“This is the biggest bouncy castle I’ve ever seen!”, shouted Caleb. It was our first time at the parish fair. Usually I spent Parish Fair Day inside, not by my own admission but by the requirement from my mother that I clean the house.

This year however, my parents were out of town now that I was old enough to be trusted at the house by myself. The ole’ “don’t open this door for nobody while I’m gone” was good enough.

Except I decided to open the door for myself to join my friend at the fair. It was the right decision. The rides were exciting, the food was nauseatingly delicious (for a 13 year old anyway), and I finally got to see some friends outside the confines of a schoolyard or the detention room.

I joined Caleb, rushing into the world’s largest bouncy castle. We flipped and flopped around, seeing who could do the most flips or touch the ceiling. Eventually we held a competition to see who could keep their feet on the ground the longest without bouncing. And, of course, that turned into some kind of wrestling-football hybrid with no physical repercussions.

We made our way up to the 3rd level of the castle. Looking out into the fairgrounds. The shrieks from the ring of fire filled the air alongside the aroma of funnel cakes, crawfish pies, and horses with pigs on their saddles. The sun made the ground dance to the beat of footsteps.

We tried to jump higher and higher to see who could see the furthest into the fairground, but the castle started having more give than normal. Eventually the corner Caleb jumped into buckled, and a muffled

“I’m stuck!”

Squeezed out of the jumbled vinyl and nylon. I hurried over to grab him, but I was beginning to sink as well. I grabbed his wrist

“We gotta go!”

We made our way down to the second level just before the top completely collapsed. The second level was shifting all over the place. The kids on the bottom level continued jumping into each other. Yelling, “Me next! Me next!”, which rhythmically interjects between the sugar-fueled joyful laughter eminating from the nearby Ferris wheel.

Caleb made it to the ladder to reach the bottom level. Just when I was going to reach it the floor gave a bit too much and I tripped into the netting on the side. I scream the same way the kid hanging over the edge on the on the rollercoaster across the park. Except he’s locked into a seat. All that’s between me and plummeting to the dirt is the netting that I’m stuck in. If I try to move I run the risk of disturbing the remaining integrity of the castle and fall down. Should I just accept my fate?

I watch the top layer come down over me like my grandmother were tucking me into bed with the most uncomfortable blanket I’ve ever touched. The livestock competition has opened and the squeals of overfed chickens compete with those of the children trying to pet them, and the parents trying to get the children to keep their hands at their sides. The sound is beginning to fade as I drift further into panic. I can see the headlines, “KID’S FIRST FAIR GONE HORRIBLY WRONG. Child, 13, found unresponsive at the scene of a bouncy castle collapse.”

“Man, I really wanted to go out cooler than this”, I thought. “My mom’s gonna kill me if I don’t die.”