Candy's question caught me off guard and I quickly realized that I don't know. I don't know what we're going to do, I don't know how we're going to do it, I don't even know what we should do next. Does Candy know how unprepared I am for this? I'm sure she does. Either way, I inhale deeply and force a confident smile to come across my face.
"I know we'll figure it out. We've made it this far, right?"
After a few moments I realize my curiosity and restlessness was caused by the fact that I've never been in Red before.
"Let's go sight seeing."
I blink, taken aback by Jae's response. "Sight-seeing?"
"Yeah, why not?"
I scratch my head and stretch my legs, thinking about whether we had time to mess around. I go back to my original thought. Purple will be the same no matter when we get back. Brainwashed. Time is not of essence.
Hopping off the bed, I grin to Jae. "Alright. There are some places I never got to visit that I would like to see." The girl smiled back at me as we left the hotel room.
As we leave the hotel, somehow the landscape is even more beautiful than when I first saw it. The leaves on the trees were a bright and deep red, and the energy of the nearby citizens were bouncy and lively. Rather than staring and weird looks from everyone, all the people were in their own worlds. Hollering and yelling came from different directions, but it was all friendly and fun sounds. Even in Yellow, people didn't really know how to have fun, but here in Red, everything was alive, and I adored it with all my heart.
Jae marvels over the new sight. I normally would as well, but I enjoy watching her too. She seemed to be very isolated, as these new colors are almost surprising to her. As if it is weird that there are hues other than Yellow or Purple. Jae was someone colorblind wearing corrective lens for the second time. Jae is often scared, but I truly believe she is an optimist at core. I want to learn from her. She thanks me for helping her so much, but I still feel stuck.
I can hear the sounds of the feelings in me telling me I'm still lost. I'm never going to settle. I'll never find an adventure. I'll fail to succeed in my ambitions. I'll run out of things to explore. I can't save Purple. A small whisper of a voice broke through, but I didn't quite understand what it meant. "Delete the italics, and there is the truth." I shook my head and focused back on Jae.
hey guys welcome back to my youtube channel and today we'll be reviewing top ten edgiest rps
I'M SORRY THAT WAS SO RUDE OF ME I LOVE THAT THANKS RPING
Without warning, I side step into a nearby store, which turned out to be a clothes store. Of course, most of the clothes were different shades of red, but there were little spots of other colors. I focus my attention on a rack of hats, specifically the deep red beanie that hung from a rack. I pick it up and put it on my head, looking over at Candy, who I'd hoped followed me into the store.
"What do you think? Looks good?" I ask with a bit of a smirk as I look for the nearest mirror.
"Like a model," I laugh, finding a pink snap back. "We should all get hats! Let's find one for Adrian!" Jae nods her head as she poses in front of the mirror. I pose with her and snap a picture of us in our hats. I pretend to be in thought as I turn back to the hat rack.
"What would this boy wear, Jae? We need to make him like a hipster runway kid," I say with a devious grin.
I giggle as I turn, looking around to make sure no one is giving us any weird looks. I suddenly remembered how insecure I used to be about my hair. I haven't thought about people looking at my hair in so long. The thought almost brought down my mood, but instead I grab a random hat off the rack, which turned out to be a baseball hat that was a solid green color, and hold it up for Candy. "What do you think, is this hipster enough?" I pull a scarf from a rack next to Candy and place it next to the cap as if the two matched, before bursting into muffled laughter.
"Yes, totally!" I snickered as I pulled out the money to buy these ridiculous hats. As we left the store, somebody rammed into Jae and apologized without looking at us, as if he were in a hurry. I turned my head, thinking to myself of how rude he was. The apology was not sincere at all. I cursed at his stupid black curly hair and overly red flannel, but decided against speaking up.
As we walked towards downtown Red, I thought about what we needed. "We should go grocery shopping real quick."
As soon as we walked outside, some kid immediately rammed into me, nearly knocking the wind out of me as I tumble to the ground.
"Excuse me." He muttered, without missing a step or turning to look at us. I turn to look at him, his flaming red shirt already running off.
I turn back to Candy and look at her curiously.
"Well, that was weird. Anyway, what should we do next?"
Candy shrugs as she frowns at the boy.
"We should go grocery shopping real quick."
I nod as we make our way to the grocery store, entering it's contrasting atmosphere.
