Chapter Eleven
[Y/N POV]
I blink groggily, and glance at the sky. Seeing that it is still dusky blue, I groan silently, slipping out of bed and brushing my teeth. I quickly change my clothes from white pj's to a simple beige shirt, and wide-legged pants.
Then my eyes snag on my favorite white sweater, the one Ben had given me for a birthday. We always try to match together. Today is no exception!
I stuff it into my backpack.
Smiling slightly, I tiptoe out of the room, as to not wake the others, and settle on the couch with a good old novel.
As my eyes hungrily eat up the words in the pages, dinosaur calls echo around the island. I smile at the sound; it makes me feel sort of peaceful.
"Y/N?"
"Hey, Ben. You're up early." I don't take my eyes off the pages because I'm nearing the climax of the story.
"How long have you been awake?" he asks, sitting beside me on the couch.
I lean on his shoulder.
"Just an hour."
He nods and mutters, "What are you reading?"
In response, I hold up the thick novel, and he nods in understanding.
"Oh. Isn't that one of your favorites?"
I half-nod, half-shrug.
After a few more minutes of silence, with the only sounds of flipping pages, Ben gets up from his spot, and walks around the room.
"What're you doing?" I ask curiously, setting the book down for a moment to look at him.
"I'm looking for a paper and a pencil. I want to draw something!" he brightly says, grinning.
I spot a few crayons and blank papers on the table, and hand it to him. He thanks me and sits on the couch, drawing something on the paper.
I lean on his shoulder again, watching him draw, and we just stay in that comfortable silence until the other campers wake up.
⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯ ˳༄꠶ ⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯
"What's up Camp Cretaceous! Whoo-hoo!" Darius exclaims, sliding into the room happily.
His enthusiasm is not matched by Kenji, who flatly says, "Not in a 'whoo-hoo' mood this morning, Darius. Not after yesterday. Trekking through a rainstorm will do that."
"We only had to walk because you crashed our gyrosphere." Ben says, his eyebrows raised.
Kenji frowns at the ceiling.
"Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed today." I mumble, and Kenji rolls his eyes good-naturedly.
"But today's a new day! Kayak day!" Darius says joyfully. "Who doesn't want to paddle alongside dinosaurs, real dinosaurs? It's gonna be awesome, right? Wait, where are Dave and Roxie?"
I get up from my seat a hand Darius a paper. "They took off early."
"BRB. Gotta go. Boss-talk. BB. Later. Smiley face. Is that a.. dinosaur emoji with a thumbs up?" Darius reads.
"It's Dave speak." I say with an amused smile. "Roxie translated on the back."
"We have to go talk to our boss. Stay inside until we return. Draw, bond, whatever. The radio's set for channel six in case you need us. Stay inside, stay inside. Do not leave. Kenji, looking at you." Darius chuckles, eyeing Kenji. "Sorry for all the kids' menus, it's all Dave had."
"Do they understand how old we are?" Kenji groans. "I mean, when was the last time you even saw a crayon?"
Ben chooses the time to show the others his drawing, and I smile.
"Hmm, I have some notes." Yaz retorts, looking at Ben's silly paper. I frown at her crossly.
"Yasmina!" Sammy nudges her playfully.
The doors suddenly bang open, and Brooklyn stands on the threshold with crossed arms.
"Brooklyn. What's new on the internet, superstar?" Yaz asks sarcastically with her slightly raspy voice. I don't like how she talks very much, honestly. It's like she never cares about anything.
"I wouldn't know," she snaps. "because I went to get my phone from it's charger and it wasn't there! Someone stole my phone!"
"Brooklyn, who hasn't had your phone?" Yaz says.
"I needed to check the weather last night." Ben says.
"I wanted to see the time early this morning." I mumble.
"Dr. Statler posted a new column on microfossils yesterday..." Darius sheepishly admits.
"... too good to miss the selfie opportunity, but I haven't used it since then, I swear." Kenji states, holding his hands up in innocence.
Brooklyn scoffs and looks at Sammy to hear her 'excuse'.
"I... haven't seen it either." She haltingly says in her thick Texan accent.
"Really?" Brooklyn says snarkily.
"Hey, hey, it's okay!" I cut in, not wanting a fight. "Since we're not kayaking till later, we'll have plenty of time to look for the phone."
"Oh, I think I know exactly where to look." Brooklyn says roughly. "I also think whoever took the phone might be trying to hide some of the things that are on it. Isn't that right, Sammy?"
"Um, what?" The girl frowns.
"What is your deal?" Yaz snaps. "Sammy said she didn't touch it! Ever think you might have just lost the stupid thing?"
"Hmm. Well then, let's check her bags and test that theory out."
"You do not get to go through anyone's stuff. I don't care how famous you think you are!"
"Brooklyn, I did not--"
"Brooklyn, guys, come on!" Darius butts in. "We can't be this upset over phones. Let's make the most of this incredible opportunity! This is Jurassic World! It's-- it's--!"
A sudden loud roar cuts Darius off, and I feel Ben tense with fear.
"What was that?" Brooklyn asks.
"Um, a T. Rex?" I guess hesitantly.
"Mm-mm, I don't think so." Darius says.
"Then what sort of dinosaur did it sound like? Friend-ish or Foe-ish?" Ben mumbles.
"Where's it comin' from?" Sammy questions.
"Can't see anything from here. The trees are blocking everything." Yaz says, as we all lean forwards on the balcony.
"Maybe they're moving a new dino from the lab to another enclosure." Darius says brightly. "We could probably see it from the observation tower. Could be cool!"
Sammy gasps. "Wow, that's a great idea Darius! What are we waiting for?"
"Hey! We're not done talking about this yet!" Brooklyn calls out as they run to the elevator. Kenji and Yaz follow, but I stay behind with Ben on the couch.
"But, guys! It's Indoor Arts and Crafts day!" he protests, his bottom lip coming out slightly, just like when he's stressed. "We should stay and wait for Dave and Roxie. Right?"
Kenji slides by us with a sweeping gesture of his arm. "If you want to stay here and draw you dino-crush, go for it. I'm gonna go see me a T. Rex or girl-fight. Either way, I win. Ka-ching!"
"Fine go on! I'll just stay where we're supposed to stay, wait for who we're supposed to wait for, and be right where we're supposed to be." Ben says, frowning and looking away.
I twine my hand with his to remind him that I'm here, and his face heats up.
"Are you sure you don't want to go, Ben? It might be safer with the others." I state, shrugging.
He hesitates, before getting up and pulling me with him. "Wait! Guys, we're coming too!"
But we don't hear the walkie-talkie say, "Asset out of containment. Stay indoors. ACU is responding."
⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯ ˳༄꠶ ⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯
Hey! It's me again, like always. I don't have anything to say for this chapter, so all I'll be saying is:
If you are a fellow writer, check out my reading list on how to improve writing. It really helps.
That's all for now!
-Spikey