Chapter One Hundred and Thirty-Nine


    Lila was starting to regret how much she’d packed as she trudged her way to the lawn on campus which served as their meeting point on Monday morning. She’d thought it was okay when she tested it out yesterday, but now, with the late-winter chill, she was convinced she was going to struggle to hike to their campsite once they arrived.


    It looked like most of her cohort had already arrived, all in free dress suitable for outdoor activities. Some were standing around in vague class groups and others had unceremoniously flopped onto the grass, waiting for roll call to commence. Lila didn’t see any of her friends or Asher as she looked over the lawn, so she remained where she was, plopping her bag next to her.


    Lila glanced at the carpark, seeing whether their buses had arrived. It was already 8am, so she thought they really should have…


    “Morning,” Asher’s voice made her spin around to face him, her smile aching her cheeks already. She threw herself against him and he chuckled, placing a hand on the back of her head.


    “Missed me that much?” his voice was warm – golden and smooth like honey. She nodded, holding him closer to her.


    “You’ll crack my ribs,” he laughed, pulling away from her. “It was only a day.”


    “I know,” Lila replied petulantly. “Like I said on Saturday, though, I did want to hang out with you yesterday.”


    ‘Plus… I… figured out I love you,’ she added internally, her face flushing at the thought. She was far too scared to admit it to his face. The fact that she could think it to herself – and recognise that, yes, it felt right – was enough for now.


    He suddenly looked rather bashful, touching her arm softly. “I did too. But-”


    “I know.”


    He exhaled deeply before flashing her a nervous smile. “So, I went to the shops yesterday.”


    “I didn’t see you there,” Lila frowned. “You could’ve had lunch or something with me and Clare, at least.”


    “I… went to the centre by Sandy Lakes,” he said, his tone rather vague.


    “Oh. Last minute shopping for camp?”


    “You could say that,” he replied, patting his right pocket. He pulled out a small, thin box and passed it to her with shaking fingers. She looked down at it in surprise.


    “Wh-”


    “A gift. I… thought about giving it to you after camp, but I just couldn’t wait.”


    She opened it curiously before her eyes took in the silver, glittering, cursive A upon the black cushion nestled inside the box. She pulled it up, revealing that it was on a delicate silver chain. Her heart jumped in her chest as she stared at it, her face feeling hotter by the second.


    “D-Do you-”


    “It’s perfect,” Lila said breathlessly. She met his gaze and saw that his expression was one of absolute relief.


    “I’m glad you like it,” he murmured, giving a light laugh. “I thought… that maybe you were kidding, about wanting an A.”


    “Of course I wasn’t,” Lila replied emphatically. “I told you that already. Can you help me put it on?”


    He smiled, taking the necklace from her. She pulled her hair to the side, and he clipped it around her neck. His fingers brushed against the base of her neck before they paused.


    “You’re not wearing your other necklace,” he observed with a twinge of disappointment.


    “I didn’t want to risk it getting damaged or lost,” she replied, touching the A on her chest. “Now that I’m thinking about it, should I leave this one off?”


    “Only if you want to,” Asher replied, gently caressing her neck, causing a rush of goosebumps to trace a path up to her ears. “I did make sure that it was good quality and it’s not bulky, so it shouldn’t catch on anything.”


    His tender touches were sending her heart into a flurry. She almost turned around to face him but was prevented by the arrival of his lips right where his fingers had been. She swayed, both with surprise and giddiness, and he held on to her shoulders.


    “Sorry, sorry,” he said in a low voice, the feeling of his breath tickling her ear making her shudder in response, “intrusive th-”


    The rest of his apology was drowned out by what could only be described as a honk of disapproval coming from none other than Isaac. Lila turned to face Isaac, who had swatted Asher away from her, her face feeling hot enough to cook an egg.


    “I swear to God, you two,” Isaac bristled. Elise’s musical laugh floated behind Isaac, and the trio turned to look at her.


    “You’re being such a pest,” Elise admonished Isaac, her smile and eyes both bright with amusement. “Let them have fun.”


    “Do you see how many teachers there are?” Isaac retorted, gesturing around with a flap of his hands. “Asher will-”


    “For the hundredth time, I don’t care if I get detention,” Asher interjected, folding his arms across his chest. “You really need to stop fretting.”


    Elise gasped dramatically. Isaac scoffed.


    “What about your reputation?” Isaac questioned pointedly.


    “What about it?” Asher asked, placing his hands in his pockets.


    “Isn’t it important to you? At least, your rep with the teachers. Weren’t you going to go for Head Boy or something?”


    Asher shrugged. “My reputation’s been dragged through the mud this year. Been called a cheater and a deadbeat Dad and all that around school. I didn’t think there was any left to salvage. At this point, no one would vote for me as Head Boy, so I don’t need to worry about that.”


    Isaac sighed. “Look, if you keep being so obvious around campus, teachers will give you a hard time.”


    “The only person who’s giving me a hard time is you, dude,” Asher responded with a raised eyebrow.


    “I’m trying to protect you, man.”


    Asher gave a heavy, reluctant sigh, pushing his hand through his hair. “Alright. Sorry.”


    Isaac narrowed his eyes at Asher. “It seems like you’re not.”


    “Well, I’m not sorry for kissing my girlfriend, no. But I’m sorry for upsetting you. I know you’re worried about me.”


    Isaac kept his eyes narrowed. “I’ll accept that, for now.”


    “Anyway,” Elise grinned, poking at the A on Lila’s chest, “what’s this?”


    Lila returned Elise’s grin. “A gift, apparently.”


    Elise’s eyes flickered to Asher, whose face was a deep shade of red, before inspecting it carefully. “It’s like you’ve been branded,” Elise said after a few moments.


    Lila blushed and she heard both Asher and Isaac make spluttering sounds, but she refused to look at either of them. Elise, on the other hand, gave them reproachful looks.


    “It’s sweet,” Elise said firmly. “Stop being weird.”


    “You’re the one who said Lila’s been branded,” Isaac reminded her with a cough. “Like she’s some object that Asher owns or something.”


    “That’s your weird train of thought taking you there,” Elise insisted.


    “I like it,” Lila interjected. “The necklace. And that it stands for Asher.”


    There was silence as everyone stared at Lila, causing her blush to deepen further.


    “See, it’s sweet,” Elise repeated, rounding on Isaac.


    “Alright, alright, geez,” Isaac replied, holding his hands up in surrender.


    “Besides, I am Asher’s,” Lila added quietly.


