This Crazy Rich Boy

Miguel couldn't see where they're going—he's the one who was ȧssigned to carry the Peppa Pig stuffed toy and the two dinosaurs, while Claire has the big teddy bear in her arms, walking with that spring in her gait like a child on the first day of summer. Only Gabriel is carrying nothing—he's not officially part of this date. He's just the third wheel. So the unspoken disposition is that why make Gabriel carry anything when he's not supposed to officially participate?

Gabriel doesn't mind. As long as he's here, he would behave. He'd try not to steal Miguel's thunder, although he seems to have done that already at the shooting gallery. He couldn't tell Miguel, at the risk of calling him sentimental, that he had been faithfully going to this amusement park almost every month. This is his good place, the sanctuary of his innocent childhood memories, long before the wealth and the personality changes and rift that has since grown between him and his mother. Whenever he'd feel sad or down in the dumps, he'd walk the half-mile of tree-lined sidewalk right to the wrought-iron entrance to the amusement park, away from the eyes of his underlings or anyone who only knows him as The CEO Gabriel Tan, and spend hours wandering its countless booths and amusements or just watch kids with their parents, or teenaged couples trying their hand with some of the games.

"That was awesome, Gabriel," Claire says. "Thank you. I've never had a teddy bear as big as this." She giggles.

Gabriel only smiles. Of course, nobody knew that because he'd been frequenting the amusement park, he had become an expert at, among other things, shooting the balloons in the shooting gallery. The gallery host, the white-haired cigar-chomping old guy's name is Albert, and he knows Gabriel all too well—that's why he'd been winking, secretly grinning each time Gabriel hit the target. Albert almost hated him—he'd usually clean out the gallery's prizes, as Gabriel would hit almost all the balloons—but Albert also knows who Gabriel really is, and has always treated him with some sort of deference. What's more, Albert purposefully let them use the very rifle Gabriel loves using—he knows it like the palm of his hand, even the rifle's smallest oddities.

Meanwhile, Miguel is throwing Gabriel meaningful glances. There's something about Gabriel that he finds strange, he just can't quite put a finger on it. It's the way Gabriel moves in this situation, like he's a fish back in the water or something. While he, Miguel, is fascinated to be back in the amusement park for more than a decade of not having seen it, Gabriel's all blasé about it.

And Claire—what's up with her? Is this normal behavior for these two, Miguel wonders? Is Claire's behavior, which borders on affectionate, normal for a mere "employee"? Sure, the job is odd—posing as your boss's fiancée—but does it mean you should act a bit "intimately" with your boss.

These nagging questions, Miguel keeps them to himself as he carries the stuffed toys. He doesn't want to spoil the night. As long as Claire seems enjoying every moment of it, then he'll play along. He also doesn't want to feel any kind of resentment toward his brother—maybe there are things here that he doesn't fully understand. Maybe given time, he'd finally get what "this" is. But for the meantime, the night is young, and there are so many things they can still do to have fun.

On the other hand, Gabriel surveys the crowd—he thinks he has caught a glimpse of one of the bodyguards he has ȧssigned to tail Claire. They've seen him. He ȧssumes his presence would up the security level. That's fine, as long as they remain largely unseen. Especially that Miguel is here with them—his brother won't stop talking about it if he discovers the bodyguards, and then he'd have a lot of explaining to do. He doesn't want to talk to Miguel about Jake Magno; he wants to keep that information private, for Claire's sake.

If there's one thing Gabriel doesn't like about the amusement park, it's the gigantic rollercoaster, whose vertigo-inducing railroad track snakes all above them. He hates it, fears it; it gives him a funny feeling in his balls, just imagining him on that open cart, precariously zooming through the night air, feeling like he'd vomit his dinner. He's afraid of heights; it's a phobia he should have had treated, but haven't. And even now, at his age he won't dare even try it. And if there's one thing he fears, it's Miguel choosing to—

"Hey, guys," Miguel says. "Let's try the rollercoaster!"

Oh, shit, Gabriel thinks. Why, Miguel, why?

"You haven't tried that, right, Claire?" Miguel says.

Claire's face lights up. "No, but I've always been curious about it."

"Then say no more! Let's go!"

Gabriel stays rooted in his spot.

Claire looks behind her and sees him. "What's the matter?"

"Go ahead," he says, smiling. "

"Don't be a party pooper, Gabriel," Miguel says, with that mischievous grin on his face; of course, Miguel knows he never rides the rollercoaster. "This is a group date, right? We don't want anyone to be left behind, do we?"

"But I…" Gabriel begins, but his brain is not fast enough to make up a good excuse.

"Come on," Claire says, taking his arm. "Let's at least try everything once."

Gabriel looks at her for a moment. Hey, that sounds meaningful. Let's try everything once. But even as he mulls it over, they're already trooping down to the rollercoaster booth.

Miguel takes all the stuffed toys and deposits it with the booth attendant. This is so rich, he thinks. This would be the perfect excuse to get physically close to Claire. He can just imagine what's going to happen up there, as the rollercoaster zips on the convoluted track. Claire would hold onto him for dear life. Claire would…be vulnerable.

"Guys, I'm not really sure about this," Gabriel protests. He's standing like he's afraid to even go near the platform.

"Aw come on," Miguel says, already holding the tickets. "Keep an open mind. Nobody has died riding a rollercoaster, so we should be perfectly safe. It's all just fun!"

Hell no, a LOT of people died riding rollercoasters, Gabriel wanted to say. But he doesn't want to be the person who mentions the word "death" in a situation like, in a "date" like this. He does that, Miguel would resent him.

Miguel takes the first cart, and waits for Claire to settle beside her. But as soon as he sits, he realizes his mistake: he should have acted the gentleman and let Claire to board the cart first. In that way, Claire wouldn't be able to say no. Because now, it's too late to change that, as the attendant approaches them with another girl. "Sir, can she sit here beside you?" The attendant says. "So she doesn't have to wait for the next ride."

Miguel looks at the girl, then looks at Claire standing on the platform. "That's okay," Claire says. "I'll just sit with Gabriel."

Gabriel says nothing; yet inside, he's torn: he's rejoicing the fact that Claire ends up with him; but he's deathly terrified of riding the rollercoaster. He's starting to get tunnel-vision, as though he's seeing everything through a long and dark tunnel.

Miguel sighs. He says nothing as the girl meekly takes the seat beside him. He looks on helplessly as Gabriel and Claire take the cart right behind him.

"Please make sure you've properly fastened all the straps, will you," Gabriel snaps at the attendant.

"Yes, sir," the attendant says. He also checks Claire's straps, spending a few minutes checking it closely.

Gabriel says nothing. Ahead of him, Miguel's sitting there, taking it coolly. Only now he realizes how much he wants to put his hands around Miguel's neck, and strangle the shit out of him.