Hiccups and Downs

Today was a nice, comfortable autumn day. A very good day for Rodolfo and his friend Angelina to spend a little friendly time together. The two friends met up with each other outside the gates of the amusement park.
"Angie!" Rodolfo, or Rod, greeted his companion for the day.
"Roddy!" Angie greeted back.
"I'm glad you showed up. I got the day off from work and thought we could hang out today. Just the two of us," said Rod.
"That's very sweet of you," Angie replied.
"And what better way to spend it than at the amusement park?"
They got their tickets and went in.

There were many attractions and rides on the grounds. From intense rides such as the watery roller coaster to the more traditional ones like the ferris wheel. As well as some games to win prizes.
"Look at the rides. And look at all the games," said Angie.
"And look at all the prices," Rod added a bit turned off from the price of things.
They first passed by a sideshow game and the man running the stand called to them.
"Hey you two. Are you superstitious?" he asked.
"A little," Rod admitted.
"Then you're probably not the kind of person to play this little game. But if you're up for it, then it'll cost you five bucks," said the man.
There were mirrors lined up in the back of the stand.
"You got three shots. Take the balls and shatter the mirrors. The more you break determines the prize you'll win," he explained.
There were plenty of stuffed animals to choose from as prizes.
"Go ahead, Roddy. Do it," Angie encouraged her friend.
"Okay. I'll try it. It only cost five bucks. And seven years bad luck. Sounds like a fair deal," Rod snidely agreed.
He paid up and received three baseballs to throw. The mirrors were pretty far back so it wouldn't be an easy task. But anything to impress his friend Angie. Rod threw his first ball and missed a mirror by an inch. He threw his second ball which went to high and hit the light hanging up above, breaking it.
"Does that count?" Rod asked.
The man leered at him sourly. Rod threw the last ball and shattered one mirror.
"I got one!" Rod cheered.
"Good job. You broke my light. But good job anyway. Since you only broke one, you'll have to settle for the smaller prizes. Take your pick," said the man.
"Go ahead, Angie. You choose," said Rod.
"Really?" said Angie.
She chose a stuffed alligator and the man gave it to her. She hug Rod for winning it for her.
"Thank you, Roddy," she thanked.
"Anytime, Angie," Rod said with a smile.

They continued with their day of recreation with all the park had to offer. They went on the ferris wheel together for a slow, calm ride and a spinning cage for a more fast, intense ride. They went through the funhouses filled with mirrors, moving floors, spinning platforms, rising stairs, and a long slide to exit. Finally, they had just gotten off a swinging ride that resembled a hammer that swung them around into the sky and back down repeatedly. The two felt a little dizzy after that experience.
"That was a fun ride, wasn't it, Rod?" she asked.
"I guess so. A little painful on the rear though," he replied a little soar.
He then felt his stomach grumble.
"How a break from all the excitement so we can grab some grub?" Rod suggested.
"I'm with you," Angie agreed.