    “Careful, you’ll kill him,” Isaac chortled, patting Asher on the shoulder. Lila’s eyes met Asher’s, only to find that he was scarlet, the emotion in his eyes indecipherable, though a smile tugged at his lips. It had been a while since she’d come across one of those indecipherable looks, and it immediately piqued her interest. What was going on in his mind?


    Before she could ask, the roar of a fleet of buses drew her attention. It seemed that they would start getting ready to leave soon.


    “Where’s Grace?” Elise asked, peering around. “Is she sick?”


    Lila tried not to look hopeful at the prospect as she also peered across the lawn. It didn’t take long to spot Grace as she jogged their way, her face red from exertion. Her hiking bag seemed heavy, and both Isaac and Asher met Grace a few paces away, lifting her bag from her. Lila met Asher’s gaze before swiftly looking away. It was sweet that he readily helped Grace, particularly given the circumstances, but if she continued to look at him, she might spill the beans right here.


    “T-Thanks,” Grace huffed, coming up to where Lila and Elise were still standing. “Sorry I’m a bit late, I had to see my vocal coach.”


    Lila saw Asher’s fist clench around Grace’s bag as he set it down next to the other bags with Isaac’s assistance.


    “What for?” Elise queried, tilting her head with curiosity.


    “Since I won’t have any music lessons this week, she wanted to give me the music sheets for my upcoming performances, just in case I found some spare time to practice,” Grace replied matter-of-factly. Lila found that staring at her shoes was an excellent choice, as it helped shut up her instinctual question about whether that was a lie.


    “Who is your vocal coach, anyway?” Elise questioned. “I remember when Lila and I tried to look for you, but we realised we didn’t know who it was.”


    “Oh. M-.” Grace paused, seeming flustered. “M-My vocal coach is Ms Alexander. She’s also my Music teacher.”


    “Ms Alexander? Never heard of her,” Elise said thoughtfully. Then, she shrugged. “Is she new?”


    “Started last year,” Grace replied, relaxing her posture slightly. “She’s much better than the previous Music teacher and my previous vocal coach.”


    Running away would be far too obvious a reaction, right? Lila forcefully pressed her lips together as she tried not to think any more about Ms Alexander and Grace for the moment. Now wasn’t the best time to get into it.


    She was saved by the sharp whistle of Mr Morrison from the middle of the lawn. He was dressed in white sneakers, cargo shorts and a fleece jumper – an odd change from his usual long-sleeved button-up and suit pants. He raised his hand, and all the students raised their own hands in acknowledgement as well.


    “Alright, Grade 11,” he boomed, “please find your PC teacher and wait with them. They’ll do roll call with you all before we load our bags onto the buses. Once that’s done, we can get on and be on our way. It’s about two hours from here to the campgrounds, so if you’ve brought anything for entertainment, or blankets or pillows, I’d suggest bringing them on to the bus with you. You’ll be paired with your adjacent PC class for both the bus ride and the majority of camp, though there are opportunities to stay at bigger campsites throughout the week per the schedule.” He clapped his hands. “Off you go.”


    There was a mad scramble as everyone started to head to their PC teachers. Asher reluctantly gave Lila her bag before taking off with Isaac towards their PC teacher – Mr Vanderbilt, a thin, pale and balding man with a bucket hat who was another English teacher from Lila’s understanding. There was something distinctly bat-like about him, what with the shape of his facial features peeking just below his hat.


    Ms Wang appeared much more no-nonsense than usual this morning, a large, wide-brimmed straw hat on her head. She wore a red polo shirt, knee-length black shorts and black hiking boots – again, a disconcerting difference in comparison to her normal attire. As Mr Morrison had explained, Ms Wang went through the roll, noting that everyone was present (something which surprised Lila, considering how grumbly her PC classmates seemed to be whenever camp had been mentioned throughout the year), and they waited for the go-ahead to start loading their hiking bags. Lila pulled out a blanket and a book from her hiking bag, bundling both under her right arm. Elise and Grace followed suit, taking out their own items of interest, and they were finally told to start heading to the buses.


    Ms Wang directed their class to the third bus, the outside of which was already swarming with Asher’s PC class. The bus driver was loading the bags into the storage compartment of the bus, along with Michael Wallis, a student from 11E, and Mr Vanderbilt.


    “Give me those,” Asher demanded, spooking Lila, Elise, and Grace with his sudden appearance. Isaac appeared on the other side of the girls, and between the two of them, they shoved their hiking bags onto the bus.


    Some of 11E and 11F had already shuffled onto the bus, so the five of them joined the line to get on.


    “You guys excited?” Isaac asked, turning to face the girls.


    “Kinda,” Lila shrugged, avoiding Asher’s gaze though she felt his warmth on her left side.


    “I’m stoked,” Isaac replied, stretching. “Especially since that means no McWork.”


    “Really?” Elise asked, her eyebrow raised. “I can see if they’d reduce your shifts if you don’t want to McWork anymore.”


    Isaac turned around again. “For legal reasons, that was a joke,” he said swiftly.


    Asher and Lila simultaneously snickered. Watching Elise and Isaac interact in this carefree manner made Lila feel hopeful that, perhaps, they’d have a confession under the stars this week.


    Clambering onto the bus revealed that the chairs only sat two people, though there were three in a row towards the middle of the back that were free. The group made their way there, with Asher and Lila sliding into the first of the free chairs and Isaac sitting just behind them. Elise looked at Isaac for a moment before turning to Grace.


    “Grace, let’s sit-” Elise began before Grace shook her head.


    “I think Amy wanted to sit with me if it was a two-seater bus,” Grace replied, promptly sliding into the seat behind Isaac. “We’ve got our music performance due in a couple of weeks.”


    Lila suppressed her smile as she watched Elise’s face turn a light shade of pink. She perched herself on the end of the seat that Isaac was occupying, fluffing out her blanket.


    “He doesn’t bite,” Asher laughed.


    “He might,” Elise mumbled, her blush deepening. Isaac, by contrast, was staring out of the window as though there was nothing else that would hold his interest more. Elise moved herself barely an inch closer to Isaac, as if preparing herself to be bitten by him. Lila and Asher turned to face the front of the bus, settling themselves comfortably in their shared seat.


    “Would… you like some of my blanket?” Lila heard Elise ask tentatively.


    “Huh? Oh… thanks,” Isaac mumbled in response. Lila was incredibly tempted to turn around, but Asher gently nudged her with a subtle head shake. She leaned her head on his shoulder, placing her blanket across their legs and otherwise making herself comfortable.


    Eventually, Amy Kang, a girl from Asher’s PC class, waved at Grace and sat beside her, chatting immediately about their music performance. It seemed that Grace’s excuse to not sit with Elise wasn’t that much of an excuse after all.


