Field Day Fiasco

‘Turn left!’

‘Left?’ questioned Amy, looking back and forth between the well-lit paved road on her right and the dark dirt track on her left. ‘Are you sure that’s the way to Toowoomba?’

‘Positive!’ said Christina. ‘I’ve driven this route plenty of times, we definitely need to go left.’

‘Okay,’ said Amy, steering the car down the dirt track. ‘Left it is.’

The two continued driving, belting out the Spice Girls in between rounds of iSpy.

‘iSpy…’ said Christina, peering out the windows in search of a tricky answer. ‘A fallen tree!’

‘What?’ asked Amy. ‘You’re not very good at this game, that’s an awful-‘

‘No!’ yelled Christina. ‘A fallen tree! On the road, stop!’

Amy looked back through the windshield and slammed on the brakes, just in time to avoid crashing into the massive trunk of a downed tree.

‘Wow!’ she exclaimed. ‘That was a close one!’

‘Definitely,’ said Christina. ‘I guess we’ll have to back up and find a way around.’

Putting the car in reverse, Amy pressed her foot down on the accelerator and listened to the engine rev as the wheels spun uselessly in the mud.

‘Yeah, about that…’ said Amy. ‘I think we might have a bit of a problem.’

‘Seriously?’ Christina sighed. ‘How on earth did you manage to get us bogged!’

‘Me?’ said Amy. ‘I’m not the one who told us to go left down the dingy dirt track!’

‘Left?’ said Christina. ‘What are you talking about? Did you seriously get us lost? I definitely said to go right!’

Amy stared at Christina for a moment and then banged her head against the steering wheel.

‘…Didn’t I?’

‘Next time,’ said Amy, ‘I’m navigating.’

The two sat in silence for what felt like hours as Amy fruitlessly tried to reverse out of the situation.

‘Nothing’s happening…’ whispered Christina, giving Amy a judgemental side-eye.

‘You think?’ Amy said. ‘It might be time to call in the big guns.’

‘You mean…’

‘Oh yeah,’ said Amy. ‘The Taipan Rescue Squad.’

‘Really?’ Christina asked. ‘I’ve never seen them in action before.’

‘Well, buckle up,’ Amy instructed, pushing a massive red button on the roof of the car. ‘Because you’re about to witness greatness.’

Moments later, the two peered up through the front windshield as a loud noise approached and a spotlight shone down on them.

‘Wow,’ said Christina, staring up at the hovering Taipan helicopter. ‘So that’s what that button does.’

The helicopter door slid open and Mick appeared. He waved at them and rappelled down to the ground.

‘Hey ladies,’ Mick grinned. ‘Seems like you’re in a bit of sticky situation. Need a lift?’

They both nodded.

‘Alright,’ said Mick. ‘Let’s do this.’ He unspooled a length of heavy duty strapping and connected it to the car.

Christina grabbed her bag and reached for the door handle.

‘What are you doing?’ asked Amy.

‘Getting out so he can give us a lift?’

‘Oh no, we’re not getting in the helicopter!’ Amy laughed.

Christina stared at her. ‘What do you mean? How else are we going to get to the FarmFest Field Day in time? It starts in 20 minutes!’

Both women gripped their seats as the car started to rock back and forth.

‘Like Mick said,’ grinned Amy. ‘He’s giving us a lift.’

Christina screamed as the car began to lift into the air. Looking up through the windshield, she could see Mick hanging from the rope that connected them to the helicopter, Mission Impossible style.

‘Amy?’

‘Yeah?’

‘Would this be a good time to mention that I’m afraid of heights?’

—–

After a short flight, the group touched down just outside the Toowoomba Show Grounds and a green-faced Christina stepped out of the car on shaky legs.

‘Next time,’ she said, ‘you’re navigating.’

Amy crossed her arms and nodded. ‘Yeah, that’s what I thought.’

The two walked towards the helicopter to meet up with Mick. Owen stepped out of the pilots seat to join the group.

‘Just in time,’ he said. They watched as the gates opened in front of them.

‘Alright everybody,’ said Amy. ‘We’ve got a Field Day to set up for!’

The Taipan crew walked through the gates, ready to get down to business.

‘Hey, Jerry!’ yelled one of the gate attendants to the other. ‘Why on earth is there a helicopter in the carpark?’