Page 98 of Resist

“Bugs II, she could be,” said Noah.

I ignored them and bounced on the toes of my feet, craning my neck to do a headcount. “Is everyone here?”

Lucas burst through the front door of the hotel and jogged toward us. “Sorry I’m late.”

I narrowed my eyes at him but then smiled — of course he was last to arrive.

“Okay, good. You’re all here.” I happy-clapped, and Patsy laughed. “So, firstly, I just wanted to let you all know how proud I am to be the owner of this revue. You all work so hard and genuinely want the revue to succeed as much as I do. It’s not ‘just a job’ for you all, and that warms my heart. You’ve also shown loyalty and support toward me and I want to thank you for that.” I covered my heart with my hand as I looked at each and every one of them. “Which is whyyyyy …” I paused, building the suspense, “I’m taking you all out today. First stop, bungee jumping.”

Josh’s eyes went wide. “You’re shitting us, right?”

“Nope.”

“Fucking awesome!”

Cori froze, her eyes just as wide as Josh’s but in a completely different manner.

“Are you all right?” I asked.

“Bungee Jumping? That’s um … real nice of you, Helena, but I’ll pass. I don’t do bungee jumping. I don’t even do normal jumping.”

I laughed. “It’s okay, you don’t have to jump if you don’t want to. But my guess is you’ll still want to come, because after the bungee we’re flying over the Great Barrier Reef. It’s going to be amazing.”

Patsy punched Baz’s shoulder. “No way!”

He rubbed his arm then turned to Johnno. “You ever bungee jumped?”

“Do I look like I’ve ever bungee jumped?”

“You’re right. I hope they’ve got a big enough elastic for you, mate.”

A bus with bold lettering that read ‘Bungee Jump Cairns’ pulled up not far from where we were standing, the concertina doors swinging open with a thud. “Party of eleven for Helena?” the bus driver called out.

I stuck up my hand and bounced on the spot. “That’s us. Let’s go.”

“What’s gotten into boss lady?” Brad asked Lucas as I bounced by.

“Nothing,” he said with a knowing smile. “She’s just … happy.”

* * *

The soundof birds inconversation with one another, the clomping of our feet, and water trickling over rocks provided a tranquil tune as we travelled, single file, over boardwalks lined with lush green ferns of various shapes and sizes. I looked up at the sun trying to break through the canopy of giant ancient trees that soared from the ground their enormous roots clawed into, and allowed myself a moment to absorb the surrounding beauty of the world’s oldest rainforest before stepping out into the sunlight and pointing to the one-hundred-sixty-four-foot steel structure before me. “There it is!”

Cori followed my outstretched hand and shielded her eyes from the sun, a sadistic laugh escaping her throat. “It was a pleasure knowing you all.”

“Come on, Cor,” Brad said, draping his arm over her shoulder. “You climbed the Sydney Harbour Bridge and that was heaps higher.”

“Yeah, and we all know how that turned out.”

I’d learned on the bus ride to the bungee tower that Cori had an emphatic fear of heights.

“You did the Bridge Climb?” I asked.

She scoffed. “Barely. And then they made me ride that tower of death at Dreamworld.”

“Seems like you’re conquering your fear.”

“All I’m conquering is being tricked into shortening my lifespan.”