    After about ten minutes, Ms Wang and Mr Vanderbilt stood up and faced the back of the bus, each taking a head count of the students on the bus. They nodded to each other before Ms Wang tucked her clipboard underneath her arm.


    “Alright, we’re going to start moving in a few minutes,” Ms Wang announced. “It’ll be about two hours to the campsite, and we’ll break for morning tea before hiking to our designated rest spot for the night.”


    There were some murmurs of acknowledgement and both teachers sat back down.


    Lila pressed herself closer to Asher and he took her hand under the blanket in response. Just as Ms Wang had said, the bus shortly began to move, rolling out of the College’s carpark and towards the highway.


    At first, there was quite a bit of babble on the bus from classmates, even to the point of rowdiness, but this began to subside after about half an hour. Lila spent her time simply next to Asher, occasionally playing games on her phone, reading a passage or two from her book, or talking with him about something that caught their interest. Neither interacted with Elise or Isaac, though Lila could hear Isaac trying to talk to Elise, who was uncharacteristically quiet. Grace’s conversation with Amy was far too indistinct for Lila to pay attention to, which she was privately pleased about. It likely contained lots of discussion about Ms Alexander that Lila didn’t want to hear in the slightest.


    With only half an hour left to go, Lila was beginning to feel incredibly restless – something that Asher seemed to notice.


    “It’s a bit of a long trip, huh?” he asked, watching as she stretched in her seat.


    “Yeah,” Lila sighed, looking up at the dusty ceiling of the bus. “I don’t know if I’ll have any energy left to hike.”


    “You’ll have to,” he said seriously. “Otherwise, you won’t be able to get to the rest spot.”


    “I know,” she sighed again. “I wish I could teleport.”


    “That’d be convenient,” he smiled, his eyes twinkling. “If you had teleportation, do you reckon you could take me with you?”


    “Depends on where I’m getting these powers from, I think,” Lila replied thoughtfully. “I’d like to. That way we could go wherever we wanted to.”


    Asher abruptly turned in his seat to Isaac, prompting Lila to turn and look that way, too. She caught sight of Elise nervously picking at her nails above the blanket, and Isaac seemed to have given up on the idea of talking to her, as his eyes were glued to his phone.


    “Isaac,” Asher said simply. Isaac looked up, his expression slightly annoyed.


    “What?”


    “If you could bestow teleportation on someone, would you rule it that they could take someone with them?”


    Isaac put his phone down, a glimmer of excitement passing through his green eyes. He sat up, a hand placed thoughtfully on his chin.


    “If it were me bestowing a power, I’d say no since I’m not giving that power to whoever else happens to be with the bestowee,” Isaac nodded, as though settled on this being his final answer. “But, if it were about the rules of teleportation, I think that depends on how it works in this scenario. Is it a warp portal, or are you breaking into subatomic particles? If it’s a warp portal, then there’s no reason why someone else who’s standing in it doesn’t also get sucked off to wherever.” He paused, his cheeks a light pink. “Could’ve phrased that one better. A-Anyway, uh, if you’re breaking into subatomic particles, then I feel like it’d be difficult to transfer someone else with you.”


    “What about you, Elise?” Asher asked, looking over at her.


    “H-Huh?”


    “If you-”


    “Asher, sit down and face forwards, please,” Mr Vanderbilt’s exasperated voice carried over to them. Lila and Asher both heeded the warning, though Asher had a slight pout.


    “… If teleportation includes moving stuff that’s on you like your clothes and bags and whatever, then surely touching someone you want to take with you would mean they go too,” Elise replied, her voice only just loud enough for them to hear.


    “That makes sense to me,” Isaac responded.


    “Hey, you just said that you wouldn’t have people take others with them if you bestowed the power,” Elise countered.


    “You were listening?” Isaac questioned incredulously. “If so, why haven’t you been talking-”


    Isaac was cut off by an announcement from the bus driver over the speakers regarding an approaching mountain to the left side of the bus. Lila moved her head forward so she could see around Asher, the sight of the cragged surface and barren trees decorating the massive mountain being a novel one, considering they lived in rather flat suburbs.


    “Beautiful,” Lila breathed. She looked up at Asher to find him smiling at her.


    “Yeah. You are.”


    She immediately sat back, her heart crashing against her ribs.


    “N-No, the mountain,” she faltered, pointing out the window.


    “Yeah, it’s pretty cool,” he grinned, a mischievous sparkle in his eye, “but that’s not what I was talking about.”


    Lila touched the pendant of her new necklace, unsure where to look. He still managed to say things that made her shy and speechless all at once. She couldn’t hide her smile, though. Was he able to sense how fast her heart was beating?


    Asher chuckled, pulling her so that her head was on his shoulder again. “You’re too cute to leave alone, you know.”


    “I think you’ll give me a heart attack,” Lila mumbled, glad that he wasn’t looking at her face.


    “Can’t have that,” he murmured softly, “you’re mine after all.”


    “I’m definitely passing away now,” Lila replied, her voice higher than normal. If he kept saying things like this, she’d lose her inhibition – let her true feelings slip, before she was ready to face what it would mean and the consequences if he wasn’t feeling quite the same. She was far, far from ready for that.


    “Don’t you dare,” he laughed, sneaking a quick kiss to the side of her head. “I’ve got many more plans with you, yet.”


    Lila’s breathing halted for a moment. Did that… mean…


    “OW!” Asher’s head bumped into Lila’s before he whipped around in a huff. “The fuck, dude. Did you have to flick me?”


    “I saw that,” Isaac’s lofty voice replied. “And stop flirting so hard.”


    Asher gave a heavy sigh, lightly touching Lila where he bumped her. “Fine, fine. Did I hurt you?”


    She shook her head, lowering his hand back to his lap. “I’m okay.”


    With that, any chance that Lila could hope for in asking Asher if he meant what she wanted him to mean had sunk. Lila forced her thoughts to drift away from Asher and towards the investigation her Dad was conducting. Was Daniel okay today? It wasn’t quite yet morning tea, so it wasn’t as though he could report back anything if she texted him. From the looks of it, too, the closer and closer they drew to the campsite, the worse her reception became. She wasn’t confident that she’d be able to get in contact with Daniel at all that week, which worried her. Should she have told Clare to look out for Daniel?


    Lila hadn’t thought about it yesterday, relishing instead the time spent with her sister, but now she was regretting not bringing it up. Should she send a quick text to Clare now?


    “Everything okay?” Asher whispered, taking her hand in his.