"What kind of food do you think Adrian would like?" I ask Candy as I immediately make my way to the food aisle. Strangely enough, I started to feel eyes on me. I looked around, but I didn't make eye contact with anyone, so maybe they were stealthy enough to turn away before I saw them. I tried to ignore it as we continued our shopping, but I found myself looking behind my shoulders often. Every time there was no one being suspicious, and everyone was wearing red, so no one really stood out and it was hard to keep track of someone.
"I don't know, but I hope he likes noodles. Let's also get more water bottles." We split up and started dumping loads of random necessities into our small basket. I noticed Jae had been constantly turning her head, wondering if she was admiring Red's odd supermarkets.
We made our way out and turned a random direction. Jae suggested the park, and I shrugged in agreement. As we walked in a comfortable silence, I eavesdropped on a couple in front of us.
"What do you wanna do?"
"Our next thing on our agenda is skydiving. Duh, I've been looking forward to this for days now!"
"Oh, right! Right right, let's go now!"
"It should be up ahead."
I exchanged glances with Jae. "I think I know what we should do next."
When we left the supermarket, I started to feel the eyes less often, but because I'd gotten so used to looking behind me and feeling such a paranoid sensation, I had created a habit. We start to head to the park, occasionally passing some particularly "red" people. At one point we passed a girl who was completely decked out in green clothing. It's not like that was new to me; there were tons of people in different colors walking around yellow.
"I think I know what we should do next."
Candy suddenly blurted. Blinking because I was completely lost in my own thoughts, I turn to Candy.
"What?" I ask, her mischievous smile sparking excited concern in me.
I tilted my head towards the couple who had gotten farther up ahead. "Skydiving," I smirked. "It's always been a thing I wanted to do, but you know, all my friends never wanted to go. Most of the time, they already had gone and didn't want to go again. Or, they didn't have time. Or, I didn't know them enough to ask them to come with me." I glanced towards Jae. "I know, really, we don't know each other that well either, but I still feel close. Does that make sense?
"Anyway, not the point. You up for it? I heard it was cooler than normal skydiving!"
I hesitate at the suggestion. Yellow is not nearly as exciting as Red, and this is quite a contrast to what I'm used to. However, it's not like I'll get this chance again. When's the next time I'll be in Red? Entire body shaking with excitement or nerves, I shrug my shoulders and flash a smile at Candy.
"Hell yeah, let's do it!"
I follow Candy as she follows the others to an open area that stretched for miles. It really put the distance that the train travels into perspective. I couldn't even see Orange from here. Around us were a lot of structures and buildings that probably helped with the skydiving. We entered one small building that would prepare us for what we're about to do. It suddenly occurred to me; isn't there something we have to do before we just walk in to go skydiving? Is skydiving that casual to these people?
After filling out a couple contracts and getting suited up, Jae and I were brought into a helicopter. The suits were actually red wing suits ans I felt somewhat like a bird. Fear and the wind left my skin in goosebumps, but I was ready.
The helicopter flew over the bright city over towards an area of Christmas colored trees dotting a high mountain valley. Eventually, they lingered over a specific spot and a pilot approached Jae, the rest of the strangers, and me. He handed us these strange looking goggles. I placed mine on tightly over my head. I looked over to Jae, wondering if she was scared like me.
"Alright kids! To turn on the goggles, press the small button on the sides." Jae and I exchanged glances. Turn on? He continued to yell over the wind. "The goggles are not just to protect your eyes. It will serve as a video game type of experience. You will all be getting points as you follow the route the goggles provide. I have already set your groups into divided paths, so you won't have to fly with strangers. The goggles may show anything - including mythical creatures. It will also enhance your surroundings, so don't be afraid when you see images like castles in the distance or trees of different colors or even a waterfall or an ocean. Each group path has it's own scenery. You won't see the same as the other strangers, but you will see the same as the friends you came with. I hope you all enjoy this activity! The wing suit automatically will land you, so do not resist! Get ready!"
Jae and I simultaneously pressed the button on the right side of our goggles. "Woah," we both said as numbers and other things began to appear in our vision. The color of the helicopter melted into a rustic orange type of look. We both looked outside to see everything had changed. The trees were ranging from yellow to orange to red to burgundy to brown. Villages were on the outskirts with smoke coming out of chimneys and carriages with horses in the distance.
"Whoa," I muttered as the magic starts to happen. I start to feel a little dizzy, the surroundings suddenly changing. This is such a different experience than I had thought, but it was exciting nonetheless. The instructor went over the basics once again in a swift breath as he confirms that we're good to go. "Alright, team A, you first." The first group of kids stepped up to the platform and give each other a thumbs up before jumping. Immediately, their bodies fell through the air and we couldn't see them from our angle. The instructor turned to Candy and I and nodded.