They got a few slices of pizza and drinks and sat down in a rest area to enjoy their food.
"All of this cost me fifteen bucks. What's this pizza made of, gold?" Rod ranted.
"Stop whining and just eat," Angie told him.
"Yeah, you're right. I'm so hungry I'll eat anything," said Rod.
The two sat there and ate their food and sipped their drinks. Rod seemed to be extra hungry today as he was eating his food more ravenously and quickly than Angie. She saw her friend eating that way.
"Oh, that's good," said Rod.
"Slow down. You might choke," Angie told him.
"Angie please, I got this," Rod replied as he kept on eating.
He had already finished his first slice while Angie was only halfway done with hers. Rod grabbed another slice and started eating that one just as fast. Soon was his finished with that slice and chugged some more of his drink.
"Ah, now that was refreshing," he said.
"For a skinny guy you have a big appetite," Angie remarked.
"Nah, not really. I just missed lunch today," said Rod.
Rod immediately grabbed a third slice and proceed to eat again. But just as he was about to take his first bite he felt something inside him.
"HIC!" Rod hiccuped.
"What'd you say?" Angie asked.
"Nothing," Rod replied.
He tried to continue eating but he hiccuped again.
"HIC!"
Angie giggled at her friend.
"You got hiccups. I told you not to eat too fast," said Angie.
"You told me I would choke. HIC!" said Rod as he hiccuped again.
He tried to eat his pizza but each time he hiccuped, his pizza slice kept flopping about. He groaned and sipped his drink thinking it would help. But he hiccuped again.
"Something wrong?" Angie asked him.
"Just a minor case. HIC! Nothing terrible," said Rod.
Then he began hiccuping even faster. His whole body was jumping after every hiccup and he dropped his pizza doing so.
"HIC! Ah, damn-HIC-it! HIC!" Rod groaned.
He gripped onto his seat tightly to keep himself from jumping. But then he and his seat began jumping repeatedly each time he hiccuped. Angie laughed at his expense.
"You squeak when you hiccup," she cooed at her friend fondly.
"Not funny," said Rod.
Angie finished her pizza and drink while Rod sat there, hiccuping. She grabbed two ice cream cones for them.
"How about some ice cream?" Angie suggested.
"Thank-HIC-yoooooou!" he replied while hiccuping and saying that last word at the same time.
The two had their ice creams to end there meal. But while Rod was licking, he hiccuped and smeared some of his ice cream on his face. Angie laughed at him.
"If you don't look ridiculous," she said cleaning him with a napkin.
"Thank you," he thanked her.
Then Rod hiccuped again which made his scoop fall out of the cone. That was the last straw.
"That's it! I need a drink," he said.

Rod went to retrieve a bottle of water hoping it would cure his hiccups.
"A word of advice, guzzle it all. This will get rid of them for sure," Angie suggested.
"Good idea," Rod thought.
He started chugging the water but just before he could finish it halfway, he hiccuped and splashed himself with the water. He groaned very frustrated at that. Angie couldn't help but laugh at him.
"Yeah, it's all a joke to you," said Rod.
"Well you shouldn't have been eating too fast. I really don't want to rub it in but I told you so," Angie teased.
"Well-HIC-so much for-HIC-that idea," Rod thought.
Angie thought of another cure which instantly came to mind.
"I have an idea. Try holding your breath. That never fails," she said.
"If you say so," said Rod.
He inhaled deeply and held it in. While doing so, he was hiccuping from within, adding to the pressure in his lungs. Not able to hold it in any longer, he exhaled deeply.
"Well?" said Angie.
"HIC! HIC! HIC!" Rod answered hiccuping.
Angie laughed again.
"Stubborn hiccups. Okay. I know another good cure," she said.

They got a bunch of salt packets and emptied the grains into a plastic spoon.
"HIC! I'm not-HIC-doing-HIC-this. It's gross! HIC! HIC! HIC!" Rod refused.
"You want to cure your hiccups don't you?" Angie asked.
The hiccups were getting annoying to Rod so he really didn't have a choice, he thought.
"This will make your body well alert. Just eat this spoonful of salt and your hiccups will disappear," Angie told him handing the spoon of salt to him.
"HIC! This is sick! HIC!" Rod thought.
But he was willing try it anyway. He swallowed the spoonful of salt whole and gagged in disgust.
"BLEH! GROSS! YUCK!" Rod gagged.
Angie laughed.
"How do you feel?" she asked.
"I feel like I just ate a spoonful of salt," Rod sarcastically answered.
"But your hiccups seem to be gone," Angie pointed out.
Rod remained motionless waiting for the hiccups to return but nothing happened.
"You're right. They're gone. Then that was so worth-HIC!" said Rod.
The salt cure didn't seem to do the trick.
"Don't worry. We'll try Plan C," said Angie.
"HIC! Oh good," Rod groaned.
It wasn't like he was really up for another attempt.

