Chapter 18
The Jungle area, I’m delighted to report, meets all of my expectations.
As one of the areas that is intended for party-goers to visit day and night, it has a lively atmosphere, just as promised.
And even more people dancing. Huge fake palm trees are placed around randomly, with smaller dance venues and stages nestled in between them.
I spot a cosy wooden shack covered in bundles of fairy lights; a large sign stands next to it with neon green and blue lettering spelling out Rolo’s.
People loiter around tables crafted haphazardly out of blocks of wood and piles of old crates, swaying to the music and sipping drinks out of multicoloured glasses with long, twisted straws.
I see Josh and Owen already at the bar nodding their heads along to the beat. I assumed we’d be the last, so I’m unnerved to see that Hennie hasn’t made it back yet.
‘Ahoy!’ Josh calls, beckoning us over to join them. ‘Mission successful? You’re definitely alone?’
‘Yep. Pretty sure we lost them,’ Elliot replies.
‘I knew they’d go after you two. I saw them follow you the second we split,’ Owen says.
Elliot’s eyes cut to me with a teasing look. ‘Probably the tiara giving you away as the mega fan.’
I narrow my eyes at him. ‘I thought we just established that you liked it.’
‘I don’t recall saying I disliked it.’
Owen watching us with a knowing smirk makes me shift away from Elliot a little.
‘Where’s Hennie?’ I ask.
‘Not a clue, angel,’ Josh says through a mouthful of a bright blue sweet. ‘Lost her immediately, she is absolutely minuscule. Do you want a drink?’
‘We’re getting Waterfalls. Rolo’s specialty.’ Owen gestures at a group next to us, all of whom are holding tall glasses with an alarmingly bright green concoction.
‘What’s in it?’
‘Dunno,’ I hear Josh say, just as Owen replies, ‘It’s vodka, blue curacao and tropical fruit juice.’
I smile. ‘Why not?’
Hennie’s voice pipes up behind me. ‘This festival is too fucking big!’ she huffs, throwing her bag onto the bar. ‘I immediately realised I didn’t have the faintest fucking idea where Rolo’s was. I probably ran past twice without realising. What are we drinking?’
I embrace her with relief as the boys order more drinks.
‘Did they follow you for long? I saw they went after you,’ she says, smoothing her hair.
‘Well, they successfully followed us all the way through Maggie’s Field,’ I reply with irritation. ‘Pretty much had no choice but to hide until they lost our scent and left.’
Owen hands me a drink and I thank him profusely.
‘Where did you hide?’ he asks, his brow furrowed in confusion.
‘Just behind a food stall,’ Elliot says easily, as if no more discussion is necessary.
‘You were gone a while. I was concerned that you might have fallen in a hole,’ I say more quietly to Hennie.
‘No hole could contain me.’ She slaps my shoulder before receiving her glass from Josh. We gather around an empty table with our drinks, and I clink my glass against Hennie’s with a grin.
‘Let me get in there,’ Josh chimes, joining in.
All of our drinks knock together with a loud thud, some of the green liquid spilling onto our table.
Josh nods at the band on the stage closest to us with a modest crowd. ‘Is that really the lead singer? He looks like he’s about nine.’
‘He’s still got more facial hair than you, Ham,’ Elliot remarks.
Josh says nothing, just pokes two of his fingers into his drink to flick a couple of drops of green fluid in Elliot’s direction, eliciting a shout of annoyance from him.
I bite back a laugh when Elliot tugs Josh’s bandana down his face in retaliation with a smug smile, apparently knowing how to hit Josh where it hurts: Josh emits a high, panicked shriek in response and instantly tries to restore his bandana to its former glory, describing Elliot as a ‘cretin’ and a ‘rat’ as he does so.
Owen just hides a laugh behind his fist and quietly sneaks a photo of the exchange; Hennie asks to see the shots and they lean close together to look at what he’s taken, bending over with fresh laughter when they zoom in painfully close to Josh’s devastated expression.
Josh doesn’t even notice, still frantically putting his bandana back in the correct position.
I feel something in me shift as I watch them all with fierce fondness.
It’s like Hennie and I have slotted seamlessly into place, like we all somehow fit together.
I’m surprised by how comfortable I feel in their company, despite the fact I’ve only known them a day. It’s not an experience I’m used to.
‘What’s the game plan for the next clue, then?’ Elliot asks, his eyes on me.
‘Well, we’re definitely in need of some altitude, if the clue really is somewhere up high,’ Hen says.
‘Some of us more than others,’ Owen says with a smirk, earning an elbow in the side from her.
‘She’s right, there’s nowhere in the Jungle that gets us a good view unless we climb a fucking tree, so we’ll have to improvise,’ Elliot says.