"Team B, your turn."
I looked over at Candy with a sense of hesitation. Are we actually about to do this?
I held Jae's hand, feeling my legs shake. My heart was about to explode, but I had a friend right there next to me. "Ready?" I smiled. Before she could reply, I pulled her off and we fell in through the clouds.
We were both screaming. All my inner organs felt like they had fallen out of my body, and the wind was horribly cold. I had my eyes closed for a while, but I peaked and gasped. "Jae! Look!" I pointed to a red dragon in my vision as it flapped it's wings around the mountain of trees. The wing suit noticed we weren't flying towards the designated rings and began to pull my body by itself. "Woah," I yelled as I soared closer to the mountain. Fear mingled with adrenaline and caused me to laugh as I looked around at the breath-taking view.
how to: funking write about this
I giggle a little, my heart racing along with the wind through my hair. Candy and I were screaming at first, but as we gradually adjusted to the wild fact that we're currently falling from thousands of feet in the air, I was able to look around at the surroundings. Of course it wasn't what was actually there, but it was beautiful nonetheless. We progressively made our way to the target landing area as I turned my head every direction to get a view of everything. The glowing red and orange particles, the dragon, the volcano, everything. It was magical. I looked over at Candy, who I'd hoped was still in my vicinity. I wanted to tell her this was cool, but I knew she wouldn't be able to hear me over the wind, so instead I just gaze at her, smiling with my eyes.
le time skip
Our landing was as smooth as they promised. I smiled to Jae as I collapsed from shaky legs. The workers at the bottom handed us our items. The man with my stuff had an annoyed face. "Your phone's been ringing the entire time," he muttered. Alarmed, I rummaged through my bag, trying to find out who could have been calling.
On the screen, the named Adrian appeared. "Oh no, we never told him we were leaving," I groaned. Jae giggled, still in an adrenaline rush from the skydiving. I called him back, trying to hold back a laugh myself.
"Guys? Where the actual hell are you?"
I laugh at Candy's expression as I hear Adrian yelling through the phone. As I change out of the skydiving gear, Candy tries to calm Adrian down and explain everything that happened. Suddenly I felt someone bump into me as they walked past me, not even bothering to turn and apologize. As he walked by, I caught a glimpse of him.
He looks familiar…
I tap Candy's shoulder and whisper to her that I'll be right back before turning to follow the boy. I watched his eyes shift as if he was looking for someone, but with his path I could tell he was trying to leave the area, so I took a detour. I know a lot of people in red wear the same colors, but this boy matched exactly what I saw last time. I waited around the corner for him to arrive. After a few moments, his familiar footsteps approached, and I stepped in his way. This time, he paused, locking eyes with me and eliciting a shocked expression.
"Why are you following us?" I declared, trying to sound more bold than I actually was.
"I wasn't following you." He retaliated.
"Bullshit. It was you in the supermarket too, wasn't it? What do you want from me?"
He hesitated, unable to defend himself.
"It's…your purple hair." I realized how little I was thinking about my hair lately, and I started to feel defensive.
"So what? It's not like I'm-"
"Did you come from Purple? Were you born there? What's it like? How did you get out? Is it as scary as everyone says it is?"
"Adrian, I know, I'm sorry we left without telling you, yes it was a mistake, I'm sorry!" I sigh, rubbing my temples. Jae suddenly taps my shoulder and points to a kid in a red shirt. Before I can react, she runs off to follow them. I make a mental note of where they go before returning back to Adrian.
"You can't just leave me here! I'm still processing…" he cries over the phone.
"Adrian, please calm down. We are coming back, okay? I promise this won't happen again," I reassure. I try to take off the wing suit while holding the phone to my ear. Adrian stops yelling finally. "We have some food for you, I got to go! Bye!" I hang up before he can continue talking. After I gather our stuff, I attempt to retrace Jae's steps when I hear her voice.
"It's not like I'm-"
"Did you come from Purple? Were you born there? What's it like? How did you get out? Is it as scary as everyone says it is?"
I step away from the tree I was hiding behind. "What's going on?" My eyes shift between my friend and the stranger whom I recognized from the store.
"What's going on?" Candy emerges seemingly from no where as the boy and I look over at her.
"This kid's been following us since he ran into me earlier today." I remark at Candy, feeling a bit better now that she's here.
"Geez, sorry Red isn't enough for me. I'm curious."
I furrow my brow at him and scoff.
"But not curious enough to come up to ask us?"