    Lila blinked, startled that he could tell that he should ask. “… I’m just thinking about Daniel. I know that we purposefully didn’t tell Clare anything about the investigation, but now that we’re not on campus… I’m not sure if I should suggest she checks in on him throughout the week.”


    Asher looked contemplative as he ran his thumb along her knuckles. “I don’t think it would hurt,” he said after a few moments. “I’d make sure that she doesn’t push him, though. Let him come to her if he wants to talk it out.”


    Lila sighed, pulling the blanket up. “You’re so sensible.”


    “Well, I do try,” he smirked. “Sometimes it doesn’t work out so much.”


    “Do… you regret the risks we’ve taken?” Lila’s question was barely audible, and she’d almost thought that she hadn’t actually said that aloud. But, when Asher’s hand went back to caressing the back of hers, she realised that he’d heard her.


    “Not at all. You make it sound as if they weren’t taken sensibly,” he whispered back.


    “Well… there was a bit of-”


    “I know. But we had our reasons. Wasn’t as if we just… did things mindlessly.”


    Lila twisted in her seat, peering briefly at Isaac and Elise. They both seemed to be absorbed in their phones, their expressions looking none the wiser to her conversation with Asher.


    “Could say that we think too much,” she added with a small smile, turning back to face the front.


    “Definitely,” Asher concurred with a small smile of his own.


    Lila relaxed against him as she picked up her phone again. She sent Clare, Hey Clare, hope you enjoy your time with Alex. If you can, just keep an eye on Daniel this week. He’s going through some stuff, but don’t ask him questions – wait until he’s ready to talk, if he wants to. About to lose signal.


    About a second later, Lila’s phone buzzed.


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    What, why?? Clare’s response didn’t surprise Lila.


    It’s getting worked out, but this week might be tough. Thought you weren’t being nosy, Lila replied. It managed to send, but her signal cut off not a moment later. Seemed like Clare would need to just trust Lila’s word.


    The bus wound its way through rough country roads, the number of farmlands flashing by Asher’s window increasing by the second. Checking the time on her phone, it seemed that they only had ten minutes left before they’d reach the campgrounds.


    There was one other thing that Lila wanted to check with Asher – something that had crept into her mind since her sister mentioned it yesterday.


    “Asher?”


    “That’s me.”


    She smiled before continuing. “Uh, well, I wanted to know what you thought, about Holly being at the game on Saturday.”


    “What?” He looked bewildered before realisation softened his gaze. “Oh. That happened. Right. Well, I know Isaac was so unimpressed that he wanted the Police to hit a pregnant person-”


    “That’s not what I said,” Isaac’s sulky voice insisted from behind them.


    Asher snickered, giving Lila a playful wink.


    “Pretty sure that’s what you said,” Lila teased.


    “It’s not,” Isaac repeated. “Just wanted a restraining order.”


    “From a pregnant person?” Elise piped up. “You don’t need much, just walk away. They’re not all that fast.”


    “Now you’re all just being dicks,” Isaac replied. Lila could hear the pout in his voice, which made her break into giggles with Asher and Elise. After a few moments, Asher and Lila sobered up, and Asher became serious once more.


    “Anyway, sure, I was a bit disturbed at first, but… seeing you there, and being able to kiss you and be… I dunno, a bit stupid, I guess – well, she may as well have not existed in the end.”


    Lila was quiet, though she leaned her head against his shoulder. Then, she asked, “What if she’s there at the next game?”


    Asher shrugged. “Then she’s there.”


    “You won’t… feel upset?”


    “Why should I be upset?”


    “Well… she’s your ex, and was horrible to you.”


    Asher shrugged again. “That’s fine.”


    “Fine?”


    “Well, what can I do? Mope around when I’ve got the girl I’ve wanted for years by my side? One who worries about whether I’ll be okay seeing my ex months after I broke up with said ex?” He reached down to touch her cheek tenderly. “When I said that I was disturbed, I meant that her appearance was shocking since she was at our school. It almost felt like Piper part two, for a moment. I’d rather not see her ever again, but once I got over the initial shock of it all, it was whatever. I’m sure one day, I won’t have any reaction at all.”


    He faltered for a moment, another blush rising on his cheeks.


    “Lila, the depths of the feelings I have for you… you can stop worrying about her. She’s so far from relevant. Since…”


    Lila was hooked on every word he was saying. There seemed to be something different about him, with the careful way he was breathing. She touched the pendant upon her chest, her eyes entirely devoted to him.


    Then, in an instant, the intensity of his gaze shifted as his eyes flickered to the front of the bus and back to her again.


    “Since… it was so long ago. I know she made everything complicated in the beginning. Sorry.” He grimaced before sitting back in his seat and leaning his head on the headrest.


    “You… were going to say something else,” Lila murmured, holding the A on her chest with a firmer grip. She couldn’t think why her heart was pounding hard enough to leave her breathless.


    A look of panic crossed his face as their eyes met, his cheeks as red as an apple.


    “N-No,” he stammered, readjusting his shirt. “I said what I wanted to say.”


    “That wasn’t what I said.”


    “I-”


    Asher’s attempt at speaking was cut off by Ms Wang and Mr Vanderbilt standing in unison at the front.


    “We’ll be arriving soon,” Mr Vanderbilt declared, gesturing for everyone to keep the noise down. “Start packing up your things and get ready to depart. No, that’s not an invitation to stand – Liam, sit.” He gave a frustrated sigh as he shook his head. A few people on the bus giggled before another student shushed them with an air of annoyance. “As Ms Wang said earlier, once we stop, we’ll have morning tea before hiking to our first camping spot.”


    “What kind of stick is up his ass?” grumbled Isaac, viscerally reminding Lila that she was not as alone with Asher as it had felt when she challenged him about what he’d almost said.


    “Isn’t he your PC teacher?” Lila heard Elise reply.


    “Sure, but he’s not normally so grumpy.”


    “Somehow, I feel like any sensible teacher worth their weight in soap would hate to be stuck on a two-hour bus ride, then an almost week-long camp, with teenagers,” Elise responded, her tone rather businesslike.


    “Soap?” Isaac sounded incredulous. “Don’t you mean gold?”


    “No, I mean soap.”


    “Who the heck taught you that? It’s gold. ‘Worth their weight in gold.’”


    “No one taught me that. That’s just what it is. Gold? That’s stupid. Can’t wash yourself with gold.”


    “I- what?” Isaac’s tone rose in pitch, the bafflement in this simple response permeating each letter. “What’s washing yourself got anything to do with anything?”


    “What use is there in gold besides to look shiny?”


