Should've Said No
Chapter One
I sighed and seated myself on the log. How I got here, I would never know. Ann was really good at persuading, that was a gimme, but how she persuaded me to go camping is beyond me. I looked at Ann, who was bossing everyone around. She sure was good at that. Cliff was clumsily picking twigs up for our fire tonight. Mary was reading a book called Nature and You. Probably a book her father gave her for safety. I had no idea her parents would say yes. Kai was baiting our fishing rods over by the roaring river. And Gray was setting the two tents up.
Ann heard about this camping ground over the radio one night when her father set it up. She got super excited and then began prancing around town, asking all of us from the younger generation to join her. Karen turned down the request, saying that camping was for eight year olds, but the truth probably was was that she was scared of staying out in a small area surrounded by the forest. And maybe because she didn't like Ann, but whatever. Rick wouldn't let Popuri go, and he denied the request himself saying that he couldn't leave his mother at the moment.
I was glad it was only Mary, Ann, Kai, Gray, and I though. They were the people I had grown to like the most over the past year in Mineral Town. Everyone was in camping attire. I was in blue jean capris and hiking boots. I was wearing a flannel shirt, but it was open to reveal my white undershirt. My sleeves were rolled up to my elbows. Suddenly, Ann's shoes filled my eyes. I looked up at her from where I slouched. Her hands were on her hip and a soft look in her big blue eyes.
"Hey," She said, "Why aren't you helping? I think Gray could use some help with the tents." She gestured over her shoulder at the boy looking at a guide. His eyes were hidden beneath the bill of his cap, but his teeth were grounded in agitation. "My brother ain't the sharpest knife in the drawer," She whispered, snickering as she said it, "Anyway, you two get along the best."
I sighed and came to my feet, dusting imaginary dirt from my pants. She giggled and danced along to check up on Mary, who was still engrossed in her book. I crossed to Gray and looked among his work. The sticks were jutting in different directions, the canvas of the tent inflated across the ground.
"Need some help?" I asked, setting my hands on my hips. He didn't glance up at me but I heard him mumble a 'yeah'. I shrugged and knelt down, picking up one of the support sticks. "Watch." Gray hesistently brought his head up and my breathing nearly hitched in my throat. His eyes were absolutely breath-taking. They were bright and blue, the color the sky. They matched the intensity of his carrot red hair. For a moment, I forgot what I told him to watch. I shook my head and returned my attention to the rod in my hand. I easily attached the support rods together and then attatched them to the ground rods that Gray had previously assembled. "See?" I smiled, connecting them over and over and soon enough, the girls tent was up. I beamed and placed my hands on my hips, pleased with my camping skills.
"Where'd you learn to put a tent together?" Gray came to his feet, setting the book down. He pushed his cap up to get a better look at me.
"Girls scout," I replied lamely, "They don't just sell cookies and make picture frames for their parents," I let out a laugh, but Gray only emitted a low chuckle. We then moved onto the guys tent. I let Gray do a little more of the work, but I pitched in words of advice as we worked along. Once we finished, we placed them far away from the raging river. I was silently cheering for this.
Tomorrow, we were going white water rafting. I was scared out of my mind and I'm sure Mary and Cliff were. Mary probably was just because who she was. She never took risks like getting into a yellow inflatable floating device with a life jacket and an oar. She basically grew up in a big bubble. Ann and Kai were siked. They loved danger and thrills like this. Gray... well, I never heard him complain or cheer. He probably only came along to have an excuse not to work. I was a different story.
I didn't know how to swim. I had a close call when I was younger when my brother Jack shoved me off the dock at a lake. I fell underwater. I thrashed about and almost went unconscious when my father jumped in to save me. From then on, I became afraid of water, but I wasn't about to tell any of them. That would spoil their fun knowing they had to look out for the little hydrophobic blondie.
"Cliff, don't you know how to light a fire?" Ann asked, squatting before the boy she was secretly in love with. He blushed and looked away, shaking his head, "Well that's alright! I'll teach you!" Ann helped Cliff stack the wood properly, reserving some for tomorrow's fire. She then fumbled around in a supply bag before she found a small bag of matches.
"Hey, Sis!" Gray called, crossing to the two. She blushed and looked up at Gray with a questioning look, "Aren't you going to do it the old fashion way? You said you were Miss-Camping-Queen." Ann's brow knitted together and she grumbled something beneath her breath.
