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“I don’t like Ferris wheels.”
    “So there’s a future?” he smirks.
    “No.”
    He leans toward me and whispers. “Liar.” I smack my lips and look the other way to keep him from seeing me blush.
    We talk a little and five minutes pass. I decide to ask the question I’m dying to ask.
    “So what did you go to prison for?”
    “Wow. You don’t waste any time, do you?”
    “Nope, might as well address the elephant in the room.”
    “I did one year in juvie when I was thirteen. Two years in prison for assault and possession.”
                  “Wow, there’s a kicker.”
                  “Ready to jump off the wheel?”
                  Ignoring the question, I continue. “Do you regret what you did? Any of it?”
                  “No,” he answers without hesitation.
                  “Did you assault a woman? A kid?”
                  “No.”
                  “Who did you hurt?”
                  “This guy who liked to talk a lot of shit.”
                  “What about when you went to juvie? What did you do to get in there?”
                  I can tell by the look in his eyes that I hit a soft spot, but he’s saved from answering when the Ferris wheel stops.
                  We’re stuck at the top until they let everyone on the bottom out. I look down at all the people scattered around the carnival and hear Tommy flick a lighter. Ugh, he’s lighting a cigarette.
                  “You know those things will kill you, right?” I keep my eyes on the bright lights of the carnival.
                  I can’t see it, but I swear I can feel him smiling a little. “Either way, we're all gonna die someday.”
                  “Yeah, well.” I finally look at him. “Doesn’t mean you have to go too soon.”
                  “I think that only matters if you have something to live for.” I can tell by his tone that he really believes that.
    The Ferris wheel starts to move again and when we reach the bottom we are let off. Claudia and Dina are waiting for us, giggling like little school girls at me and Tommy.
                  “You guys have fun?” Dina asks us.
                  “Why yes,” Tommy answers.
                  After a few more rides and games, the carnival starts dying down. Claudia has to leave early tomorrow with my brother and go back to school, so we decide to leave.
                  “So, can I get your number?” Tommy asks me.
                  “Yes, she would love for you to have her number,” Dina says with excitement. Claudia laughs while I give Dina a stern look.
                  “Yes, you can have my number,” I tell him myself. He pulls out his cell phone and I enter it in.
                  “Hey, Ella.” We look up to see Lionel Cass and James Rich, these assholes from my school. “How about you give me your number too? We can have fun for old time’s sake?”
                  “Fuck you!” I snap.
                  “You’re such a piece of shit, James!” Dina yells at him.
                  “Hey, Claudia how is that bullet wound?” Lionel laughs.
                  I glance at Claudia and see that she is cut by what Lionel says. Donovan told me that she still gets nightmares about that day.
                  I start charging towards Lionel and James, but Tommy pulls me back.
                  “What are you doing?” I snap at him.
                  He’s calm, but he has more rage in his eyes than I do. He points past my head and I turn to see four cops standing around, scanning the crowd.
                  “Let’s get out of here,” I tell Claudia and Dina.
                  I don’t even think