There was a pickle stand selling pickles for snacks but instead of buying pickles, Angie and Rod purchased the pickle juice.
"This-HIC-cost me-HIC-six dollars," said Rod.
"Stop groaning. If you want to cure your hiccups then you better drink this juice," said Angie.
"Oh-HIC-really? Well-HIC-you're not making-HIC-me drink-HIC-that stuff," Rod refused with his arms crossed.
"It's either this or be stuck with those hiccups for a while. What's it gonna be?" Angie persuaded.
"HIC! Alright then," Rod reluctantly agreed.
He took the pickle juice knowing he wasn't going to like the taste. Especially after eating a spoonful of salt. But whatever remedy works. He guzzled down the pickle juice which left a very disturbing, sour taste in his mouth.
"Yuck! Sick!" Rod cried in disgust.
"Feel better?" Angie asked with a laugh.
"No. Because I just drank pickle juice," Rod answered.
He started hiccuping again. The pickle juice didn't work.
"HIC! Oh good. I-HIC-drank that for nothing," Rod groaned.
Angie laughed at him.
"Maybe you just need to get your mind off of the hiccups," she thought.
"HIC! How so?" Rod wondered.
Angie got an idea and smiled at him. Rod didn't like what she had in mind already.

Angie and Rod went somewhere alone for their next attempt to cure the stubborn hiccups.
"HIC! Couldn't we-HIC-have grabbed-HIC-a snack first? To get-HIC-that awful taste-HIC-out of my mouth?" Rod asked.
"Eating is how you got these hiccups in the first place," she told him.
"HIC! What's the idea?" Rod asked.
"As I said. Maybe if you get your mind off of the hiccups, you'll forget all about them. You need to be distracted from them," Angie explained to her hiccuping friend.
"That's-HIC-no problem. HIC! I'm easily distract-HIC-ed," said Rod.
"You ready?" Angie asked.
"Go ahead," Rod replied.
Angie then started tickling Rod's belly to make him laugh.
"Ha ha ha! Hey, you quit that!" Rod laughed and demanded.
But Angie continued to tickle him. Perhaps the laughter would distract him from the hiccups. She kept tickling him despite all his pleading for her to stop.
"STOP IT, ANGIE! HA HA! STOP IT!" Rod cried.
Angie giggled at his laughing along with him. Rod squirmed and could not take it anymore. His eyes widened with fury.
"DON'T TICKLE ME!!!" Rod shouted as though with murder in his eyes.
His outburst frightened Angie a little who ceased tickling him.
"Well excuse me," she said sternly.
Rod was breathing deeply to catch his breath from all of that.
"But it did the trick, didn't it?" she asked him.
"I think-HIC... not," Rod replied.
Angie snapped her finger thinking that would've worked for sure.
"HIC! But nice try. HIC! HIC! Now what?" said Rod.
Angie looked around and notice something in the distance. She got another idea.

They lined up at a ride that looked like a really tall tower.
"HIC! What's the idea-HIC-this time?" Rod asked.
"Go on, guess," said Angie.
"Scream the-HIC-hiccups out?" Rod guessed.
"No. We're going to drop them. Get rid of the hiccups by going down," Angie explained.
Rod couldn't believe the concept of this idea.
"That's-HIC-ridiculous!" said Rod.
"Come on, we're next," Angie told him.
The two got seated and the ride began to rise them up the tower slowly. Rod looked down at the ground becoming further and further away.
"HIC! HIC! HIC! That's a long drop. I don't even like heights," he said a little uneasy.
"It'll be fun though," Angie said not the least bit concerned.
"HIC! Is this a-HIC-joke to you? HIC! HIC!" Rod asked.
But just before Angie could answer, the ride had already reached the top and immediately dropped them without warning. They plummeted to the ground at great speed. Rod cried out loud in terror but Angie was enjoying it. The ride reached the bottom and was over. They got off with Rod with his hand on his forehead from the drop.
"We really tried that idea, didn't we? Didn't we?" he asked in disbelief that he even went through with such an idea.
Angie didn't seem to mind, however.
"That was fun though. Are your hiccups gone?" she said.
They waited for a moment without Rod hiccuping.
"Hey, I gotta hand it to you. That idea really did work," he said happily.
"I told you," said Angie.
But then Rod hiccuped yet again. He groaned very frustrated at that. Angie shook her head.
"Well-HIC-what's next?" Rod asked.
Angie looked around and noticed the roller coaster from before. She got another idea.
"You said you hate heights, right?" Angie said slyly.
"HIC! Where's this going?" Rod asked.

