CHAPTER TWELVE JUNE 16, 2020   The group arrived at Universal Studios Hollywood at eight-thirty in the morning to avoid heavy line congestion when the park opened at nine. After purchasing their tickets at the counter, they headed to the iconic spinning Universal Studios globe fountain in front of the park entrance. With the help of some kind strangers, they all posed in front of the fountain for group pictures.   Once the girls were satisfied with the amount of pictures taken, they walked down the long red carpet and passed through the front gate. The group immediately found themselves in front of another large fountain, featuring large bronze statues of a director, a sound operator, and a cinematographer, that Bianca insisted they take more group pictures at.   The group then continued down Universal Boulevard, passing several restaurants and souvenir shops. Kallie and Chloe lit up when they saw Hello Kitty standing by the Illumination gift store, and the two girls ran off to take pictures with the Sanrio character.   “Do you want us to wait for you?” Russell asked them.   “You guys go ahead first! We’ll catch up in a bit!” Kallie called back, waving them off.   With that, the rest of the group moved forward, taking in all of the sights and smells of the famous amusement park. Estee and Bianca continuously paused in their tracks, both of them with their cameras out and energetically working to capture every inch of Universal Studios Hollywood. Jeremy also had his camera out and was carefully filming the area for his YouTube channel.   As they walked down New York Street, Jason laughed upon seeing two actors playfully banter about the park-goers with each other from the second floor of a brick building, above the Manhattan Market. His attention then shifted to the Dreamworks Theater up ahead when Alexander loudly complained, “Where’s the Shrek ride? It used to be here!”   Jason looked at the theater and saw a bright red “Kung Fu Panda Adventure” sign attached to the front. “I guess it got replaced,” the Taiwanese boy noted.   “That’s so messed up! You can’t just replace Shrek!” Alexander huffed. “Shrek is love, Shrek is life!”   “But everybody is kung fu fighting!” Karter sang at the top of his lungs while striking and kicking the air. “Your mind becomes fast as lightning!”   To the right was the Universal Plaza, which was decorated with golden Chinese guardian lion statues and strings of red Chinese lanterns. Upon entering the plaza, there was a large red banner detailing the various activities that would take place throughout the day.   Alexander immediately hooted with joy when he pointed at the right side of the banner. “Mandarin-speaking Megatron? Sign me up!” And without warning, he ran off to find the Transformers character with Chanel and Karter hot on his heels.   Meanwhile, the others headed to Ping’s Noodle Shop. It was a food stand recreated in the likeness of the humble noodle shop owned by Po’s adoptive father from the Kung Fu Panda movie. There was an animatronic of Mr. Ping the Chinese goose standing behind the counter and reciting lines from the animated film to customers.   Jason watched in amusement as Mr. Ping asked a young Asian boy who was watching the animatronic with wide eyes, “Do you know what the secret ingredient is?”   “No,” the little boy shyly answered.   “You don’t know?” Mr. Ping asked.   “No,” the little boy repeated, shaking his head.   “The secret ingredient…is nothing,” Mr. Ping revealed while vigorously nodding his head.   The little boy giggled as he nodded back.   “There’s no secret ingredient,” Mr. Ping reiterated. “Do you know why?”   “Why?” the little boy curiously asked, his eyes growing even bigger.   “Because you don’t need a secret ingredient!” Mr. Ping exclaimed. “All you have to do is believe in yourself and that is how you become successful. That’s how I opened up my own noodle shop.”   Jason hadn’t expected the animatronic Chinese goose to throw out such sound life advice and the Taiwanese boy began to mull over Mr. Ping’s words as he followed the group out of the plaza, mindlessly waving to Princess Poppy from the Trolls movie who had just finished taking pictures with a group of young girls.   Coming from an upper middle class family, he had never really struggled in life like others had. His parents had been able to finance his education from a young age, giving him the opportunity to study abroad in the United States at an elite private university. Since his life had always been relatively smooth, when he had started developing feelings for Amelie, Jason had never considered that she wouldn’t return his feelings.   He was kind, he was smart, and he shared many of the same perspectives that Amelie did, based off of the conversations they’d had throughout the semester. In his mind, they had matched perfectly with each other.   So when he had been confronted with the fact that Amelie had no interest with him, choosing Jonas instead, Jason’s mind had swirled with confusion.   What was it that drew Amelie to Jonas? What was the special trait, or the special ingredient, the older male possessed that Jason didn’t?   The Taiwanese boy had mulled over this long and hard ever since he had realized that Amelie would never look at him the same way she looked at Jonas. Although they were so different in temperament, Jason had failed to see why the emotionless and mysterious older male captivated Amelie so much.   