Page 7 of High Side
“And they will push, man,” Jilly chuckled. “They each have roles, right?”
“Yes. Bratty kid. Bored soccer mom. Adrenaline junkie.” She nodded. That was the best part. “Joe, Kelly, Mindy, and I are playing customers in the rafts. You are running two guides per raft. One in charge up to the pool, then the other. Then we offload, get on the bus, and do it again.”
It was a long goddamn day, but it was a trial by fire.
“What do you play?” Brittany asked, her dark eyes twinkling.
“Ex high school athlete star, ex-military, karate guy. Very macho.” She winked. She loved to play meathead and make everyone crazy.
“Ooh…sex-ay!”
Everyone laughed at Brittany’s words, so Kylie bowed, then flexed, showing off. She did like a flirt, so what the hell.
“Now we start the preflight checklist…” She handed out clipboards. It was analog, but electronics did poorly in rafts.
“Ah checklists, the bane of my existence.” Mindy shook her head. “So much paperwork.”
“But it means your butt is covered.” If they had it in writing, if the checklist had been followed, then the waivers those guests signed couldn’t be voided by bad actions on their part.
“That’s our Dungeon Master, Kylie the Strict!”
“So true.” She ran them through the raft checklist, where they looked at inflation and made sure the rope rails and hand holds were intact. Then they checked to make sure the oars were in working order and that there were enough for each client. Each raft got a wet bag with first aid equipment, some emergency rations, a flare, and water bottles. On the good side, they were never really alone on the river. The bus met them at both ends, and there were spotters along the way to take pictures and check their progress.
It wasn’t this strict for a lot of outfits, but Lupe and Liz—well, this was their whole life. One day it was going to be hers too. Not that she ever mentioned that to the other guides. Not ever. Liz and Lupe knew, but they kept it to themselves. She didn’t even think Joe knew.
“So, how do we make sure a little kid doesn’t go flying out?” one of the newbies asked. “If we’re at the back of the boat.”
“You make sure everyone else in the raft is working together. You have to engage their parents and siblings and other guests into making sure everyone stays inside the rails. And if they go out, you have to ensure you’ve trained them well enough to point their feet downstream and not try to stand up.”
She noticed Brittany nodding, so she thought Brittany had more experience than a lot of their first run kids. Shit, she probably had more time on the river than some of the returning guys like Josh the distracted, who was on his phone. She tapped it as she went by him, and he made a face.
“Also, we’re going to practice some of these situations so that you’ve dealt with it. We’re not interested in leaving you to drown, so to speak.”
“Oh good.”
“All right, buddy up, folks. We’re going to go through what you would do now from start of trip to finish.” She wasn’t surprised to see Jilly and Brittany partner with each other. They were roomies now and would be a good pair.
It was time to put these kids through their paces.
Four
Brittany felt like her arms were going to fall off, and her butt was numb.
Day two of training had been grueling. The locals had changed. There was a pair of gay ski instructors who were super good athletes: she thought one of them was an Olympian. Then there was a couple who ran a B&B and their two kids.
They’d ended up in her and Jilly’s raft, she thought because they had some experience.
Those kids could shriek.
Now she wanted a shower and a beer and maybe to visit the green cabin, as everyone called it.
“Hey. Nice job with the kids today.” Kylie grabbed the other side of the raft she’d been hosing down to put it on the rack.
“Thanks. They were great, really, but they were loud.”
“Yeah. This is their third year.”
“No shit? Allie has been coming since she was three?”