    “A lot, actually. Much more than soap.”


    Lila couldn’t hold back her laugh anymore. It seemed that Asher had a similar lack of inhibition as he chortled alongside her, holding a hand to his eyes.


    “Well, you can go wash yourself with gold like a rich heathen, and I will continue to use soap.”


    “You guys are getting loud over there,” Ms Wang called, having stood up at the front to gesture at where Lila and Asher were fighting for their lives to not fully give in to their impending fits of hysterics. “I’m happy enough to make you solve some mathematical equations in the dirt.”


    This threat was sufficient to make Lila immediately sober up, though Asher took a moment to sharply inhale through his nostrils before sitting back in his chair, a wide grin on his face. This seemed to satisfy Ms Wang as she sat back down.


    “They’re perfect for each other,” Lila whispered to Asher, folding up her blanket.


    “Agreed,” Asher grinned with the slightest wheeze of laughter escaping through his teeth.


    The bus groaned to a halt, the sound of gravel crunching underneath the tyres being one hint that they were somewhere far more rural than Lila was ordinarily used to.


    “We’ll get off in an orderly fashion,” Mr Vanderbilt announced, gesturing to the left-hand side of the bus. “This side will get off first. Make sure to double-check your seats so that you haven’t left anything behind.”


    Mr Vanderbilt hopped off and Ms Wang guided the students off the bus.


    “Thanks, sir,” Lila smiled at the bus driver as she passed. He nodded in acknowledgement, his head seeming more like a bobblehead as other passing students thanked him, including Asher.


    Once out of the bus, Lila stretched her arms above her head. While she didn’t mind being cosy next to Asher, having to be seated the whole time did a number on her posture.


    Mr Vanderbilt was dragging the bags from the storage compartment with Michael and a few other boys from both PC classes. Asher joined in, helping to separate his, Lila''s, Isaac''s, Elise''s, and Grace’s bags from the majority.


    A few moments later, a dusty white Ute pulled up next to the bus. Out jumped two youthful-looking men, dressed in identical tan caps, khaki polos with ‘Camp Horizon’ embroidered on them and hiking shorts and boots. A third person, a young brunette woman dressed in the same uniform, also popped out, though she stayed by the Ute as the two males spoke with Ms Wang and Mr Vanderbilt.


    “They must be the camp counsellors,” Lila noted to Elise, who was busily fisting her blanket back into her hiking bag.


    “What? Oh. Yeah,” she replied noncommittally, her face screwed up in concentration as she continued to shove.


    “What the hell did you pack in here?” Lila asked, propping up Elise’s bag to make the whole experience easier.


    “A few things,” Elise huffed, finally zipping it up. “Like my whole life.”


    “And bundles upon bundles of soap, no doubt,” Isaac snorted, zipping up his hiking bag as well.


    “Good thing, too,” Elise retorted, crossing her arms. “Since you apparently bathe in gold.”


    “I wish. Then I wouldn’t have to work at Maccas to pay back this guy,” Isaac replied, jerking a thumb at Asher. Asher held his hands up in surrender.


    “I told you that you could take as long as you needed,” Asher said.


    “I don’t want to take years.”


    “Then get to McWorking. I don’t know what else to tell you,” Asher laughed.


    “Kinda McWalked into that one,” Isaac sighed, turning his attention to the camp counsellors, who were standing a few metres away from the majority of the group.


    “Morning, and welcome,” the taller of the two males said with a bright, enthusiastic smile. “I’m Mick, and that’s Henry. We’ll be your guides for your camping trip this week. Also behind us is Rachael, but she won’t be joining us on this morning’s hike. Now, before we get going to the campsite, how about we eat?”


    A few cheered with lacklustre energy and Mick, Henry and Rachael began to pull out trays of sandwiches and fruits, passing them around to the students. Once those were handed out, Mick jumped onto the back of the Ute and passed Henry small juice boxes, bottles of water and trail mix bags. These weren’t handed out just yet, laying instead by Henry’s feet for the moment. Mick then jumped off the Ute before unwrapping his own sandwich.


    Everyone was silent as they ate their food. Overall, it wasn’t the worst morning tea that Lila had experienced. Once everyone was finished, Mick, Henry and Rachael began handing out the trail mix, juice boxes and water.


    “The trail mix is snacks for the road,” Mick announced, holding up one of the bags. “Feel free to have water and juice, if you’d like, but I would recommend keeping at least some water for the journey.”


    “How far away is it?” a student Lila couldn’t see asked.


    “Not far,” Henry replied, his voice far more weathered than Mick’s. “A couple kilometres or more.”


    “Or more?” repeated Liam, who stood a few metres away from Lila, his scowl evident. His statement was accompanied by murmurs of agreement at the atrocity of this idea from other classmates.


    “It won’t be so bad,” Mick said cheerily. “We’ll take regular breaks and should reach the campsite by lunchtime. After that, we’ll have lunch, pitch our tents, and then it’ll be free time until dinner. Easy day today.”


    Lila exchanged a nervous look with Asher. It sounded like they’d have quite a bit of free time… was today the day to talk to Grace?


    Mick instructed everyone on how to properly wear the hiking bag before wandering through the group of students with Henry, checking as they went.


    “If you don’t think you can carry your hiking bag, we’ll give you some time to take out some items and pop them in the Ute,” Henry said, holding up a reel of plastic garbage bags. “If there are things that you need to leave behind, just grab one of these. They’ll go onto the Ute and meet you at the campsite.”


    There was a flurry of activity as students assessed the weight of their hiking bags, with some, including Grace and Elise, taking up the offer of lightening their loads.


    “Are you sure you don’t need to take things out of your bag?” Asher murmured to Lila as Henry and Mick finished packing the tray of the Ute, tying down the belongings with a tarp.


    “I’ll be fine,” Lila smiled. “I packed light.” She jostled her bag as a demonstration. After her morning tea, she was feeling energised enough to carry it without issue.


    “I’ll take your bag,” he said after a moment. “So, you will be fine.”


    “Asher, the point of all of this is taking your own stuff along with you,” Lila frowned. “I appreciate the offer, but I don’t want to overload you, either.”


    He seemed prepared to argue before a shrill whistle from Mick silenced him.


    “Rightio,” Mick called, heading towards the trail through the trees just ahead, a hiking bag on his back. “I’ll lead from the front, your teachers will be somewhere in the middle, and Henry will be in the back. Rachael will head off with the Ute now and meet us there.”


    Lila, Asher, Isaac, Elise and Grace positioned themselves so that they were towards the middle, behind Ms Wang. Mick checked behind him before giving another shrill whistle.


