Page 165 of A Dead Girl's Guide to Living
“Agreed,” Ellis murmured with a nod, finishing her burger and balling up her foil as well. “I know we need to get to Jedd’s, but this is one stop we can’t skip.”
So it was decided.
We stood and began walking toward the Ferris wheel, following its towering height and eyeing the small shops along the way. The air was warm, and it wasn’t too windy as we moved through the crowd. My space buns had held together with only the slightest strands slipping free, an improvement on their usual fall-apart state.
Somewhere along the pier, a busker strummed a guitar and sang into a crackling microphone. I couldn’t place the song, but it felt familiar, soothing, adding to the joyful atmosphere surrounding us. Kids shrieked, running past with bags of popcorn and cotton candy. A pair of gulls argued over a French fry dropped carelessly on the planks.
It all smelled and sounded like life, and my gaze slid to Ellis, who was drinking it all in like a sponge soaking up water. Part of me was struck again by how stark and barren her life had been, and at how extraordinary she must find all of this.
I blinked up at the Ferris wheel as we drew closer. From afar it had looked almost toy-like, a slow-turning halo stitched into the sky, its bulbs flashing bright colors. But up close, it was mammoth, the colorful floating cars popping against the white rails like gems.
We joined the short line, and Ellis bounced on the balls of her feet, her face eager, her eyes alight.
“Imagine getting to the top and scattering Margaret’s ashes,” Liv said with a snort. “Shower everyone below in her dust.”
“Jesus, Liv,” I said, though a laugh escaped me nonetheless. “I didn’t come all this way just to end up in jail.”
“Well, it certainly started out like that,” Ellis said, giving me a shifty look. “Breaking and entering, remember?”
“You loved it,” Liv said with a grin. “That was arush.”
“I can assure you Ididn’tlove it,” Ellis said as we shuffled forward in line, the wheel slowing to fill the cars. “I’m just saying there’s still time left on this trip to end up in jail.”
“Don’t give me any ideas,” Liv muttered.
When we reached the cars, the attendant swung the door open and waved us in. I stepped into the cramped space and perched on the bench, breathing in the mingled scent of damp metal, rust, and salty beach air. My chest gave a strange lift-and-drop sensation.
I loved a Ferris wheel.
Ellis slid onto the bench beside me, and when the attendant latched the gate, I realized no one had queued behind us.
“All to ourselves,” Ellis said with a grin.
The car lurched as the wheel began to move, and we both let out small shrieks before breaking into laughter. Liv leanedhalfway out the side, as usual. The pier dropped steadily away, the arcade, the restaurants, and the Route 66 sign shrinking beneath us.
The Pacific widened before us, the horizon drawn as if someone had taken a ruler to the world. The higher we climbed, the more endless everything seemed.
Ellis let out a rush of breath beside me as she looked outward, and my gaze slid to her profile—the strong line of her nose, the way her long lashes cast shadows across her cheekbones. I still remembered this morning, those brief minutes before Liv had disturbed us, her bare legs tangled with mine, the halting, secret hunger in the way she had leaned into me.
Heat swept through my body, and my hand rested lightly over hers on the bench.
She glanced at me quickly, a small smile tugging at her lips, a faint flush coloring her cheeks, before she turned back to the view. I followed her gaze.
“This is awesome,” I murmured, awe spilling over me. I wondered if Margaret had ever ridden the wheel during all her journeys. She had done readings here once, long ago.
The car jerked to a sudden stop, and we shrieked again, Liv snorting.
“People are being let on.” Her eyes narrowed with a cheeky glint. “We’re almost at the top. You know what that means?”
“What?” Ellis asked innocently, and I liked her that little bit more.
“You kiss at the top of a Ferris wheel, dummy,” Liv said, her tone dripping with duh.
“Oh!” Ellis said, blinking before grinning at me. “Okay.”
We jerked forward once more, but not for long—we halted again.
“We’re at the top,” Liv said. “Nowkiss.”