Next the two of them had lined up to ride the roller coaster. Rod didn't like this idea already.
"HIC! I hate roller-coast-HIC-ers," he told Angie.
"That's the point," said Angie.
"What point?"
"The classic scare tactic. We'll scare the hiccups right out of you."
Rod's eyes widened in terror.
"HIC! Uh-uh! HIC! I'm not doing this shi-HIC!" Rod refused hiccuping on that last word.
"Perfect timing on that last hiccup," said Angie.
Before they knew it, it was their turn to ride the roller coaster.
"Hoo boy. HIC!" Rod sighed.
"Come on. Let's get on," said Angie.
"I got an-HIC-idea of my own. How about you get on and I don't?"
"Come on!"
Angie pulled her friend onto the roller coaster. The ride started and the carts were in motion, slowly going up a slope. Rod was a little nervous.
"HIC! HIC! I want off, Angie," he begged trying to get free.
"Unless you want fall to your death, you can't. You might as well face the music," Angie told him.
The carts reached the top and then dropped down the slope at tremendous speed. Everyone, including Angie, were screaming with excitement from the thrill. Rod was screaming too but out of fear. The ride went through many twists and turns, loops, and through water, soaking the riders. Eventually the ride came to a stop and everyone got off. Angie and Rod were dizzy from all of that.
"Woo! Wasn't that fun, Roddy?" she asked.
"No. HIC! HIC! HIC! HIC! HIC!" Rod answered.
His hiccups seemed to have become more intense as he was hiccuping repeatedly nonstop.
"Man, you sound worse," Angie thought.
"I feel worse," Rod said feeling ill.
He turned away and hurled into the trash can beside him.
"HIC! I threw up the pickle juice," he said weakly.

Rod was ready to just call it quits and end the day before he died, he thought.
"HIC! Can't we just give-HIC-up?" he asked.
Angie laughed at him for what he said.
"Hic-up. Hiccup," she laughed.
Then she stopped laughing when she saw Rod glaring at her.
"No. Besides this is fun," Angie denied and admitted actually enjoying this.
"HIC! HIC! Why-HIC-aren't I having-HIC-any?" Rod questioned.
It was obvious he wasn't enjoying this. Angie took him over to another ride. This time it was a horror ride with a little trip through the scary tunnels inside. Hopefully to scare those hiccups out for good.
"This'll work. I know it will," Angie felt.
"HIC! Oh hell-HIC-no! HIC! Not this!" Rod cried.
"What's wrong? Are you scared?"
"HIC! HIC! Yes!"
Rod didn't have any problem admitting it. But Angie wasn't going to let him off the hook that easy.
"You're getting on this thing, Roddy. It's sure to cure your hiccups. I just know it will," Angie promised.
"HIC! We can always just forget about them," Rod suggested.
Then he started hiccuping and jumping around constantly with each hiccup.
"You are worse. Let's go, Roddy. You really don't have a choice," she told him.
It was either he go with her through those creepy tunnels or she drag him on there anyway. So he really didn't have a choice at all. She tried grabbing his arm but he kept hiccuping and jumping around. She finally grabbed him and took him onto the ride and they got seated. Angie laughed with delight and excitement.
"Ready, Roddy?" she asked her horrified friend.
"No. HIC! HIC! HIC! But it doesn't matter-HIC-cause I'm already seated," Rod replied.
"Here we go!" said Angie.
The ride started and the two were off in their cart, entering the tunnel to witness the horrors inside to fill them with absolute panic.