When all of us agreed to join her, she hopped up onto the bar and pointed into the sky and screamed, "Just call me Miss-Camping-Queen! I know everything there is to know about surviving in the wild!"
"Surviving?" Mary's eyes widened when Ann said this. A woozy look grew over her face, "I don't want to die!"
"No, no!" Ann shook her head furiously, her red braid flipping everywhere, "We aren't gonna die, Mary!"
Ann by now had found two rocks and was marching back over to where Cliff was still squatting. She began grinding the rocks together, a determined looking clouding her big blue eyes that matched Gray's. After a few moments, something sparked and the twigs lit up in a big orange and red blaze.
"Wow, Ann," Mary pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose as she rose to her feet, "That's impressive. Where did you learn to do that?"
"Grandpa always took us camping and fishing when we were little," Ann replied, backing away from the cackling fire, "Remember Gray? Whoever caught the biggest fish won grandchild of the year. Explains why Grandpa loves me more." Gray rolled his eyes as a chuckle ran through the small group.
"I finished baiting and weighting everyones lines," Kai announced, looking over his shoulder at us. He then let out a hearty guffaw, "Hey! That rhymed! I can rhyme anytime!" I rolled my eyes, but smiled at the tan boy. "So who's up for fishing?"
"I'd like to," Gray said, crossing to claim a rod for himself. I shrugged and joined in with the two boys. I looked over my shoulder at Ann, Mary, and Cliff. Cliff was nervously eyeing the raging river. I was further back up the bank then Gray and Kai, but neither seemed to noticed.
"Mary, Cliff, and I should go look around the area," Ann replied. She glanced at Mary and Cliff, getting accepting nods. And with that, the three journey'd off the camp ground. We casted our hooks into the water and sat there in silence, listening to the nature. I kept eyeing the water, scooting more and more up the bank.
"Claire, whaddya doin'?" Kai cocked his head to the side, "You don't wanna get wet?"
"It wasn't on my to-do list today," I mumbled. He let out a little guffaw and smiled innocently at me with his chocolate eyes. I continued just staring at the raging waters. I spotted my bobber in the water. My eyes then scanned the river, spotting twigs jutting up and rocks. What if our raft caught one of the twigs? Wouldn't it inflate then? I gulped at the thought.
"Just wait until tomorrow," A twinkle shone in Kai's eyes, "We'll get real wet from rafting! I'm super siked!" Gray let out a low chuckle and recast his line into the river, "Aren't you excited, Claire?"
"Estatic," I replied sarcastically, earning myself a chuckle from both boys. Gray looked over his shoulder. I could feel my heart beat pick up as I looked into those dazzling blue eyes. I wonder if he knew what kind of affect he had on girls.
"Come on, Claire," He said, glancing at the empty spot beside him, "The water won't bite." I bit my lip, now in a dilemma. I could easily turn Kai down. We were best friends and best friends could tell each other no... but my secret crush? I didn't want to look like a big baby infront of him. Then again, they didn't know of my fear of water. I let out a defeated sigh and slowly began inching back.
My blood rate was beginning to pick up. My heart was beating so hard, I thought it was going to give away at any moment. My hands grew numb, but I was determined not to lose my grip on my fishing rod. I inched down where Gray and Kai were. Kai looked relaxed, not a care in the world. Gray's eyes were focused on his bobber, waiting. This was the most patient I had seen Gray. I looked at the water. It was so much closer now. I thought it was going to swallow me up at any second.
Another silence came over us. It wasn't uncomfortable. Infact, it allowed my mind to wonder. Where did Ann, Mary, and Cliff go? What were they going to check out? Did Mary want to check for a special herb or plant for her father? Did she want to check for poison ivy? Did Cliff want to know there was human-life near us? Did he need a reassurance? Was Ann just bossing them around? The questions clouding my mind almost made me miss the tug from my fishing line. I almost dropped the fishing line, but I clutched it tightly and gave a good yank.
"Alright!" Kai cheered, "Claire's got a fish! Pull it in Claire!" I began using the string-wheel to reel it. I was keeping the rod close to my body, pulling and pulling, but the fish wasn't going to give up without a fight. It gave a good tug, which pulled me a little closer to the water. My breathing hitched in my throat and I began reeling furiously. No way in hell was this fish going to take me in.
