"Why does this amusement park have to be so damn far away?" grumbled Annette quietly as she drove down the highway, keeping a worrying eye on the battery level.

"We could have taken Captain Hawkins' car. We just passed another gas station," pointed out Mikaela who was sitting next to her in the front passenger seat.

"Think of the environment, Mikaela," said Annette, trying her best not to snap at her.

The gas stations they had just passed were actually one of Sirius Energy's newest ventures. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

A joint venture between Sirius Energy and Libya had built a new refinery and pipeline distribution network, much to the consternation of Boston's various environmental groups.

The new Sirius Energy Zip fuel that those stations sold, was rated at 110 octane, and had become the favorite of car enthusiasts all across America.

"Oooh!" exclaimed Mikaela as a loud white 1970 Pontiac GTO overtook them.

"Gas guzzler!" scoffed Annette, as her car's GPS told her to switch lanes to get on the exit ramp.

After going down the exit ramp, and driving past several farms, they finally approached the parking lot of WonderWorld, the amusement park that Annette had found on the maps.

"Well, at least they have charging here," sighed Annette as she backed her Hyundai Ioniq into an EV charging equipped parking spot.

She got out, plugged the charger in, and the car beeped and showed that it was charging from 20% battery.

Mikaela got out of the car and stretched.

"That was a long drive," she remarked.

"Yes, well. Hope it is worth it," said Annette, taking her by the hand and walking towards the ornate wrought iron gates.

Mikaela stared wide-eyed at the various rides.

There was a massive Ferris wheel, several merry-go-rounds based on different themes, and a huge sprawling roller-coaster.

Families and couples were all milling around, and the air was filled with screams, laughter, and the sound of the rides.

"What shall we try first?" asked Annette, trying to mask her discomfort over the noise, and the smells of roasting meat coming from the various food stalls.

"Hmm, how about that?" asked Mikaela, pointing to the roller-coaster.

"That? Well, OK," said Annette nervously, and they walked to the ticket booth.

"Two tickets please," said Annette to the man at the counter.

"That's twenty," said the man.

Annette gave him her card, and he tapped it on the machine.

"Here you go," he said, handing her two slips of paper.

They joined the queue for the ride, and soon, the blue roller-coaster cars slid into the boarding area carrying a crowed of people who looked shaken.

"How bad is it?" asked Annette nervously as a woman staggered past her towards the exit.

"Puked and passed out a couple of times," replied the woman hoarsely.

Annette swallowed nervously while Mikaela buzzed with excitement.

"Come on Mom, it will be fun. They wouldn't have let kids in if it wasn't safe," she said, eagerly darting into an empty seat in the roller-coaster.

"All right," said Annette, climbing in.

A park worker came to them and checked that their safety harnesses were properly secured.

"Are you sure this is safe?" asked Annette nervously.

"Don't worry ma'am, it's perfectly safe," chuckled the employee, and moved to the next row.

"Preparing to launch. 5...4...3...2...1 Launch!" announced a harsh robotic voice.

Annette's confusion about the lack of rattling chains soon gave way to terror as the roller-coaster surged forward on maglev tracks.

"So cool!" squealed Mikaela as the roller-coaster shot out of the boarding tunnel like a rocket and surged up a steep hill in the track.

Annette's scream was lost in the rushing wind as the roller-coaster twisted into an inverted position and shot down the incline, the surroundings a gray and blue blur as it twisted upright again and sped across a long stretch of winding tracks.

She felt herself being pressed into the seat of the roller-coaster as its speed created G-forces she didn't know she could endure.

Mercifully, the roller-coaster slowed down, and climbed yet another hill.

"Wow! It feels like we're flying!" exclaimed Mikaela as the roller-coaster slid smoothly and silently over a straight stretch of track that was so high up, the parking lot looked like a matchbox.

Annette had just started to breathe easy and actually appreciate the view, when the roller-coaster slowly moved off the level stretch of track and into an almost vertical position.

She started to tremble as she stared at the yawning drop.

"Passengers, brace yourselves, we drop in 3...2...1," announced the robotic voice, and the roller-coaster shot down the vertical drop.

For a terrifying second, the air became a solid wall that pushed against Annette with a crushing force, before the roller-coaster leveled off, and proceeded with a much slower pace back to the boarding tunnel.

Annette felt like her legs were jelly as the roller-coaster finally came to a stop at the boarding tunnel.

"That was so cool!" said Mikaela, an expression of absolute bliss on her face.

"This thing should be illegal," said Annette, as she climbed out unsteadily.

"Nah, it was fun! I wouldn't mind going on it again," said Mikaela hopping out, looking none the worse for wear.

"Well, I need to recover a bit," sighed Annette, as she followed Mikaela out towards the exit.

