“Ahhhh,” screamed someone near me.  Fear rose in my throat as we plummeted downward, the ground rising up to meet me. This is the end, I thought.
“Isn’t this fun?” My mom asked over the roar of the roller coaster. She was obviously not worried. Instantly I forgot what she said, because the roller coaster had pulled me into its grip again.
  When we finally got off I looked over at my mom. Her hair was wild from the wind. My mom’s hair was a rich dark brown like the color of a chocolate bar. Her eyes were like pools of emeralds.  Her navy blue sweatshirt was around her waist, and her light pink shirt matched her jeans in a casual way.  Compared to me, with my strawberry blond hair, pulled back into a ponytail, and glasses that held deep blue eyes, she was so different than me.
“ Casey, do you want to sit down?” My mom asked. By the way she shuffled down the walkway, I could tell she was tired.
“ I mean, you don’t have to but….” my mom trailed off.  Usually I don’t want to relax at Cedar Point, but even I was tired after gymnastics the night before. I looked around and saw the Sky Ride.
“How about we go over there?” I asked. As we headed toward the Sky Ride, a way to travel around the park in things like hot air balloons but metal, I thought of how much fun it was to be here, especially as a 13 year old.  Soon we were in the air and the ground was just close enough to see the colors and movement of the people below.  The cool breeze refreshed me and soon I was relaxing. The peppy music they played was soothing, so I noticed when it stopped.  Suddenly the ride was off, which alerted my mom who pulled me close.  We waited and waited, our hearts thumping like a marching band stomping its beat.
“Help!” was ringing in my ears before I realized what it meant.  I leaned out the large window and saw something forever seared into my mind.  A tomato red coat was fluttering to the ground below.  I looked up to see a  woman, with what looked like a 7- year old, in her arms and a man clutching them with one arm as he braced them both against a side railing. The woman wore a light blue coat and their 7-year old wore a striped  t-shirt and jeans. The man had lost his coat and now wore a brown t-shirt himself.  The man’s face was contorted in a look of pain.  His face gleamed with sweat and he looked exhausted.
“We have to help,” I managed to squeak out of my dry throat.
“But how do we get there?” she asked her eyes wide with worry.  I looked up at my mom and told her I had to get out of there and help.  To describe the look of anger, confusion and fear that was in her eyes is impossible. She was as scared as I was. Now I realize how crazy I was being when I grabbed the pole and pulled myself up.
“No!” my mom screamed as she tried to grab me and drag me back in.  But it was too late to grab me.  What had once looked like a mix of colorful ants marching around now looked like a balloon that had popped and was flat and sad.  The height I had thought was so little before now seemed to be 1000 feet or more to me.  I froze, my muscles sore from hanging on. My fingers started to slip and they felt useless like limp noodles.  But I looked over at the people who were trapped and reached forward to get a new grip.  That’s when I lunged forward. Have you ever had a flashback?  I went back to my first gymnastics lesson.  I remember lunging for the next bar, I tried for hours until I succeeded. My teacher smiled down at me and helped me do it better.  I did not have hours this time.  I had one chance.  Soon I felt the cool metal in my tired fingers. What a relief, I thought.
“Grab my hand,” the man said. The pale-faced woman smiled down at me. My weight had leveled it enough for them to regain their balance.  We had to wait another hour for a helicopter.

“So, are you glad to be home?” I looked over at my mom and smiled at her question.
“I will never be bored again, because I saved three lives.  Does that answer your question?”  My mom smiled and laughed at my answer. I just had to laugh along. What could be better than this, I thought.

I stood at the Book Convention, my heart beating faster than ever.  Well, almost ever. My book had sold fast and I had answered a lot of things.  One little girl stood in front of me, her eyes as big as marshmallows. Her thick brown hair was pulled back into two pigtails. She clutched her light purple jacket close against herself.
“Is this really true?” She asked. I laughed and said yes.  I explained the story to her and she listened eagerly.  As she walked away I heard her say to her mom, 
“Can I do gymnastics?” I smiled as she walked away and another dazzled kid walked up. I looked at her and thought, what a story she could tell.