Shadows of Destiny

CHAPTER 2 - Hidden in Plain Sight

Crunches come from under my boots with every step I take, the sound coming from the small twigs and dried up leaves on the ground. I have always loved the forest, the sound of the creaking trees, the rushes of wind that shake their leaves. I think to myself walking alongside Cael trying to look for something significant when I notice that I had either never come this far into the forest or just unintentionally avoided this area. Neither of these were likely due to the fact that we were only a few minutes into our walk.

“Weird” I say under my breath, but Cael hears me. 

“What's weird?” he asks. 

“It's weird, I don't think I’ve seen this part of the forest” I say, looking around us. 

“Some hiker you are, were not even three hundred yards in” he replies. All I can do is roll my eyes.

“So Mr. Thomas, huh?” Cael says after a period of silence.

“What about him.” I state coldly, trying to get out of any real socialization. 

“The bets. Ya know. With the students?”

…was Cael suggesting what I thought he was?

“Yeah?” I prompt, only so we can be done with the conversation quickly. 

Cael kneels down beside a tree and picks up a long branch. He plucks off smaller parts of the walking stick as we continue searching for god-knows-what.

“Well, who do you think he was betting on? My moneys on Gina and Cory.”

Way to go for the low hanging fruit, I find myself thinking. Cory and Gina were practically dating. They just refused to admit it. 

“Yeah, probably.” I mumble, now studying a patch of bush. Ugh, there was nothing cool about this stupid forest! Another stretch of silence as we crunch through the leaves. Then,

“Are you gonna be like this the whole project?”

I spin to face Cael instantly. I just knew he couldn't manage being tolerable for even a few days. 

“Excuse me?”

“Excused,” He says casually, still plucking leaves from his walking stick. “I saw you staring, ya know. You don’t have to be nervous around me like this.” Finally he turns his gaze to me, looking me up and down as if deciding something, “If you like me just say so-Leia, was it?”

“LIA.” is all I can manage. I’m at a loss for words. One unspoken miscommunication and Cael Anderson thought this project was my attempt at–what–flirting or something? Ew. No. I’m shutting that down. 

“Come on,” Cael continues, seeing my look of disbelief. He sits on a cluster of rocks, “It was all fate, wasn’t it? I know damn well you’re already getting 80’s in this class. You don’t need extra credit.”

“Are you gonna talk this whole time or can you actually be helpful?” I attempt to ignore his comments, still rooting around the bush for some sort of flower I can turn in and be done with. 

“I’m just saying. You must’ve planned it all out.” I can feel his eyes track me as I work my way further and further away from him into the forest, hoping to drown out his voice. Sadly-I cannot. “Cael!” he calls his own name dramatically, in a squeaky high pitched tone, “You know so much about the forest and I know nothing! You’re so smart and strong! Save me Cael!”

I’m sorry, but I couldn't hold it in any longer. I snapped. 

“Are you kidding me right now? Firstly, I was zoned out. I didn’t notice I was looking at you until you stared back.” I worked my way back through the bush to get to him, only to be greeted with a fresh walking stick and that stupid smirk.