Perfection.

Chapter Twenty-Eight: Field Trip

Monday

Sunday had passed by without anything of notice. We were told the date of Vincent's funeral, but that was about it. I didn't do anything productive that day. Now, it's Monday. I'm currently on the bus on the way to the hike. I wore my bathing suit underneath my clothes. I know what's coming, thanks to the perfect world. It's way too cold to swim, but highschoolers are nut jobs.

"Do we have to go on a hike?" Kate complains for the hundredth time.

"Yes." I say simply. She groans. The bus pulls to a stop and we load off. Our group meets in a circle. Me, Ramian, Logan, Kate, Lilyth, Rachel, Dominic, Keaton, and Shu. I'm actually kind of surprised they didn't cancel it because of Vincent's death. I mean they had a small moment of silence for him before we left.

"Which hike should we take?" Ramian asks.

"Um, what about that one?" Logan asks, pointing to the easiest hike. I already know that's the one we're taking.

"We're going on the hardest one." Rachel grins. Lilyth nods her head slowly.

"You guys have fun with that." Kate says while dragging me to the easiest hike. Everyone ends up following us except for Lilyth and Rachel. Ramian and Logan take the lead, Kate walks beside Shu while Dominic joins their conversation. Keaton walks slowly, beside me.

"How's it going?" I ask him.

"It's all right." He nods.

"Band going good?"

"Yeah."

"You excited for tomorrow?"

"Definitely."

"Me too," I nod. I can't wait to see him perform," You guys are going to be awesome."

"Thanks." He beams at me. I smile back. Dominic walks over to us and Keaton jogs up to Kate.

"Hey." Dominic says.

"Hey." I say back. Here we go again.

The Frisbee gets passed around at some point and we get warned about the steep drop. Then there's also the cave. It's practically all the same. Like deja vu, but worse because you actually already did it. I have to refrain from saying something nutty just so I'm not bored. Eventually we get to the pond.

"Guys, we should go swimming!" Someone exclaims. I smirk, already prepared. Dominic turns to me with a grin.

"See, I know you're going to throw me in." I say.

"How do you know that?" He squints his eyes at me.

"Um...telepathicness." I say.

"What?"

"I don't know, but just wait." I say holding my hand up. I quickly slip off my top layer, revealing my bathing suit.

"You came prepared?" He chuckles, "How could you possibly have known there was a lake here?"

"I, um, I've been here before." Which is technically not a lie.

"All right. Well, can I throw you in now?"

"Yes." He picks me up and I suddenly regret my decision, "Wait no. Put me down! It's going to be co-"

Splash.

I resurface, my whole body freezing. My teeth instantly start chattering. Dominic chuckles as he jumps in next to me. I splash him and he splashes me back.

"Be careful students!" I hear a teacher yell.

"Stay away from the deep end!" A different one yells. I glance at the place they're warning us about and decide to keep my distance.

"Heads up, Caroline!" Logan exclaims. I glance up and spot the Frisbee. I snatch it out of the air before throwing it over to Ramian. I stand in the cold water, still for a moment. I take in all of my friends laughing and chucking the frisbee. Dominic stands a few paces to the side of me. It's like time pauses and a cold sadness passes over me.

"You okay?" Dominic asks. Time continues. I turn to him with a smile.

"Yeah, just, you know, freezing." I grin as my teeth continue to chatter.

"It's not that cold." I splash him again, which begins the splash war that everyone joins in. We stay for a good thirty minutes before the teachers decide it's time to head back. I grab my bag and pull out a towel, wrapping it around me. I shove my clothes further into my bag before I follow everyone down the hill.

"You really were prepared." Dominic says to me.

"Yup." I say. Kate strides over to me.

"You brought a towel?" She asks.

"Yep."

"How'd you know we were swimming?" She asks.

"I've been here before." I mumble. She shrugs and catches up to Shu and Keaton. Something cold touches my hand and I look down. Dominic holds my hand in his. I look up to his face and he smiles at me, I can't help but smile back. Sure, everything seems like it's going to heck, but I still have my friends. I'm sure I can find a way to change the future. I'm not going to die. I can feel it. I know memories are returning to me every day. I'll fix this.

"You know what the worst thing is?" Dominic asks.

"What?" I ask.

"Wet feet in shoes walking through dirt and rocks." He says. I glance down at my feet. I brought Chacos, I knew we were swimming. I mean the dirt doesn't feel great, but Dominic is wearing tennis shoes with wet feet.

"Always come prepared." I chuckle.

"I mean you don't really think to yourself, 'hey hike, let's wear sandals.' do you?"

"Well, I knew what was coming." I shrug.

"Yes, you did." He nods slowly.

"Come on, let's catch up to the rest of the group." I say, noticing we've gotten behind a bit. I tug him along the trail til we reach Ramian and Logan. They're tossing the Frisbee to Lilyth and Rachel. I jump in and catch it before Logan can. He gives me a playful glare. I grin and toss it to Lilyth. She catches it easily. Remembering is going to be a piece of cake. I mean, what could possibly go wrong?