Growing Up in Lancaster County (24 page)

“We had fun on the carousel and train ride,” Rachel said.

Dave grunted. “I can only imagine.”

Sherry tugged her brother’s shirtsleeve. “Are you ready to go on the Ferris wheel?”

Dave shook his head. “You two go ahead. I’ll stay here and watch.”

“Are you afraid of heights?” Rachel asked.

“Of course not. I just rode the Sooper Dooper Looper, and that’s taller than the Ferris wheel.”

“Then why don’t you want to ride with us?”

“Because the Ferris wheel is boring.”

“No, it’s not!” Sherry grabbed Rachel’s hand. “Come on, Rachel. We don’t need him to have fun.”

As Rachel and Sherry sat down, the man running the Ferris wheel said, “Have you been on this ride before?”

Sherry nodded, but Rachel shook her head. “This is my first time at Hershey Park.”

“Then you’re in for a treat!” He snapped the bar across their laps. “This Ferris wheel goes nearly a hundred feet in the air, and it’s sure to give you a thrill.”

Rachel had never been afraid of heights until she’d fallen from a tree and broken her arm. So she was a little nervous about riding the Ferris wheel, but she wouldn’t tell Sherry that, because she was also sure it would be fun.

As each car in the Ferris wheel filled with people, Rachel and Sherry’s car went higher and higher. Finally, they were at the very top.

When Rachel looked down, she felt dizzy. The people below looked like ants. This was a lot higher than being in a tree or in the hayloft.

The Ferris wheel turned around and around, bringing them close to the ground then back up again. “This is so much fun!” Sherry shouted. “What an exciting day!”

Rachel nodded. “If I never get to visit another amusement park, I’ll remember this day for the rest of my life!”

When the Ferris wheel stopped and the girls stepped off, Rachel’s legs felt like two sticks of rubber. “Can we sit awhile?” she asked as they stepped up to Dave.

He shook his head. “I want to go on the Wild Mouse next.”

“What’s the Wild Mouse?” Rachel wanted to know.

Dave pointed straight ahead. “It’s a wooden roller coaster with a lot of quick turns and drops that make your stomach do flip-flops.”

Rachel’s heart pounded. “M–maybe I should stay here and watch.”

“Oh, no, Rachel, you have to go on the Wild Mouse with us,” Sherry insisted. “It’ll be so much fun; you’ll see!”

“Oh, all right,” Rachel finally agreed.

“Looks like there’s quite a lineup,” Dave said. “We may have to stand in line awhile.”

Sherry groaned. “I hope the wait’s not too long, because I’m getting hungry.”

Dave reached into his pocket and took out a pack of gum. “Here’s something to tide you over until lunch.” He handed a stick of gum to Sherry and one to Rachel.

“Thank you.” Rachel popped the gum into her mouth and chewed.

Sherry wrinkled her nose. “Chewing gum won’t take my hunger away.”

Dave poked her. “Maybe not, but it’ll keep your mouth busy so you can’t complain.”

She glared at him. “Very funny!”

“Make sure you spit the gum out before we get on the roller coaster,” Dave said. “You might swallow it on one of those dips.”

“Don’t worry about me.” Sherry returned the stick of gum. “Here you go, Dave. I’m not going to chew this!”

Dave shrugged and put the gum back in his pocket. “Suit yourself, picky little sister.”

“I’m not picky!”

“Yeah, you are!”

Rachel bit back a smile. It seemed that she and Jacob weren’t the only siblings who didn’t always get along.

As they waited in line, Sherry continued to complain about being hungry. Rachel was too busy watching people and listening to the screams coming from the Wild Mouse to think about her empty stomach.

Finally, it was their turn to ride the roller coaster. Sherry and Rachel sat together, and Dave sat behind them with a young boy.

“Hang on tight and get ready to scream,” Sherry hollered in Rachel’s ear as the coaster moved forward. “This will probably be the most exciting part of your day!”

As the Wild Mouse climbed higher and higher, Rachel hung on to the bar in front of her until her knuckles turned white. Suddenly, the roller coaster made a sharp turn, and down…down they went!