    “Let’s go!” he shouted, pointing up ahead. The trail was filled with dusty rocks, branches and a myriad of leaves that had fallen from the trees enclosing them on the pathway, but at least it was relatively flat for now. In fact, the walk was pleasant, given the soothing wind brushing past Lila’s face and the feeling of fresh, rural air in her lungs.


    There wasn’t much talk amongst all of the students for a while, with people seemingly preferring to concentrate on walking. Eventually, the trail exited the forest and took the students through a field of tall, thick wild grass. It was almost as tall as Lila, who let her fingers glide through the yellowed blades. She caught sight of Asher smiling at her and she returned the smile.


    “Try it,” she said, pushing her hand through more of the grass. “It’s a weird feeling.”


    Asher did so before laughing. “Yeah, it is.”


    Soon, the grass gave way to another forest, which looked to be going up into an incline – where the real hiking was to begin.


    “By the way,” Lila said as they continued to traverse the path with slightly more trepidation than before, “who are you tenting with?”


    “Isaac and Finley,” Asher replied.


    “Finley? You close with him?”


    Asher shrugged, turning around.


    “Oi, Finley,” he said, cupping his hands around his mouth to carry his voice further. “We close?”


    “Close to what?” came Finley’s puffed, bemused reply. “Death?”


    “’Snot that bad,” Isaac laughed. “Need me to carry your bag, Fin?”


    “Nah, man. You’ll just drop it,” Finley snorted.


    “Eh, true,” Isaac laughed again.


    “There’s your answer,” Asher grinned, turning back around.


    “That answered nothing,” Lila blinked, lifting her bag for a moment.


    “We’re close enough to share a tent, not close enough for anything else. Been in the same PC class since Grade 7,” Asher said matter-of-factly, as though the conclusion was obvious.


    “I’d kinda thought that Isaac was your only friend,” Lila mumbled, glad that the physical activity left her face red regardless of her embarrassment.


    “I mean… I wouldn’t invite Finley to my house,” Asher said quietly. “Not nowadays, anyway. Maybe when we were younger. Friend is such an odd term. It’s hard to say that Finley is or isn’t a friend. Definitely not a close friend, or a best friend, but we’re friendly.”


    “Does Finley have other friends?”


    “He’s part of a group of four, that I know of,” Asher said casually. “At least, four in my PC class. Don’t know the rest of them at all, really, so it was a no-brainer for Finley to be the sacrifice for my tent.”


    “I… see.”


    They didn’t speak for a few minutes as Lila turned her attention to what she was doing. She was starting to feel the burn in her legs now, as the incline continued to steepen. After about ten more minutes of this incline, a break was called. This led to many students sitting on the ground or nearby boulders and tree stumps in relief, some drinking water, and catching their breaths.


    “You going okay?” Asher queried, stretching his legs with a slight lunge. “I can seriously take your bag.”


    “I’m fine,” Lila insisted. “Thanks.”


    Just as the words left her lips, she heard Isaac offering the same to Elise.


    “I can take it,” Isaac said confidently. “You seem to be getting tired.”


    Elise’s expression seemed incredibly unsure. “It… should be okay,” she said after a few moments.


    “What about you, Grace? You need me to take your bag?” Isaac questioned.


    “If you’re offering,” Grace replied, eagerly unbuckling herself from her hiking bag. Isaac seemed amused as he placed Grace’s bag on his left shoulder.


    “Well, don’t let me twist your arm over it,” Isaac commented, adjusting his shoulders. “I’ve got room for one more, Elise.”


    “Uh, how?” Elise questioned, pointing at both the bags. “You’ve got one on each shoulder.”


    “Right one’s the strong one,” Isaac stated, patting said ‘strong one’.


    “Actually, Asher,” Lila said loudly, unbuckling her own bag, “you can carry my bag if you want.” She gave Elise a sideways glance and saw that Elise was indeed watching as Asher grinned and took Lila’s bag away. Lila hoped that perhaps it would encourage Elise to pass her bag to Isaac since he clearly wanted to carry it.


    “C’mon,” Isaac cajoled, shaking his right shoulder towards Elise, “I’m strong. I can lift.”


    She still looked unsure as she tentatively unbuckled her bag. “If… you want to. I mean, it’s full of soap.”


    Isaac chortled heartily, taking her bag and throwing it over his shoulder. “See,” he said after wiggling his shoulders again, showing how stable he was with the extra weight. “I’m strong.”


    “I… wasn’t doubting that,” Elise replied, turning from him, her eyes resting on Lila’s. Elise then looked back at Isaac, her voice meek as she said, “Thanks, Isaac.”


    Lila kept the urge to immediately tell Elise that it was clear Isaac liked her to herself. That was an ‘in tent’ discussion, once they reached the rest spot.


    Their break finished up shortly thereafter and the girls, now no longer weighed down by the bags, had a much easier time. It didn’t seem like taking on more bags slowed either Asher or Isaac down, and they all passed a number of their fellow students as they continued to hike. Lila checked on the people behind them and saw that a few other male students had taken on more bags than their own. Perhaps there were some more in that number who might be trying to impress others…


    Finally, after another break and a steady decline down the other side of the small hill they’d been hiking along, they reached what appeared to be the rest spot – a large, relatively flat clearing with toilets and showers off to the far end, and bundles of tents in the middle. Also in the middle was a couple of gazebos, under which Rachael appeared to be busily preparing for lunch.


    “Alright,” Mick called as Lila, Asher and their friends arrived. “We’ve arrived at the rest spot. Grab a tent and your tenting buddies while we wait for the others to get here. The sleeping areas are a bit further back, but we’ll have lunch and rest up for the moment.”


    Mick gestured to the tents, inviting the newcomers to go on. Several students were sitting around on the ground or their hiking bags, having already selected a tent. One of these students was Cecelia, talking with some people from Asher’s PC class. Lila had forgotten, actually, that Asher had mentioned Cecelia was in his PC class until now.


    They both waved at each other, but neither approached for the moment. Lila looked back at Asher, who was setting down the bags next to the three that Isaac had already set down. Lila accompanied Elise and Grace in inspecting the tents before selecting two, bringing them back to Asher and Isaac and sitting down.


    “I am so hungry,” Elise sighed, stretching her legs out in front of her. “I already ate all my trail mix.”


    “Same,” Isaac lamented. “It was too irresistible.”


