"Today marks the first day of training since we've got a challenge coming up in three days," Calum uttered, leaning against a vacant picnic table. "So we're going to go to the rock climbing walls and maybe go through a practice course to give you an idea what to expect."
I nodded along with some other girls, liking Calum's idea.
"We'll meet over there in, let's say, fifteen minutes?" He checked his watch and then nodded. "Yeah, fifteen minutes."
Once Calum walked away, all of us got up from our sitting positions and scattered, some going to the cabins real quick and others going straight to the rock climbing walls.
"Hey, where'd you go yesterday?" Carla looked at me before pointing and guiding me towards the woods. "I mean, you left the cabin and didn't return for a while."
Should I tell her about the cliff?
"I told you, I went to watch the movie. It's an absolute sin to pass up Mean Girls," I laughed nervously, scratching the back of my head. Carla nodded, accepting my answer.
We soon passed the woods and the opening disappeared too, making us come closer to the Cafeteria. I didn't get the chance to really figure out where the rock climbing walls were yesterday so I guess we'll just have to keep our eyes open.
"Do you guys know where the walls are?" I asked, eyeing the right side for anything.
"Yeah, I caught I glimpse of them yesterday when we were heading to the lake. They're behind the showers," Pauline said, pointing to something in front of us.
Pauline ended up being right and we made it to the training session just in time, making Calum wave at us.
"Hey, team, listen up. This, right here," Calum pointed to a man with a white beard next to him. "Is Dave. He'll be helping today."
"Alright so everyone come up one by one so I can help get you your harness," Dave spoke loudly, clapping his hands together. Morgan, the girl who introduced herself first, got up and went first again.
Once everyone got their harness besides me, I got up and walked to the front.
"Hey, Veronica," I looked up and noticed Calum sending me a soothing smile.
"Hey, Cal," I grinned back, now looking at Dave. He grabbed a blue harness and loosened it, kneeling in front of me. I stepped into the openings that were, I hope, for the legs and waited. Once I was balanced, Dave brought the harness up to my waist, tightening it to its full potential.
Maybe just a tad bit too tight.
"I didn't see you at the movie yesterday," Calum raised his eyebrows as Dave buckled me up.
I bit my lip and started to play with my fingers, "I, er, I just went to bed after grabbing an apple from the cafeteria. I was tired after swimming yesterday," I made up, becoming more nervous by the second.
Was I allowed to go to the cliff?
"Ah, the lake does wear you out," Calum agreed, nodding. "Alright, well you should come to the bonfire tonight! The boys and I missed you yesterday," Calum's eyes twinkled and he smiled like he was a genius.
"Yeah, I defiliently will," I grinned, nodding.
Calum gave me a quick nod before turning away, making me also turn away and walk back to my spot where Carla and Pauline were giving me weird looks.
"He was talking to you," Carla commented, looking at me with wide eyes.
"Yeah, didn't he talk to you?" I questioned, playing with the hard strings form the now uncomfortable harness.
"Not really, not like he was talking to you," Carla pouted looking at Pauline who was also looking at me.
"Well there's a bonfire tonight so maybe that'd be your chance. We'll just sit closer to the fire this time," I suggested, giving them a bit of hope.
The two girls nodded but then Calum started speaking, stealing our attention. "Can I have five girls who are willing to climb the wall first?"
Only four girls immediately got up so I sighed and lifted myself up, walking to the front.
"Perfect," Calum yelled once we were all hooked up and holding onto two of the colored rocks. "When I blow the whistle, well you know what to do, right?" I looked back at him and nodded, clearly knowing what to do.
I used to do these all the time back in Pennsylvania when I went out with friends. There was a place in town that wasn't expensive in the slightest so why not?
When Calum blew the whistle, I stepped onto one of the lower rocks, pushing my body up to grab a hold of one of the higher rocks. I repeated my actions over and over, finding this course to be a bit easier than to what I'm used to. The rocks seemed to be in the right place at the right time, making me climb quickly up the hundred foot structure. Soon enough, I was at the top and pressing the button that made the alert sound.
