Who You Say I Am (A Jai Courtney Fanfic)

Chapter 29-Jai

Jai

I see some tucker is prepared and there's already a long queue at the showers. 
"You want to get some tucker first and shower when the queue dies down?" I ask her. 
"That'd probably be best.  I'm washing my hands first, though," she tells me. 
I agree.  We wash at the sinks outside where there's no crowd and then grab something to eat.  We sit down together and she's smiling at me. 
"I had fun today working with you," she tells me. 
"Ditto," I reply grinning. 
I'm glad it's mostly just the two of us sitting down to eat.  I feel her take my hands and she prays over our meal together.  I grasp hers firmly and can't help but want to continue to hold her but she releases me.  I know I'm starved and she probably is, too, after such a rough day.  I follow her and start taking a few bites but keeping my eyes on her.
"Do you feel like you got a workout today or was that nothing for you?" she asks me. 
"It was decent," I tell her.
"How much do you usually work out when you're prepping, you know?" she inquires. 
"It's like an eight hour a day job sometimes," I admit. 
"Every day?" she asks. 
"Five to six a week," I shrug. 
"Do you do that often?" she questions. 
"Depends on the job," I tell her.  "I don't mind the exercise but I defo enjoy sitting on my bum and not working out when I don't have to," I tell her. 
She laughs at me.  I think it's one of her larger smiles I've seen.  I notice a flash and look up to see Gale nearby with her phone in hand and a silly grin on her face. 
"Did you put in any dunnies today?" I ask her. 
"What?" she questions. 
"Toilets," Meg grins. 
"Ah man, I didn't even think about that," she cringes. 
"And that's why I got into electrical," Izaak says taking a seat nearby.  Floyd joins him. 
"You guys are all clean," Megan frowns. 
"First in line," Gale says beaming. 
"I may be last," Megan replies. 
"Me, too.  No worries," I tell her. 
"I hear there are some creepy bugs out there in the woods," Gale says. 
"Like what?" Megan asks. 
"Somebody said there are giant centipedes," she says shivering. 
Megan cringes, "And I thought I was lucky to avoid them in Japan.  I hope I don't even see any here."
"Why not?" Izaak asks curiously. 
"If they're as big as the ones I've heard of, they're probably poisonous.  They'll probably put you in the hospital if they bite you," she says.
"We've got those in Australia, too," I mention. 
"Australia has the most poisonous everything," Megan teases grinning.  "Isn't even the platypus poisonous?"
"Yeah, but it's not lethal," I point out. 
"Those cute little half teddy bears, half ducks are poisonous?" Gale questions freaked out. 
I chuckle and nod, "Yeah, but I think they're only troublesome during mating season."
They all laugh at that. 
"It looks like the line is dying down.  I think I'm going to take a shower," Megan says. 
She rises and starts to walk away.  I get up to follow. 
"Hey, Jai.  I switched our tents.  You're welcome," Floyd calls out to me.  I remember that he was beside mine. 
"Alright," I say surprised. 
"You owe me a favor tomorrow," he grins. 
I sigh.  "Dunnies?" I question. 
"If that means toilets, then yes," he nods. 
"Alright," I say grudgingly.  "But you're not posting any pictures on social media of that," I say pointing to Gale. 
She lifts her hands in surrender.  "Not a problem," she concedes. 
I follow after Megan and catch up to her.  "Where'd you go?" she asks me. 
"I just got volunteered for something tomorrow," I tell her. 
"Oh," she nods.  We arrive at the tents and I unzip the one beside hers.  "Wait... I thought yours was different," she comments confused. 
"I guess Floyd switched with me," I shrug seeing my stuff there.  I grab out my duds, thongs, and toiletries.  Megan does the same and we walk back together quietly.  We separate and I can't help but glance at her again as she disappears behind the door.  I sigh at how she makes me feel.  I don't know if I've ever felt like this for anyone else...
I step in and it's mostly empty. There's a few separate stalls for showers and dunnies. I take a shower and wash the muck off from the brickwork. I step out after I dress and Megan is nowhere to be found. I hang the towel up behind the pavilion in the sun with the rest. I step back into the pavilion in search of her since some people are still eating and congregating in there. I hear a scream and Megan rushes out of the bathroom in a towel.
"What's the matter?" I ask her.
"There's a brown recluse in there on my clothes," she says shuddering.
"What's that?" Gale asks coming up beside me.
"It's a poisonous spider that we have back home. We had to get an exterminator in our backyard to get rid of them," Megan responds.
"Are you sure?" Gale questions.
"I've had one in my hair when I was gardening before. I'm certain," she nods.
"Are you the only one in there?" I ask.
She nods. "Everyone else left," she explains.
I sigh and step into the sheila's bathroom. I hate arachnids. I look around the stalls and see her duds in a pile with her toiletries bag beside it. Sure enough there's a brown spider on top of her duds. I use her toiletries bag to push the thing off. I rinse it down the shower drain and bring her things back out to her.
"Was is gone?" she asks peeking over my shoulder.
"It is now," I shrug.
"Are you sure?" she asks biting her lip.
"Not unless it can breathe underwater," I explain.
She laughs but still doesn't look like she wants to go back in there.
"The other one is empty," I tell her.
"Okay," she says immediately taking my word for it and stepping in. I look up the spider online and see it's actually pretty dangerous—that the bite isn't painful but can cause damage later on. It's actually the most dangerous thing here. She comes out a moment later drying her hair with the towel.
"Did it bite you?" I ask her concerned.
"No. I just saw it on my clothes. I picked up an article of clothing and it was between them," she says.
"Alright," I nod. "So, you have those back home?"
"Yeah," she replies. "That's why I knew what it was. I didn't know they have them here, too."
I nod.  "It's not as bad as the Sydney funnel web spider," I shrug. 
"I haven't heard of that one," she says nervously. 
"They're common in my hometown," I tell her. 
"Yeah?" she questions.  "Do I even want to know?" she laughs awkwardly. 
"They're the most deadly spiders in the world," I tell her.  "A bite from them can kill you in fifteen minutes flat."
"Is that supposed to comfort me?" she laughs. 
"No," I chuckle.  "I'm just saying it's not that bad."
"I feel so much better," she exaggerates teasingly. 
"I'm glad," I grin. 
"How could you live there?" she asks. 
"Family," I shrug.