nose of the Extreme pointed downwards. The roller coaster and I plummeted back to Earth. As the Extreme approached the ground, all that extra speed threw it into ten upside down flips.  It kept rolling on the tracks and then slowed down, stopping where the ride began.  I dreamingly stepped off the Extreme, my chin lifted up with pride.  I marched back home, grinning from ear to ear under the dim moonlight.

            Exhausted, once home, I threw myself on the family couch.  Whizz.  Whizz.  I squinted and noticed a lime-green blur whizzing around.  Could it be…?