Chapter 269
WILLA
At the end of almost half an hour I was drenched with sweat, completely exhausted and yet had nothing to show for it.
All I had managed to do so far was unroll the tent, spread it out on the grass and that was it. There weren't even instructions on how do erect the damn thing.
I looked around. Almost everyone had set up their tents. Those who hadn't had not got around to it yet were either wandering about the place in groups or sorting out the stuff they had packed.
I stqmped my foot in annoyance. Why hadn't anyone thought of giving first timers in a field trip some kind of crash course on what to expect?
Did they imagine I had been born in a forest?
"Need some help?"
A guy stood closeby. He had dragged his tent close to mine and I hadn't even noticed. It looked like he was about to set it up.
He pushed his glasses up his sweaty nose with one finger and grinned at me. I found myself smiling back.
"Yes please," I said. "I don't even know which side is up. The only tents I've seen are the ones on TV on all those nature shows."
The boy's laugh was loud and carefree. "Don't worry. I'll help you," he said.
And he did. It was like watching a magic trick. One moment the tent was a shapeless heap of canvas. The next it had taken shape.
The boy moved around quickly, hammering the tent pegs into the ground. Finally he gave one of the pegs a brisk tug.
The tent held steady.
"All done," the boy announced. "Just get your sleeping bag inside and you're good to go."
"Wow. Thank you so much," I said. "If you hadn't come along, I would probably have spent the night sleeping on the grass."
He waved this off good naturedly. "I'm sure it wouldn't have gotten to that. One of the others would have offered to help you."
I didn't think they would but I didn't say anything. Hadn't most of them watched me struggling and dragging the damn thing along?
"By the way, I'm Riven," the boy said.
He held out his hand. It was strong. A little callused.
"Nice to meet you," I replied. "I'm Willa Wallace."
"I know," he said almost immediately.
I blinked, not sure if I had heard correctly.
Riven's cheeks bloomed with sudden colour that called attention to how good looking he was in an artless sort of way.
"I didn't know I was popular," I said, only half joking.
"Actually I noticed you," Riven confessed. "Your skin is very light and you're pretty. It's almost impossible not to notice you."
Now it was my turn to blush. Riven seemed a little shy but his words didn't sound a bit like flattery. They sounded real and true.
"Thank you, Riven," I said. "It's been a while someone said something that nice to me."
"I'm sure most of them think it. I think I'll get started on mine now."
"Oh. Of course. Just tell me if there's any way I can help."
Riven said there wasn't but I helped him hold the pegs, fed him the rope and handed him the hammer when he needed it. While he set up his tent, we chatted like old friends.
"You seem really good at outdoorsy stuff," I remarked.
"Not my first field trip. I've also had years and years of experience hiking in the woods too."
I told him I had come on the field trip as a punishment.
He told me he knew that too. Lucian sure hadn't been quiet when he had spoken to me earlier on the bus.
He finished his tent in less time than he had finished mine. He crawled around inside, grunted in satisfaction and got out smiling, dusting off the dirt and pieces of dry grass off his clothes.
"We make a great team, you and I," he said as walked to where our bags had been dropped. "How about we work together on this project? I'll teach you everything I know."
I started to tell him yes, I would grateful for the help when I heard a sharp cracking noise, and then a loud rustling sound.
We turned to see that Riven's tent was no longer standing. It was flat on the ground.
We were both so surprised that we could only stare.
"What on earth happened?" Riven said. He was scratching the back of his neck, looking as confused as I felt. "I could have sworn that I-"
From under the tent popped Lucian. He sprang to his feet. He threw down one of the tent's pegs he had ripped out of the ground.
"Lucian-" Riven began and stopped.
Lucian didn't look at me as he said, "That's not a good spot to pitch your tent, Riven. Find somewhere else to put it."
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