The moment they're over the wall, it hits them.
Freedom.
That delicious, giddy kind of thrill you only get when you know you're doing something you shouldn't be doing.
Sneha: "Okay, no sudden movements. Act normal."
Ami: "We literally just jumped a wall. Pretty sure normal is out of the question."
Soha: "Pfft, speak for yourself. I'm radiating innocence right now."
Saad: "Yeah, if innocence had a guilty face."
The sun is warm .
They walk away from the school wall, careful not to look back. The group heads toward the bus stop, footsteps quick and light with excitement.
The bus stop is completely deserted under the blazing noon sun.
Ami checks the map on her phone, squinting at the screen. "A bus is coming in five minutes."
They stand in a lazy half-circle, chatting to kill time.
Sneha: "So, what's first at the park? Rides? Food? Both?"
Dylan: "Rides. Food after. I'm not cleaning up anyone's lunch mid-rollercoaster."
Saad: "Weak. I say food first, rides second-adds an element of danger."
Soha: "Adds an element of vomit, you mean."
Exactly five minutes later-
Soha: "The bus is coming!"
Saad: "Muahaha! Our entire future now depends on this one bus!"
Sneha: "Oh yeah? If you end up living on this bus, don't bother getting off at the amusement park."
Saad [glaring]: "Excuse me?!"
Dylan: "Alright, enough. Everyone, get in. Now."
They board the almost-empty bus.
Ami and Sneha grab a double seat near the back.
Soha and Dylan sit together a row ahead. Saad stands proudly by the back door like he owns the entire space.
The bus begins to roll.
Heat waves shimmer on the road ahead. Everyone grows quiet for a moment as the scenery starts to change.
Suddenly, they pass a lake. The sparkling water comes into view through the scratched-up window.
Saad: "Whoa, water! You know what? We seriously need a swimming pool day soon."
Sneha: "Yeah, yeah. You just wanna dive and drown for fun."
Ami: "Wouldn't that solve half our problems, though?"
Saad: "The betrayal!"
Soha: "I can swim. I'll save him… if I feel like it."
Dylan: "Nah, we'd need a lifeguard for the lifeguard."
They arrive at the amusement park a little later, the place buzzing with children, vendors, and chaotic energy.
Soha: "So, what's first?"
Saad: "Haunted house. No question."
Soha: "Ugh. Worst place ever. Do we have to?"
Dylan: "It's alright, Soha. I'll protect you."
Soha blushes, mumbling: "It's not that I'm scared, I just… don't trust those creepy mannequins."
Sneha: "Awwww. That's adorable. Now move your butts!"
Ami: "I'll go get the tickets."
They enter the haunted house.It's pitch dark except for the faint green glow of fake slime on the walls.
Boom!
A ghost figure drops from the ceiling with a loud screech.
Soha: [Screams bloody murder.]
Saad: [grinning, recording the whole thing on his phone] "This is GOLD."
Dylan [reaches out and grabs Soha's hand gently, giving it a reassuring squeeze.]
Sneha [stands frozen, her eyes wide as if her soul has temporarily exited her body.]
Ami, [without thinking-throws a punch.]
Her fist lands square on the guy in the ghost costume.
Ghost guy: "AHH-again?! This is the third time today!"
Saad is laughing so hard he's doubled over. "No one messes with Ami and survives."
Ami:"Sorry! Reflex! My brain was like 'run' but my arm was like 'nah, I got this.'"
Ghost guy: "It's fine… this is literally my job… getting punched for scaring people." [sniffles].
Out of the haunted house, everyone's still recovering.
Sneha: "fu*k , that was the scariest sh*t, I've experienced this year. I'll take the roller coaster over that any day."
Saad: "Ahem. Then why are we still standing here? Let's go."
Soha: "Nahh, I'm heading to the washroom."
Dylan: "Alright. I'll go ride the roller coaster."
Ami: "Feels like we're about to board a tsunami."
They get the tickets and line up.
Four of them board the coaster.
It's chaos.
Ami and Dylan are holding on for dear life, screaming with every twist.
Sneha and Saad, on the other hand, are acting like they're in a music video-arms in the air, wind in their faces, laughing like maniacs.
When it finally ends, Ami stumbles off like a drunk person.
Ami: "My soul left my body back at the third turn."
Saad: "You're welcome. That was therapy."
They hit ride after ride.
Bumper cars.
A pirate ship.
The spinning cups that made Soha beg for mercy.
A horror tunnel with questionable safety. One ride nearly throws Dylan's cap off into another dimension.
Eventually, they make their way to the ferris wheel.
Soha and Dylan get on first and share a cabin.
Saad immediately grabs Ami's wrist.
Saad: "Come on, you're sitting with me!"
Sneha: appearing out of nowhere "HEY! She's sitting with me!"
Saad: "Excuse me?! No, no, no-she's clearly mine for this ride."
Ami: "AHHH. You know what? You two go together. I'm not getting in the middle of this drama."
She steps back, and the operator shuffles them along.
Sneha and Saad end up in the same seat. Begrudgingly.
The wheel starts.
Sneha: "Sitting with you was a mistake,uff!!!"
Saad: "Ahhh this pain,I need Ami ~This Sneha creature is too much for me."
Sneha: whacks him repeatedly with her cotton candy stick "Creature? CREATURE?!"
From another cabin above, Ami yells down: "Saad! If you make her drop that cotton candy, I'm not sharing mine!"
Saad: pretending to be in agony "First my dignity, now my dessert…"
Later, they gather around a bench, tired and laughing.
Soha: "You know what would be perfect? Cold drinks and cotton candy."
Ami: "Okay, okay, I'm going. Let me stretch my legs."
Saad: "If you're going, I'm coming too."
Sneha: "Huh?! No, I'll go with her!"
Ami: "Oh my god. Not again .Fine! BOTH of you go .Let me breath."
Saad pouts. "Ugh. Stuck with Sneha again."
He and Sneha head toward the stalls anyway.
As they walk-
Sneha: side-eyeing him "You like Ami, don't you?"
Saad: [chokes on his own breath ]"Damn. Busted already?"
Sneha: "Bruh, you're not exactly subtle. So, you planning anything? You want help?"
Saad: "I mean... if it happens, it happens. If not, meh. But yeah. Help wouldn't hurt."
Sneha: "Only if you treat her right. Got it?" [punches his arm]
Saad: "Obviously." (Saad's POV: But does it even matter when Dio still exists?)
They return with drinks and cotton candy.
Everyone eats, laughs, takes blurry selfies, and just lets go.
They ride one more spinning swing before they finally call it a day.
Back on the bus, no one talks much. They're sun-soaked, exhausted, but glowing with the high of rebellion and freedom.
The setting sun throws gold through the scratched windows. Saad leans his head back, Sneha dozes off against the glass, Dylan is watching the sky, and Soha's hand rests lightly on her bag in her lap.
As the school boundary looms back into view, Ami smiles to herself.
She has her people.
Her chaos.
Her moments.
And that's enough.