Rachel’s stomach seemed to fly up, and her breath caught in her throat. When she opened her mouth to scream—
gulp!
—her gum slid down her throat! She’d forgotten to spit it out.

She swallowed a couple more times. Then she clung tighter to the bar and screamed as the roller coaster dipped up and down and rocked side to side. No wonder they called it the Wild Mouse!

When the coaster stopped, Rachel’s legs shook so much she could barely stand.

“That was sure fun! Let’s get in line and go again!” Sherry shouted.

Dave looked at Sherry as if he didn’t believe her. “I thought you were hungry.”

“I was, but my hunger’s gone, and I want to ride again.” Sherry looked at Rachel. “What about you? Wouldn’t you like to ride the Wild Mouse one more time?”

Rachel shook her head. “I’ve had enough of wild rides for now. But if you two want to go again, I’ll wait here for you.”

“The line’s gotten even longer, so it might be some time before we get on,” Sherry said.

Dave handed Rachel a few dollars. “Why don’t you get something to eat? If you’d like to look around a bit, that’s okay, too.” He glanced at his watch. “It’s eleven thirty now, so make sure you’re back here by twelve thirty. If our ride’s over before then, we may decide to go on something else, but we’ll meet you here, and then we’ll have lunch.”

“Okay, thank you.” Rachel headed for the nearest stand selling cotton candy. She bought some and was about to sit on a bench when
—thunk
!—a teenage boy bumped her arm, and the cotton candy went right in her face!

“Sorry,” he mumbled as he dashed away.

Rachel licked her lips to get the cotton candy off, but she could feel it on her cheeks and her nose. She ate the rest of the cotton candy and went to find a restroom.

After she’d washed the mess off her face, she looked for a drinking fountain. She bent over, took a drink, and let the cool water roll around on her tongue before she swallowed again.

An elderly couple walked by, and Rachel asked them, “Excuse me, but do you know what time it is?”

“Ten minutes to twelve,” the man answered.

“Thanks.” Rachel walked until she came to a sign pointing to Zoo America, which she realized was another part of the park. She remembered her cousin Mary saying in one of her letters that she’d visited a zoo in northern Indiana. It sounded like a lot of fun, and Rachel had been envious. Now she could visit a zoo, too.

Rachel followed the signs pointing to the zoo, but when she got to the entrance, she saw there was an admission fee. Since she’d spent the money Dave had given her on cotton candy, she couldn’t go inside.

As Rachel walked away, she spotted a young boy eating a soft pretzel.
That pretzel sure looks good
, she thought.
I wish I had some money to buy one
.

She wandered on, her mouth watering as she watched people eating ice cream, popcorn, and caramel apples. Oh, how she wished she could buy something to eat.

She stopped to watch teenagers try to pop some balloons with darts. When she moved on, she heard music and spotted a strolling guitar player and a man playing a drum.

Someone dressed in a candy bar costume asked if Rachel would like her picture taken. She shook her head and hurried on.

Next, she went into a gift shop where they sold T-shirts with the word H
ERSHEY
written on the front. There were also a bunch of key chains and several shelves full of souvenirs.

I wonder what Jacob would say if he knew where I was, she wondered. I’ll bet he’d be jealous
.

Rachel could hardly wait to write Mary and tell her about the exciting time at Hershey Park! She was sure she would always remember this day.

Her stomach rumbled noisily. She stopped and asked another lady what time it was.

The woman looked at her watch. “It’s twelve fifteen.”

“Okay, thanks.” Rachel decided to head back to the Wild Mouse roller coaster, figuring Sherry and Dave would be off the ride by now and were probably waiting for her. But when Rachel reached the Wild Mouse, she couldn’t find Sherry or Dave. She wondered if they’d gone on another ride.

She nibbled on a fingernail.
Should I wait here or walk around some more?

The sun beat on Rachel’s head, and she wiped her sweaty forehead with the back of her hand. It had turned into such a sticky day! Maybe another drink of water would help.

Rachel spotted a drinking fountain and was almost there when she noticed some money on the ground.

