One of the activities that I looked up to was a trip to the fair, for which the school made an arrangement for final-year students of the elementary class as a social activity send-off. Though at the age of eleven, my testosterone had sent signals of emotional desires and lustful affection to Adenike, my classmate whose beauty mesmerized me and her smiles, which were often, and had my head running over heels. She was quiet and respectful; her friends were few, and I could not explain what constantly drew me to her. I wished my timidity could be erased with a snap; however, here I sat on an elevated chair, sipping a vanilla-flavored juice, lost in thought of missing the opportunity to join Adenike on the ferris wheels. My mom has never seen any reason to fight for anything, and perhaps her contentment with life rubbed on my timidity and introverted state.
I saw Kola and his friends point towards where I sat and burst into laughter. I managed to withhold the tear that threatened to freely flow. I tried to look away from them, but I found myself stuck in a painful state at the ferry wheel where Kola and his friends boarded. Adenike had been rolled up in the mid-sky, and I could barely make out her figure from the seats. Thankfully, the sun was in the opposite direction, and my eyes were spared the scorching effect. Soon, the wheels began to roll, and gradually, the momentum increased. I watched with a dampening spirit as those onboard the ferry wheels began to shout in excitement. "What if the wheels begin to roll uncontrollably?" The awkward thought hit me, and as much as I wouldn't mind such a thing because of Kola and his goons, the thought of Adenike being a victim of such a scary incident quickly doused my mind.
"The wheels wouldn't stop; something is not right, James. Call the engineer in charge immediately!" I heard the man I earlier saw checking tickets shout at another man; his expression was laced with concern and fear. My heart suddenly jacked up erratically as I saw the man, James, hurriedly disappear in search of the engineer. My eyes darted hastily between the ticket officer and the ferry wheels, hoping that a miracle would bring it to a stop. The shout of excitement from the children soon turned into an obvious shout of despair; onlookers soon gathered, and the earlier fun fair suddenly transformed into one of concern. It was past an hour, and the wheels wouldn't just stop!
"Excuse me, sir." I said this to the ticket officer.
"Not now, boy; you can see we are in the middle of a situation!" He replied, taking his face away as quickly as he looked at me.
"Is there no control switch for the whole fair?" I asked again, tapping him. He froze for a moment, and as though struck by lightning, he zoomed off and disappeared into the crowd. My heart continued to beat erratically, desperate for a miracle for dusk was fast approaching. Some of the children had begun throwing up. Barely five minutes after the ticket officer disappeared, the power supply in the fun fair shut down, and the crowd sighed in relief as the wheel's momentum waned to a stop. The children were helped out of their chairs by a waiting medical team that quickly attended to them.
"Are you alright?" I rushed to Adenike's, whose expression bore that of discomfort and whose eyes were teary. I took her hands in mine for a while, only to be overtaken by a medic's. I watched as she was attended to, my heart beating gradually finding ease within my chest. Kola and his friends were equally attended to by the medics. I was glad none of them were hurt.
"And what's your name, boy?" I turned to see the ticket man standing right behind me. He gave me a pat on the shoulder and said, 'Thank you very much. May I know your name?'.
"I'm Greg, sir."
"Thank you, Greg."
The crowd soon dissipated as the atmosphere returned to normalcy. The following day was declared a day off by one of the instructors that took us to the fair, as communicated by the school headmaster.
The following week, news spread among learners and instructors, and my name soon became popular as one that saved the day. My classmates wanted to associate with me, but what I cherished most was Adenike's. Kola and his friends walked up to me even though I could detect some unexpressed pride as they appreciated me for saving the day. Little did I know that I was already becoming a celebrity, one that I did not hesitate to align myself with Adenike, who gracefully reciprocated my hand of friendship.