Jake Maia Arlow - Almost Flying

MY heart starts thumping before the video even loads. And then it pounds even harder as Mega Drop Unhinged (If You Dont Puke, Were Not Doing Our Job!) comes into view. I cant believe I havent watched a POV video for this roller coaster before.

The opening shot is a sweeping look at the whole ride. Its taller than every other coaster in the park by a mile, its steel track stretching up into the sky. Human beings shouldnt be able to hurtle through its giant loops and twists and (mega) drops and come out unharmed.

But somehow, we can. And somehow, its the most amazing thing in the world.

Well, okay, fine. I dont actually know how amazing it is in real life. The truth is, Ive never been on a roller coaster. But Ive watched pretty much every roller coaster point of view video in existence, and that has to count for something.

So, theres that opening shot of the ride, and then the perspective switches so that its like Im sitting in the front row of the roller coaster. Thats what the camera positions like in all POV videos. Theres excited chatter behind me, which dies down as a voice crackles over the loudspeaker. Keep your arms and legs inside the coaster at all times. The ride groans, releasing a burst of air. Now, sit back, relax, and try not to think about that Mega Drop!

The roller coaster rumbles and creaks, and we start climbing. I keep my head as close to the screen as possible, so its almost like Im actually on the ride. In the video, its a cloudless day and the way were tilted back makes it feel like were just going to keep riding up into the sky forever.

But then we get to the top. There are a few seconds where I cant see the track in front of me and I cant see anything below me and its just blue going on and on and on and theres no horizon and maybe no one else in the whole universe.

I want to stay here, in this moment before the drop, a little while longer. So I pause the video.

It really does feel like Im in another world when Im watching roller coaster POVs. Its a world where the sky is always blue and cloudless. Where youre safely flung through the air on a set track with a group of happily screaming riders sitting right behind you.

Most of all, its like another world because of the whole never-been-on-a-roller-coaster thing.

I know thats super weird, that I watch these videos when Ive never been on one. I first found POVs when I was trying to convince my dad to take me to an amusement park, but that was like a year ago and we still havent gone. I thought I could use the videos when I presented the idea to him, but I never even made it that far.

I felt guilty about wanting to ask him to take me somewhere so expensive, and somewhere where he couldnt just hop on his computer and send a spreadsheet over to his boss if he needed to, because he always needs to.

I dont want to sound like Im not happy watching POVs, though. Like, theyre the best.

But that doesnt matter. Because thisll finally be the summer where I ride an actual roller coaster. I know my dads saved up a bit of money since last year, and I just need to convince him that its worth it, even if it is expensive.

And now its crunch time: There are only three weeks left of the whole summer. Three weeks to make this happen.

I just need a good plan.

The problem is, Im completely terrible at coming up with ideas. Abby was the one who always came up with our schemes, so this is new for me. And if Abby hadnt ditched me, I bet Id already have been to, like, every amusement park in the country.

And there it is again.

That feeling I get when I think about Abby. Its how I imagine Id feel if I was riding a roller coaster with a drop that went on forever: close to puking, too weighed down by gravity to move. Miserable.

I take a deep breath and press the space bar on my dads laptop to start the video back up, which immediately makes me feel a thousand times better. The person holding the camera angles it down so you can see the drop, and my heart is pounding because it feels like Im about to drop.

In the distance, theres this parking lot with all these tiny cars and trees. But the coaster is so high up that its barely visible. Its like the only things that exist are the roller coaster and the sky.

Suddenly the train cant hold still any longer and were zooming down the track and I can almost feel my stomach flip and then the camera is upside down and the person filming is screaming and the sound of the wind is so loud and I know I should lower the volume but I dont because you cant lower the volume in real life. And I hear something that sounds like knocking at a door, but I figure it must just be the car rattling on the turquoise tracks so I keep twisting my body along with the videoleft and right and left and right and

DALIA!

Oh.

I pull out my earbuds and slam the computer shut.

Can I come in? my dad asks.

Uh, one sec!

I grab the nearest book and open it to a random page so that when he comes in, itll look like I was reading.

I dont even really know why I hide the videos from him. Its the only thing in my whole life that my dad doesnt know about. Were close like that. Which makes sense, because all we have is each other.

We spend a ton of time together, so sometimes its tough to hide the POVs from him. We even have a shared weekly schedule. Like on Sundays, well ride our bikes down to the bay and spend the mornings there, and if its low tide well look for horseshoe crabs. Theyre usually dead, which is kind of sad, but my dad does this thing where hell pick them up by their tail and pretend theyre talking to me. Hell make them say things like Helloooo Dalia, would you like to play? in a creepy voice that makes me laugh so hard.