Prompt 9

May 9th

Find a photo and write what’s not in the picture.

In the prompt below, you are going to meet one of my favorite characters that I have ever written, Patrick. I don't actually remember when I first wrote his first scene, but he has been a favorite of mine for a very long time. He is a side character in my novel that I am writing called What I Know. He is the night concierge at the hotel that Westley, the narrator of this scene, works at. Patrick hates his job very much and lets everyone around him know this fact. Normally, he is someone who yells at everyone around him and swears all the time even at his job. He somewhat gets away with it because his uncle is the owner of the hotel, but he yells at him about it all the time.  

The scene below was an idea that came into my head as soon as I picked the picture out for the prompt. It was a lot of fun getting back into this world and with these characters again. I hope you enjoy your time with Westley and Patrick. 

        I stood off the side of the Ferris Wheel at the Smithsville Spring carnival. It had been years since I had last been at it, probably during my senior year of high school. Gloria always enjoyed going on the Ferris Wheel. I could still hear her and Marissa when they had gone on it that year and sang the song "On Top of the World" by Boys Like Girls from the very top of it. They both had powerful lungs. On that day, I was almost in the exact same place as I was this time around. Off from the left of the Ferris Wheel beside the deep-fried Oreo stand. They were one of my favorite things to eat at the carnival when I was a teenager. I would get one every single night it was in town. Sometimes two of them if I really felt like it. 

        Over the years the stand had been moved to the other side of the carnival. I had not had one since the last time that I was there, and I had one in my hands at that moment as I watched the Ferris Wheel spinning through the sky. The music from the bandstand filled the park around me along with the screams of everyone else around. 

        A lot had changed in the five years since I had been there. An obvious thing was not waiting for someone to come off of the Ferris Wheel. The most obvious thing was that I was standing beside my "favorite coworker" Patrick. Who was holding cotton candy in his left hand and a candied apple in the other hand. Patrick actually had a smile on his face for the longest time since I had met him. He actually was laughing as he alternated what he was eating every couple of minutes. It might have been the sugar or maybe the man had finally lost the little bit of sanity that he had left. Whatever it was that brought this change to him, I will never know but I was scared that he might snap at any minute. So I was treading very lightly with him that night. 

        I still don't know how I even invited him with me if I'm going, to be honest. One minute I was telling him before my shift that I was going to be going to visit my parents. Then I somehow got into the subject of the carnival and the next thing I knew Patrick had invited himself to come with me to see my parents. They were thrilled to meet my "friend" and I couldn't tell them that he wasn't a friend right in front of his face. From the minute we got to my parents' house, he never left my side and actually smiled at my parents. I just stood there gaping at the sight because Patrick didn't smile. Patrick screamed at people, but with my parents, he was so polite. 

   It was as if I was in some kind of different reality or like he had switched personalities with someone. And as we stood beside the Ferris Wheel watching it spin, I waited for him to snap out of whatever was going on. That never happened though to my utter surprise. The next thing I knew he was pulling my hand and dragging me onto the Ferris Wheel. I have always hated heights but good lord I was not going to get on Patrick’s bad side. He was literally bouncing up and down in the seat, when we slowly rose into the air, as people were filling up the different carts. Then we started to spin after the last people were seated. I had my eyes closed tight as we spun, but I could hear Patrick in the other seat.

        “Open your eyes, Adams,” Patrick said with utter joy in his voice. 

        I opened my eyes in an instant because I wanted to see what could bring so much joy to Patrick’s voice. There we were, still at the very top of the Ferris Wheel, apparently, something was wrong with it. They had to stop for a little bit. We found that out after they got us off in another twenty minutes. Lights and colors flashed on all of the rides surrounding, beautiful in the darkness. I looked down in amazement at the sight and never even realized how long we were sitting there in the cart. We both watched the sights going around us in complete silence and joy. 

        When we finally got to my parents’ house that night, I could still see that sight down below us. And to this day, I still picture it sometimes when I let my mind wander back to that weekend. Patrick and I went back home that Sunday and everything went back to normal. Patrick was back to his old self, screaming at quests at the hotel and singing his theme song as he called it. "Bitch your eyes are so damn ugly" It was as if the weekend never happened and I was fine with that.