But perhaps the answer was that there wasn’t necessarily anything special about Jonas that drew Amelie to him like a bee to honey. It was just that. Jonas was the flower providing nectar to Amelie while Jason was the grass next to the flower.   No matter how much he waved in the wind, the bee would always land on the flower instead.   However, that didn’t mean Jason had to lose faith in himself. Although he might’ve been a blade of grass to Amelie, he was sure to be the flower for someone else.   As long as he believed in himself and continued to put his best foot forward, he would eventually meet someone who appreciated him for who he was. There was no need for him to grasp at straws and needlessly try to change himself.   One day, he would bloom and the right person would be there to see him.   While he was deep in thought, Jason hadn’t noticed that the group had split up until Estee tugged his arm. “What’s going on?” he asked her as he looked around.   “We’re going to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter!” Estee excitedly told him as she dragged him through the giant stone archway where Amelie and Jonas were waiting.   Jason allowed himself to be pulled into Hogsmeade and they immediately came face-to-face with the Hogwarts Express. There was a conductor wearing a sharp brown uniform by the tooting train, which had white steam billowing out of the top.   Estee squealed with delight at the sight and her camera into Jason’s hands. “Can you take a picture of me in front of the Hogwarts Express, please?”   “Sure.” Jason leaned back, knees slightly bent, in order to capture every bit of the giant train in the picture with Estee smiling brightly next to it. After he snapped several photos, the Taiwanese boy turned to Amelie and Jonas to ask, “Do you two want a picture with the train too?”   Amelie’s eyes gleamed as she enthusiastically nodded. At Jason’s signal, she pulled Jonas to the Hogwarts Express where Estee had been standing just seconds earlier.   “You can get closer,” Jason directed, gesturing for Jonas to move in since the older male was slightly out of frame. Once Jonas was slightly behind Amelie, the pair looking every bit like a couple, Jason pressed the shutter button to capture their smiling expressions.   The group then took a picture altogether with the conductor before heading left into Zonko’s Joke Shop. The interior was shockingly pink and quite narrow, especially in comparison to Honeydukes which was connected to the small gift store.   Honeydukes had mint green windows and displays with giant ice cream cones around the sweets shop. Estee happily scooped up boxes of Chocolate Frogs, Cauldron Cakes, Fizzing Whizzbees, Licorice Wands, Pumpkin Pasties, and Sugar Quills before joining the long line behind the register to pay for them all.   “Are you sure you got enough?” Jason teased when he saw how full her arms were with sweets.   “It’s been my dream to eat all of these,” Estee revealed with a sheepish smile. “Let me have this moment.”   “I’m kidding. Go wild while we’re here,” Jason said with a chuckle. “And let me help you carry some of these before you drop them all,” the Taiwanese boy added, plucking some of the boxes from her.   After exiting the colorful sweets shop, the group of four strolled down the street until Estee excitedly pointed at the Three Broomsticks Inn. “Let’s check it out!”   The restaurant was filled with people enjoying a meal or resting at one of the many wooden tables. Estee’s camera clicked non-stop as she took dozens of pictures of the interior. And similarly to how Zonko’s Joke Shop and Honeydukes were connected, the Three Broomsticks Inn was connected to the Hog’s Head Inn.   There was a giant hog’s head attached to the wall behind the counter of the Hog’s Head Inn with barrels of butterbeer beneath the decoration. Jason grinned as he snapped several pictures with his phone.   Once they left the restaurant, they crossed the street and walked into the Hogsmeade post office. The Owl Post was filled with shelves of various owl plushies and there were several animatronic owls perched overhead near the ceiling. Estee cooed happily as she inspected all of the stuffed animals before grabbing a snowy owl to buy.   Jason and Jonas decided to head to the restroom for a quick break while Estee paid for her owl plushie. When Jason entered a stall, he suddenly heard a high-pitched cackle and he immediately paused, looking around warily for the source of the laugh. “Did you hear that?” he asked Jonas, who was in the stall next to him.   “Yeah, I think it’s Myrtle,” Jonas answered.   “God, that’s creepy,” Jason said with a shudder when the female ghost’s voice rang out again.   The boys quickly finished their business and rejoined the girls, not wanting to listen to Myrtle any longer than they had to, before heading to Ollivanders for the interactive wand experience. Due to it being one of the most popular attractions in the entire amusement park, the line was already thirty minutes long. The four of them passed the time by playing word chain, specifically using words and characters from the Harry Potter series.   When it was their turn to enter the shop, they were funneled into the building with around ten other people. An employee led them past the walls lined with hundreds of thousands of boxes of wands into a hidden, dimly lit room where a middle-aged, bespectacled man wearing sienna brown robes was standing behind a counter and welcoming all of the guests in his thick Irish accent.   “Excellent, excellent, please feel free to browse all you like. Just remember, we browse with our eyes, not with our hands,” the bespectacled man instructed, causing everyone to chuckle.   As they all spread out within the room, Jason noted how all fours walls were filled with even more boxes of wands.   “Excellent, come in, come in! Yes, everyone, make your way into the room,” the bespectacled man continued, grinning brightly at the audience.   “This is so exciting!” Estee whispered to Jason, her eyes shining brightly as she also drank in the magical scenery.   “Welcome, everyone, to Ollivanders! Makers of fine wands since 382 B.C. You are all here today to witness a wand pairing, a very special time in a young wizard’s life. I am the wandkeeper and…” The bespectacled man looked around the room for several seconds until his gaze landed on Amelie. “You,” he said, pointing at the Taiwanese girl while walking forward. “You are here for your wand? Tell me, what’s your name?”   “Amelie,” she answered with a beam.   “Amelie,” the bespectacled man repeated. “Ah, yes, of course. I wondered when I’d be seeing you, Amelie.” He then stepped to the right and beckoned for her to follow him. “Amelie, step right over here into the light. Right in front of me, so I can see you more clearly.” Once they were in front of a spherical lamp, the bespectacled man leaned back and nodded in satisfaction. “Excellent! Which is your wand arm, Amelie?”   The Taiwanese girl held up her right arm.   “Perfect, hold it straight out to the side like that,” the bespectacled man directed, pointing to the left.   Amelie’s right arm followed, sticking out like a wing.   “Now, you may know that every Ollivander wand has a core of a powerful magical substance,” the bespectacled man explained as he took out a tape measure and began recording the dimensions of Amelie’s arm. “We use unicorn hairs, phoenix tail feathers, and the heartstrings of dragons.” He let the tape measure slide back into its case before telling the Taiwanese girl, “You may put your arm down.”   She duly let it drop to her side.   “No two Ollivander wands are the same,” the bespectacled man stated as he walked behind the counter. “Just as no two unicorns, phoenixes, or dragons are quite the same. And of course, you’ll never get such good results as you would with another wizard’s wand,” he continued as he turned around and pulled a box from the wall of wands behind the counter. He set the box on the counter and opened it. Taking out the wand inside and inspecting it, the bespectacled man mused, “Now for you, madam, a wand of cedar, fourteen inches, quite bendy, with,” he held up the wand to the spherical lamp, “unicorn hair core.”   Even though he knew the actor had memorized a script, Jason was still thoroughly impressed by how natural it all seemed.   “Now what I would like for you to do for me, madam, is to unlock one of those boxes,” the bespectacled man handed the wand to Amelie and pointed up at the wall behind him, “those drawers, by giving me a wave of your wand and saying, Alohomora. Give it a try.”   “Alohomora,” Amelie recited. Suddenly, the drawers on the wall began to randomly open and close.   “Finite Incantatem,” the bespectacled man yelled over the din of the moving drawers. Once they were all back in place, he turned to Amelie and said, “Well, that is not your wand.”   The audience laughed as he took the wand from her and placed it back in its box.   “Not to worry, you’re doing just fine,” the bespectacled man told her as he turned around again to grab another box. “You see, those of us who have studied wandlore know that the wand chooses the wizard. It’s just not always clear as to…why.” He set the second box onto the counter and took out the wand. “Ah, a wand of vine, nine inches, rigid with,” he held it up to the spherical lamp, “phoenix tail feather core.” Handing the wand to Amelie, he said, “Here’s what I want you to do for me. I want you to levitate one of those wand boxes, way at the top, by giving your wand a swish and a flick and saying, Wingardium Leviosa. Give that a try.”   “Wingardium Leviosa,” the Taiwanese girl chanted. The top three shelves holding the boxes immediately collapsed with a loud clatter.   “Oh dear. Not exactly what we were expecting there, was it? Not to worry. Reparo,” the bespectacled man shouted while pointing his own wand at the shelves. They immediately righted themselves back into place. “Well, definitely not your wand.” He took back the wand and placed it back in its box before turning around to peruse the wall of wands behind him once more. “But I feel like we’re getting close. You see, the best results always come when there is the strongest affinity between the wizard and the—” The bespectacled man suddenly paused and stared at Amelie while mystical music began playing in the background. “And the wand,” he finally finished, leaning over the counter. “I wonder… Yes, of course.” He dropped down and grabbed a box from under the counter, blowing off copious amounts of dust from the top. Placing it on the counter and opening it, he said, “A wand of maple, twelve inches, very flexible with dragon heartstring core. Let’s give it a try.” He handed the wand to her.   