"What the —"
Before any of us can register what's happening, a girl zips overhead, screaming like her pants are on fire, but her screaming becomes obvious laughter when she touches down safely on a platform on Deck fifteen. I notice the black line that she was attached to.
A flying fox which I swear I'd never known about or seen. And it looks terrifying. The speed, the flying-over-people part, and of course the fact that you're hanging by a cord, really makes flying foxes an intense activity, but after surviving this morning's rock climbing I'm feeling pretty confident about it.
I point at it. "We should go do that."
Lilli gives me a look that my mum would give me if I told her I wanted to play in traffic. "In a dress?" I look down. "I don't think so, Taz."
"It's fine," I tell her. "I wore scungies." Scungies are little black shorts that dancers usually wear. I still have a few pairs left over from my Jazz dancing lessons years ago, and to this day they have been useful, so I always pack a pear when travelling.
Lilli shrugs, grinning at me. "Your choice, but we might have to tell anyone underneath to avert their eyes before your turn."
Blood rushes to my face. "Shut up," I mutter.
Soft fingers brush my arm. They're Harry's.
"Taz, maybe going on a flying fox with a dress on isn't the best idea," he warns me, trying to seem lighthearted about it. "I can stay down here with you, if you want," he offers me.
I don't know what my friends are suspicious of, but Harry is nothing but sweet. I spot Lilli squinting her eyes at him and I think I feel my blood start to boil.
"You know what, Harry and I will have a swell time down here," I exclaim confidently. "You guys go on ahead, we'll watch."
The deck fills with more and more people with every passing minute, and Harry and I have to move around to let people pass. I feel as if we're brushing shoulders with every passenger on board. But it doesn't matter, because Harry's here with me.
He turns to me. "Sorry you can't go on the flying fox."
"Don't be ridiculous, Harry," I say, nudging him. "You should be on there right now."
"I don't do well with heights."
"Oh? How come? You seemed to enjoy this morning's rock climbing though."
When I ask why, I notice that his shoulders are tense, but he replies nonetheless.
"My mum," he starts. "While we were at a theme park, she secretly bought us tickets for a roller coaster. I had no idea it was a roller coaster until the relaxing train ride I expected turned into a dreadful death express."
I wheeze. "Ha-ha-ha! Aw, that sucks, Harry, but that's hilarious," I tell him and he gives me a small smile. "Does your mum usually trick you into things like that?"
The smile disappears and he looks away from me. I swear I see colour trickle down and away from his face.
"Oh, look, it's Ben," he says, and I follow Harry's stern gaze to the top of the platform where Ben's being attached to the harness. I glance back at Harry, wondering what I had said that had hurt him, but he doesn't react. I pull out my phone and video Ben as he zips down the line, whooping his excitement.
Emily next. Dramatic as always, she zips along quickly, letting go of the line and letting herself dangle upside down. I think the nearest island's inhabitants can hear her screaming. I zoom in on her face full of energy.
Charlie's next, and as he flies at unbelievable speed across the deck, he extends his legs, pretending to be relaxing on a hammock, and even manages to give me the peace sign. Unfortunately, I think he'll be pretty disappointed with the blur.
I refrain from saying anything, and Harry doesn't speak either, but I can tell he's calmed down a little. I realise that maybe this is what Lilli is suspicious of. Every time he has this sort of reaction to what I say, she's been watching and listening. But is that really worth being so cautious about? When Harry is ready, I know he'll tell me what's going on, if there is really anything that's going on.
Lilli's up on the platform now, getting her harness attached. I don't meet her eyes, but through the camera I see her glance down at where we are standing. But then she's looking forward and gleaming, her hair out and dancing in the wind behind her like she doesn't have a care in the world.
We lounge around, chatting and laughing with each other and random strangers. We scamper back and forth from the buffet like we haven't eaten in weeks. We subconsciously bop our heads to the music blasting from the loud speakers of remixes of Australia's hottest hits. The deck soon has no one under the age of sixteen, and security even stands at entrances, ensuring that everyone that enters is of age.
Before we realise it, drinks are being served around, and we all know that people are going to get a little tipsy tonight. At the start of the night, I didn't know how music could get any louder than it was blasted when we first came to the top deck, but somehow the DJ manages to turn up the volume from Damn-my-ears-are-throbbing to Oh-my-gosh-my-ears-are-leaking-blood.
The height of the night is when 'Gangnam Style' plays, and it's like a switch is flicked inside everyone, and anyone who is sitting immediately leaps out of their chairs, tripping over each other to get to the dance floor.
Harry grips my hand and leads me there.