Ella came into the bathroom where Gilly was already standing at the sink, brushing her teeth. Ella started to brush her hair out while Gilly spat into the sink, then pulled her lips back and looked at her teeth, her brow furrowing.
"I wish I had more teeth," she said, "I wish I was like a shark."
"There's nothing really stopping you, you go out there and be the best shark you can be," Ella replied, the two of them laughing, "I told Amie to meet me outside this morning, but I haven't seen her yet..."
"She's gone," Gilly said, this blunt statement making Ella stop brushing her hair and look at her.
"What do you mean she's gone?"
"She took off, I passed her this morning. She was outside, already dressed, and she was heading into the woods," Gilly said, "Said she had something to do."
"Gilly!" Ella replied, "You just let her go?"
"Why not, she would've just let me go," Gilly said solemnly, making Ella scoff and rush back into the main room. She pulled her suitcase out, quickly got dressed and then pulled a small, tall rectangular tupperware out, opened Gordons trunk and poured him and some water into it, then shut it. Gilly came in, noticing the tupperware with the holes in the lid, and looked at Ella.
"What're you doing?" Gilly asked.
"I'm going to find her!" Ella said, "She might be going to do something to herself, Gilly! Just because you don't like her doesn't mean she should leave."
"I do like her," Gilly said, "She's the one who doesn't like me."
"Well, I'm going after her," Ella said, "See ya."
And with that, Ella was out the door in a flash. A few moments passed as Gilly contemplated all of this, stomped her foot and started out the door after her.
***
Amie had left early that morning, pack and all, and had passed by Gilly on her way out. Gilly was coming back from the kitchen early, having gained a friend in there who would give her desserts in the mornings for breakfast. The two saw one another, made direct eye contact, but neither one stopped to talk. Walking alone in the woods now, enjoying the peace and quiet, the beauty in nature surrounding her, Amie actually didn't feel all that bad for once. She stopped, pulled her pack back up a little and grunted.
"God you're heavy," she mumbled, continuing to walk.
This shouldn't take that long. She'd planned this as soon as she was told she'd be going to camp. She just would be gone for the afternoon, and back by the evening, and nothing would go wrong, and nobody would notice. It was a free day, it wasn't like there were any activities planned, so nobody would probably even notice she was gone. Yes, everything would be fine.
***
"I just don't think it's that big a deal," Gilly said, marching alongside Ella.
"It's a big deal because the entire time Amie has been here, she's felt incredibly alone and out of place, and I've been trying to make her not feel like that because that's how I always feel, so I know how bad it is. Has she been rude to you? Yeah, and sure her home life sucks and that's no reason to be mean to other people who have nothing to do with it, but still, we need to be nice to her. We have to have eachothers backs, because nobody else has them," Ella said.
"...I'm sorry," Gilly mumbled, "I guess I screwed up."
"Ahoy!" a voice called out, as Rachel, wearing an eyepatch and swinging a stick at them, jumped onto a large rock ahead, "Avast ye mateys, where ye scallywags be off to?"
"We be searchin for someone dat abandoned ship, cap'n!" Gilly said, not missing a beat in the sudden roleplay and making Ella laugh in the process.
"Arrr, I see...well then my bonnie lasses, let us sail onward and bring this traitor back to pay for their crimes against the sea!" Rachel exclaimed as she hopped off the rock and lifted her eyepatch, "Seriously though, what's going on?"
"Amie ran off," Ella said, "So we're going to find her."
"She ran away?" Rachel asked, pulling her hair back into a ponytail, "Alright, well, let's see if we can find her."
"How? We can't track people by scent, we're not dogs," Gilly said, "One day we will be, but not today."
"We may not be able to sniff her out, but we can shout for her," Rachel said, cupping her hands around her mouth and shouting loudly, "AMIE!"
No response came.
"Hmmm," Rachel said.
"I don't think she's close enough," Ella said.
"If a girl shouts in the woods and nobody's around to hear it, did she make a sound?" Gilly asked, making Ella laugh and Rachel smirk.
"Well then, saddle up and let's move out, we gotta find her," Rachel said.
***
Aime was lost deep in thought as she continued to hike towards her destination when suddenly she felt soft raindrops hitting her face. She wiped them away and the noticed fatter raindrops splashing against her glasses, and she groaned. This wasn't supposed to happen! It was supposed to be nice today! It was summer for god sakes! Aime pulled her pack up on her shoulder and continued uphill. A little rain wasn't going to stop her, she was determined to finish what she'd started months ago.
She could remember laying in bed, making this promise to herself that she'd do this as soon as she could when she got to camp, that it was only fair. Nobody else was ever going to do something for her, so she had to take care of everything on her own, and she knew what was best anyway. The rain started getting harder and harder, and the wind picked up as Aime ducked under a bent over tree, trying to stay relatively dry and safe. She was starting to entertain the idea that maybe she had made a mistake after all...
