Plague Of The Wise

Chapter 2

The creek was measly.

It may be more spectacular than most creeks, but it is most certainly not at the majesty level of a river. The water is slightly murky and is extremely cold. I try to dip my fingers in to wash off a spot of sap on the tip of my middle finger. I reel back immediately.

Yvonne looked at me superiorly. "Sap won't wash off in water, dumbass,"

"Well, I'm not a botanist," I snapped at her, irritated slightly by the superior tone of her voice and the look she was giving me.

"Neither am I," she said. "But I'm going to be. And you're going to Watson for zoology. That's close enough to botany. You should know sap requires oil to wash off."

"Where will I find oil?" I said.

Yvonne sighed and dug in her pack, producing a bag of peanuts. "Rub one of these on the sap, and then wash it off. Peanuts have natural oils that can take off sap."

I rolled my eyes and took a proffered peanut. I did as she said, and the sap detached itself, but I still had to wash my hand int he freezing water. I jammed my hand in my pocket afterward, hoping for it to become warm again fast. Yvonne was smirking at me and I stuck my tongue out at her.

"This is cool," Zachary said, balancing on a tree that had fallen across the creek. Many such trees were around us, given the constant landslide warning in place for this area of the valley. Zachary spread his arms out and stood in the middle of the log, catching the autumn sunshine across his body.

"Says the water boy," Jack said, chuckling. He ran at the creek and jumped across its width, about six feet, maybe more. I raised an eyebrow and followed suit, barreling over the water and landing in the softer gravel on the other side.

"You won't be getting me to do that," Audrey said, standing on the other side. "I would probably eat shit."

"All the more reason to do it," Wilfred chimed in. "Entertainment purposes."

Audrey glared at him. "Then you do it, Wilfred," she said. "I'm sure it would be great entertainment to see the short kid try and long jump the creek."

"I'm not that short," he said, rolling his eyes.

It was Audrey's turn to smirk as the two began to bicker. "Zach!" Jack yelled to the boy. "Get over here, let's go on an adventure!" He turned to me. "Come on, Ethan."

I smiled wide and followed him up a sparsely vegetated hill, Zachary trailing behind us. I was forced to use my hands from the steepness of the hill, and the sand kept slipping under my feet, threatening to send me back to the bottom. I assumed I was creating a pickle for Zachary.

"Don't get lost!" Hillary yelled after us. And then I heard her say, just loud enough for us to hear it, "Leave it to boys to be reckless." I rolled my eyes and continued my journey up the hill. I checked my watch and assured myself that we had hours left in the valley, and it had only taken us twenty minutes to get down here.

We reached a break in the angle of the hill, a large rock that spanned enough room for the three of us to sit. I squished between Jack and Zachary and took a swig from my water bottle. "Nice view," I said, gesturing at the creek below and the trees opposite.

Jack slapped me in the shoulder. "It'll be a better view at the top," he said. "We'll be able to see all the way to where the bus dropped us off." I almost toppled off the hill from his hearty guy-shoulder-slap.

I looked down to the creek below, where everyone else was dispersing. I saw Audrey eating a sandwich, Eden and Hillary balancing on a fallen log, and Martha was using what appeared to be a pH strip to test the dirt. Typical Martha.