Chapter 6

Neal's reason for turning Joyce down sounded familiar, but she didn't give up this time. He finally relented after the annoyance got to him. It wasn't the weekend, so there weren't many cars on the road. The journey to the amusement park was smooth; they soon arrived. As soon as they bought tickets and entered the park, a group of familiar people approached them—Joyce's friends, including Corey. Natalie Stone led the group. When she saw Joyce, she hurried forward excitedly to greet her. Then, she dragged Joyce forward. "Let's have fun together since we've run into each other. The more, the merrier!" Neal fell behind the group; he stood out like a sore thumb. He was unfazed by Natalie's words. Joyce, on the other hand, turned to glance at him. Only then did the group seem to notice him. They apologized insincerely but had no intention of letting Joyce go. They looked at Neal as if wanting to tell him he could leave if he were upset. He knew what they meant but didn't get mad. Instead, he smiled and said, "I'm fine with anything." It wasn't his idea to come to the amusement park, anyway. Joyce was relieved that he had no objection to the plan and decided to go along. The group wandered around the amusement park, trying the rides that caught their attention. They tried various rides, both mild and exhilarating. Throughout the whole thing, Joyce was glued to Corey's side while everyone else circled them. She shielded him behind her. If an outsider were to see this, they would think she and Corey were an item. Yet Neal, who was actually Joyce's boyfriend, trailed the group. He didn't say anything to Joyce the whole time. When they approached the log flume, Corey suddenly grew excited. "Let's go on that ride, Joyce!" Natalie and the others would never say no to him. They turned to look at Joyce and Neal. Neal hadn't expressed his opinion since entering the amusement park. He was okay with exhilarating and mild rides; he didn't like or dislike any of the attractions. Joyce shook her head. "You guys go ahead. I don't like this, so I'll sit it out." Corey tugged on her sleeve as soon as the words were out of her mouth. "Come with us, Joyce. I'll be scared without you around." She couldn't turn him down when she saw his puppy-dog eyes. She gave in before subconsciously glancing at Neal. He was calm and indifferent. It was as if he didn't care what was happening. His calmness made Joyce feel uneasy. Before she could do anything, he turned to a nearby stall to buy raincoats from the employee. Soon, he returned empty-handed and shook his head. "I asked the employee—he said they're out of raincoats." Joyce became hesitant when she heard that. Corey noticed this and hurriedly said, "It's okay if we don't have raincoats. We can just dry ourselves with towels after the ride. Come on, Joyce. I really want to try this one." She ultimately agreed. The group got onto the ride and buckled themselves in. The log boat slowly ascended to the highest point before shooting downward. The force of their descent caused a shower of water to land on them. As the water fell on them, Joyce instinctively opened her coat and shielded Corey with it. When everyone got off after the ride was over, he was the only one who wasn't drenched. It was only when Joyce saw how soaked Neal was that she realized she'd forgotten about him because she'd focused on keeping Corey dry. She gave him an apologetic look, but he ignored it. Instead, he proactively explained her behavior. "It's fine. You were closer to him; it was normal for you to shield him." He looked unfazed as he headed to the nearby store to buy a towel. He wiped his clothes and hair. Their next attraction was also one of Corey's suggestions. They headed to the escape room. Soon, the person in charge led them to their room, which had a horror theme. Corey was bad at escape rooms, yet he clamored about wanting to play. Once they entered the room, he clung to Joyce. Neal saw this but didn't say a word. He silently watched as Corey yelped with fear before Joyce pulled him behind her. "Don't be scared. This is all fake." The escape room's puzzles weren't too difficult, but it took the group close to two hours to get to the last obstacle because everyone had their own agenda. The last obstacle didn't require them to solve any puzzles. All they had to do was roleplay and act out a scene. According to the hints, they needed a man and a woman to play the roles of a couple about to marry. They would complete the escape room after acting out the scene and watching a video. Neal and Joyce were the only couple present. Logically speaking, they would've been the best candidates to act as the couple. Yet Natalie said, "I heard Neal is afraid of ghosts. How about we have Joyce and Corey do the acting instead?"