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I whimpered. “Marge, I don’t think this is a good id—”
Before I could finish, the thrust from her stepping on the gas sent us all slamming into the back of our seats.
“Marge!” Alice shrieked, grabbing the roof and holding on tight as we surged forward, flying along the trail.
At first, our terrorized screams echoed through the jungle, then we hit the first bump and caught air. When we all crashed back down, our screams turned to howls of pain.
“My ass! I think I broke my ass!” Alice wailed.
“Well, if you ate more, you’d have more cushioning to protect you!” Marge shouted over the roaring engine while we raced along the bumpy trail.
“Marge! Slow down!” Sylvie begged, her body crashing into mine as we took a tight turn.
She did, but only for a moment to make the corner without skidding into the trees. As soon as we were going straight again, Marge gripped the wheel and leaned forward.
“This baby has some balls!” she shouted, pushing the gas harder.
We hit another bump, and our screams meshed into one as we bounced on the seats, but this time, our panic started to transform into shrieks of laughter.
“You’re crazy!” Sylvie shouted, her voice cracking with amusement. “This is insane!”
“You love it! Admit it!” Marge shouted back, skidding us along another turn.
I couldn’t stop the smile from spreading across my face, the wind drying my teeth as we raced along the jungle path.
“Whoo!” Alice shrieked when we hit another bump. This time she used the roof to hold herself up for a moment to keep from landing back on her bony behind. “Hey! That helps! Hold the roof, ladies!”
Sylvie and I copied her actions, holding the roof handles tight and using them to cushion our landings over each bump that we hooted and hollered when we hit. We turned another corner and saw the small river separating us from the group who were now visible just across it.
“Oh shit, ladies. Looks like we’re getting wet!”
We didn’t even have time to argue with her as she floored it more, sending us sailing into the shallow river. Water sprayed up all around us, soaking our faces and filling my mouth as I howled with laughter. When we arrived on the other side, and Marge slammed us to a stop, the four of us choked on water and laughter.
Marge spun in her seat, her mud-covered face splitting with her grin. “Nowthat’show you drive, Doris.”
I wanted to answer, but the water I’d inhaled still had me hacking.
“What happened?” Miguel appeared at the side of our vehicle. “Is everyone alright?”
“We, uh ...” Marge looked between us. “We just got a little stuck back there is all. We caught up, though. It’s all good.”
He gave her a contemplative stare, pursing his lips like he knew her answer was as far from the truth as we were from civilization. But instead of arguing, he just shook his head. “Glad you’re okay.”
“Yep. All good.” Marge patted the wheel.
Miguel gave her one last judgmental look and then walked away. As soon as he was out of earshot, we burst into another round of chuckles.
“Oh, you are busted.” Alice wiped the mud from her sleeve. “He didn’t buy your story one bit.”
Marge shrugged. “Well, nothing he can do about it now.”
“Good thing I have traveler’s insurance,” Sylvie said, clearing the wet hair from her face. “If you broke this thing, it’s on my credit card.”
“It was worth it,” Marge said decidedly, patting the dash. “And there’s not gonna be any damage. This baby was made for off-roading. I just finally let it do what it was born to do.”
“Okay, everyone! This way!” Miguel called.
The girls and I gave each other a quick exchange of smiles, then we climbed out and hurried to catch up to our group.
