SWITCH!!! Enjoying amusement parks can be hard work! [Part 3]

After the incident with the trio of thugs, the two teenage girls were escorted by park staff to the guest relations office building to be examined for injuries. I was asked to come along to answer a few questions for a police report, and obliged.

Once I finished answering their questions, I was escorted back to the front lobby of the building, where I waited for Jack to finish the last half hour of his shift. The room was very plain, with tan walls and black steel chairs. In the center was a small coffee table with park brochures and a few magazines. The front desk had a glass window separating the office area from the lobby as well as a door that led to security personnel offices.

As I waited, the two teenage girls walked into the lobby on their way out. When they spotted me, they quickly ran up.

“Thank you so much!” said the girl who stood up to the thugs, grabbing my hand to shake it. “You really saved my life back there!”

“You’re welcome!” I replied with a smile. “Are you doing alright now?”

“Yeah. I was really scared, but I’m fine now. I’m not gonna let it ruin the rest of my trip! There’s still plenty of time before the park closes, and I’m gonna live it up as much as possible to make up for the lost time!”

She threw a punch in the air in excitement, startling her friend.

“By the way,” she continued. “That flying kick you did was so awesome! So quick, too! One second I have my head in a lock, then POW! Nailed that loser right in the face! I felt like I was in a movie!”

She then pulled her phone out of her purse.

“Could I get a selfie with you?”

I nodded. “I’ll be happy to!”

We squeezed together as she held out her phone and took a picture.

“I’ll make sure to get this printed and treasure it!” she said, looking at the photo. “Thanks again!”

With that, she marched out of the lobby, yelling “Now let’s go have some fun!”

Meanwhile, her friend hung back. Gripping her arm, she gave me a hesitating glance as she appeared to debate something in her head.

“Is something wro–”

I was cut off when the girl suddenly latched onto me. “Thank you,” she sniffled, enveloping me in a huge hug .

Wiping a tear from her eye, she quickly ran out of the lobby to catch up with her friend.

***

“Whew! That thing was hot as all get-out! It was like a sauna in there!”

Shortly after 2 PM, Jack walked into the lobby, having changed into a pair of jeans and a black button down shirt with the sleeves rolled up. His hair was messy and damp from dumping a bottle of cold water over his head to cool off and wipe away his sweat.

God, he was extra sexy today! I wonder if I could convince him to go with that wet hair look again.

“Sorry about the wait,” he said, combing his hair back with his fingers.

“N-n-not at all!” I said, catching myself staring at him. “That sure was a shock seeing you dressed up as Cottonball. Kinda spooky, honestly.”

“Yeah,” he chuckled. “They like having security under cover and all, but I think I stood out like a sore thumb. Pretty sure I made a few kids cry by accident.”

I could believe it. A seven-foot tall bunny would freak anyone out, let alone small kids.

“I’m surprised you were actually assigned to security,” I said. “Don’t you normally have to be eight–”

Jack swiftly approached me and placed a finger on my lips, hushing me before I could finish.

“Yeah! I’m really fortunate that I was able to get a job so quickly,” he said. “Since I’m free now, how about we go explore the park?”

I glanced up at him, giving him a look of disapproval as we left the guest relations building.

I know, I know. Hypocritical much? But this was Jack putting his life on the line, and potentially others after what happened earlier with those thugs. If things went wrong and he was seriously hurt, I don’t think he’d be entitled to any sort of workers comp. I was worried about him, alright?

He noticed my glare. “What?”

“You’re not lying about your age to get the job, are you?”

“Yeah, well… It’s complicated.”

“Ooooh?” I replied with narrowed eyes.

“They’re really low on staff right now, and I do look older for my age, right? In truth, the head of security was shocked once I handed him my application. He thought I was at least twenty when he asked me to apply.”

“And you’re saying that they overlooked that little bit of info and gave you the job anyway?”

He let out a laugh, then sighed. “This is a one time gig.”

