For the next year, EJ10 attended training and collected her badges at the Illuminating Maths After-School Club. She did particularly well in animal care and spy equipment, and she worked hard on the SHINE code-cracking practice machine, learning new codes and how to crack them. EJ climbed to the top of the Shining Star trainee points ladder.

The training exercises were exciting, exhausting and fascinating all at the same time and there was always something unexpected that happened during them. EJ was never sure if that was part of the training but she soon learnt to be ready for anything. Most of all, EJ was proud of her badges, which were stored on the secret screen of her phone, and she was desperate to get the final basic training badge. So when she was called to a special Saturday session of the Illuminating Maths After-School Club, she could hardly wait.

‘How fun,’ said her mum as they were driving to the Light Shop. ‘A whole day of maths club—it’s just like Brownies with sums, isn’t it?’

Emma thought about the secret cameras, the speedboat driving, snow skiing and jet-skis. ‘Kind of,’ she replied.

‘Hey,’ her mum went on chattily, ‘today you’re going for your last smiley badge, aren’t you?’

‘Yep,’ replied EJ, taking out her phone. She swiped to her secret SHINE screen and pressed on the My Badges icon. Her screen filled with twelve badge icons. All but one of them were coloured. On the last, still shaded, badge was a picture of a parachute.

‘What do you think you might get up to?’ asked her mum.

Emma thought for a moment. ‘Not sure. Maybe jumping, perhaps the high jump or trampolining.’

‘Wow,’ said her mum. ‘You really get to do some great stuff, don’t you darling?’

‘Sure do, Mum,’ said Emma with a smile. But she was feeling nervous about this last badge. She looked at all the other badges. She had done a lot of brave things as EJ10, things she never would have thought she could do, but jump out of a plane? Could she really do that?

EJ entered the Operations Room where A1, wearing a black jumpsuit, was waiting for her.

‘Congratulations, EJ10, you are now on to your last badge. Are you ready for the big jump? Agent JM12 reports you did an excellent job in our indoor skydiving room and that your tandem jumps have been perfect. You must be excited to finally try it on your own.’

Excited was one word, nervous was another. EJ had done lots of practice but as with all tests, she was afraid she might mess things up.

‘Remember,’ said A1, ‘tests are our times to shine. Our SHINE chopper is waiting for us, so please change quickly into your training gear and jumpsuit in the cubicle at the end of the room.’

EJ changed and was soon back in the Operations Room.

‘Good, EJ,’ said A1. ‘Our chutes are built into our jumpsuits. Do you see the cord at the top here?’

‘Yes,’ said EJ. ‘That’s the chute release cord. I’ve used one in the skydiving room.’

‘Then we are good to go up to the helipad,’ said A1, walking towards the lift.

This time A1 and EJ travelled all the way up to the top of the building and the lift opened on the roof where a helicopter was waiting, its blades turning. The noise was incredible and the wind the spinning blades created was so strong that EJ feared she might be blown right off the building.

‘Come with me,’ yelled A1 as she walked towards the chopper. She opened the side door and they both climbed in.

‘Welcome aboard Shine Chopper 1,’ shouted the young woman pilot above the noise of the blades. ‘Helmets on, strap in and we are go.’

EJ put her helmet on and strapped herself to the seat. She looked out the window as Shine Chopper 1 lifted off from the roof. EJ looked anxiously out the window. This was a lot higher than the rope bridge in her first fitness test. The butterflies came back into her tummy but EJ was distracted as she saw her school below.

‘Hey, there’s St Cree’s Primary!’ she said to A1 through the mouthpiece attached to the helmet. ‘And there’s my house!’

‘And now we’re heading out to sea,’ said the pilot. ‘Jumping conditions are perfect today, A1. We will be at the drop zone in fewer than ten minutes.’

The drop zone. The butterflies in EJ’s tummy began to flutter again. The chopper turned and ahead EJ could see the beach and the pier. It was funny to think that just yesterday she was down there buying ice creams with Han and Elle and now she was all the way up here about to jump out of a helicopter. She wished she were eating ice cream now but instead the butterflies now zoomed around EJ’s tummy and her mouth was dry with nerves.

‘We are at the drop zone,’ said the pilot.

Now EJ thought she was going to be sick.

‘Okay, EJ10, we need to get ready,’ said A1.

 

‘Remember your visor can be switched to zoom-vision. You will jump first. Remember to jump as far out as you can with your arms outstretched. Now move to the jump rope.’

‘As far as I can, outstretched,’ repeated EJ, taking hold of the jump rope by the chopper door. The butterflies in her stomach were enormous now, banging around in her tummy.

‘And remember,’ said A1, ‘butterflies are meant to fly.’

EJ smiled nervously as the door slid open. The noise was incredible.

‘Okay EJ10,’ cried A1. ‘Time to let go.’

EJ took a deep breath and looked out across the sky, her fingers still gripping the jump rope at the side of the chopper.

‘Now, EJ10,’ shouted A1. ‘Jump!’

EJ closed her eyes for a split second, swallowed and then let go of the rope and jumped, leaping as far out from the chopper as she could, out into the big blue nothing of the sky.