After the group meeting, we stopped to quickly brush our teeth and make a bathroom stop. Then we dropped back by our cabin to grab some waters and juice boxes.
“Well,” Trinity asked us as she stuck the boxes in her backpack, “are you ready for this morning’s big adventure? Because today we’re going zip-lining!”
My cabinmates looked up in surprise. So that was what Cassie had hinted at! I thought back to that photo of somebody else flying through the air, held by just a strap and a cord… and it seemed sooooooo cool. Even a little dangerous. Me, doing a little dangerous? Soooo, huh… yep. This might be a little over the top. But what was wrong with that? I thought about Mom—she’d have heart failure! And that made me want to do it even more. And yet… it was so high….
“You will LOVE it!” Trinity told us.
“This will be the part of camp you’ll remember the most!” Lulu chimed in.
Jocelyn had started walking in circles, then paused by the window. “Flying? Flying? Flying?” she kept repeating, worry in her voice. The morning sky was the bluest of blues. She stared out the window for a long, long time. Finally she said, “Okay! Okay! Okay!”
I couldn’t tell what changed her mind. But it got me thinking. These folks have done this with probably dozens of groups of camp kids. For sure they’ve figured out how to avoid sending a camper to Mars on a zip line!
I looked over at Karyn—we were the ones with the wheels here, after all. She must have been thinking the same thing because she turned to me, too. We silently exchanged a look that said, If you go, I’ll go. After a moment, Karyn shrugged. So I nodded.
“Ah, I see smiles!” Trinity said victoriously.
I touched okay, and before any of us could change our minds, the counselors practically sprinted us down the trail to the zip-line loading station.
And yikes! Trinity and I got there first, which meant I was gonna be the cabin guinea pig!
Kya waved as we arrived. Most of the counselors here wore blue jeans or shorts and camp T-shirts, but instead of jeans, Kya wore her camp shirt with bright yellow silky-looking slacks that rippled as she walked.
“Greetings, Falcons! It’s great to see you again. You’re gonna love this. I’m an expert on zip-lining—I’ve been zipping and helping campers slide and glide for a decade now,” she told us. “I was honored to be asked to run the zip-line program here at Green Glades. Most important thing to know? No one has ever fallen on my watch. Actually, I’ve never seen anyone fall, ever!”
I managed to nod, in spite of the fact that I was worrying about dying for the second time in as many days. ’Cause today might be the day Kya’s luck ran out. That would be just my luck!
Kya took her time explaining how it was all going to work. “First,” she said, “you and Trinity will ride our little elevator to that platform you see above you.”
I peered up. That platform sure was high in the sky. I mean, I practically had to squint to see it.
“You’ll be fastened into a harness and the bucket, and then Trinity and I will double-check the safety straps.”
I was gonna be harnessed into a bucket? Dad says I have an overactive imagination, but I never imagined I’d hear those words. Me. In a bucket. Those photographer people better get a shot of this!
“So, any questions? Are you ready?”
I wasn’t, but I nodded… or maybe I trembled. I’m honestly not sure.
Trinity rolled me onto a platform, pushed a lever, and oh my! I gasped. I’m not trying to sound like Jocelyn, but we were heading up, up, up! In less than a minute, we rolled off onto another platform, but whoa! It was like a million feet in the air! Well, maybe a hundred. In front of us I saw a bright red cushioned chair attached to cables that were attached to… I have no idea! It was almost too much to think about in one swallow.
“Okay, girlfriend, here we go!” Trinity said as she lifted me into the bucket-seat thingy. It was curved to the size of my butt, and it was even padded. Kya clicked the seat belt around me. Next came the harness, and holy moly, there were like ninety-nine buckles on that thing, which was attached to the seat with another ninety-nine clasps, and they all needed to be hooked together.
“These hooks are called carabiners, just like the folks who climb Mount Everest use,” Kya explained. “And yeah, we check the safety straps. And check again. Then once more.” She gave me a wink. “Like I said, no one falls on my watch!”
Trinity gave each clasp a second tug. And, as promised, Kya checked once more. Then she plunked a helmet on my head. Chin strap? Check! Check the check? Check, check! But wait, if I’m not going to fall, why would I need a helmet?
“You’re all set, Melody,” Kya said at last. Then Trinity got in behind me, and she got helmeted and harnessed in as well. She circled her arms around me, the ninety-nine buckles, and let’s be honest here, my trembling heart.
“Okay, it’s fly time, fly girl!” Trinity said, all psyched. “And don’t close your eyes. You’re gonna want to see this. It’ll be over in like twenty seconds, and you don’t want to miss even one.”
So I gave my helmeted head a tiny nod, and Trinity yelled out, “Go!”
And then, just like that, before I even had time to freak, because for sure I was gonna die in like thirty seconds, I was flying! Trees hurtled past, their leaves a blur. I swear the very air whooshed right through me. I was an eagle, a hummingbird, a creature of feathers and air. I got it now—why birds soar and swoop and float on the air. This was pure joy! I had never moved so fast.
My disobedient legs swung loose in the air, finally taking advantage of all that uncontrollable movement. They got the chance to kick and kick without it mattering at all. And it felt so good!