She looked around, wondering who had dropped it, but the people walking by didn’t seem to notice.

Rachel bent and snatched it up. Her mouth dropped open when she saw that it was a twenty-dollar bill!
With this much money, I could buy something to eat, she thought. And since I don’t know who dropped the money, I guess it’s okay to keep it
.

She hurried to the nearest refreshment stand and bought a hot dog. She took a big bite. “Mmm…this tastes wunderbaar.”

She still had plenty of money, so when she finished the hot dog, she decided to play a few games of ring toss. She did quite well and had soon won a stuffed bear. Excited, she kept playing until she’d won a souvenir T-shirt and a matching hat.

Finally, the money was gone, so Rachel headed back to the Wild Mouse. She was disappointed to see that Dave and Sherry still weren’t there.

She walked up to a teenage girl waiting in line and said, “Do you know what time it is?”

The girl looked at her watch. “One o’clock.”

Rachel’s heart started to pound. It was thirty minutes past the time she was supposed to meet Sherry and Dave! Could they have left the park and gone home without her?

S
tay calm. Don’t panic, Rachel told herself. Sherry and Dave wouldn’t have left without me. They must be here someplace. Oh, I hope they’re still here
.

Rachel sat on a bench and placed the things she’d won beside her. She drew in a couple of shaky breaths. Dave had told her to meet them by the Wild Mouse roller coaster at twelve thirty. If he and Sherry had arrived at that time and had seen that she wasn’t there, what might they have done?

Think, Rachel, think. Maybe they went looking for me. Maybe I should look for them. She rubbed her forehead and tried to relax. But where? Hershey Park is so big. I might spend all day looking and never find them!

An elderly woman sat beside Rachel. “It’s sure warm today,” she said, fanning her face with her hands.

Rachel nodded.

The woman frowned. “If I’d known it was going to be this hot, I wouldn’t have come here with my son and his family. I would have stayed home where it’s air conditioned.”

Rachel swallowed around the lump in her throat. “If I’d known I was going to lose my friends, I wouldn’t have come here either.”

The woman raised her eyebrows. “Are you lost?”

Rachel shrugged. “I–I’m not really lost, but I was supposed to meet my friends here, and I don’t know where they are.”

The woman squeezed Rachel’s arm. “Why don’t we go to the Lost and Found booth? Maybe your friends are waiting there.”

Hope welled in Rachel’s chest. “Do you think so?”

“There’s only one way to find out. Let’s go see.” The woman took Rachel’s hand, and they walked through the crowd until they came to a booth marked L
OST AND
F
OUND
.

“This young girl has lost her friends,” the woman said to the man who sat behind the counter. “Has anyone been here looking for her?”

The man studied Rachel and shook his head. “No one I know of has asked about anyone who looks like you. What’s your name?”

“Rachel Yoder.”

“Sorry, but no one’s come by asking for anyone by that name.” The man motioned to a bench. “Why don’t you have a seat, and I’ll call your friends’ names over the loudspeaker. If they’re in the park, they should hear my message.”

“O–okay.” Rachel sat down and placed the things she’d won in her lap.

“What are your friends’ names?” he asked.

“The girl’s name is Sherry, and her brother is Dave.”

“What’s their last name?”

Rachel’s forehead wrinkled as she tried to remember. She thought Sherry had mentioned her last name when they’d met at the farmers’ market last summer, but she couldn’t think of what it was. “I—uh—can’t remember,” she mumbled.

The man frowned, and he looked at Rachel as if he didn’t quite believe her. “You don’t know your friends’ last name?”

She shook her head.

He shrugged and picked up the speakerphone. “Attention: Sherry and Dave. Would you please report to the Lost and Found to pick up your friend Rachel?” The man’s voice boomed out over the speakers, and Rachel felt a surge of hope. If Sherry and Dave were still in the park, they were bound to hear their names being called and come to get her.

The elderly woman looked at her watch. “I’d like to wait with you, Rachel, but I’m supposed to meet my son and his family at Chocolate World in ten minutes.”