"Nice job!" I heard from below but I couldn't piece it into who it was. I smiled wide and grabbed the rope that was keeping me up, pushing off the rocks and slowly coming down. When I made it to the bottom, Dave walked over to me and unhooked me before patting me on the back.
I looked back at the wall and noticed about two of the girls only about three fourths of the way up the wall and the other two struggling, only half way through.
"That was awesome," Calum exclaimed, giving me a hard high five. I shook my hand in slight pain, but played it off, balling my hand into a fist.
"Yeah, that actually was pretty sweet!" An unfamiliar voice complemented me, making my head snap towards it. Luke stood next to Calum with a wide grin on his face, and holding out his fist. I laughed lightly before bumping it with my already balled hand, trying not to blush but probably failing horribly. I stood there for a moment before Luke spoke up, "So are you going to the bonfire tonight?"
I nodded my head, "Yeah, what time is it at?"
"I believe around eight thirty," Calum said uncertainly, tapping his chin.
"Yeah, that sounds just about right. It'll be fun," Luke added, digging his hands into his jean pockets
"Alright, I'll defiliently be there!" I looked over to Carla and Pauline whose eyes were popping out of their skulls, watching me carefully.
I grinned brightly, giving them both another high five before going back to my seat.
As soon as I sat down, Carla didn't waste another heartbeat before saying, "Explain."
About an hour later, after watching everyone go through the rock climbing wall and going through a course that would be identical to one in the future, I soon found myself walking to the Cafeteria for a bite to eat and a bottle of water. Even though it was chilly in the morning, by no means was it chilly in the afternoon.
"Hi, sweetheart. You hungry?" I looked up at Marlene who was sitting behind the front counter.
"Erm, kind of. I was wondering if I could have a blueberry muffin and a bottle of water," I questioned, trailing off at the end.
"Absolutely, of course!" I watched her turn around and disappear into the back. She came back a moment later with a wrapped up muffin and a cold water bottle in her hand, "Here you go."
Thank you," I said quickly before retreating towards the door. I slid through a group of pulled out chairs, and as I was about to grab the handle to the door, it flew open, making me jump back to avoid being hit. "Woah."
"I am so sorry," a masculine voice apologized. I held my heart for a second more, calming my heartbeat down a bit, before looking up to see Luke. He had a worried look on his face and had a hand held out.
"Don't worry about it, it was my fault," I said, taking the blame. I shrugged my shoulders and offered a smile, showing Luke that I'm, indeed, fine and that I wasn't hit.
"Are you sure? I could have totally just wiped you out," Luke's face started to turn red, embarrassed.
I laughed lightly and waved him off, "Coulda, woulda, shoulda. I'm fine, I promise."
He laughed lightly and smiled, "Alright, I'm sorry, again." There was a moment of silence before Luke closed the Cafeteria door and walked a bit more inside. "So what're you going to do for the rest of the day?" He asked, looking at me. I forgot momentarily about the fact that I was just heading out the door, and followed Luke to the front of the cafeteria.
"I haven't made up my mind yet," I replied honestly, leaning my back against the front counter. "How about you?"
Before Luke could answer my question, Marlene came out from the back, "Good afternoon, darling. What can I get you?"
Luke tapped his chin for a second before ordering, "Can I get a bottle of water, and a ham and cheese sandwich?" Marlene nodded her head and disappeared into the back just like she did for me.
"Erm, I don't know," Luke directed his attention back to me, shrugging his shoulders. "Maybe meet a couple more campers or go canoeing?" He laughed lightly, blushing.
"Oh, that's right! You guys have canoes, fishing boats, and jet skies," I remembered, thinking out loud.
"Yeah, yeah we do," Luke beamed, eyes twinkling. Marlene came out a second later with a wrapped up sandwich and a bottle of water. She handed them to Luke before disappearing into the back once again. "Wanna grab a picnic table outside and eat there?" I nodded immediately, liking the idea that Luke wanted to spend a bit more time with me.
"Yeah, that sounds perfect," and with that, Luke started to walk outside, leading the way.
We ended up picking a table underneath a tree, completely shaded over.
"So tell me about yourself," Luke insisted, tearing the plastic off of the sandwich and picking at the crust. He peeled the crust off easily before eating it.
