envenoMATE

3. Cause Her Harm

“Sadie! For the love of God, SHUT UP!” Caroline shouted above Sadie’s incessant cackling. She groaned, laying her forehead against the cool glass of the back seat.

In front of her, Tabitha sat in the driver’s seat, her fingers clutching the steering wheel in a death grip; her eyes fixed on the road as she counted and recounted to ten in her mind. The irritation she felt had thankfully stopped growing once she started the little technique, but unfortunately, it had not diminished in the ten minutes she had been counting.

Becky was staring out the window on the opposite side of the back seat, clenching and unclenching her fists, trying to ignore the temptation to reach around the seat in front of her and strangle Sadie to death.

Poor Adina, almost squashed but just tiny enough to fit in the middle seat between Caroline and Becky, had no choice but to stare fixedly on the car’s clock in front of her. Was it broken? She surely thought so. Every minute felt like an hour. ‘Seven minutes left,’ she chanted mentally. ‘Seven minutes.’ If she survived that long.

Last night, just as Becky and Adina were settling into their beds, a shrieking scream pierced the air. Turns out, the three adventurers had run into something unexpected. Animalistic noises and painful sounding groans were being emitted. Eager to find the culprit, Sadie pressed on despite Tabitha’s and Caroline’s dismay. Closer and closer she crept through the brush, guided only by the hoarse panting sounds that slowly grew louder as she stalked nearer. And that is when it happened: Sadie stumbled, literally, into a couple going at it. She screamed. They screamed. Tabitha and Caroline screamed. Animals all over the woods were awakened to the commotion and added their calls into the frenzy. Wild had never had a more perfect environmental depiction. 

Caroline’s reformed nature left her no choice but to turn around and return to a safe distance. Tabitha immediately started offering words of forgiveness. Sadie, oh Sadie, she had the audacity to laugh at the whole thing. Then the little pervert grabbed a random article of clothing from the couple’s pile. Once they ran back inside the cabin, she held it up to inspect her souvenir and prize: black briefs. She screamed again and flung it in the air, much to the dismay of everyone - especially Caroline, since her bed happened to be the landing pad.

Ever since, Sadie has been telling and retelling the story. Laughing. And laughing. And then laughing some more. If she did not stop soon, she was certain to be shot.

“We’re here,” Tabitha said curtly. No one commented on the fact that she had kept the interstate speed once they were on city streets, barely made yellow lights, and slammed the breaks into the first parking spot she saw - clearly leaving her back tire on the marked line. Nope. No one cared, and really, only Adina noticed since she was the one who was worried that they might get in trouble. Luckily, they were home free, much to everyone’s delight.

“Well, hey, girls! This actually wasn’t too bad of a weekend. We should do it again sometime. My room is 425. Last one on the right side next to the storage closet. Come find me!” Sadie shouted with a exuberant blown kiss and wink. She was quick to snatch up her lone bag and head into the dorms, ready to tell anyone she could find about her weekend exploit.

The four remaining girls simply stood outside Tabitha’s car with varying looks. Becky wore a mask of boredom; Caroline’s brows were knit into a scowl as she placed her hands on her plump hips; Tabitha wore an expression of extreme relief; and Adina bit her thumbnail, wondering what crazy new thing was going to happen next.

“Damn, but that girl makes me feel sorry for my momma,” Tabitha spoke after a moment.

“Hm?” Caroline hummed.