Chapter 90
My stomach growled as we trailed back.
Great. Perfect timing.
“Was that you or a feral raccoon?” Maya snorted.
“Let me be, girl.” I groaned. My feet feels a little sore and the sun had thankfully shifted just enough to warm the tops of our heads.
I gasped as we arrived at the outdoor area. Rows of wooden picnic tables were set under a wide canvas shade. The camp staff had already set up long trays filled with sandwiches, fruit cups, cartons of juice, some sad- looking salads and so on.
Yes, sad, why will there be raisins in a Caesar salad? And half boiled eggs scattered all over it.
“No jollof rice? No pasta? No barbecue? This is bullshit.” Maya groaned dramatically.
“It’s food. Food is food Maya.” Jamal chuckled.
“No. Real food is food. This is…” She picked up a wrapped sandwich and sniffed it. “… Is this lemon?” She turned to me, “seriously? Lemon sandwich?”
I laughed, selecting a grilled chicken sandwich and some fruit. “Pick something you can eat.”
“Fine.” Maya stuffed two juice boxes into her hoodie pockets and shrugged. “Just in case.”
We headed to one of the middle tables. I sat down and dropped my food, dropping my backpack on the seat
next to me.
“Is that not Nora?” Maya muttered, nudging me. I looked up to see her clutching her tray to her chest, eyes darting, probably looking for a place to sit. When her gaze drifted toward our table and spotted Jamal, her cheeks went pink before she jerked her eyes away.
“Hey. Nora, over here” I waved.
She turned to us. “H–Hi Aria,” she stammered.
“Wanna eat with us?”
She blink “M–me?”
“No, the other invisible Nora behind you.” I teased. “Yes, you.”
Her cheeks flushed pink. “W–With… with you three?” She stammered. “I–I don’t want to bother you guys…
“You’re not bothering anyone. Come on.”
“Okay,” she let out a tiny, nervous laugh- more like a squeak and walked towards us.
Chapter 90
“Hi Nora,” Jamal said, smiling warmly at her.
She froze, tray trembling in her hands. “H–hello Jamal.” Her cheeks turned pink.
“Sit,” I said gently, grabbing my backpack on the seat next to me and passing it to Maya who placed it on with
hers.
Maya leaned forward. “Nora, girl, breathe.”
“I–I am breathing” She squeaked.
“You look like you’re in a lion’s den,” Maya teased.
“Relax, it’s just us.” Jamal smiled..
Nora nodded vigorously. “Yes. I mean–okay. Yes.”
‘Just us? With him included?‘ I eyed him. This girl is trying so hard not to implode because of him.
“So,” Maya said with her mouth full. “Rate this place on a scale of one to ten with ten being ‘this place is amazing‘ and one being ‘why did I come here.“”
“I’ll say six,” I replied. “The trees were cool.”
“Seven,” Jamal said. “I liked the bioluminescent fungus.”
Maya pointed her sandwich dramatically at him. “Four–because there’s no network signal.” She turned to Nora. “How about you, babe?”
Nora stiffened. “Um… maybe ten? I liked it a lot.”
“Really?” Maya raises her brow “You’re giving this place a ten?”
I nudged Nora lightly. “What was your favorite part?”
She hesitated, playing with the corner of her tray. “The lake path… I could hear the sound of the waves.”
Jamal perked up a little. “You could hear it? How?”
Nora froze, eyes widening. “Um–I–yes- I mean, sometimes- I mean- water is-”
“Hello everyone!” Mrs Hopkins voice boomed, “You may explore the areas with your friends after your lunch if you want. But do not wander off too far. If you see a sign that says ‘restricted,‘ that means you. DO. NOT. ENTER. Okay? Be sure to come back before six o’clock.”
“Sounds like a dare,” Maya whispered.
“Nobody’s daring you,” I said.
“I want to wander a bit,” she smirked.
Chapter 90.
“You’re not serious, are you?” I whispered, frowning.
“Fine, I won’t.”