The moment Amelie touched it, a bright spotlight shone on her and the music drastically increased in volume.   “Ah, the perfect fit!” the bespectacled man boomed. “How wonderful for you! Now, a wand of maple tells me that you are a traveler and an explorer by nature. And dragon heartstring core tells me you are destined for great power and success. Now, if I may, one last time,” he said, gesturing for Amelie to hand him the last wand. Once it was in his possession again, he placed it back in the box and announced, “My assistant will go over all of your wand options and answer any questions you may have next door.” The bespectacled man passed the box to a female store employee standing nearby. “But remember, never store your wand in your back pockets. Elementary wand safety. Now, off you go. That goes for everybody. Feel free to visit next door, choose a wand for yourself. Or better still, have a wand choose you. Have a wonderful day, everyone!”   A door at the opposite end opened and everyone shuffled out of the demonstration room. Jason blinked multiple times, trying to adjust to the sudden brightness in the store.   The store employee walked up to Amelie and kindly asked, “Would you like to purchase this wand?”   Estee grabbed Amelie’s hands and exclaimed, “You have to get it! It’ll be such a great memento!”   “Alright, alright, I’ll buy it,” the Taiwanese girl agreed with a laugh.   Once they finished browsing the store and Estee chose a wand as well—alder, ten inches, surprisingly swishy with a unicorn hair core—the group of four exited the shop and headed to one of the many orange butterbeer carts stationed around the area. Since they were all quite thirsty, they each purchased a cup of the famous butterscotch beverage.   With their butterbeer in hand, they walked through a giant stone archway to an open courtyard. There was a circular outdoor stage with five young adults dressed in black robes. Four of them were singing in acapella and holding giant frog animatronics while the fifth waved around a baton to conduct them.   Turning to Estee since she had the most knowledge on Harry Potter, Jason curiously asked, “Who are they?”   “They must be the Frog Choir!” she answered brightly while taking out her phone to record the live show.   It ended around ten minutes later, all four of them clapping loudly when the performers bowed to the audience. They then continued forward and Estee let out a gasp when the replica of Hogwarts Castle loomed into view.   “Oh my gosh, I have to get a picture in front of the castle!” she exclaimed. “It’s beautiful!”   After another impromptu photo shoot with Jason manning the camera, the group entered the castle to join the queue for the Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey ride. At the castle entrance was a young female employee wearing black robes trimmed with green. “Welcome to Hogwarts!” she greeted before gesturing to the right. “Right this way for our locker system.”   The locker area was extremely crowded, so the four of them quickly stowed their belongings in an empty locker and joined the line. It s out of the castle to an open pavilion that was reminiscent of the Herbology greenhouse. Dozens of potted plants hung from the wooden rafters and giant vines wrapped around the stone walls surrounding the queue area. There were also fenced-in shelves that showcased potted mandrakes and fluffy earmuffs, referencing how the cry of a mature mandrake would kill anyone who heard it.   They then re-entered the castle and passed several giant bronze statues of various notable figures from Hogwarts history, the Mirror of Erised, the four house point hourglasses filled with jewels, and dozens of talking portraits, including a conversation between the four founders of Hogwarts: Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw, and Salazar Slytherin.   The next room they entered was the Headmaster’s office. Albus Dumbledore warmly welcomed all of them into the castle and spoke briefly about how the Defence Against the Dark Arts teaching position was vacant once again. He then mentioned that Professor Binns, the ghost professor who taught History of Magic, would be giving a lecture on the school’s history before wishing them all an enjoyable stay at Hogwarts.   After they entered the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom, the park-goers were suddenly visited by Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger appearing from underneath the Invisibility Cloak. The three students invited everyone to watch a game of Quidditch rather than bore themselves listening to Professor Binns’ lecture, telling them to meet up at the Room of Requirement. Ron accidentally casts some falling snow onto everyone before the trio hides under the Invisibility Cloak again to avoid getting caught by Argus Filch, the castle’s care-taker.   After being ushered through another hallway by the talking portrait of the Fat Lady, they found themselves in a room with the Sorting Hat who gave them safety instructions. The four of them were then able to take their seats on the enchanted bench car, all of them in one row facing the right, before taking off to meet Hermione in the Room of Requirement.   “Say ‘Observatory’ in one, two, three!” she directed before tossing a handful of Floo Powder onto them.   In a flash of green light, they began traveling through the Floo Network.   “Hang on tight!” Hermione yelled after them. “Ron and Harry will meet you outside!”   Once they arrived at the Observatory atop the Astronomy Tower, Harry triumphantly cheered, “Hermione did it! They’re flying!” Seeing that his best friend was lagging behind, Harry shouted, “Keep up, Ron!” before continuing, “We’ll meet you outside!” When the bench emerged out of the Observatory and dipped towards the Great Lake before sharply turning up, Harry sheepishly said, “Sorry about that!” He and Ron then swooped into view, both of them riding brooms. “Those edges can be a bit dodgy. But we haven’t lost anyone yet.”   “Not this week, anyway,” Ron added.   The two boys suddenly flew under a bridge that Hagrid was standing on. “Hey, you lot,” the half-giant greeted. “Haven’t seen a dragon, have yeh?” he asked, holding up a broken chain.   Before they could give an answer, Harry shouted, “Right, c’mon, we’re going over to the Quidditch Pitch.” But just as they emerged from under the bridge, a giant Hungarian Horntail dragon appeared and Harry repeatedly shrieked, “Hagrid! The dragon!”   Jets of fire erupted from the dragon’s mouth as they haphazardly flew around, trying to avoid getting incinerated. Ron yelled, “Look out!” just before the dragon suddenly appeared in front of them, baring its cavernous maw filled with sharp teeth. It blasted a fireball at them, causing the bench to fall through a hole in the bridge.   After the dizzying tumble, an animatronic dragon appeared and it shot a stream of watery mist with red lighting at the group. Seconds later, they arrived at the Forbidden Forest where Aragog and his army of Acromantulas were hanging from web-covered trees.   “Follow my voice!” Hermione suddenly cried. “The forest isn’t safe! Hold on tight! Arania Exumai!” After casting the spider-repelling charm, she said, “Hurry on to the Quidditch Pitch! I’ll watch out for the Whomping Willow!”   Soon after she spoke, they appeared in front of the sentient tree.   Hermione screamed, “Look out!” as the branches whacked them into the Quidditch Pitch.   “And the match is tied,” a female voice announced to the crowd that was watching the game. “Twenty points each for Gryffindor and Slytherin.”   Harry, who was playing, briefly turned around and asked, “Where’ve you been?” As soon as he finished speaking, the Golden Snitch swooped in front of them, its wings fluttering so fast that they blended into a blur. “Snitch!” Harry shouted. “Follow me!”   But before he could get far, Draco Malfoy knocked into him and spat, “Showing off for your Muggle admirers, Potter?”   The bench then shot through the field until it was behind the Gryffindor goal posts that Ron was guarding and the Quaffle flew through one of the hoops. “Slytherin takes the lead,” the game announcer reported right after.   The stormy black clouds above them suddenly formed into a tornado and Ron cried, “Dementors!” while pointing at the dark sky.   As the shadowy figures dropped into the Quidditch Pitch, Harry said, “This way!” as he flew to the right and into the structure of the pitch. “Hang on!” They steadfastly followed him through the tunnel and up into the air when a Dementor suddenly attacked. The bench then began to free-fall and all that could be heard was the elongated scream of “No!” coming from Harry in the background.   They fell into the Chamber of Secrets with the Dementors hot on their trail. The massive skeleton of the Basilisk littered the ground and Voldemort’s Dark Mark flashed in the air as the group was into the mouth of Salazar Slytherin’s statue. Several more Dementors appeared before them, blanketing the group in inky-black shadows. Suddenly, one swooped towards them, ready to use the Dementor’s Kiss to out their souls. Gusts of cold air blew in their faces as the Dementor floated closer and closer.   “Leave them alone!” Harry shouted all of a sudden. “Get away from them! Expecto Patronum!” A silvery stag hurled into the Dementor, knocking it away from the group. “Stay close and follow me!”   As they flew after Harry, the cliff walls began to crumble around them.   “It’s caving in!” Harry yelled. Rocks began tumbling down. “Watch out! Let’s get out! Quick!”   Giant boulders smashed down from all sides until they finally escaped out of the cave opening.   “We made it!” Harry cheered over the howling wind. “To the Great Hall!”   With that, they raced over the Great Lake and nimbly navigated around the castle towers before soaring into the Great Hall where a crowd of students was gathered. They were applauding and cheering while hoisting Harry up into the air.   “Thanks, everybody! You were brilliant!” Harry pumped his fist in the air.   “You showed great bravery,” Dumbledore said with a smile. “Feel free to return to Hogwarts any time.”   Afterwards, the Headmaster sent them through the Floo Network once again and they landed in the Room of Requirement, signaling the end of the ride.   “Oh my god, that was amazing!” Estee exclaimed as they walked out of the castle. “My heart is still racing from facing so many Dark creatures!”   “That was a lot more immersive than I expected it to be,” Jason agreed with a laugh.   The four of them then lined up for the Flight of the Hippogriff roller coaster. The queue area wove through Hogwarts Grounds, passing Hagrid’s hut and the Forbidden Forest. It eventually led to an open pavilion where the Care of Magical Creatures class was taught. Once the group reached the front of the line, they were directed into the first car which had a hippogriff head silhouette carved at the front. Amelie and Jonas sat in the first row while Estee and Jason sat directly behind him.   