PICS and IT DIDN'T HAPPEN

25. The Cockroaches

I resist a yawn.

The hamburger I had at lunch was so fulfilling that I want to sleep now. But I blink away the drowsiness and pay attention to my homeroom teacher Ms. Duvall who looks excited.

"We're going on a safari trip in South Africa!" she cheerily says.

The class buzzes with excitement. I don't particularly hate the idea.

But a safari might not be as exciting as it sounds once you find out what's the limit of an average high schooler's physical stamina is.

We are scheduled to leave next week. A brochure of the details of the trip and a permission form are given to all the students.

When I exit the classroom, Raylan bumps into my shoulder while passing by me.

If this was in the past, I would've taken this as a challenge to beat my chest and fight back. But now he wouldn't dare antagonize me. It was an accident.

I'm upset nevertheless. It's hard to erase old habits. I wish he and Tony weren't in the same homeroom as me.

A week later, my class and I are on the plane to Johannesburg.

----

I audibly groan when I hear Duvall say I'm roomed with Hannah in the camp. I share the homeroom and math classes with her.

I don't like Hannah. She acts like a typical high school it girl. But that's not my complaint. My complaint is she's the only one who thinks she's popular.

Most of the class ignores her pompous diva attitude. There are no followers behind her. There are no admirers lined up to ask her number. But she acts like there are, and that just makes me want to shake her until her false reality falls out of her head.

I mean, if you want to be the school's mean girl, do the work and get qualified first.

To dampen my mood further, our room is right next to Raylan and Tony's. I feel like it's not just a few dark clouds now but a whole thunderstorm hovering above my head.

I still get a silver lining though.

The room is unbelievable. It is a luxurious hut, equipped with all the necessities, including every teenager's dream: free Wi-Fi.

The beds are comfy, and the large bathtub is just begging for me to float in it like a dead body.

Moreover, there's a private mini swimming pool. Who knew being in the wild would feel so not wild.

I skip the optional welcome tour of the camp and decide to try that tempting bathtub before my long needed nap.

After the bath, I wrap the plushiest towel I've ever felt around me and step out of the bathroom.

Just when I grab the tucked corners of my towel to take it off to change, the unlocked room door swings open and in comes Raylan.

I shriek. He is startled. The pigeon hanging out by the window flies away.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" I shout.

"I'm sorry. I thought this was my room," he says, while not looking away from me.

"Leave!"

He rubs the back of his neck and turns around and walks out. I rush to the door to lock it.

But just as I'm about to grab the handle the door opens again, making me stumble back. Raylan's hand quickly catches my waist and pulls me against his chest.

Standing inside his toned arm, wearing nothing but a towel, I feel all the feelings a girl would feel at such a moment.

I would try to push him away, if it weren't that both of my hands are tightly holding my towel up, desperately safeguarding my decency.