Cardinal Rule #1 - Don't pay attention to your teacher while she gives you very 'important' and 'compulsory' 'safety rules'.
Cardinal Rule #2 - Forget to pack your map, compass and any other items that may help you to navigate.
Cardinal Rule #3 - Chase a squirrel off the trail and make your friends follow you so that you have absolutely NO way of making it back to the rest of the class.
Now, with these instructions, you too can regrettably be labelled 'Lost'. The others didn't see the joke and they all shot me consecutive death stares. Oops. So maybe pursuing a suspiciously and insanely large squirrel was a bad idea.
But it wasn't my fault! That evil demon fur ball halted in front of me, stared me down with small, beady eyes and bared dagger-like fangs. It then twirled around and shook its furry butt at me. What was I supposed to do? NOT chase it? As I raced after it, that - that - that MONSTER blurred to a flurry of brown fur, bristles and glinting teeth. I slowed, and watched with fiery eyes as the squirrel barrelled out of sight. I swear just as it disappeared, it smirked at me. The squirrel smirked. At me. IT SMIRKED. SQUIRRELS DON'T SMIRK. THEY SIT ON TREES, NIBBLING NUTS. PERHAPS THEY MAKE HIGH-PITCHED, RAPID BARKING NOISES. BUT THEY DO NOT SMIRK.
These woods were a weird place, but we were all warned when we were informed of our residential. They say there's something very wrong with GreySkull Forest. The haunted woods are rumoured to transform into a monster head quarters at night. They say two girls disappeared into the forest one day in search of a dog. They were never seen again.
But we know that's all nonsense. There's nothing wrong with the woods: it's perfectly normal. Perhaps just a little dark and creepy but that's all. Rumours can't be trusted and monsters don't exist. Those two girls probably just got lost and found their way back after a bit. It's all made up .... or so we've been told.
"Finn, This is all your FRICKIN' FAULT!" Riley growled at me. She was the sporty one. I mean, so was I, but let's just give her that title. Any chance she could, she was playing some kind of sport. Table football with paper, basketball with paper and hockey with - ya guessed it: paper. That was her way of blowing off steam but with no paper in sight to play a sport, she kept sane by shouting at me. I didn't mind.
As she kept hurtling insults and accusations at me, she lost track of her footing, tripped on a log and a groping vine tore through her baby blue hoodie, now stained brown and green. She clutched her arm.
Rising from the ground, she spat venom, "OWWWWWW! IF I DIE, I'M GONNA KILL YOU!" I knew she didn't mean it. Despite her fake bravery, she was deadly afraid of insects. And where's a breeding utopia for those scuttling creeps? These darn woods. Oops.
My name is Finn Blois and I was the reason for leading my group into a mysterious woods; the story may or may not be started by a rabid squirrel.
This school trip had already taken a turn for the worst. I was stuck with my
Jamie and Sky were in front of us. In short, Jamie was a nerd and Sky was, well, 'normal'.
Let's do a quick background check: Jamie's profound love towards books and research runs deep in his DNA as both his parents are scientists and so are all his 3 elder brothers. So, no pressure for him. Three unique facts about him: he wants to marry books when he's older (ok, probably not, but still...), his favourite food is Dragonfruit and Passionfruit salad and he's one of those geeks who researches everything possible to research about a place before going into it - even a public bathroom.
Sky's mother went to America, researching some rare disease so she was left at home with her father, an IT engineer and her older and younger sisters. She had no interest in sports, though she was astounding at dodgeball, unlike Jamie - who can't even throw a ball - ;no obsession with sticking her nose in books for eternity and no unhelpful habits like chasing after squirrels on a school trip. Three unique facts about her: she LOVES collecting spoons from different countries (weird, I know), she SUCKS at singing and she can play guitar.
And then there's Riley. She's had a rough past few years as her dad passed away and left Riley and her mother with a large house and lots of money. That doesn't seem so bad but then her mother didn't believe in becoming so reliant so she carried on working; harder than ever. She doesn't have any time for Riley. She thinks that just buying her expensive gifts and giving her limitless credit cards are good enough substitutes for her love. Three unique facts about her: she loves BTS (K-pop is just not for me though), can shoot hoops with her back turned, her good hand tied behind her back and with a dozen children running back and forth to confuse her senses and she loves the colour combination of pastel pink and blue.
My friends are really all I've got, apart from basketball. It's nice to have someone to share a passion with, like Riley, but sometimes, it's just a competition of who's better. It's obviously Riley and that triggers something in me. My dad used to love basketball; he was the best in a state university. And when I play, I feel like I'm closer to him. Like he's watching me from the bleachers; cheering me on. I feel like I'm making him proud.
He and I used to fight a ton before he died. Another similarity between Riley and I, but Riley was really close with her dad so it hit her hard. But I felt worse because I didn't get the chance to properly know my dad. I thought if I was good at the same thing as him, he would see how much I regret. Not talking to him when I had the chance. The words that never meant to leave my mouth are the ones I regret the most. I know I lost my chance at showing him that I'm sorry but playing just lets me forget that. It makes me feel free. And wild. Like I can do whatever I want to do and not have the pressure of being perfect pushing down at my shoulders. That's what I thought. But it turns out, I have to be the best. For Dad.
Well, I hope you're happy because now all the emotions are swirling in the pit of stomach; a whirlpool spiralling with the heaviness of my regrets and the pains of my sorrows. I'm a mess.
Riley brought me back to the present as she flicked a branch at me. When she caught my eye, she gave me the most unconvincing scowl possible. I picked her up easily (not to brag but I'm super tall and strong) and jogged to the others with a squealing Riley punching my back. And it wasn't softly, either. It hurt!
I dumped her on her feet in front of Sky and smiled internally at her grudgingly wide grin.
"Finn, come here for a nanosecond," Jamie calls in front. I stride over to him. "I figured out how to get back. If my calculations are correct, according to the way the leaves are directed towards North and the moss on the trees indicate the surrential growth and moisture -"
"Bro, shut up and start again in English," Sky and Riley joined us.
"There is a river nearby and if we follow it, we'll find civilisation," he grinned through his thick-rimmed, dark glasses. His large mane of curly, black hair bounced as he took each confident step.
That was the plan, I guess. I trusted this nerdy brainiac next to me. He may have been a geek. But he was our geek. And soon enough, a light tinkling sound trickled into my ears. We were brought to a glassy stream of clear water. The water tore through the rocks at the bottom and rippled gently as the wind raced by. It glinted in the sun. Thankfully, it wasn't too late in the day.
Riley stepped forward and cupped a hand-full of water in her dirty palms and splashed it on her sweat-gleaming face. Beads of the water slid down her light honey ponytail. Her hoodie was completely caked with dirt and grime and her jeans, torn and frayed.
Sky traced her finger on the glassy surface of the river, disturbing the smoothness. Her two short bunches were ruffed and knotted. The denim jacket she wore was tied at the waste and was still the light blue it was before. How did that look so fresh and Riley's so old? Secrets, I tell you this girl has, secrets. Everyone looked exhausted. And we were. We sat at the river for what seemed like ages, staring into nothingness. Each of us, lost in our thoughts.
One wrong step off the trail and we were lost. It felt like a life lesson. If I ever get distracted, there's no teleporting back on track. I have to grit my teeth, work hard, and ignore the squirrels.
Stupid squirrel. It's all your fault.