    “I’ve resisted mine,” Asher said frankly, pulling his out of his pocket, “if you want, you can-”


    Isaac gleefully snatched it from Asher, who chuckled. Isaac threw a couple of pieces in his mouth before offering it to Elise, who hesitantly took some. The group idly spoke about the hike and what tomorrow’s activities might be, whilst they waited for the rest of the students to arrive. Finally, after about twenty minutes, Henry emerged behind the last stragglers, nodding at Mick.


    Lila watched with mild interest as Mick and Henry helped with Rachael’s preparation of lunch. Though Ms Wang and Mr Vanderbilt tried to assist, they were quickly (and politely) told to sit down and relax. After some more preparation, Mick and Henry clapped their hands, ceasing all conversation.


    “Lunch is ready. We’ve got sandwiches, fruits, more trail mix, some juice and more water bottles under the gazebo here. A handwashing station is set up over here, where you’ll start lining up. Please wash your hands and proceed across the tables that way,” Henry announced, pointing at the various spots of interest. “Two sandwiches each at first, then you can come back for seconds.”


    As Lila made her way through the conveyor-like system, she noted several sandwiches for those with allergies and dietary requirements – which, thankfully, she didn’t need to take. Once lunch was over and Lila’s belly was full, Mick reiterated the procedure from here; that students were to take their tents and tent buddies and set up.


    “Aw,” Elise whispered as Mick continued with his explanation – that the girls and boys were tented separately, with strict supervision – “I was enjoying just loafing around here.”


    “I’m sure you’ll want a place to sleep tonight even more,” Grace replied reasonably.


    “I’ll reluctantly agree to that one,” Elise sighed. The girls shared a small giggle, sobering up just as Mick released them all, funnelling them to the requisite sites per gender. Ms Wang and Mr Vanderbilt also led the way per gender, and Lila, Elise, and Grace meandered over to the gaggle of girls congregating beside Ms Wang and Rachael, their bags slung over their shoulders. Lila carried the tent in her arms and they set off past the toilets and showers, through more tall grassland. It was about a five-minute walk, and she couldn’t see or hear any of the boys from where they finally stopped.


    Once they were shown how to put up the tents by Rachael and Ms Wang, Lila, Grace, and Elise tried their best to figure it out. It seemed to go well until they realised their zip was opening upside down. After the heaviest of sighs, they unpicked their tent and did it again, with a few giggles here and there.


    Unfurling their sleeping mats resulted in some casualties of the face variety, and more giggles, which helped Lila feel far more at peace with the idea of sleeping in the same tent as Grace. She did insist that Elise sleep in the middle though, just in case things ended up getting dicey.


    “This is… the worst sleeping arrangement I think I ever could’ve come up with,” Grace sighed once their hiking bags were safely inside, sleeping bags were set and torchlights were hung up. “I don’t think I’m going to sleep at all this week.”


    ‘You… probably won’t,’ Lila thought privately as she continued to fuss about with her sleeping bag.


    Elise flopped down onto her sleeping bag with a wince. “Neither. I even got the extra thick mat and I think I feel every rock that’s ever been in this spot. Dinosaurs, too.”


    “How many nights are we here for?” Lila questioned as she knelt on her sleeping bag. It was as both Grace and Elise had described – wholly unpleasant.


    “Have no idea,” Grace replied with distaste. “Hopefully not long.”


    “You girls ready to go back?” Ms Wang’s voice carried through the rows and rows of tents as though she had cupped her hands around her mouth. “We’ll have a debriefing before we let you all go have some free time.”


    With a groan, Elise flailed before getting to her hands and knees, and crawling out behind Lila. Grace exited from the other side and they all took a deep breath of the crisp air before heading back to the common area. There were far more tarps lying around now, which meant more students were sitting on the ground. Asher and Isaac were already waiting, laughing about how they’d shoddily set up their tent, though they were still standing.


    “Hey,” Lila smiled, lightly brushing her shoulder against Asher. He beamed back at her, repeating her greeting. They continued to look at each other for a moment, with Lila feeling content to be back in his presence. She was itching, really, to hug him again, but refrained for the moment.


    “Lila, can I borrow you for a moment?” Ms Wang’s voice was low, though it still startled Lila since Ms Wang was behind her.


    “O-Oh. Hello, Ms Wang,” Lila responded, nodding. “What about?”


    Ms Wang gestured towards a secluded spot by one of the gazebos, far away from any of the other students. Lila looked back behind her, sharing bemused looks with her friends before realising that Asher was heading off with Mr Vanderbilt, his hands in his pockets.


    “What’s… up?” Lila asked Ms Wang tentatively. Ms Wang remained quiet until they reached the spot she’d gestured at before standing so that she was blocking Lila from seeing anyone else in the common area.


    “This shouldn’t be a long conversation,” Ms Wang began, her voice gentle yet stern. “Now, I’m well aware that you and Asher are together, so I’d like to set some expectations.”


    Lila blinked, feeling flabbergasted by Ms Wang’s statement. Expectations? For what?


    “I know that we’re not on campus, and now that we’re camping with a bit of free time, but you still mustn’t be tempted.”


    “T-Tempted?”


    Ms Wang gave her a serious look. “Tempted to go into a bush, or a tent, or something else together and do things that teenaged couples do. I know that environments like these can get people swept up in the moment, but hands to yourselves, please.”


    Lila’s face immediately felt as though it was on fire. “Wh-”


    “I know you know what I’m alluding to. Please don’t do anything like that, Lila. That’s not something that I wish to write home about. I’m sure you also wouldn’t want to go home early, either.”


    “M-Message received,” Lila replied weakly. Was there an opportunity to bury herself somewhere? She had never felt so awkward in Ms Wang’s presence, and she wasn’t quite sure whether she could look her in the eye after this. Just what kind of rumours were swirling around Lila and Asher that Ms Wang felt the need to talk to her about that?


    Ms Wang smiled warmly at Lila. “Good. Look, I’m sure you wouldn’t have, but I’m obligated to make sure that you know you shouldn’t. You can go back to your friends now.”


    Lila couldn’t find any words to respond with, so she settled with a stiff nod before scurrying back to her friends, her face still feeling hot. They’d now settled themselves on the tarp, their eyes on her as she approached.


    “What was that about?” Elise asked, leaning towards Lila as she sat down in their rough circle. Lila was about to respond before catching sight of Isaac.


    “I’ll… tell you guys later. Like, much later,” Lila mumbled, her embarrassment rising once more.


    “You can tell me,” Isaac implored, also leaning towards Lila.


    “It… was, uh, girl talk,” Lila said vaguely, staring down at her hands.


    “I’m one of the girls,” Isaac nodded eagerly.