There was a white hippogriff animatronic resting in a giant twig nest just outside the station as the roller coaster train began to climb up the lift hill and Estee squealed as the majestic creature nodded its head at her after she bowed to it. The train then steadily climbed higher, giving everyone a better view of Hagrid’s hut to the left and Hogwarts Castle to the right, before dipping down and around the pumpkin patch in a series of loop-de-loops. The ride was short, only about thirty seconds long, and the train returned to the station soon after.   “Aw man, that was it?” Amelie looked unimpressed as they exited the ride. “That was so tame for a roller coaster.”   “It did say that it’s family-friendly on the description,” Jonas mildly pointed out as they began walking through Hogsmeade again. “Young kids won’t be able to handle anything extreme.”   “I thought it was fun, though,” Estee said cheerfully. “I’d definitely queue for it again.”   “I think I’d rather queue for something more exciting,” Amelie slowly replied.   “Well, we can head to the Lower Lot right now, if you want,” Jonas suggested while looking at his map of the amusement park. “That’s where Revenge of the Mummy, Transformers, and Jurassic Park are. And those are probably more your speed.”   Amelie instantly lit up and cried, “C’mon, let’s go!”   Meanwhile, Jason smiled as he listened to the conversation.   He honestly hadn’t expected to have so much fun with the other three. But this had been the most fun he’d had during the entire trip. No longer bound by his unrequited feelings for Amelie, he’d been able to relax in the combined presence of the two exchange students from London.   Seeing Jonas stand near Amelie no longer called forth the ugly green monster within Jason. Seeing Amelie smile so prettily at Jonas no longer pushed Jason into a bottomless pit of despair.   All he saw was a sweet couple with strong feelings for each other. And he was happy that their feelings were mutual.   With Estee and Amelie chattering together, gleefully waving their wands around, and Jonas walking next to him while wearing a small smile of content, Jason finally felt at ease.   Now, it truly felt like they were all friends.       Lani was in high spirits. He had always wanted to go on an amusement date with his girlfriend and it looked like his dream was coming true. After the group had split up earlier, the couple was joined by Ripley, Jeremy, Elliot, and Lucy. The three couples roamed around the Upper Lot freely and decided to buy some finger food to share.   At the moment, Lani and Ripley were sharing some colourful candy floss while walking on the street. Lani carefully dabbed the side of Rowan’s lips with some napkins after seeing some candy floss remnants on them.   Their attention was suddenly drawn to the Walking Dead Attraction by Ripley’s shriek of excitement. The girl was bouncing on her feet like a child, pointing to the attraction and pulling Jeremy to experience the apocalyptic hospital horror with her. Jeremy ruffled her hair and looked towards the rest for their opinions. They merely shrugged in agreement and an elated Ripley led them to the entrance of the attraction.   Lani had to admit the entire set up of the Walking Dead Attraction was done quite brilliantly. The indoor line was pretty immersive. The flashing lights accompanied with uncanny background music sent chills down their spines. The props and details made it seem like they were indeed walking through a destroyed hospital and the actual walk hadn’t even started. Lani peered at the scattered patient charts, paperwork, and the bloody handprints. His hand unconsciously tightened its hold on Rowan’s as he walked close next to her.   Soon, it was their turn to explore the abandoned hospital. Ripley and Jeremy walked confidently in the front. Rowan followed after and Lani inched forward carefully, keeping close to his girlfriend. A sudden jump scare caused Lani to flinch when a zombie punched a transparent door right next to him. He skittered towards Rowan. The girl bit back a snicker, but still tightened her hold on him.   The walk finally ended, lasting less than five minutes, and Lani heaved a sigh of relief when he finally saw light.   “It was so fun!” Ripley commented with a -eating grin. “Did you see the look on the zombie’s face when I raised my hand for a hi-five? He looked so disappointed! We need to go once more!”     “You should’ve seen Lani,” Rowan guffawed. “He was basically hiding behind me the entire time when the zombies came close!”   Lani frowned and muttered, “Hey, it was really creepy when they marched right into your face! I’d rather go on roller coasters than experience the gore again.”   Elliot and Lucy chuckled at Lani’s defensiveness.   “Then shall we take a breather and catch the Special Effects Show before we go on some fun roller coaster rides? The next showing is ten minutes from now, so we should hurry if we wanna get seats!” Jeremy suggested.   Ripley pouted, but nonetheless agreed because it was her boyfriend’s wish to see the behind-the-scenes of movie creations. With Jeremy’s request, the group decided to go watch the Special Effects Stage to learn about how special effects in movies were created.   