"Well first off, I eat my sandwiches as a whole and don't pick at the crust," I joked, watching as his face started to turn a light shade of red. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding," I grinned a bit as I started to peel the paper off the bottom of my muffin. Once I successfully did so, I ripped the top of the muffin away from the bottom and sat the top half on the paper.
"Now that's weird," Luke pointed at me, taking a bite out of his sandwich while eyeing my now ripped muffin.
"Hey, if you can rip your sandwich apart, I can rip my muffin apart," I defended myself, tearing a small bit off of my muffin and setting it into my mouth, chewing slowly.
"Alright, alright, we're both weird," Luke negotiated, setting his sandwich down momentarily and raising his hands in defense. I nodded, and watched as he put his hands down and picked up his sandwich again. "So tell me about yourself," he tried again.
"Okay, well I'm Veronica, but if you want, you can call me V," I started off, tossing a piece of my muffin into my mouth and chewing slowly before continuing. "I'm from America, if you haven't noticed," Luke laughed lightly, nodding before biting into his sandwich again. "I like muffins, obviously, the outdoors, falling asleep to the rain, and..." I trailed off, not knowing what to say.
"Here, how about we play twenty questions?" I agreed immediately to Luke's suggestion, a little embarrassed.
"What's your favorite ice cream flavor?" Luke started off, raising his eyebrows.
"Cookies 'n Cream, hand down," I slapped the picnic table, confident.
Luke nodded, "Same here. Do you have any pets?"
I nodded, finishing the bottom half of my muffin and grabbing the top half, "I've got a pretty feisty goldfish named bubbles."
Luke snorted, making me also laugh. From there on, he asked a bit more exotic questions, in which I answered honestly, not caring about what he would think.
"I've been looking everywhere for you!" Carla exclaimed once I walked into our cabin, sweating slightly.
Australia weather is tad bit hotter than I expected it to be.
"I grabbed a bite to eat," I stated, leaving out the fact that it was with Luke. Carla nodded her head and laid back down.
"That rock climbing wall hated me," she complained a minute later. I chuckled quietly and grabbed a new shirt, changing out of my dirty one. "I swear it purposely wanted me to make a fool out of myself."
"You didn't make a fool out of yourself," I declared while slipping out of my shorts this time. I pulled out a pair of jean capris that ended about mid-calf. "You did fine."
Carla sat up and looked me in the eye, "You're kidding, right?" She gave me a look of disbelief before continuing, "I slipped three times and had to start over two of the times."
"Hey, think of the positives. At least you made it to the top and pressed the button unlike the other three girls that didn't even make it to the top."
Carla scrunched up her face but then nodded, "True, thanks. What time is it, by the way?"
I slipped my phone out from my back pocket, "It's almost six o'clock."
"Well I'm gonna get a quick shower before dinner, you coming?" I thought about it for a second, but then nodded, thinking why not get it done with now.
Once I grabbed a towel and some clean undergarments, not worrying about the clothes since I just changed, we left the cabin and started to walk towards the shower.
_____________________
"That wasn't as dirty and disgusting as I thought it was going to be," Carla approached the bench I was sitting on, hair dried already.
"It truly wasn't," I agreed, getting up and walking down the steps of the shower house. I threw my towel in the bin the camp provide, and walked onto the path. "Its 6:45 so do you just want to head to dinner?"
Once Carla nodded, we jogged over to the Cafeteria. There was a good amount of girls already here, but there were several open tables. We decided on the back corner table, the one we've sat at for the past two days.
We waited about fifteen to twenty, Pauline arriving somewhere around there, before Marlene came out and served dinner.
"There will be burgers, turkey sandwiches, and fries," Marlene announced before disappearing into the back like she always does.
"How about we all go up this time?" I suggested, standing up. Pauline and Carla nodded, setting their phones on the table so people know that the table is taken. Once we went through the line and got our food, we walked back to our table.
Dinner flew by quickly, the three of us making easy conversation, and before we knew it, we were bringing our plates up to the dirty dish basket.
"Can I have everyone's attention?" I sat my plate down and turned around, looking at Ashton. "We just want to let you know what's going to be going on."
