Xander’s eyes flick between us quickly, but the whistle blows, putting an end to anything he might be about to say. The six of us rush toward the first platform, only just fitting on comfortably.
“We are at a distinct disadvantage because the three of you are so massive,” Emilia groans into Clay’s back, which is pressed up against her face.
“Aurora, I’m really sorry my hand is touching your bum, but I can’t move it,” Maya says.
“It’s touching mine too,” Xander adds.
Russ sighs. “No, that’s mine.”
The platform creaks as Russ jumps to the next one, followed by Clay and Xander. There’s enough room for the three of us to maneuver now the boys are gone and we coordinate moving the plank of wood we have to the next platform to walk along it.
“Just jump!” Xander shouts.
Maya holds her arms out to keep her balance as she walks to the next platform. “I am not bloody jumping when there is a walkway!”
“Come on, Mary Poppins,” Clay says, holding his hand out to Maya, helping her to take the final few steps. It’s easy to follow and when we’re all together on the next platform we start the whole ordeal again.
“Xander, you’re going to push me off!” I cling to Clay behind me and his hands immediately land on my waist. I switch to holding onto Emilia beside me, looking up at him over my shoulder. “It’s okay, you don’t need to hold me.” He lets go slower than I’d like.
We realize that the wood hardly reaches the next platform, which is further away than the last, and the guys work out a plan that has one of them jumping over last, then they’ll help those of us who aren’t part kangaroo get across. The sound of all the other teams shouting instructions at each other is flooding the air and realizing that we’re slightly in the lead kickstarts the competitive part of me.
Xander easily jumps to the next platform, kneeling and reaching to accept the end of the plank that isn’t long enough to rest against the edge of where he’s standing. He keeps it steady with his hand and we all pat his head as we climb over him, keeping as close to the edge as we can to let Russ and Clay jump over too.
“Oh my God,” Emilia squeaks. “Someone jump before we lose our balance.”
The guys all spring across, making it look ridiculously easy, but as soon as they’re all on the final platform together it’s immediately clear that there is not enough room for six people. Even if there was enough room, there’s no way we’re making that jump.
“How the fuck are we supposed to do this?” I’d put my hands on my hips but there isn’t enough room without nudging Maya off.
“Is anyone concerned about the weight limit of these platforms?” Clay says, looking at the creaking box beneath their feet.
“Was anyone a cheerleader?” Xander asks.
“This isn’t the type of teambuilding we’re supposed to be doing right now, buddy,” Emilia says sarcastically.
Rolling his eyes, he points at the distance between us. “Two of you can launch the other across the gap. We can catch.” We’re all silent. “You’re telling me nobody was a cheerleader in high school?”
“Yeah . . .” Maya says. “That’s not a thing where I live.”
“Aurora got kicked off the cheerleading squad freshman year and, as for me—ballet and human pyramids aren’t a good mix.”
“You also aren’t very cheerful,” I mutter under my breath.
“What did you get kicked off for?” Clay asks immediately.
“Not importa—”
“She stole the other team’s mascot and lost it.”
“Emilia!”
Xander peers over to the other teams, his face twisting in concern. “Guys, we really need to get moving . . .”
“How do you lose a mascot?” Russ asks, looking right at me.
“I, uhm, it ran off.” That gets his attention. His eyes widen and I immediately feel the need to clarify. “It was a pig, not a person. They found him a few hours later, he was totally fine. He was hanging out with the janitor’s dog, but, uhm, they felt my actions did not align with the team’s core values. Anyway, can we get on with this? Who are we throwing?”
“Guys, if we lose because you’re all short and Aurora is a pig stealer, I’m going to be so pissed,” Xander snaps.
“Everyone’s short when you’re a freaking giant. Maya, you’re up,” I say, linking my fingers together and bending for her to put her foot into the cradle my hands have made. Emilia copies me and Maya holds onto us both as she tentatively steps into our hands.