The show was around thirty minutes long and while waiting for it to start in the auditorium, Lani dozed off on Rowan’s shoulder. Lani was rudely awakened when Jeremy cheered loudly next to him. He opened a bleary eye just in time to catch three stunt actors acting out a nicely rehearsed and choreographed fighting scene.   Straightening up, he cast a sheepish look at Rowan. It seemed like he had already missed some parts of the show earlier.   Following which, the two emcees introduced the foley technique in filmmaking, which added sound effects to films. After going through a brief history of the foley technique, the emcees asked for volunteers. Jeremy’s hand instantly shot up in the air as he waved his arm wildly, trying to catch the attention of the emcees. Sadly, he wasn’t picked and a family of six was chosen instead.   After giving out the instructions, the family of six demonstrated how to foley for a scene in the 2013 film, Identity Thief, with the items on the table. The crash box filled with loud items simulated the crash sounds into the bookshelf and over the chair when spun, shoes glued to sticks for the running sounds, taped rubber roll of paper and a cutting board for bodies falling onto the ground, boxing gloves on sticks for punches being thrown and face smacks, the cowbell and the mallet for a pan hitting the back of a head, and lastly handcuffs.   The audience laughed wildly when the little boy rapidly slapped the boxing gloves to mimic the smacking and punching sounds. The last cluck sound made when the male lead threw the pan across the room, hitting the female lead on the head, threw the entire room into hysterics.   Moving to thriller and horror films, the hosts requested another volunteer for a new demonstration. This time, Jeremy jumped up from his seat as his hand shot up in the sky. On his right, Ripley also encouragingly pointed towards him. Seeing his enthusiasm, he was ultimately chosen for the demonstration. Leaping up, Jeremy quickly left his seat and raced up onto the stage.   “What’s your name?” the male host asked.   “Jeremy, but you can call me Jerry,” Jeremy answered with a wide smile.   Lani and the others cheered wildly for him.   “Everyone say, ‘Hi Jerry!’” the male host cheered.   Jeremy waved wildly at the park-goers.   “Jerry was picked for his very impressive screams,” the female host said. “So let’s say that you are face-to-face with Norman Bates. How would you scream?”   Jeremy, being extremely spontaneous, screamed at the top of his lungs and the crowd applauded.   The male host chuckled and asked, “Have you been murdered before? That was impressive!”   Jeremy stuck out his tongue and joked, “Maybe…?”   The female host laughed and continued, “As you saw that fight from earlier, stunt performers have to have a very high pain threshold, so my question is—” She paused and pulled out a machete and the lights suddenly dimmed. “Do you? Do you?”   Jeremy’s eyes widened and he slowly bobbed his head.   “Alright, kids. Remember, do not try this at home,” the male emcee warned.   “Alright, now put your right hand on the table, Jerry,” the female emcee instructed and Jeremy obeyed. “And one, two…”   Before the lady could chop off Jeremy’s hand, the male immediately took away his hand and frowned. “Let’s not use the machete.”   The female host smiled sheepishly. “Right, right, I’m just kidding, Jerry. I’m not going to use the machete.”   Channeling the actor within him, Jeremy winced and heaved a huge sigh of relief, patting his chest with his free hand. His antics caused the audience to break into laughter.   “I’m totally kidding. I’m not going to use the machete, but I have a sharper knife.” The female uncovered a new knife from underneath the white cloth and brandished it in front of Jeremy’s face.   Jeremy balked, staring incredulously at the knife and back at the lady.   “Now on, one, two, three, scream!”   The lady sliced into Jeremy’s arm and blood spewed out. The action was accompanied by spooky background music. Jeremy screamed hysterically and even started to smack the male host’s arm in horror.   “...And he’s okay,” the female emcee announced, taking away the knife and showing that Jeremy was completely unhurt.   Hearing that, Jeremy pretended to wipe away a stray tear. The audience applauded at the demonstration.   The hosts went on to explain that that was a classic cinematic core technique—The Hollywood Blood Knife. Upon a closer look, the audience could see that it was a false blade with a cutout for an arm coming out of the handle. Meanwhile, movie blood was also squeezed out from a bowl attached to create the image of a bleeding arm.   “Give it up for Jerry!”   The audience applauded again.   “Now, let’s get you a photo. C’mon, stand right in the middle of the stage and let’s pose with our classic Universal monsters. And on the count of three, give me your biggest scream,” the female host beckoned.   At the countdown, Jeremy gave his highest-pitched shriek ever and behind him, one of the monsters came alive and marched towards him with a knife in the hand. Feeling a presence right behind him, Jeremy turned. Seeing the masked man, his eyes rounded and he shrieked, leaping into the air and flailing his arms backwards. He landed on the and started to crawl backwards for the theatrics.   