---

"What is that?" asked Mikaela as they came out of the roller-coaster exit to find a cotton candy stand.

"That is called cotton candy. Want to try one?" asked Annette after a moment's hesitation.

Mikaela blinked in surprise at Annette's offer, but quickly jumped at the chance.

"Yes, please," she said.

She and Annette walked up to the stall, and Annette bought two enormous clouds of cotton candy on sticks.

Mikaela pulled off a piece of cotton candy and ate it.

"What is this? It just disappeared!" she exclaimed as the cotton candy melted in her mouth releasing a bomb of sweetness.

"It's pure sugar. So you can only have one, and only once in a while, OK?" said Annette, as she ate some of hers.

"Well, I love it!" exclaimed Mikaela, eagerly pulling off more of her cotton candy from the stick and eating it.

"What shall we ride on next? And no. Not that coaster again," asked Annette as Mikaela threw her empty cotton candy stick into a trash can.

"That one!" said Mikaela, high on the sugar from the cotton candy, and pointing to a go-kart track.

"And here I thought I'd be able to take a break on the Ferris wheel," grumbled Annette as Mikaela dragged her towards the go-kart track entrance.

---

"OK kid, you're all set. Remember, left pedal is the brake, right pedal is the throttle. The back can get really hot, so don't touch it. We'll be able to talk to you through the helmet, so if you get stuck, don't panic, and we'll come and get you out. OK?" said the technician as he strapped Mikaela into the go-kart.

"OK," said Mikaela.

"OK, now to start the go-kart, you press on the brake, and push this button here. The kart will not move unless you let off the brake, OK?" said the technician, showing Mikaela the start/stop button.

"OK," said Mikaela. She pressed down firmly on the brake pedal, and pushed the button.

The go-kart's engine rumbled to life, and she felt the slight vibrations of it through the steering wheel.

"OK, one practice lap, go," said the technician, and Mikaela nervously let off the brake, and pressed gently on the throttle.

The go-kart rumbled forward at a slow pace.

"Oof, this is hard to steer," ground out Mikaela as she steered the go-kart around the first bend of the track.

"It gets easier once you pick up some speed," said the technician over the helmet's radio system.

"OK," said Mikaela, giving the go-kart a little more gas.

"Yeah, this is better," she said as she felt the steering lighten up at the higher speed, and she was able to more easily steer it around the next corner.

"Got the hang of it? Come back to the starting line, and your mom will join you," said the technician.

Mikaela finished the circuit and came to a stop at the starting line.

On instinct, she pumped the gas pedal, and the go-kart let out a satisfying growl.

"I can't believe that this thing runs on gas. I thought these were all electric now," grumbled Annette as a technician helped strap her in.

"Hey Mom, if I win this race, will you let me drive?" asked Mikaela.

"You're still ten years old, so no. Besides, driving in traffic isn't the same as this," said Annette, as the technician chuckled in both their ears.

"OK ladies, 3,2,1. Go!" he said, and Mikaela floored her the throttle, sending her go-kart into the lead with an angry roar from its engine.

"Mikaela! Careful!" exclaimed Annette, as she drove forward as well.

"If I win we go on the coaster again," taunted Mikaela as she started to pull away from Annette, going faster and attacking the track's corners more aggressively.

"Oh no we are not!" growled Annette, and started to drive faster.

"Yeah! Driving this thing is easy!" Mikaela crowed as she sped faster around the track, her go-kart feeling lighter and more nimble the faster it went.

"I'm coming to get you!" growled Annette flooring the throttle of her go-kart.

"Eat my dust!" shot back Mikaela, deftly attacking a corner, her rear tires screeching as she twisted the steering wheel and lightly popped the brake to control her speed.

"Eeek!" screamed Annette as she oversteered around the corner, and crashed into the side wall.

"Relax, ma'am. Do you see the lever on the right marked as reverse? Pull it and you can reverse out. Then push it back and go forward," guided the technician over the intercom.

Annette pulled the lever, reversed, and started to go again.

"Later, Mom," taunted Mikaela as she blew past her on her second lap.

"How the hell did she pick that up so fast?" grumbled Annette, trying in vain to catch her. The vibration from the steering and the loud engine noise making it harder for her to concentrate on driving compared to her Hyundai Ioniq's silent and ADAS equipped operation.

"Time's up, return to the pit stop," called the technician over the radio.

Gritting her teeth, Annette slowed down, and pulled into the pit stop behind Mikaela.

"I won, I won, I won," sang Mikaela as the technician unstrapped her from the go-kart.

"Yeah, yeah. That was great. Can we please go on the Ferris wheel now? I'm tired," sighed Annette.

"After a hot dog," declared Mikaela.

"Fine," sighed Annette, too tired to argue or refuse.