Hot Hollywood
 Written by H. Muellenbach in March of 2018 and edited by her teacher (used with permission from student)

60 miles per hour. Lights flashing, music blaring, and death-defying shrieks coming from the dark tunnel. It was a hot day in Hollywood. 

From the bus to the front of the line, my stomach was twisted around with fear and a small amount of excitement. My mom and I walked the streets of Disney’s Hollywood Studios to get to our destination. We stood side-by-side in front of the glowing sign that read “Rock n’ Roller Coaster starring Aerosmith.” Before entering the crowded building, we paused at exactly 11:08 AM for a quick selfie in front of the bright red electric guitar leading into the building. My chattering teeth and wide eyes made it difficult to smile. I was on an emotional roller coaster. 

While making our way to the entrance, we were able to take the fast lane. This didn’t calm my nerves at all, but it meant I didn’t have to stand in line pondering the uneasy thoughts flowing through my mind. The room was black and red with loud rock and roll blasting in the background. The decor of the room gave off a chilling vibe, the vibe of a hardcore manly rebel. I felt the need to run. But as I turned around, a cast member opened the gate and pointed me to my seat. Fear…and then more fear. 

I stood, staring at the car that would take me into the world of rock and roll. My knees locked and my throat dropped to my stomach. I then quickly sat down on the cold hard seat and pulled the shoulder restraint over my head. I began to grow nervous as I didn’t think that the restraint was tight enough and securely locked into place, but by that moment it was too late. I could see the numbers ticking down on the LED screen over our heads. “10, 9…” I pressed my feet to the floor. “6, 5…” my mouth was suddenly dry. “3, 2…” I gripped the handle bars. There was no number one and, before I knew it, our acceleration went from 0 to 60 miles per hour through a dark tunnel of flashing lights and blaring music. We went at no stop over hills and around two loopty-loops. I was having a blast once we were moving, but when I looked over at my mom, she was screaming with her eyes clenched shut. 

With a complete unawareness, the car came to an abrupt stop. I turned to my mom with a horrified expression on my face and began to smile. As we stepped out of the car, we gave each other a high five and yelled “We did it” simultaneously. We walked down the hallway talking like princesses on helium in those high-pitched voices. When we got to the next room, we were able to look at our pictures that were taken at the start of the ride. My mom’s mouth was wide open in excitement, and my head was tucked as close to my chest as possible in pure horror. Though we looked hilarious, I felt no embarrassment as I looked at some of the other pictures on the screen. My lesson learned was that you never have more fun than when you are scared half to death.