The audience burst into shrill laughter at Jeremy’s antics   “And that’s your real scream there, Jerry. Now are you okay?” The female emcee checked on him.   Jeremy scrambled up and continued his act, shuddering. “No, not really. I think I peed in my pants.”   He then made a grand bow before scurrying down the stage.   Moving on, the rest of the show was about the visual effects which were done on the computer using motion capture. The audience was also enraptured by the fire stunts pulled by the stuntmen   The last demonstration was a trip to space. Lani and Rowan were chosen as the volunteers after nominations from Ripley, Jeremy, Elliot, and Lucy.   “Everyone, give a huge welcome to Lani and Rowan!” the female emcee announced as they were brought up onto the stage and the audience roared with cheers.   “Lani, you are going to play the role of the astronaut. Do you have any fear of heights?” the emcee questioned.   Lani shook his head and said, “I love heights!”   “Brilliant! So I’m going to hand you to our coordinator, Robert, who is gonna put your helmet on for you.” The emcee gestured towards the back of the stage before turning to Rowan. “And Rowan, you can stand right here on this mark.” She gestured to the white taped mark on the floor.   The host then went on to introduce a very sophisticated cable system that created the illusion of flight before handing Rowan a tablet-like remote control. While she was speaking, Lani was all suited up with his helmet on and getting strapped to the wires.   “I’ll guide you along the way and tell you what to do each time,” the female host reassured them. She then asked, “Are you and Lani dating?”   Rowan nodded.   “Well, congratulations! You get to control Lani’s movements now. You’re welcome, Rowan.” The host beamed. She then turned to Lani and asked, “You ready to fly? Any last words for your girlfriend?”   Lani shook his head.   Unfazed, the female host said, “He said he loves you very much. And he said he wants to take you shoe shopping in Beverly Hills tomorrow.”   The audience chuckled at Lani who was shaking his hands furiously in denial.   “Oh, money is not a problem at all,” the host continued, causing the audience to cackle even more.   As satellites were projected on the back screen, Lani’s attention was drawn to the screen.   “Lani, Lani, you’re gonna face us,” the emcee directed. “Okay, okay, he’s ready. Let’s take him up.” She then instructed Rowan on the buttons to press to raise Lani.   The wires started to retract and Lani flailed slightly, grabbing onto the wires for support.   “Okay, Lani. Welcome to space!” the host cheered. “You’re doing great. Just don’t touch the wires.”   The moment Lani let go of the wires, he fell forward and started hanging upside down. The audience roared with laughter.   “No, no! Don’t fall!” the emcee hastily said. “I’m sorry. Get your shoulders all the way back without holding the wires.”   As the emcee spoke, Lani flopped around like a dying fish trying to lift himself. Finally, after tremendous effort, he managed to stay upright stiffly.   “Yes, yes, exactly! You look very natural up there.” Even the host tried to keep her chuckles in. “Let’s move in forward now.” The emcee pointed out another switch to press.   As stiff as a wooden plank, Lani tried his best to in his breath as he was dragged across the stage.   “Alright, Lani, wave at the screen,” the emcee requested.   The moment Lani tried waving his hands, he fell forward again and hung upside down. The audience mirthlessly chortled at his silly antics.   “Oh no, he fell again. Let’s try this again. Bring him back to his original position,” the emcee said kindly.   The next moment, Lani was dragged across to the middle of the stage again, this time hanging upside down.   The emcee laughed and ran towards him. “Lani, don’t give up. Come, let me help you there. Just keep your shoulders back. Just keep doing what you’re doing.”   The audience found the scene extremely entertaining.   “Okay, now, you can take him a little higher if you want.” The emcee walked back to Rowan   And all of the sudden, Lani was soaring in the air, rising up and almost shooting through the roof.   “Okay, okay, let’s slowly bring him down now,” the emcee instructed Rowan.   However, Lani went flying in a half circle, falling down once more as he lost his balance.   “Lani, Lani! Oh no, she got a bit carried away. Okay, we have to stop the whole thing, so there, pull to a stop, yeah.” The emcee ran towards Lani. “You’re going to land right here, okay? She doesn’t care about you, but I do.”   Fortunately, Lani managed to land safely. Even Rowan burst into laughter along with the audience watching.   “Okay, give him a big hand.” The audience clapped enthusiastically.   Out of the blue, Lani was up into the sky one more, dangling from the wires as he made another round around the stage. Shocked, the emcee called after him before jogging towards Rowan and saying, “Rowan, now I have to take this away from you. You two need some counselling. Lani, you’re coming down. That’s right. Keep your shoulders back,” the emcee coaxed.   Finally, after some struggle, Lani skidded to a stop on his knees.   “Yes, beautiful!” the emcee commented before turning to Rowan with an apologetic look. “Now, come with me, Rowan. I’m so sorry. And yes, why don’t you stay right here.” The emcee quickly rushed to Lani’s side an