The Ghost of Ontario (Part 1) (10 Grade Draft)

Chapter 33: Camp Wanapitei

Ihaan looked a bit offended, but then he cracked a small smile and asked, "Is it not obvious? I like you, Kylie. Besides, Ro here wants to be your friend. I mean, I do too, and I hope we are, but..."

"Don't worry, Ihaan." I interrupted, and I stood up, shooing more mosquitoes away. "We are."

"We are?!" Ihaan squeaked.

Smiling, I nodded.

Entire face brightening, Ihaan announced, "Yippee!" and he jumped up on his branch.

Startled, Ro hopped back a few feet.

Ihaan soon reached his hand into his quiver of arrows, and pulling one arrow out, he balanced it on his finger. To me, he explained, "I have witnessed lots of different people travel through these lakes, but none have been as interesting as you, Kylie. On guard!" Ihaan chucked his arrow, and I gasped, ducking. The arrow stabbed the ground behind me.

"Hey watch it, Ihaan!" I yelped, and I felt the back of my head to make sure is hadn't been skewered.

"Oh, come on." Ihaan spoke from his branch, and he plopped down on it again. "You worry too much, Kylie." Legs dangling, he smiled at me.

Ro hopped to him again, and she tapped his gauntlet.

Ihaan peered down on her and picked her up. He hugged her to his chest.

Down below, I asked, "Ihaan, why don't you come down? What if that branch breaks like the one back there? You're going to hurt yourself one of these days."

Ihaan shrugged, "I'm already hurt. Besides, I am mighty comfortable up here. I have fallen plenty of times, Little Red. Trust me."

"What's hurt?" I asked him. I meant to ask him this question before, but I never got to it. I guessed it was his ankle, but I wasn't sure.

        Before Ihaan could answer, I heard, "Kylie, what's taking so long?" behind me. It wasn't my mother this time who called for me; it was my dad.

At the sound of his voice, Ihaan set Ro down, and he swung his legs back over the branch. He crawled towards the tree's trunk and reached for another branch. However, it happened so fast! I knew this was going to happen. Again, the branch he reached for broke under his hand, and he yelped, "Up!" Ihaan took a tumble. He fell through the tree's branches and crashed into the forest's floor. He landed face first in the dirt. Since Ro could fly, she just soared down to him and landed next to his head.

"Ihaan!" I yelled. Pulling his arrow out of the dirt, I started towards him.

I was forced to stop when from within the forest, I saw Ihaan lift his hand, and he announced, "I'm good!"

Ro got him out of there. With her bill, she grabbed Ihaan's pant leg and dragged him towards a cluster of bushes.

        Behind me, I heard Dad's footsteps, but he hadn't appeared yet. I knew he was coming, though.

Before they vanished in the cluster, Ihaan said one last thing to me: "Sorry, Little Red! I'll see you later!" And just like that, he and Ro vanished, and Dad appeared on the trail.

"What are you doing, lass?" he asked me. "It's time to move on."

I quickly hid Ihaan's arrow behind my back and said, "Nothing, Dad! I'm coming. I'm coming."

Dad crossed his arms and admitted, "You know, you've been acting really weird lately, Kylie Wylie. I think that concussion is getting worse."

"Concussion?" I asked. "What concussion, Dad? I don't have a concussion!" This kept on getting worse and worse.