*****
Jamal grabbed both me and Maya’s backpack and slung it on his shoulder. “So what do you guys want to do next?”
“Sleep,” I replied immediately.
“Not yet,” Maya stretched, nearly hitting me with her fingers. “The day is still young, I’m itching for some adventure.”
Jamal slung his camera around his neck. “Want to go to the lake?”
“Right now? Maya blinked. “That path looks like it would have snakes. Maybe that was why Mr Felix didn’t take us through that path.”
“There are no snakes,” he sighed.
“There absolutely are,” she shot back. “This is a forest. Forest equals to a snake palace.”
“I thought you wanted to wander off, itching for adventures” I laughed.
“Gid forbids a girl is being careful?” She mumbled. “I’m itching for adventures not suicidal mission along the part that even the tour guide did not take us through.”
“Come on, Maya. We’ll be fine, I bet they would have gotten rid of any poisonous snakes, anything harmful since it’s a nature reserve camp.”
“Yeah,” Jamal agreed. “And since we will not be wandering off–limits, we’ll be fine.”
He turned to Nora. “You coming?”
Her hands stilled around her tray. “Th–the lake?”
“Yeah,” he smiled. “You said you can hear the sound of the waves. I’ll love to learn from you.”
Her face turned into a fresh shade of strawberry–pink. “I–yes. I mean–if that’s okay.”
“It’s okay,” I assured, smiling. “I’m also curious.”
“Um… I… okay.” She nods.
We dropped our trays and went towards the path.
“This looks so cute,” Jamal muttered, stopping to take pictures of a weird looking mushroom.
“These are cool. I think Mr. Felix mentioned them earlier.” He crouched beside a cluster of tiny red berries.
Chapter 90
“Can I cat one?” Maya leaned in.
“N–NO!” Nora yelped, grabbing her hand. “They–they could be poisonous!”
“Oh. Right.” She blinked. “Not everything pretty is edible.” She hopped over a root. “I am one with the forest.” She roared.
“Maya get away from there,” Jamal muttered, pulling me and Nora behind him. “There’s a snake above your head“.
Maya froze, her phone slipping from her hand.
“A… a what?” she whispered without moving a single muscle.
“There’s a snake above your head,” he repeated,
Nora gasped. “Oh my gosh–oh my gosh–oh my gos-”
I slapped a hand over her mouth before she could scream. “It’s a prank” I whispered
Maya’s eyes widened with shock, pupils shaking. “I… is it b–big?”
“Oh yeah… it’s big.” Jamal said, stepping forward and squinting up into the leaves of the tree next to her. “It’s looking right at you,” he added.
Maya whimpered, her shoulder shooting up to her ears.
A snort escaped me. She’s going to kill him.
I pressed my lips together, my shoulders shaking as I tried to stay calm. But the minute Nora started trembling with suppressed laughter behind my hand, a full laugh burst out of my chest.
Maya slowly turned her head “…Aria.”
I choked on my own breath, trying and failing to stop laughing. “I–I’m sorry–pfft–your–your face—”
Jamal broke next, bending over with his hands on his knees as he wheezed.
“Bro, I can’t-” he sputtered. “She believed it so fast-”
“There’s… there’s no snake?” Maya whimper.
“No snake,” I confirmed, wiping tears from my eyes.
Nora added softly, “He’s just… teasing you.”
Maya closed her eyes. Took a long, deep breath and stepped down. She bent down, picked up her phone…
“It’s a joke Maya… OW–HEY-” he yelped, laughing as she smacked him.
“You
s are evil,” she hissed. “Actual demons. Satan has nothing on you.”
13.10 Wed, Jan 14
Chapter 90
:
She turned and pointed sharply at me and Nora. “And you two! You let him do it!”
“I’m sorry!” Nora whimpered.
“Don’t mind her Nora,” I giggled. Maya threw her hands up. “I hate all of you. I hope the REAL snake finds first.”
you
“You know you love us baby,” I hooked my arm around hers.
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Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland’s breathtaking cold.
