Page 31 of What Did I Miss?

Makayla turns to Beau. ‘Since this is your first camp, why don’t you do the honours?’ She smiles so hard her face might crack.

‘Cool. Thanks. Are you sure?’

‘Absolutely. I’ve done it plenty of times.’

‘Nah, you didn’t do it last year or the year before,’ Paisley says. ‘Come to think of it, I’ve never seen you up there. I’m pretty sure you walked down to meet everyone at the end and told some story about the harness being faulty. But I checked it myself and it wasn’t.’

The group stares at Makayla, and she buckles under the weight of their scrutiny.

‘She’s … she’s … l-l-lying.’

How dare Paisley rat her out? Just wait until her parents find out their daughter cost them future business. That’s what they get for putting their nepo baby in charge.

‘I had no idea you were afraid of heights.’ Agnes wiggles her eyebrows like a psychopath.

‘Are you?’ Beau asks, like it’s an unfathomable concept.

‘No, I’m not.’

Cece stays quiet on the matter and her silence says it all. She stumbled across the truth after she kept insisting they organise an interstate girls’ trip. Makayla had no choice but to confess her fear of flying, heights and tiny umbrella straws.

‘Buk, buk, ba-gawk,’ Agnes clucks, flapping her arms. ‘Get up there, Makayla, and show us what you’re made of, or are you too chicken? Ba-gawk!’

The students hunch over, wheezing with laughter, before they circle Makayla and cluck at her like frenzied chooks.

A flame of hatred burns brighter than ever. As the sports teacher, Makayla’s always stressing the importance of having a go. If she backs out of this challenge, the students will think she’s a hypocrite and lose respect for her. Not to mention, they’ll never let her live it down.

‘I’ll show you who’s chicken.’

Makayla strides towards the ladder, hoping that putting Agnes in her place will be enough to overcome her irrational fear. It’s not. The moment she looks up, her knees go limp and won’t cooperate.

Beau appears by her side. ‘You don’t have to do this.’

Agnes hypes up her chicks again until Beau’s deep rumble of ‘that’s enough’ silences them.

‘Yes, I do.’ Makayla grips the ladder hard enough to turn her knuckles white.

‘You’ve got this, Mak. You’re a badass bitch, Miss,’ Ebony says, using her popularity to rally the others to show some support.

Ignoring the unsavoury language, Makayla draws upon their encouragement and climbs the ladder, one reluctant step at a time. Squeezing her eyes shut, she feels her way to the top, where the wind slaps across her cheeks. Agnes’s presence is motivation enough to catapult Makayla onto the platform.

I did it! I’m invincible. I’m … she eyes the shrubs below, where she’ll likely plunge to her death … going to die.

Makayla clings to the timber pole holding up the structure, sucking in air. Did she really think she was going to ride the pulley all the way to the end?

Dibber dobber Paisley joins her at the top without breaking a sweat, and grabs for her harness to attach it to a wire.

‘Don’t come near me!’ Makayla fights her off with one arm.

Paisley leaves her to whimper in peace and when she opens her eyes, Beau is kneeling in front of her with a smidge of dirt on the tip of his nose, like a koala.

‘Are you okay?’ he asks.

Makayla doesn’t respond. She can’t. Her chest is thumping so fast she thinks she might have a heart attack. That wouldn’t be the worst thing to happen; the only way she’s leaving this platform is either unconscious or dead.

‘Makayla,’ Beau says, calmer than a hostage negotiator. ‘I’m going to help you get down.’

‘No, no, no, no, no, no, no, nooo.’

‘You have two choices. Swing off this thing, or climb down.’

‘Or, option C: I live here now. Bring me food, water and a sleeping bag. I’ll be fine. I love the outdoors.’

‘C’mon.’ He tries to prise her hand off the pole, underestimating her gorilla-like strength. ‘Don’t you trust me?’

‘Hell no!’ she responds without thinking.

Beau appears to shake away his hurt expression and moves to the edge. Where’s he going? Is he leaving her? She needs him. It’d be nice if he could cut her loose tongue some slack until she’s back on the ground.

Dangling his head over the edge, he shouts, ‘Go on ahead. We’ll catch up.’ He returns to Makayla, taking a seat beside her. ‘Let me know when you want my help. No rush.’

Beau inhales for five and out for five. It’s obvious he wants her to join in, but knows better than to tell her what to do. Makayla resists for as long as she can until her breathing naturally syncs up with his and the incessant chatter in her mind quietens.

‘I bet all the students think I’m a big wimp,’ Makayla says.

‘Not at all. It’s good to show them you’re human. Everyone has fears.’

‘Yeah right. You’re not scared of anything.’

‘Sometimes your moods terrify me,’ he jokes.

Laughing, Makayla releases a hand to flex her cramping fingers. She sighs and places it on top of his, surprised by how icy his skin is. How long have they been up here?

‘I need your help. Please.’

‘Don’t worry, I won’t let anything bad happen to you. Do you believe me?’

Now in a much better headspace than earlier, she nods. He hasn’t let her down so far, and he’s also the most qualified person for this rescue mission.

Using a kindergarten teacher’s voice, he says, ‘Lay on your stomach. Now close your eyes. That’s it. Good job.’

The platform groans and bounces as he moves.

‘Where are you?’ Makayla waves her hands out in front, slicing air.

‘I’m behind you. Can you feel that?’ He touches her ankle. ‘I’m on the ladder, and in a sec, I’ll slide you over to me. Lift your chin so it doesn’t graze against the timber.’

Makayla swallows her embarrassment as he guides her onto the ladder and stands behind her, braving the brunt of her weight if they fall.

Until this point, she’s been okay. Well, not okay , okay.

But the moment he asks her to lower a foot onto the next step, she thrashes about like an animal caught in a net.

‘I can’t! I can’t!’

Without saying a word, he presses his chest against her back, fusing them together. The heaviness of his body soothes her like a weighted blanket. She stops.

‘Parma or parmi?’ he breathes into her ear.

‘What? Why are you—’

‘Just answer,’ he says.

‘Parma.’

He moves his foot onto the step below, and hers automatically follows.

‘Football or cricket?’ he asks.

‘Footy. I’d rather watch grass grow than sit through a cricket match.’

They take another step.

‘Popcorn or choc top?’ he asks.

‘Can’t I have both?’

Step. Step. Step.

‘Coke or Pepsi?’ Beau’s lips dampen her ear.

‘Pepsi.’

‘Really?’

They continue their game, moving as one. It doesn’t register they’ve reached the earth until Beau whispers, ‘You can let go.’

Makayla swings around, nestling into his arms where it’s cosy, safe and familiar. Adrenaline whizzes through her veins with a velocity similar to the zip-line course. She starts to tremble.

‘You did it,’ Beau whispers into her hair.

‘No, you did it.’

‘We did it.’ He kisses her forehead, cooling it instantly.

‘I’m sorry about this morning.’ The words fly out like they’ve been on the tip of her tongue since the bus ride.

‘I didn’t say it to hurt you. I said it because I don’t want to stand in the way of an incredible career opportunity.

You’re the best part of my day and I would miss you terribly if you left.

I hope you know that.’ She slips out of their embrace and heads down the hill to meet the group.

That feeling of regret she usually experiences when she opens up isn’t there.

It’s strange, but nice. Really nice. ‘Are you coming?’ she calls over her shoulder.

Beau snaps out of whatever world he’s in and catches up.

‘Do you want to help me pull a prank on Agnes?’ Makayla asks, revenge fresh in her mind.

‘A harmless one?’

‘Sure, if you say so. Let’s meet up after lights out and come up with a plan.’