“You mean…”

“This is my first and last weekend working at Ten Flags.”

I stopped in my tracks. “Wait, so they aren’t gonna even transfer you over to another department or anything so you can keep a job?!”

He turned his head to look away. “Well, if management finds out that I lied, then…”

I slumped my shoulders in despair, causing my purse to slip off my shoulder and drop to the ground.

“You aren’t cursed, are you?” I asked.

“Maybe,” he smiled. “So yeah, we agreed I’d help out this weekend, and then I’ll do a no-call/no-show, and be terminated.”

“You’d think that head of security guy would try to pull some strings and secure you a different position or literally do anything.”

“He’s already risking his job having me work these two days. I’d be more worried about him.”

“But didn’t he beg you to do this because they’re so short staffed?”

Jack shook his head. “They were really hurting for personnel, so I said that I’d help out to give him an extra week to find someone else to take my place and take the fall if anyone found out.”

“Arg! You’re too nice!” I yelled, playfully hitting his shoulder. “Someone’s gonna take advantage of your kindness one of these days!”

He laughed. “Then I’ll just need Magical Knight Lune to come rescue me.”

“Isn’t it supposed to be the other way around?!” I argued.

“You’re the knight in shining armor. Remember?”

I hung my head back and sighed, then smiled. “I better get a kiss as a reward when I rescue you.”

Suddenly, Jack leaned in and kissed me. I froze instantly.

“Now you owe me one rescue,” he joked.

“That… that’s now how it works!” I yelled in embarrassment.

Jack couldn’t help but roar with laughter as my face turned red. “Okay, okay. I’ll stop teasing. So, hey! Where’s your friend?”

Gulp.

I glanced away from Jack. “Oh… Uh, they, um, couldn’t make it.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah. Some family business came up, and they had to back out. Last minute kind of thing.”

“That’s too bad,” Jack said. “I hope nothing bad happened.”

I quickly held up my hands before me. “No! It’s nothing bad! Just, ya know, regular family stuff.”

“Regular family stuff?”

“Yeah…”

Jack scratched his chin. “I see. Well, my best friend is gonna be about an hour late, so I guess that gives us some time for just the two of us!”

“Awesome!” I cheered gleefully.

I knew it was going to be hectic once it came time to start the swapping shenanigans. Therefore, I allowed myself to enjoy a little bit of time as Lune so I could go and do couple oriented attractions with Jack.

“Let’s go have some fun!” I said, taking Jack’s hand and leading him back into the park proper.

But just as we started walking, a young man jumped in front of me.

“Hey!” they shouted, causing me to jump in surprise. “You’re that Magical Knight Lune, right?”

“I, uh, yeah?” I answered meekly.

“Aw yeah!!!” they cheered. “I saw the video of you kicking that guy in the face a little while ago and was all ‘No way! She’s here?!’ And there you are!”

“Wait, what?” I said.

It wasn’t that I was surprised that someone had recorded footage of what had occurred earlier. Wouldn’t be the first time that I wound up on social media. But this just happened! Not even an hour ago!

“After I saw that, I was looking all over for you! Oh! Name’s Samuel! Big fan!”

He grabbed my hand and shook it enthusiastically before I could get a word in.

“Could I get an autograph?!” he asked, whipping out some scrap paper and a pen and thrusting it at me.

“I, uh…”

Jack stepped forward, motioning for the guy to scoot back. “Okay, pal. You gotta calm down. No need to force yourself on her,” he said.

“Oh, sorry,” Samuel replied. “It’s just that I’ve never met anyone famous before, so I guess I got a little carried away. Ha ha. Still, is it alright if I get an autograph?”

Jack looked over at me, waiting for my approval.

Sure, the guy was a bit awkward and pushy, but he seemed to mean well. If a quick autograph would make him happy and send him on his way, then hey! I was cool with it.

“Alright,” I said with a cheerful smile.

Jack stepped aside, allowing Samuel to approach me.