She narrowed her eyes and stared ahead at the darkened skies ahead of her...nothing was going to stop her, not when she was this close.
***
"I'm not so sure this is the smartest thing to be doing..." Gilly shouted, as the girls headed into a small cave between some rocks to get out of the rain. Ella now felt particularly stupid...this had been her idea, to come out here and search for her friend, and now it seemed like she might have put them all in danger.
"Nobody knows where we are, but somebody is going to eventually notice we're missing," Rachel said as she sat down and squeezed her hair, the water pouring from it onto the dirt below, "So we stay here until the storm passes, it shouldn't be too long, and then we'll go back to camp and-"
Rachel and Gilly trailed off, as Ella stood at the cave front, looking out at the sky. Somewhere out there was a girl who had no friends, and thought the friends she did have here weren't her friends. Somewhere out there was this scared little girl, and Ella knew what that was like, to be scared. She couldn't let this happen. Ella pulled her pack on tighter, made sure the lid on Gordons container was airtight and then took off into the forest again. Rachel rushed to the cave front, peering out.
"Ella!" she shouted, "Ella come back!"
"...She just ran out there," Gilly said, eyes wide, appearing shocked. Rachel turned and looked at Gilly, then walked to her and put her hands on Gillys shoulders. Gilly was shaking, like she was about to have a meltdown of some kind, Gilly continued to mutter, "This is all my fault. I should've stopped Aime this morning. I did this. I did this."
"Gilly, shhh, calm down," Rachel said, hugging Gilly and stroking her hair, "You're okay."
Out in the wind and the rain, the sound of thunder overhead, and no way to see much in front of herself, Ella kept fighting to move forward. She had to find Amie. She had to show this girl that she was their friend. Nobody deserved to be alone, Ella knew what that was like, and she never wanted anyone else to feel that way. Suddenly she skidded, her heel sliding on a rock in the mud, and she slipped and tumbled down a hill, eventually hitting a tree and breaking her roll. She didn't get back up.
And Aime...Aime sat beneath the trees she'd stopped at, too scared to move forward, too scared to leave their comforting safety. The rain was turning everything around her to mud and water from an uphill stream rushed past her, creating tiny waterfalls on each side of the tree. This was all her fault. She really was a bad friend, a bad person, and she was going to die here.
She was going to die here.
"I wish I had more teeth," she said, "I wish I was like a shark."
"There's nothing really stopping you, you go out there and be the best shark you can be," Ella replied, the two of them laughing, "I told Amie to meet me outside this morning, but I haven't seen her yet..."
"She's gone," Gilly said, this blunt statement making Ella stop brushing her hair and look at her.
"What do you mean she's gone?"
"She took off, I passed her this morning. She was outside, already dressed, and she was heading into the woods," Gilly said, "Said she had something to do."
"Gilly!" Ella replied, "You just let her go?"
"Why not, she would've just let me go," Gilly said solemnly, making Ella scoff and rush back into the main room. She pulled her suitcase out, quickly got dressed and then pulled a small, tall rectangular tupperware out, opened Gordons trunk and poured him and some water into it, then shut it. Gilly came in, noticing the tupperware with the holes in the lid, and looked at Ella.
"What're you doing?" Gilly asked.
"I'm going to find her!" Ella said, "She might be going to do something to herself, Gilly! Just because you don't like her doesn't mean she should leave."
"I do like her," Gilly said, "She's the one who doesn't like me."
"Well, I'm going after her," Ella said, "See ya."
And with that, Ella was out the door in a flash. A few moments passed as Gilly contemplated all of this, stomped her foot and started out the door after her.
***
Amie had left early that morning, pack and all, and had passed by Gilly on her way out. Gilly was coming back from the kitchen early, having gained a friend in there who would give her desserts in the mornings for breakfast. The two saw one another, made direct eye contact, but neither one stopped to talk. Walking alone in the woods now, enjoying the peace and quiet, the beauty in nature surrounding her, Amie actually didn't feel all that bad for once. She stopped, pulled her pack back up a little and grunted.
"God you're heavy," she mumbled, continuing to walk.
This shouldn't take that long. She'd planned this as soon as she was told she'd be going to camp. She just would be gone for the afternoon, and back by the evening, and nothing would go wrong, and nobody would notice. It was a free day, it wasn't like there were any activities planned, so nobody would probably even notice she was gone. Yes, everything would be fine.
***
"I just don't think it's that big a deal," Gilly said, marching alongside Ella.
