Chapter 270
WILLA
"Alright," Riven said even though he didn't look happy about it.
Lucian, who was fast becoming a pain in the ass walked away, whistling tunelessly, leaving Riven to gather up his collapsed tent.
I glared at Lucian's broad back. He had ruined Riven's tent intentionally. No doubt about it.
"Everyone! Gather around!" Lucian called, standing at an elevated part.
His voice echoed around the clearing. The other students approached in groups of two or three.
When everyone had gathered around and Naomi had taken her usual place at his side, he said, "Welcome everyone to this neck of the woods. You all know why we're here. To collect plant specimens. For those of you that haven't been here before, you have absolutely nothing to fear. The woods here are relatively safe." He paused. "Still I ask that no one wanders off alone. We brought all we need so kindly don't go off exploring. It's my job to take you all back to Worchmount in one piece."
A few people laughed at this.
"That's about it for safety measures," Lucian continued. "Now to other things. The girls will take their baths at the waterfall before the boys." He pointed in that direction. "Note you're to do this in groups and at the same time. We'll all have our much needed privacy if we do it that way. As for the main reason why were here..."
From the pocket of his jeans, Lucian brought out a neatly folded sheet of paper. He shook it open.
I could see drawings of some plants extending down the page.
"You all got copies of this?" Lucian asked.
Everyone said they had. I hadn't so I squinted at the paper to see if there was any among them I could identify.
"Good," Lucian said. "Our task is to find the plants on this list and take them with us back to school. There are ten of these plants as you know. Some of them are quite rare but then this place is teeming with so many species of plants. As an added incentive, anyone who finds more than two of these plants gets a special prize from me."
"What's the prize?" someone, a girl asked, asked.
Naomi's grip on Lucian's arm tightened. Maybe the thought of anyone, especially a girl, getting a gift from her boyfriend made her uncomfortable.
A smile teased the corner of Lucian's mouth.
"It's a surprise," he said. "A big surprise. That's part of the charm."
His eyes fell on me. I rolled mine at the sky. I wasn't interested in his surprises, big or otherwise.
When he finally dismissed us, I went back to my tent, unrolled my sleeping bag and put it in there next to my luggage.
I checked my phone and groaned. I didn't even have a single bar.
"Willa?"
I slid out of the tent on my stomach. Riven was squatting outside.
"How do you like it so far? Your tent I mean," Riven asked.
"It's warm and snug," I said. "Kind of comfy. Come on in."
Riven was pushing aside the tent flap when a shadow fell on us. It was Lucian. Again.
I couldn't believe it. There were lots of other students it was his job to supervise and yet he wouldn't leave me alone for a whole minute!
I wondered what his problem was this time. That he had a problem was obvious. He was wearing a disapproving frown again.
At this point, I would gladly have had Dean Freeman come on this trip or any of the other professors. What was the big idea making an arrogant overbearing grouch like Lucian our supervisor anyway?
He addressed Riven. "This isn't your tent, is it?"
"No. Mine's over there." Riven pointed to a dark green tent a good distance away from mine. "I was just-"
"This isn't a hookup club or a couple's retreat," Lucian interrupted. "Go back to your tent now. You are one of the main team members. You should be more interested in the project than-" For a second, Lucian's eyes flickered to mine. "-whatever it is you think you're doing here."
Riven nodded at me and walked off.
I waited until he was well out of earshot before turning on Lucian.
"What the hell is wrong with you?" I hissed. "Don't you have other things to do? Other people to bother?"
Lucian frowned down at me. "I should be asking you the same question. What is wrong with you, Willa? You should at least have a shred of shame or dignity." He smirked. "But it seems it's your habit to let any boy you meet into you."
I shot to my feet. Before my brain could catch up to what my body was doing, my palm had connected with Lucian's smirking face.
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