“Sorry, but this was all I could find for you to sign on such a short notice,” Samuel said, handing me a pen and scratch paper.

“If you’re fine with it, then it’s all good with me!” I replied.

I took the pen and wrote “Thanks for the support! -Lune,” then handed the signed paper and pen back to him.

“Thank you!” he said, taking the autograph. His expression soured some when he looked at it. “Oh, wow, your handwriting is kinda…”

Urk. I guess he expected something clean and cute looking, when my handwriting is more comparable to that of a doctor’s scribbles except even worse. I may be a magical girl, but that did nothing for my handwriting capabilities. Not like handwriting matters all that much for magical girls anyway!

“What about it?” I asked with a pained smile.

Realizing the mistake he just made, Samuel shook his head. “Nothing! It’s cool! Thanks!”

With that, Samuel pocketed the autograph and ran off.

“He was rather pushy,” Jack murmured, crossing his arms.

I shook my head. “It’s fine. I’m sure he was just awkward.”

Jack nodded. “Yeah. You’re probably right. So, where do you want to go first?”

“Oh!” I said, pulling out a map of the park I had printed earlier. “Let’s go to the–”

“Excuse me!”

An older woman’s voice called out to me. When I turned around, I saw a mother with two toddlers, each gripping the mom’s leg as they hid behind her while staring up at me.

“You wouldn’t happen to be Magical Knight Lune, would you?” she asked.

“...Yeah! I am! Is something the matter?”

The mother looked down at her kids. “See? It really is Magical Knight Lune!”

The kids' eyes beamed, but they continued to hide behind their mother.

“I’m sorry. My two kids absolutely love you. Whenever they see you on the news stopping that no good Red Sandrea, they go bananas. Would it be okay if I got a picture of you with them?”

I withheld my sigh. “Sure! I’ll be happy to!”

It took a few minutes to get the kids to stop being shy and pose for a photo. But once they opened up, they were ecstatic and held hands. Then they became problematic and wouldn’t calm down long enough for their mother to take the photo.

Finally, after they took the photo, the mother thanked me for taking the time to do so and led her kids away.

“They sure were cute,” Jack commented.

“Yeah,” I replied. “So! Now that that’s out of the way, let’s–”

“Hey! Are you that magical girl?” called out another voice.

I couldn’t hold back my sigh that time. Nevertheless, I put up a smile and answered cheerfully. “Yes, I am! Do you need something?”

A small crowd began gathering around, similarly wanting to pose for photos and get autographs from everyone’s favorite magical girl. The more passerbyers noticed, the larger the crowd grew. Before I realized it, I had become a park attraction.

It was fun interacting with my fans, but come on! I’m a guest at the park too! Is this why famous people end up renting an entire amusement park for themselves for a day?!

Jack, bless his patient soul, stood off to the side and watched as his girlfriend paid attention to everyone but him. Whenever I looked over at him, he’d smile and wave.

Finally, he made his way through the crowd to get close to me. Did he finally have enough? Was he coming to rescue me from the crowd so that we may spend some time alone together?

“Hey, my friend should be getting here any minute, so I’m gonna go meet up with him by the entrance. I’ll be back.”

“Wait, what?” I asked, but Jack was already taken away by the tide of the crowd before he could hear me.

I pulled out my phone and checked the time. Sure enough, over an hour had passed. Daniel should’ve already arrived.

“Sorry! But, uh, something’s come up! Magical girl duties! I’ve got to go! Thank you all for stopping by!” I said as I sprouted my wings and flew away, leaving behind a disappointed crowd.

I flew out of the park and landed on the opposite side of the parking lot.

“Darnit!!!” I cried and stomped my foot like an immature child.

My special lovey-dovey hour with Jack was an abysmal failure, but now wasn’t the time to cry. Daniel was already late, so I quickly transformed behind some bushes, then ran to the park entrance, Daniel’s ticket in hand.