of where I’m going.’
Johnny laughed. ‘I figured there was another reason Sam hired you.’
‘Why’s that then?’
‘He just thinks people should have a purpose,’ said Johnny. ‘Or be given one.’
‘He’s quite a scary bloke,’ said Ethan, thinking back to his interview. ‘Seems nice enough, but he looks bloody hard.’
‘Ex forces,’ said Johnny. ‘And if you let on you’re thinking of joining up, he’ll have you doing push-ups and bleep tests before you know it!’
‘Really?’ said Ethan.
Johnny nodded, his face almost serious. ‘And he’s a world-class skydiver.’
‘Does he teach you?’
‘Me and a few others,’ said Johnny. ‘He wants us to be the best skydiving team there is. He works us hard, doesn’t stand for any messing around, but there’s no one better.’
Ethan looked up, trying to see if the plane was over the DZ yet.
‘Listen out for a drop in the sound of the plane’s engines,’ said Johnny, following Ethan’s line of sight. ‘That means it’s slowing down so people can jump.’
Immediately after he spoke, Ethan heard the change in the sound of the plane. A few seconds later, tiny dots dropped into the sky like erratic flies. Straining his eyes, he followed the dots as they grew larger. He soon realized that one of them was actually made up of a number of dots; a group doing a formation dive. The dot exploded. Parachutes burst into life and drifted down like confetti.
‘Check these guys out,’ said Johnny as the four skydivers from the formation came in above them. ‘They’re swooping.’
Ethan didn’t have a chance to ask what swooping was: in quick succession, the skydivers turned into the DZ at an impossible speed. He watched as they sped through the air, only inches from the ground, then pulled into a perfect landing.
As they touched down, he noticed their parachutes; they were the smallest he’d seen – more like power kites.
‘Cool, eh?’ said Johnny, grinning. ‘A swoop’s a high-speed landing. The control you need is amazing. It’s unbelievably difficult. Which is why I’m the best.’
Ethan ignored Johnny’s comment and said, ‘Those parachutes – they just don’t look big enough.’
‘They’re Raiders,’ said Johnny. ‘Small, fast and scary. And the word’s canopy, not parachute. If you’re gonna work here, you may as well sound like you know what you’re talking about.’
‘You tried one?’
Johnny shook his head. ‘Sam’s got some on order for us though – me and the rest of the team, that is. Want a go?’
Ethan saw the challenge on Johnny’s face. ‘Yeah, no worries,’ he said. ‘I reckon it’s easy. It’s just people like you want to make the rest of us think it’s difficult so you look cool.’
‘But anyone can skydive,’ said Johnny, and Ethan saw a wild spark in his eyes. ‘And it is easy. Just look around you!’
Ethan did just that. Like every other day he’d been at FreeFall, he was amazed at the variety of people who had all signed up to jump: pensioners, teenagers, mothers . . . even vicars.
‘Statistically it’s safer than driving or crossing a road,’ Johnny told him. ‘You’re more likely to get hit by a meteorite than be killed skydiving.’
Ethan rested his can on the table and looked directly at Johnny, who shrugged.
‘OK, so some of that may not be strictly true.’
‘That is a surprise.’
‘But you’ve just got to try it!’ said Johnny, and Ethan saw that wildness fire up again. ‘It’s the most awesome thing ever. It could make you almost as cool as me! It’s a life-changing thing!’
‘Yeah,’ said Ethan, getting up from the table to head back inside, ‘and so’s the money I’d need to do it.’
At the end of the day Ethan was just making for his bike when a voice called, ‘Ethan? Got a minute?’
He turned to find Sam striding towards him.
‘How’s your first week been?’
Ethan started to reply and found he couldn’t stop. All he could do was spill out everything he’d done that week – how much he’d enjoyed it, the people he’d met, how he was still amazed by the whole skydiving scene, loved watching people jumping, coming in to land, their faces carrying the biggest smiles. He couldn’t remember being so enthusiastic about anything in his life. It felt good.
‘Here,’ said Sam, handing Ethan some forms. ‘A banking form so I can pay you direct into your account. The others are parental and health forms.’
‘What for?’ asked Ethan, and read the answer on the forms as Sam spoke.
‘Perk of the job. You get a free tandem skydive. With me.’
Ethan wasn’t given a chance to respond;