"It's a big deal because the entire time Amie has been here, she's felt incredibly alone and out of place, and I've been trying to make her not feel like that because that's how I always feel, so I know how bad it is. Has she been rude to you? Yeah, and sure her home life sucks and that's no reason to be mean to other people who have nothing to do with it, but still, we need to be nice to her. We have to have eachothers backs, because nobody else has them," Ella said.
"...I'm sorry," Gilly mumbled, "I guess I screwed up."
"Ahoy!" a voice called out, as Rachel, wearing an eyepatch and swinging a stick at them, jumped onto a large rock ahead, "Avast ye mateys, where ye scallywags be off to?"
"We be searchin for someone dat abandoned ship, cap'n!" Gilly said, not missing a beat in the sudden roleplay and making Ella laugh in the process.
"Arrr, I see...well then my bonnie lasses, let us sail onward and bring this traitor back to pay for their crimes against the sea!" Rachel exclaimed as she hopped off the rock and lifted her eyepatch, "Seriously though, what's going on?"
"Amie ran off," Ella said, "So we're going to find her."
"She ran away?" Rachel asked, pulling her hair back into a ponytail, "Alright, well, let's see if we can find her."
"How? We can't track people by scent, we're not dogs," Gilly said, "One day we will be, but not today."
"We may not be able to sniff her out, but we can shout for her," Rachel said, cupping her hands around her mouth and shouting loudly, "AMIE!"
No response came.
"Hmmm," Rachel said.
"I don't think she's close enough," Ella said.
"If a girl shouts in the woods and nobody's around to hear it, did she make a sound?" Gilly asked, making Ella laugh and Rachel smirk.
"Well then, saddle up and let's move out, we gotta find her," Rachel said.
***
Aime was lost deep in thought as she continued to hike towards her destination when suddenly she felt soft raindrops hitting her face. She wiped them away and the noticed fatter raindrops splashing against her glasses, and she groaned. This wasn't supposed to happen! It was supposed to be nice today! It was summer for god sakes! Aime pulled her pack up on her shoulder and continued uphill. A little rain wasn't going to stop her, she was determined to finish what she'd started months ago.
She could remember laying in bed, making this promise to herself that she'd do this as soon as she could when she got to camp, that it was only fair. Nobody else was ever going to do something for her, so she had to take care of everything on her own, and she knew what was best anyway. The rain started getting harder and harder, and the wind picked up as Aime ducked under a bent over tree, trying to stay relatively dry and safe. She was starting to entertain the idea that maybe she had made a mistake after all...
She narrowed her eyes and stared ahead at the darkened skies ahead of her...nothing was going to stop her, not when she was this close.
***
"I'm not so sure this is the smartest thing to be doing..." Gilly shouted, as the girls headed into a small cave between some rocks to get out of the rain. Ella now felt particularly stupid...this had been her idea, to come out here and search for her friend, and now it seemed like she might have put them all in danger.
"Nobody knows where we are, but somebody is going to eventually notice we're missing," Rachel said as she sat down and squeezed her hair, the water pouring from it onto the dirt below, "So we stay here until the storm passes, it shouldn't be too long, and then we'll go back to camp and-"
Rachel and Gilly trailed off, as Ella stood at the cave front, looking out at the sky. Somewhere out there was a girl who had no friends, and thought the friends she did have here weren't her friends. Somewhere out there was this scared little girl, and Ella knew what that was like, to be scared. She couldn't let this happen. Ella pulled her pack on tighter, made sure the lid on Gordons container was airtight and then took off into the forest again. Rachel rushed to the cave front, peering out.
"Ella!" she shouted, "Ella come back!"
"...She just ran out there," Gilly said, eyes wide, appearing shocked. Rachel turned and looked at Gilly, then walked to her and put her hands on Gillys shoulders. Gilly was shaking, like she was about to have a meltdown of some kind, Gilly continued to mutter, "This is all my fault. I should've stopped Aime this morning. I did this. I did this."
"Gilly, shhh, calm down," Rachel said, hugging Gilly and stroking her hair, "You're okay."
Out in the wind and the rain, the sound of thunder overhead, and no way to see much in front of herself, Ella kept fighting to move forward. She had to find Amie. She had to show this girl that she was their friend. Nobody deserved to be alone, Ella knew what that was like, and she never wanted anyone else to feel that way. Suddenly she skidded, her heel sliding on a rock in the mud, and she slipped and tumbled down a hill, eventually hitting a tree and breaking her roll. She didn't get back up.
And Aime...Aime sat beneath the trees she'd stopped at, too scared to move forward, too scared to leave their comforting safety. The rain was turning everything around her to mud and water from an uphill stream rushed past her, creating tiny waterfalls on each side of the tree. This was all her fault. She really was a bad friend, a bad person, and she was going to die here.
She was going to die here.