A Love Story that Turned Ugly

Chapter 4

        At nine o'clock we went to the lake for some games with the children.

       "What are you wearing?” Bradley looked at me with quizzical eyebrows. I checked out my own appearance. I was totally normal. White shirt, pink cardigan, red and black plaid-skirt, and a pair of sneakers. It was just how I always dressed. Minus the sneakers of course. I only used them for special occasion. Flat shoes were the best. They were my favorites.

        "What's wrong?" I asked him back, feeling offended. Bradley laughed lightly.

       "You are not going to wear a skirt for rock climbing," he said. What the heck? Rock climbing?

       "Um, I think I'm not going to join the game. It's just that I'm not an outdoor person," I explained to him. I'd planned to sit at the edge of the lake and just watched. Unfortunately Amanda overheard us.

       "You can't do that. Rule number thirteen: Everyone has to participate in every activity, unless there is an acceptable reason e.g. bad health. You look totally okay, Miss Wayne," she said firmly. I begged her, showing my most pitiful expression. But then she said that Abigail would be disappointed if I didn't join. Oh my, she was so right.

       "I'll give you ten minutes to change," she said, glancing at her watch. Bradley ruffled my hair as he saw my sullen face, and grinned.

       "Come on, it will be fun. I'll wait for you. Quick," he said.

       I smiled at him and ran back to the bungalow, to change my clothes. I put on a t-shirt, long pants, and a jacket. I was about to go back when I saw the bracelet on the bedside table. I reached and stuffed it into my pocket.

        We were parted into groups of six (three parents three children) and competed in a kind of sport race. I was in one team with Bradley and Bert (was that a coincidence?) and a dad named Mr. Hurst and his daughter Deborah whose appearance really looked like a doll. Her blond hair was curled so perfectly and she had very pink cheeks and natural red lips. The girl was very prissy that she annoyed Abigail so much. I prevented them from fighting several times. Abby and Deborah didn't get along well. Deb pissed Abigail off by running so slowly, making us the last team who arrived at the side of lake to row the boat. Thank God, the two men had muscular arms that I and the children didn't do so much effort on the boat. So we still had enough energy for the rock climbing. The first team who reached the peak would be the winner.

       Finally, we were in fourth out of twelve. Not bad. It was so exhausting that I didn't even remember to ask anything to Bradley. I was still curious about the bracelet and what had happened between him and the women last week. Now I felt like a nosy girl.

       We were sitting on the grass, having a picnic. Still on the team, plus Amanda the guide. Abby and Deborah were surprisingly close this time. They were laughing under the tree. I thought it was Bert who had successively united them. He was a funny little boy. I already forgave him for kissing my cheek. I just hoped he would not do it to the little girls. I warned Bradley about this. He just laughed.

       I lied down on the grass lazily and closed my eyes.

        "I feel so sweaty. And tired," I sighed. Amanda heard me.

       "Please don't get tired first. We still have much to do till evening," she said.

       Mr. Hurst sat next to me and talked about how much he was proud of Deborah. I just listened in silence, pretending to be enthusiast and nodded once or twice. In fact, I really wanted him to stop, but he kept babbling. I wondered if my mom always talked about me and my siblings with other parents.

       Bradley was missing. I looked around for his figure. There he was, walking back and forth in panic, holding his cell phone up above his head.

       "Amanda, is there any signal here?" I asked her. Amanda shook her head.

       "No. You can use cell phone at the bungalow. Or around the office. But not here," she answered.

       "What bungalow?" Abigail asked us, her eyes widened.

       "The place where we sleep?" I said. Abigail's mouth opened in surprise.

       "What? But we children sleep in a tent!" she protested.

       "Well, the VIP facility is only for the parents. We also have more full activities for the children. This morning we woke them up at six and exercise a little." Amanda explained calmly to me. I nodded. Well I agreed with her. Children should be taught to live in a hard situation sometimes. Abigail knew she could do nothing about this. So she just went back to play with her friends. I approached Bradley, running. I wanted to tell him about the signal, that it was impossible to make any call around here. He turned back facing me.

       "Hi Sharona—oh shit, I can't use my phone. I have an urgent call to make." He shook his phone upside down.

       "There is no signal here. You should have asked the guide. But you can make a call in the bungalow," I told him.

       "What a relief. Thanks," he said.

       "No problem."

        I scratched my non-itchy head in purpose, so that he saw my wrist. I meant, the bracelet. Yes, I was wearing it. And it worked. He stared at me, frowning. His delightful and friendly expressions he always showed me were suddenly faded.

       "Where did you get this?" His voice raised and he grabbed my arm.

       "What?" I made a stupid expression. Then he exhaled and released me.

       "Nothing. I'm sorry. We should talk later. I have something to ask you."

         Bradley walked away with a scoff. Oh, no. I regretted what I'd done. I shouldn't have put myself into his business. Now I might lose a friend. That would not be good since Bradley was the only person I enjoyed to talk with. Was he mad at me?