chapter 16 : Childhood Talks

After that realization, Alexander preferred to stay quiet during the entire journey. Becca kept chattering while his replies would be curt. Soon enough, they arrived at their desired destination.
The students got out of the bus one by one. It was almost evening and when Becca stepped out of the bus, she gazed at the trees in awe. ��Wow. It reminds me of my home. We have a jungle there too where I always wanted to go explore but Dad never agreed,�� she breathed out.
��To whom are you talking to, Becca?�� Alexander asked from behind, waiting for Becca to move so that he could get down from the bus.
��Whenever I have something going on in my mind, I just talk. Does it matter whether anybody listens or not?�� she questioned Alexander, who shook his head in disbelief. Only Becca would do such nonsensical things.
��Kindly move so that I can get down,�� he said with a tight-lipped smile.
��Oh, right.�� Becca moved to her left where Lucas was standing with that same girl. ��Hey, Lucas. Why don��t you introduce us?��
��This is Julia Armor, and we met each other on the bus. She is an interesting person,�� Lucas introduced Julia and looked at her. ��This is Becca Hertford, a close friend of mine.��
��Nice to meet you, Julia.�� Becca extended a hand to greet her.
Julia shook it, even though it was clear she didn��t want to. ��Same.�� She glanced at her friends on the other side and said, ��I am gonna go now.�� With that, she walked away.
Becca asked Lucas, ��You seem to like her.��
Lucas gave a fake smile, saying, ��I will go to her.�� He absolutely disliked Julia��s company. The entire time she kept talking about makeup and brands. However, he had to stay with her in order to give Becca and Alexander time.
��Weird,�� Becca mumbled under her breath.
��Weirder than you?�� Alexander asked all of a sudden, making her jump a little.
��No,�� she said and pinched his cheeks. ��You are cute.�� With that, she started following others, leaving Alexander dumbstruck.
��Did she just pinch my cheek like a child?�� he couldn��t help but question, his hands traveling to his cheeks.
��Yes,�� Antonio answered from behind and walked past him.
��Alex, are you waiting for an auspicious moment to walk with us?�� Vanessa hollered, having no patience to wait for him with the other students.
Not believing what just happened, he walked towards them, trying to stay away from Becca for the time-being.
Reaching a certain point of the jungle, Vanessa and Sebastian started assigning different tasks to everyone.
��Everyone, let��s set up the tents. Lucas and Julia, go to that side of the jungle to find some material for a campfire while Alex and Becca will go to the other side,�� Vanessa announced to them. ��Collect wood and since we are so tired today, we will just eat some packed food and sleep. Tomorrow, we will do a bonfire.��
��Then why should we collect wood now?�� Alexander pointed out, indicating that it might be dangerous.
��Oh��right,�� Vanessa said, understanding where he was going with the question. ��Let��s set up the tents with our flashlights today. Tomorrow, everyone can enjoy as they want to here while the people I assigned to collect wood shall do their task.�� With that, everyone started fixing their tents.
��Here, hold this,�� Becca said and gave the flashlight to Alexander. ��I will set up the tent.��
��Do you know how to do it?�� Alexander asked her.
��No,�� she said and started from scratch. ��But I want to try and learn.��
He quietly watched Becca struggling to set up the tent all alone. Seeing her foolishness, he chuckled. ��I can teach you. I know how,�� he offered.
She looked at her with hopeful eyes. ��Really?��
He nodded. ��Antonio,�� he called out.
Antonio rushed to him. ��Hey, buddy. What��s up?��
Alexander gave the torch to Antonio. ��Hold it while we set up this tent.��
��Okay,�� he agreed and grabbed the torch, watching Alexander teaching Becca how to set up the tent.
Becca listened to his every instruction and managed to set up the tent at last.
��Thank you. It was awesome learning from you,�� she said to Alexander.
��Welcome,�� he replied curtly.
��Guys,�� Vanessa said and clapped her hands to grab everyone��s attention. ��Select your roommates for your tent. But don��t forget, girls choose girls and boys choose boys. Nothing in between.��
��Ness, I��m with you, right?�� Becca asked and she nodded her head.
��Of course. Roomies forever, whether in a room or a tent.��
Lucas went to Alexander. ��Hey, b���� Alexander interrupted him.
��Don��t even think of it.��
Lucas chuckled. ��I can��t take the risk of you sharing a tent with a human, Alex. You have no control over yourself.��
Noticing that he made a point, Alexander sighed in defeat. He couldn��t choose to stay alone in the tent because the number of tents were limited. ��Fine.��
During the next afternoon, Becca and Alexander were roaming in the corners of the jungle to collect wood. They didn��t want to, but it was Vanessa��s order after all.
��Do we have to cut trees like a woodcutter to get the dry wood?�� Becca asked Alexander while walking next to him.
��No. Why would we do that?�� he inquired. Sometimes, he wanted to know how these weird questions popped in Becca��s mind.
��Otherwise, how will we get wood?�� She pushed a few strands of hair behind her ear since her hair was let down.
��We will collect the dry material we find on the ground and take them,�� he responded, finding small pieces of wood nearby. ��Lucas also went to collect wood so I think we will have enough by the end of the day.��
��Okay,�� Becca said and started to collect a few pieces of wood from the other side.
Suddenly, Alexander could feel something unusual. The jungle was dead silent, almost as if indicating something bad was about to happen. He turned to see Becca, who was busy finding small pieces of wood. His eyes fell over the tree she was standing beneath.
The tree was shaky. It was about to fall over the place Becca was standing.
Dropping the pieces of wood he had collected, he rushed to her in an instant without a second thought, grabbing her around the waist and pulling her to the other side.
The tree roughly fell on the ground, making a loud thud.
��Are you okay?�� Alexander asked Becca as she was on top of him.
She gasped, seeing the broken tree on the ground, her eyes immediately shifting to Alexander. ��How did you do that? I am sure you were far away from me this time.��
��I would answer that but you have to get off me first. The position is awkward,�� he grumbled. As much as he wanted to stay away from Becca for some time, fate was pulling her closer to him, especially now that she was on top of him lying on the ground, their faces only inches away from each other, her hair covering both of their faces.
��Oh, sorry,�� she mumbled, her cheeks heating up in embarrassment. She got up shortly and fixed her top. She extended a hand to help him up, which he didn��t take and stood up on his own.
He decided to collect the wood he dropped earlier. Becca stayed close to him, waiting for him to answer so that he wouldn't be able to dodge the question.
��I have always been a fast runner since childhood,�� Alexander spoke up, knowing that she wanted an answer. ��I turned to see whether you were having any luck collecting wood and that��s when I saw the tree about to fall over you. So I ran and you know the rest.��
��Nice,�� Becca replied and started to help him with collecting wood. ��Hey, I never heard about your childhood. So tell me, how was your childhood?��
Alexander was hesitant to reply to her question. Sensing his agitation, Becca decided to make him comfortable by talking about her childhood.
She said to Alexander, ��My childhood was horrible.��