Angie and Rod were traveling through a long, narrow brick tunnel that was very dim with the lighting. Rod was already shaking. And hiccuping.
"Oh bricks. Scary," Angie groaned not at all impressed.
"HIC! Oh man," said Rod.
They were taken through the doors at the end of the tunnel into a graveyard decorated with gargoyles which came to life, moving their arms and their eyes glowing fiery red. Rod's mouth was wide open in shock while Angie was still not impressed.
"You're freaking out already?" she asked him.
Some zombies poked out from behind the tombstones, screeching at the pair. Just as they were approaching the gates, a big scythe swung down, just barely missing them as they got passed it. And it looked like an actual blade.
"That was so fake," said Angie.
"HIC! You kidding? HIC! That was a real blade!" Rod panicked.
They exited the graveyard and entered a spooky forest where bats were flying at them right into their faces. One smacked Rod right in his face.
"Ow!" he cried.
Angie took it off of him showing it was just a rubber toy. Some creepy-looking forest animals were howling and screeching showing their teeth and eyes. Rod jumped when a snake dropped down from a branch over them.
"SNAKE!" he cried.
Of course, it was just another fake prop. Angie rolled her eyes at the silly thing.
"Oh please," she groaned.
Just then, they could hear the scurrying of something behind them. They saw a giant animatronic spider chasing after their cart with ooze dripping from it's pincers.
"HIC! Holy-HIC!" Rod gasped.
"Seriously?" said Angie.
It was then that the cart sped up and so did the spider for a heart-pumping, high-speed pursuit. Rod couldn't help but look at the spider in terror.
"HIC! My god! It's like we're-HIC-being chased by a hairy-HIC-McDonald's arches!" said Rod.
Angie laughed at his little remark there.
"Ba da da da da!" she imitated the McDonald's jingle.
But Rod was not loving it. Eventually they exited the forest and the spider was lost. Rod sighed as they approached two entrances.
"HIC! It's not over yet?" he asked.
Just then, their cart became divided and they rode off separately into the two entrances.
"HIC! What the? Angie!" Rod cried out to his friend.
"It'll be okay, Roddy" Angie assured him from the other side.
The two friends found themselves in what appeared to be an asylum in hell with the patients screaming, strapped, shaking the cages that imprisoned them, and reaching out to grab them. And it wasn't like these things were at a distance. They were up close and right their faces. This was the scariest part yet and just from the look from Rod's face, you could tell he was so frightened that he just couldn't respond or move while the lights were flickering on and off. On the other side, Angie had gone through the same thing Rod did and their carts were reunited upon exitting the tunnels. She didn't seem at all terrified, however.
"Did you have fun?" Angie asked him.
But Rod was petrified with fear to respond. Finally, the carts exitted through some doors and the ride was over.
"That was the lamest ride in the whole park. I can't believe we even got on that," Angie said with disappointment.
She helped Rod off who was still awestruck and stiff from the experience. Angie shook him to bring him back.
"Roddy? Roddy!" she said.
Rod snapped out of it and came to.
"Oh god! I won't be sleeping tonight. Or ever again," he stated.
Angie scoffed and couldn't believe he was actually scared by those things in there.
"So how are you hiccups?" Angie asked.
Rod waited for the hiccups to come back and just when he thought they were finally gone, he hiccuped once again.
"Oh dear. It's no wonder you still have the hiccups. That ride wasn't scary enough," said Angie.
"You're not-HIC-sending me back-HIC-in-HIC-there! HIC! HIC! HIC! HIC! HIC!" Rod hollered refusing to experience that allover again.
So much for the scare tactics. Perhaps some other measures were in order to cure these hiccups.

