Lindsey wasn’t positive but she thought that last voice was Ms. Cole and she didn’t sound nearly as upset as Lindsey thought she should.

The muscles she’d been clenching so tightly began to shake from exertion. Lindsey knew that she wasn’t going to be able to hang on much longer.

“Lindsey, let go!” a voice ordered over the shouts of the others.

She knew that voice. It was Sully, standing right below her.

Let go? Was he planning to catch her? He’d be squashed and they’d both be impaled on the furniture. She really didn’t like that outcome.

She felt her grip slipping. Her hand was covered in sweat and her sneaker was losing traction. She was going to fall either way. She had to trust that Sully had a plan that would work.

“All right,” she said.

“On the count of three,” he cried. “One. Two. Three.”

Lindsey let go. She fell, clenching her body tight for impact. When it came, it was unexpected. Another body hit hers, wrapping around her as it did. The other body, Sully, changed her trajectory, sending them over the backs of the chairs. Together the two of them tumbled onto a thin mattress, which had been dropped onto the hard floor behind the seats.

The impact was a double crunch of Sully twisting and hitting the floor and Lindsey landing on top of him. The wind was effectively knocked out of her, but it was a much better landing than slamming into metal chairs and breaking an arm, a leg or her neck.

She rolled off of him and lay on the ground sucking in huge gulps of air and coughing. Sully was beside her doing the same. He rolled toward her and their faces were just inches apart. He pushed a long blonde strand of hair from her face and looked her over.

“Are you all right?” he wheezed.

“Yeah,” she gasped. “You?”

“Never better.” He groaned.

He pressed his forehead to hers and Lindsey closed her eyes, thanking her lucky stars that Sully was as quick-thinking as he was.

The cast and crew surrounded them. Beth was the first to ask, “Are you all right? Lindsey? Sully?”

Sully pulled away from Lindsey and gave her a small smile. She got the feeling he would have preferred to stay in their cocoon for a while longer and she realized she would, too.

“We’re okay,” he said.

He sat up and helped Lindsey to sit up, too. Together they got to their feet and made sure that all of their parts were in fact still working.

The cast and crew broke into applause and Violet came up to them, looking pale with her hand clutched over her chest.

“You scared the life out of me, Lindsey Norris,” she said. “What the heck happened up there?”