𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙨 𝙙𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚

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Alternate Version of Finding Jules

Title: Finding Jade
Word Count: 2999
Contest: Summer Adventures Contest 2018

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"Are you sure that we're in the right place?" Cindy asked tentatively, holding the map out in front of her. She squinted at the map and held it closer towards her face, her short dirty blonde hair falling into the whites of her brown eyes. "I think we need to keep going left from this point."

Fliss gave an exasperated sigh and snatched the map out of Cindy's hands. "We need to go right from here if we want to get to The Wilbridge Cabins before dusk."

"No no," Cindy interrupted, waving her arms in the air. "You're holding the map the wrong way around."

Jade sighed as her friends broke out into, yet again, another argument. She loved her friends dearly, but it was the bickering that really drove her mad on days like this.

She ran a hand through her long wavy dark brown hair and immediately folded her arms. Her piercing green eyes on her tanned skin made her stand out more so compared to her two friends, but it was her compassion and loyalty that was admired most by others. Jade was shy, similarly to Cindy, but had the wits of Fliss. She may not have been the smartest, the funniest or the strongest out of the girls, but she certainly was the most artistic. It was her creativity and artistic eye that made Jade truly unique.

Fliss continued to channel her annoyance towards Cindy, who was now chewing on the sleeves of her baby blue cardigan. The two girls always broke out into arguments, but it was their honesty and truth in every flawless piece of vision that made them gel together in a sisterly fashion.

"No, we clearly have to go right," Fliss huffed pointing at the clearing between the rows of trees surrounding the three.

The girls had travelled to Wilbridge Forest in the hopes that they could hike. They weren't ones for hiking, but Cindy's 17th birthday was quickly approaching, so the girls decided to treat their athletic best friend on a trip in the woods.

In hindsight however, they should've picked golf.

"Yeah, if the world was upside down, then it'd be on the right," Cindy quipped, gnawing away at her now-soaking cardigan. "But it's not! It's on the left."

Jade couldn't help but take in her surroundings: she stood in the centre of the clearing, turning her head around slowly to take in the gorgeous greenery. Everywhere she looked, trees and tree bark encompassed her peripheral vision.

"So beautiful," Jade sighed, smiling at the natural beauty laid before her. She noticed how little birds chirped in their nests at the top of the trees: proudly calling out to their friends and any nearby animal. She noticed how the clouds rolled above her, each perfectly shaped matters of gas moulded itself into a new form with every slow movement. She even noticed a deer that sat on top of a tree stump, as if it was completely oblivious to the sound of Jade's two best friends jeering at each other.

Wanting to seize a perfect opportunity, Jade quickly lifted up her camera that hung around her neck and attempted to take a few photographs. Without warning, the deer hopped off the stump and gracefully made its way between the trees into the distance.

Jade was never the one to make rash decisions, but in that moment in time, all she truly wanted was to capture a perfect shot of the deer that wandered before her. She was drawn by its mesmerising beauty: the way it gently side-stepped between the bushes and the trees with such poise.