Colorblind by Siera Maley

ridiculous with one arm in the air and my fingers interlocked with Chloe’s as she screamed wildly over the next drop. I attempted a small squeal that sounded more like a dying seal than anything else, and then kept my mouth firmly shut for the rest of the ride.
    When it finally came to an end and we were freed, my legs were wobbly. Chloe found that hilarious.
    I sat on a bench just outside the ride while Chloe went to get ice cream, and by the time she came back, I’d managed to catch my breath. “So what’d you think?” she asked, grinning. “Kinda fun? Just a little?”
    “That was an experience,” I conceded. “One I’ll never have again, but I’m sure when I’m old I’ll cherish this memory. Really, really old.”
    “I’ll take it.” She took a seat next to me and handed me my cone. “We can go do the kiddie rides again.”
    “No way. You should go find your dad,” I suggested. “I can hang out with your mom while you guys do all the scary stuff.”
    “You don’t have to do that. I’m not gonna leave you alone with my mother just so I can ride some extra rides. I’ll do it some other time.”
    “That’s sweet. Thank you.” I smiled at her, licked at my cone, and then, mouth full, demanded, “Go find your dad.”
    “Harper-”
    “Chloe, go. Seriously. It won’t kill me to get to know your mom. Just be careful.”
    “You sure?” She looked concerned, but one of her legs was bouncing with excitement. She probably hadn’t even noticed.
    “Positive. Just tell them to meet us here and we’ll switch up the pairs. No big deal.”
    A smile broke out across her face and she squealed quietly as she threw her arms around me, ice cream cone and all. “You’re perfect.”
    “Remember this moment next time I host a Marilyn Monroe themed movie night, no action movies included,” I mumbled and then laughed when she groaned into my neck.
     
    * * *
     
    Mrs. Stephens and I went straight to the kiddie section of the park, where I belonged, and spent a couple of hours embarrassing ourselves by being the only guests in the park over four feet tall on almost everything we rode.
    “I never got to take Chloe on these types of rides when she was a kid,” she told me during ride number three. “She and her dad were certainly cut from the same cloth. We couldn’t take her to places like this until she met the height requirements for the thrill rides, because otherwise there was no point in going.”
    “So she’s always been like that,” I mused. “Total adrenaline junkie.”
    “She gets it from her father. And his father. Her grandfather passed away about a decade ago, and one of the last things he told her was not to waste a second of life. I swear, that man’ll get her killed one day, the way she leaps into things without thinking about them first. I’m surprised my heart’s still functioning.”
    I didn’t reply. Our line moved forward, and Hayley shuffled ahead of me. After a moment, I followed, half-hoping for a change in subject.
    “So you and Chloe seem to be close. She talks about you quite a lot for someone she’s only known a month.”
    That wasn’t exactly the change of subject I’d been hoping for.
    Inwardly, I cringed and tried to think of an appropriate response in an appropriate amount of time. But I’d never been anywhere close to in this position before, and the result was a long, awkward silence that Hayley had to break herself.
    “Sorry to put you on the spot like that, Harper. You seem like a sweet girl. I’m glad Chloe has a friend. She had trouble back where we used to live.”
    “Trouble?” I echoed, confused.
    “She had some problems with making friends. The kind she could bring home and have sleepovers with. She’s always been very blunt and I think a lot of time that doesn’t sit well with other kids your age.”
    “I think I like blunt sometimes,” I told her. “Blunt makes everything easier.”
    She laughed lightly. “Well, at any rate, I’m glad Chloe