PANIC ROOM • KENJI KON

XXIV. Esther Stone is the Glue That Binds Teenage Girls

Chapter Twenty Four:  Esther Stone is the Glue That Binds Teenage Girls

~~~

"Shoo! Shoo, you retro iguanas!"

Eva opened her legs into a splits and reached forward. She stretched her hamstrings, then crawled to her feet, taking a seat on the bench in front of their dining table. Propping her ankles up on the corner of the table, she nestled into her spot. Doing her daily stretches every morning was maybe the only thing keeping her sane, but she was still quickly losing it.

Darius and Kenji made their way up their base, through the ladder and slide respectfully, and Darius took a seat at the table beside Eva as Kenji headed for the shower. As Kenji passed her, he flipped her the bird, to which Eva returned the gesture.

She had started talking to him again yesterday, and had even gone as far as murmuring the smallest sorry, much to his surprise. He seemed thankful to be back to annoying her, just as she was to him.

"Come on, just open!" The fruit can Sammy was working fell from her hands and tumbled to the ground. It began rolling, gaining speed before rolling to a stop at Yasmina's injured ankle. "Oh, sorry, Yaz!"

"It's cool. And, another one." Yasmina drew a chalk line down the black board, marking another day on the island.

"No mas agua! A little help!" Kenji shouted from their makeshift shower.

"I got you, Kenj," Darius said as he stood up.

Yaz leaned forward, "If you keep doing that for him, he'll never learn to do it for himself."

Darius picked up the water container, shrugging. He slid down the side, disappearing from view. Yaz looked to Eva, who sat up and shrugged in response.

"Uh, guys?" Darius called from down below. They shared a look, then walked to the edge of their tree house. "Guys, come here," he beckoned.

Eva was the first to slide down the slide, the others slowly following. The slide was maybe Eva's favorite part of their little base camp. Such a good idea Kenji proposed last week.

Approaching the riverbank, Eva's eyebrows furrowed. The river was empty. As in, there was zero water in it, save for a few puddles at the bottom.

"Where'd all the water go?" Sammy's eyebrows furrowed together.

"Where the hell did it go?" Eva questioned, scratching at her chin.

"Why don't we ask Mr. Forty Five Minute Shower?" Yaz retorted.

Kenji walked up behind them wearing only shorts. Eva glanced at his abs, then rolled her eyes and looked away.

"Hey, looking good is part of my brand, and no way I drained a whole river."

"Guys, we better figure out what's up, or we're gonna run out of drinking water," Darius stated the obvious.

Brookylnn gasped from the other side of the river. How did she get over there? "Shh!" Fingers pressed to her lips, her eyes bright and open. "I hear that hum again!"

Everyone groaned.

"The river must've been drowning it out before," she continued. "If I follow that sound, I bet I can find that—"

"Frozen patch of flowers," the campers deadpanned.

Brooklynn looked taken back. She crossed her arms over her chest and looked at the ground. "Oh, I've mentioned it, huh?"