We now come to the next attempt. Rod had a paper sack in his hand.
"HIC! HIC! HIC! HIC! HIC!" he hiccuped again and again.
"You ready for the next cure?" Angie asked.
"HIC! Here we go again," Rod groaned.
"This will get rid of them for sure," she said.
"You said that-HIC-the first time we tried to cure them," said Rod.
"You wanna get rid of your hiccups or not, smart ass?" Angie scolded.
Rod shrugged and decided to go through with it.
"All you have to do is breathe in and out of the bag. There's nothing to it," Angie explained.
"HIC! If it's that-HIC-easy, why-HIC-didn't we do it-HIC-earlier?" Rod questioned.
"If this doesn't cure them, nothing will," said Angie.
"HIC! HIC! HIC! Hopefully it won't come to that," Rod hoped.
And so Rod put the bag to his mouth and inhaled and exhaled deeply. While he was doing that, a tall, heavily built man was at the strength tester right behind Angie ready to show what he was made of.
"I so got this. Stand back," he told the crowd around him.
He grabbed the sledge hammer and lifted it but it went soaring out of his hand right into the air above.
"Whoops," the man said.
The hammer flew up high overhead and came falling back down. It was coming right down on Angie which Rod immediately took notice of. He gasped deeply, nearly sucking the whole bag in his mouth. He coughed it back out.
"ANGIE!" Rod cried pulling his friend out of the way.
The hammer missed Angie and landed with a thud in the spot right where she was just standing. It had just missed her by a second once Rod pulled her away in time.
"Oh my god!" Angie gasped.
"That was way too close," Rod sighed.
"Sorry miss. I lost my grip. Are you hurt?" the man asked.
"No. I'm fine," Angie answered.
"Yeah. Careful, Clumsy. People come here to have fun, not die," Rod said giving an attitude.
"I said I was sorry," the man apologized again.
It was at that moment that Angie noticed something.
"Roddy! Your hiccups!" she said.
Rod waited a moment expecting the hiccups to return but after a while, nothing happened.
"Hey yeah. I think they're really gone this time," Rod thought. Then he paused again and said "Wait a minute."
He waited again and nothing happened.
"They are gone! They're finally gone!" Rod happily cheered.
Angie hugged her friend who returned the embrace. Though the man was confused.
"Did I miss something? Other than the girl?" he wondered.
"I think that startle the instant I saw you were in danger scared them away. I'm cured now!" said Rod.
Angie hugged her friend tighter, happy for him.
"That's good news, Roddy," she told him. Then she giggled and admitted "Though I will kind of miss them."
"I won't," said Rod.
He had had enough of the hiccups for the day and was relieved that they were finally gone. And was especially relieved that he lives another day knowing he didn't have to try anymore of Angie's cures.
"That was more excitement than I could handle. But I'm still up for some more time to spend together with you," Rod said taking Angie's hand. "Ready to spend the rest of the day just as we planned?"
Angie laughed and hugged his arm.
"Sure, Roddy," she replied.
The two friends smiled and went to go enjoy the rest of the day they planned to spend together. Without the hiccups to get in the way anymore. The man was still puzzled by what just happened.
"Maybe they should've gotten hit and got some sense knocked into them," he thought.

At last Angie and Rod could spend the day together just as they originally planned. Just the two of them together. They had just finished the go-kart track and got off.
"I'm so glad that whole ordeal's over," said Rod.
"It was fun while it lasted," said Angie.
"Fun for you. You didn't have to go through what I had to," said Rod.
They stopped at a cotton candy stand.
"How about some cotton candy on me?" Rod offered.
"That's very sweet of you, Roddy," said Angie.
"Ah, it's nothing. I've been paying for everything else anyway," said Rod.
They got two cones of cotton candy and enjoyed their fluffy confectioneries together. Rod smiled at his friend.
"I'm glad we got to spend the day together, Angie. Even if we spent most of it curing my hiccups," Rod told his friend.
Angie smiled back.
"I am too. What matters the most is that we were together, right?" said Angie.
"Yeah. You're right about that," Rod agreed.
They continued eating their cotton candy. Angie finished hers first.
"Now that really hit the spot," she said.
"Finished already?" Rod asked.
"Well if we're going to make the most of the day together, we don't have much time to waste, right?" Angie figured.
"I suppose so," Rod thought.
"Then let's go. There's just enough time for us to-HIC!" said Angie.
"For us to what?" Rod asked.
"We still have to-HIC! HIC! HIC!" Angie replied.
It seemed now she had come down with a case of hiccups this time.
"Ah, you ate your cotton candy too fast," Rod said slyly.
"Oh it's-HIC-nothing," Angie thought.
She hiccuped again and again and Rod grinned impishly.
"Well how's that for an ending? Let's cure them," Rod offered.
"HIC! No, it's fine. HIC! Really," said Angie.
Rod rubbed his hands together.
"Come on. It'll be fun while it lasts," he told his friend and laughed mischievously.
"HIC! Oh dear," Angie sighed.
"First method, salt. That'll make your body well alert," Rod started.
For now, the tables have turned and it was Rod's turn to cure Angie's hiccups. Not quite what either of them had in mind to spend the day but at least they will have fun with each other either way. And as Angie stated, that's what matters most of all.