"In fifteen minutes, there will be a bonfire where we'll be singing acoustic songs and making s'mores," Luke explained, holding his own microphone this time. In fact, all four of them had their own microphones so they didn't need to keep stealing it from one another.
"And then tomorrow," Michael started off, pausing for a moment. "There will more training, nothing much since the challenges start in two days."
Once Michael finished, the boys nodded and backed away, indicating that they're done talking. Carla, Pauline, and I stayed put for a moment before walking out and heading towards the bonfire. The sun was starting to set, turning the sky into a pretty orange and bright yellow.
Once we arrived outside of the pit, Carla and Pauline started to enter it.
"You guys?" I called towards them, making them turn around. "I'll catch up with you in a minute. Can you save me a seat?" Carla nodded after giving me a concerned look. "I'll just a moment," I reassured her.
Once they turned around and enter the pit, I backed away slowly and walked further down the rocky path. I took the same route I did yesterday, taking a left before the lake. The sun set has barely begun so I jogged down the path a bit more and up the small, bunny hill. Once I made it up to the cliff, I sat in the same position I did yesterday, leaning my back against the large rock.
Rather than the sky only holding the colors of orange and yellow, purple was added into the mix. I directed my attention away from the beautiful mix of colors, and towards the sun which was three fourths the way covered by the distant hills. I watched the sun slowly decent, making the yellow turn into an orange and the orange turn into a dark shade of red.
I sighed quietly to myself, slipping my phone out of my back pocket and flipping the camera open. Once I took a few snapshots, I stashed my phone away and watched the rest of the sunset. As soon as every last bit of the sun had disappeared and I was surrounded in complete darkness, I lifted myself up, brushing the dirt of me before walking down the hill. It didn't take me long to find my way back to the bonfire nor did it take me long to spot Pauline and Carla.
Once I caught their eye, they waved me over and tapped a vacant spot next to them. As I walked down the stairs, I looked at what was happening in the front, catching Luke's eyes immediately. Just like yesterday, he watched me carefully, giving me a curious look. I gave him a small smile, tucking a piece of hair behind my ear before squeezing through the rows and sitting down.
"Where'd you go?" Pauline questioned, looking at me.
"I just used the restroom," I lied smoothly, deciding to keep the cliff as my little secret.
"Oh, alright," she smiled, shrugging her shoulders.
"The sun is down so the party starts!" Ashton yelled into the microphone, making everyone scream in agreement. He was sitting on top of a box in which I assume he'll be using as a drum, while Calum was sitting on a log next to Michael and Luke who all had guitars in their hands.
"Are there any special requests?" Michael questioned, making a ton of girls scream out song names, some being theirs and some not.
I stayed a silent for a moment before standing up, like the others, and screaming, "Unpredictable!"
I watched Luke's ear perk up and his head turn towards me, his eyes searching the crowd.
Luke was about to speak into the microphone but Calum beat him to the chase, "Heartbreak Girl?"
"That sounds like a good song to start off with," Ashton commented, tapping the sides of the box, making a beat. Luke nodded, looking towards my direction one more time, before perching the guitar onto his knee. He watched him tighten his grip on the guitar pick and strum a few cords before starting the song off.
"You call me up, it's like a broken record," Calum sung into the microphone, making a few girls scream while Pauline, Carla, and I just sung along with him. The song carried on, the boys staying in absolute perfect key, making everyone sing louder.
Once the song ended, I watched Ashton grab a graham cracker and take a bite out of it, chewing slowly.
"Any other requests or do you guys want to get s'mores first?" Everyone shouted different things but Luke made up everyone's mind for them as he reached for one of the sticks.
"I don't know about you guys, but I want to roast some marshmallows," he smiled brightly and stuck two marshmallows to the end of his stick, raising the whole thing all together above the blazing fire.
I ended up eating four s'mores as the course of the night carried on, singing along to every song they played. Once the boys declared the bonfire to be over, everyone headed back to their cabins.
"This is gonna be one hell of a summer," I stated, earning a few agreements from Carla and Pauline who were now walking besides me.
"You bet it will be."