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The sound of the roller coaster whooshing by right above us thrilled me even more. It was like this whole place was giving me the energy I needed to nail this story. The bright and colorful lights at the carousel gave me my confidence. The joyful laughter of children running around gave me my determination. The cheerful music playing throughout Coaster Paradise gave me my drive. I couldn’t really describe it better than that. I was really just hyped to do this! And to prove to Ben Oviatt that he was wrong about me, of course!
“So, would a quick tour work for the story? How do you want to do this, Olivia?” Mark asked as he positioned the camera on his shoulder.
I was struck with a brilliant idea.
“Do we have any action cameras?”
Mark, in slight confusion, slowly lowered his gear and furrowed his eyebrows at me. I only responded with a sly grin.
“I don’t think I like where this is going.”
But Mark had no choice. Actually, I just didn’t listen to his warnings. There was something I wanted to do, and dammit, I was going to do it. Because I could do whatever I wanted.
And that was how I found myself strapped in the front seat of the roller coaster with an action camera set in front of me. I could see Mark triple-checking to make sure that the camera wasn’t going to fall off while we zoomed through the air. I adjusted the lavalier microphone on my collar as the safety bar lowered.
“Are you sure you want to do this, Olivia?” Amanda asked me for probably the tenth time. “We’re happy if you just wanted to do something simple, like a tour. You really don’t need to do this.”
I waved off her concern for the tenth time that day.
“It’s fine. This is going to be so much fun. For me and the audience.”
She looked at me a little hesitantly, but realized there was nothing she could do. Even Mark gave in to my idea. He clearly knew when he could talk me out of something and when he couldn’t.
“Okay, well, we’re ready to go on your cue,” Amanda said, ready to signal the control booth.
Mark looked at me a bit worried, replacing his usual nonchalant attitude.
“If you break that camera, I’ll tell them it’s going to come out of your paycheck.”
I threw my hands over my heart.
“Really Mark? You think I’d break your camera? And you don't have just an itty-bitty amount of concern for your dear colleague? I thought we were friends, Mark!” My voice was dripping with sarcasm and Mark just rolled his eyes, giving into a laugh.
God, I was just so full of energy that I was practically bursting! Where was all of this buzz when I yawned in front of my boss yesterday?
“We’re going on your signal, Olivia,” Mark informed me as he watched the monitor that was remotely connected to the action camera.
I closed my eyes for a couple of seconds while taking a deep breath. Ben Oviatt’s words echoed through my head.
“If you fail to impress me with your next assignment, don’t bother coming back.”
My smile slowly turned into seriousness as I held the safety bar with a death-grip. I screamed internally, feeling a newly-lit fire burn through me.
“Ready?” Mark and Amanda were both watching me and waiting.
“Let’s do this.” With that, the roller coaster slowly started its ascent.
When it reached the top and started to tip forward, I just knew that my life was about to change.
I really,reallywanted to present that story right in front of everyone and Ben Oviatt himself. But our drive back from Syracuse to Manhattan took way longer than what the GPS said, and we actually missed the pitch meeting. I knew we should have left immediately, but I had to stop and get some food before leaving. My stomach had been jumbled after the coaster ride, but when it settled, I was immediately famished.
“Dammit!” I exclaimed to the almost empty newsroom. A couple of video editors looked at me with an amused expression, but I ignored them.
“I can’t believe we missed the meeting,” I said to Mark, who was a few steps behind.
“I can’t believe you got all of that in onetake. That was so awesome, Olivia.” Mark laughed and shook his head.
“Well, I guess let’s just edit it down and we’ll present it tomorrow.” We headed to one of the editing bays, and Mark got everything set up. The frozen frame showed me and my excessively serious face before the roller coaster started.