    “Definitely not,” Lila countered. She was saved by the reappearance of Asher, who was bright red and seemed just as flustered as Lila felt.


    “What happened to you?” Isaac questioned as Asher sat next to him, clearly averting his eyes from Lila.


    “I’ll tell you later. Like, much later,” Asher responded, placing his head in his hands.


    “That’s what Lila said!” Isaac huffed, lowering himself so that he was lying down on the tarp, using his hands as cushions.


    At that, Asher’s eyes met Lila’s before they both instantly looked away. From Asher’s behaviour, Lila could only surmise that Mr Vanderbilt had a similar conversation with Asher. It was hard enough to convince Asher to do more than just kiss in the privacy of his home (something she still hadn’t managed) – let alone do anything of that sort on a school camp, surrounded by their peers. So, the idea that their PC teachers felt the need to warn them like that felt like another slap in the face to Lila.


    Their friends didn’t ask again, which relieved Lila. Instead, they engaged in casual conversations about what would be for dinner, what their activities for tomorrow would be, and whatever else came to mind.


    It didn’t take much longer for Mick, Henry, and Rachael to command everyone’s attention once more. They advised the students that the rest of the day until dinner was dedicated to free time, to allow everyone to settle in. They were given strict instructions to not stray too far, remaining within the bounds of the tents and the common area, though some freedom was afforded to them to explore the surroundings, up to the fence lines, with at least one other person as part of a buddy system.


    Nothing was said about not running into bushes and getting up to ‘what teenagers do’, which surprisingly made Lila feel even worse about her conversation with Ms Wang. Had she seriously singled Lila out? Was… this following on from what Isaac kept fussing about? That the teachers would begin targeting them, because of their kissing around school and at sports?


    With that, there were no more announcements and they were allowed to be free for the rest of the afternoon.


    “Damn, I didn’t bring my book,” Elise sighed. “I’m gonna go grab it from my tent. Do you want anything, you two?”


    Grace shook her head with a yawn. “I’ll come with you, actually. I think I’ll take a nap.”


    “You sure it won’t be too hot in there?” Elise queried. It was a fair question, now that it was the tail end of winter. Though the mornings and nights were still chilly, the days themselves were warming up.


    “I brought a portable fan,” Grace replied proudly. “I’ll be fine.”


    “Righto. Won’t be long,” Elise said to the remaining three as she and Grace stood up.


    “Actually, I’m gonna grab something from my tent too,” Isaac said hurriedly, standing up as well. “Not that you guys are boring, but reading sounds like a good idea.”


    Lila hoped that Asher would stay behind with her as she waved Elise, Grace and Isaac off. To her relief, he did.


    Once their friends were out of earshot, Asher gave a long, slow exhale.


    “That… was a really awkward conversation,” he muttered, looking up at the sky. “Like, much more awkward than when your Dad accused you of being pregnant.”


    “Don’t remind me,” Lila whined, lying down on the tarp and covering her eyes with her right arm. “I’d think you’re bullying me.”


    “Not trying to,” was Asher’s sheepish response. “Just… trying to make myself laugh. Otherwise, I might bury myself alive.”


    “What did Mr Vanderbilt say to you?”


    “He kinda just… looked at me and said ‘Don’t even think about it’. I asked what he meant by that and he gave me this super serious look and said, ‘If you want to do something private with your girlfriend, do it on the weekend.’. I couldn’t find the words to defend myself. I don’t think I’ve ever been more mortified by an adult. Especially since… well… it’s not like-”


    “Don’t remind me of that, either,” Lila sighed, taking her free hand and lightly touching the A on her chest. “… Ms Wang basically gave me the same talk. Essentially said that it might be tempting to go into a bush, or a tent, but to keep my hands to myself when it comes to you.”


    “How did they even reach that conclusion? That we’d just… do something like that.”


    “I might have an idea, actually,” Lila murmured. “Clare said that someone from her grade got suspended, and then she moved schools, because she’d been caught in two different guys’ tents.”


    “Damn. That’s… risky.”


    “Well, yeah. I dunno, I feel like… people who are seriously together are more aware of not doing that kind of thing on a school camp since they probably have more opportunity to do that elsewhere. Not that… I’d really know, I guess.”


    Asher sighed, and she could tell that he’d scooted closer to her. “Lila…”


    “I’m not saying that in a sulky kind of way. It’s just a fact.”


    He paused. “… Okay.”


    They were silent for a few moments before Lila asked, “Should… we talk to Grace? Today?”


    “Are you feeling brave enough to?”


    “If it was down to me feeling brave enough, I think I’d take this secret to my grave,” Lila said drily.


    “Point taken. I know we said before that, well, today would be the day… but I think ambushing her on day one of camp might not be a good idea. Especially since you’re sharing the same tent.”


    “I know,” Lila mumbled. “But we’re sharing a tent for the rest of camp.”


    “Maybe… just let her settle in for the day. Try and… not make it so awkward on day one.”


    “Yeah. Alright.”


    Lila fell into a contemplative silence before asking, “What’d you reckon about Elise and Isaac?”


    “I’m surprised that she was so quiet on the bus, but at least she seems to be perking up a bit now,” Asher replied simply.


    “It was pretty sweet that he offered to take her bag,” Lila said softly.


    “It was, but I think he might’ve ruined the moment by asking Grace immediately afterwards,” Asher laughed. “Not that I wouldn’t have done the same if I were in his shoes.”


    “Hey, you were pretty persistent about wanting to hold stuff for me before we started dating,” Lila reminded him.


    “You knew I liked you by then, though. They seem to be actively refusing to see it. Oh, looks like they’re coming back.”


    The rest of their time passed from afternoon to night without much of particular note. She enjoyed her time lazing about with Asher, Elise, and Isaac. They played some wordplay games when Elise and Isaac had stopped reading and talked about their predictions for the rest of their camping trip to pass the time before moving on to other topics filled with laughter.


    As the sun began to set, they watched as Mick, Henry, and Rachael started to set up a lively bonfire, after which dinner began to be prepared. It was at this point that Grace emerged from her nap, looking not much more refreshed than when she disappeared.


    They ate their humble dinners of spaghetti bolognese and watched the bonfire flicker and dance against the darkened forest before finally going through their bedtime routines and heading to their tents under the starlit sky.


    Lila tried not to think of this as being the last idyllic night that she’d spend with her friends. In fact, she tried her best to feel hopeful that, perhaps, Grace would see where Lila was coming from, if she managed to gain her courage tomorrow. That… maybe there’d be more comfortable, relaxed nights throughout the week with all of her friends, Grace included – a much needed reprieve from everything that had happened this term alone.