‘Good thing you have me, babydoll,’ Josh says proudly, taking a loud slurp of his drink. ‘Gimme five minutes and I’ll fetch that clue of yours.’
Josh’s optimism is very endearing. I’ll admit, his presence and unshakeable enthusiasm has made everything feel a little lighter this weekend. Easier.
After more chatter and drinking our questionable cocktails, Owen claps his hands together in readiness.
‘Alright, no time to lose. Let’s get going.’
We collectively agree to meet at Rolo’s in an hour if we find nothing.
Owen and Hennie agree to team up in case they’re unable to access something out of reach, while Josh searches on his own (and is a little disgruntled as a result).
They all head in the direction of the Friction stage, another outdoor venue for electronic music, which is alarmingly busy.
There seems to be an unspoken agreement that the others will tackle the busier areas, and it makes me want to weep with gratitude.
Elliot and I begin by searching around Rolo’s itself, trying to locate any high points that could potentially house anything that might resemble a clue.
For the first ten minutes we’re joined by the drumstick as usual, but eventually come to a stop with a frustrated sigh from Elliot. The stick is deposited in my backpack while we search: another truce for now, secured by another handshake.
‘I think we need to get higher than we currently are,’ he says.
‘Right.’ I frown. ‘I can’t believe I left my levitation device at home today of all days.’
He cracks a smile. ‘If we spot something, rather than both of us almost breaking our necks trying to see, can’t I just lift you up to take a look?’
My mouth twists without humour. ‘You’re not suggesting you pick me up.’
‘Yeah,’ he shrugs, then huffs out a laugh at my expression. ‘Oh, please.’
‘We might be better off if I lift you,’ I joke.
‘I’d love to see you try. But can I just prove it’s no problem?’ he asks, stepping closer to me.
‘Fine.’ I roll my eyes. This ought to be good. And not at all humiliating.
His hands cautiously reach towards me, and then my waist is suddenly enveloped in strong hands as he lifts me off the ground in one swift motion, his face barely displaying a glimmer of effort. I feel my stomach twist with something as he arches one brow up at me.
‘Okay?’ he asks, all cockiness.
‘Alright, you’ve proved your point,’ I say breathlessly. ‘Put me down.’
He lowers me back to the floor without a word.
‘Okay, well, that might work.’ My voice is still a little wobbly.
Unfortunately, he underestimated how many potential hiding places we would spot that would need “inspecting”.
The first couple of times Elliot’s strong hands lift me up to check for any clues, the sensation quite literally steals the air from my lungs.
My head empties and any blood in my body seems to pump through me with a new heat that I have no idea how to control.
Then I forget what I’m even looking for in the first place.
We’re checking around the last palm tree in the vicinity when Owen approaches with a waving Hennie on his shoulders.
‘Greetings!’ she calls.
‘Greetings,’ I reply in a slightly more sullen tone.
‘No luck?’ Owen asks.
‘Nope,’ Elliot says, running both his hands through his hair as they’re both available for a change. I force my gaze away from his hands, which I now note with resentment, I know to be extremely gentle yet capable at the same time.
Christ. It’s not easy being touch-starved. Thoughts occur against my will.
‘Don’t worry Harty, we’ll find this thing,’ Hennie says. ‘We were going to head into the “meadow” around the corner. Apparently it’s quite the spectacle.’
‘We’ll come too, I don’t think there’s anything around here,’ Elliot says dryly. ‘Where’s Ham?’
‘I don’t know,’ Owen says with noticeable concern. ‘We should probably look for him.’
‘Why?’ Hennie replies. ‘He’s a fully grown man.’
Owen twists his head upward to give Hen a look. ‘No, he isn’t.’
‘He’ll be fine, we have our phones,’ Elliot says.
We start to walk towards a concealed area, hidden from sight by high wooden walls painted green, splattered with graffiti and worn posters.
Further down, there’s a gap in the fencing that a couple of people disappear into.
As we approach the entrance, the sounds of tinkling music and crooning birdsong filter through.
We step through one by one and I gasp when I’m greeted by an entirely new world.
It’s an endless maze – countless towering stems of green fashioned to look like long blades of grass. Huge white petals of a giant daisy billow out above us and shade us from the sun, which I’m grateful for.
‘So cool,’ Hennie breathes, still sitting comfortably on Owen’s shoulders. ‘I feel like a bug.’
My eyes scan the area to find the edge of the meadow, without success. ‘This is unreal.’
‘This is uh… a lot of high things to search around,’ I hear Elliot note quietly.
‘Better get started. Might be easier for you guys to do this too,’ he says, gesturing up at Hennie.