"Here, hold this," I heard Gray say, but I was still working on pulling the fish in. I heard the clattering of fishing rods. And suddenly... Gray's hands were wrapped around me, laying on my hands. My eyes widened and my face filled up with color, but Gray's focus was on getting the fish in. "You should hold the rod here," Gray helped me reposition my hands, "Now slowing pull up, then give a good yank," He helped me do his instructions. The fish had something else in mind. It gave another yank and both Gray and I were pulled closer to the water, "Damn, this sucker doesn't want to come in." Gray gave another yank. I don't think he was aware that he was crushing my hands.
Gray used my hand to spin the wheel at an amazing speed. I was surprised my hand could keep up. Gray was actually sucessful at bring the fish to shore. I watched it flop around. Kai was cheering. Gray released his hands from mine and knelt down to release the fish from my hook. Kai readied the ice chest and they threw him. Kai then sat on the lid as the flopping became more seperated. Then silence.
"Cool, Claire!" Kai smiled at me, "You pulled in a good eatin' fish! I'll prepare it to eat for tonight!" Kai pushed the ice chest over to where his cook-bag was. I looked at Gray. He was in a kneeling position, looking out at the river. Goddess, he was so beautiful. Was beautiful really a word to describe a man.
I didn't care.
"Uhm, thanks for helping me bring the fish in," I said, sheepishly rubbing the back of my head. "I don't think I could've done it without you." Gray looked at me, then stood up.
"You shouldn't doubt yourself like that," Gray pulled the bill of his cap down over his dazzling eyes, "I think you could of done it without me." And with that, Gray trudged up to where Kai was, leaving me alone on the bank of the river.
Kai had that fish ready to fry within forty-five minutes. At this point, Mary, Ann, and Cliff had made their way back to the campground. Mary was slouched over, fatigued. Cliff was picking leafs from his hair. Ann looked fashionably late.
"Hey," I greeted as they joined us around the fire. The sun was setting, casting a poetic sunset all around us. "What'd you guys do?"
"Oh, Mary just wanted to check out the... the vegetation was it?" Ann looked across the fire at Mary. She nodded. Ann then looked back at me and said, "Yeah. The vegetation."
"Anything interesting?" I cast a glance at Mary. It then flickered to Cliff, who was itching his wrist like crazy. Gray, who was sitting beside him, was eyeing Cliff, too.
"Sort of," Mary replied, cleaning the lens of her glasses, "Nothing worthy enough to take back for Father, though." I nodded, throwing an 'ah' out, then turned my attention to Cliff, who was staring at his wrist.
"You okay, Cliff?" I asked. He looked up at me, fright etching his face.
"I think I have poison ivy!" He cried. Ann let out a low chuckle. "How is that funny?" Cliff was now seriously on the edge of a panic attack.
"I brought some medicine," Ann replied, "Come with me." The two then rose and Ann lead him off to the tent. She unzipped the opening. Cliff stepped inside. She followed after him. By now, the smell of the fish was making my stomach growl.
"Oh," Mary said as she set her glasses back on her face, "who caught the fish?"
"Claire did," Kai said with a big grin while he fried the fish above the fire beside me.
"Gray helped," I threw in. Mary nodded, then eyed Gray out of the corner of her eye. He was staring off in the distance, his eyes glazed over. Once I realized he wasn't going to partake in the conversation, my attention ran back to Kai's cooking. "Is it almost ready?" I asked eagerly.
Kai let out a hearty chuckle, "Almost." Ann suddenly popped down next to me. Cliff seated himself inbetween Mary and Gray again, a purple goo on his wrist. He clealy looked trouble by the fact that he had poison ivy. Cliff could be a real scaredy cat sometimes.
"Good!" Ann called out, "I'm starvin'!" A silence came over the group. We could hear nature, the fire, the sizzling of the delicious looking and smelling fish, and the rapids from the river.
"It's spooky out here at night," Mary whispered, her eyes darting all around us. Aw geez, was she going to be up all night hiding under her covers like a four year old who thinks the boogey monster is in their closet?
"Foods ready!" Kai announced, completely blowing off Mary's comment. He devided the decently sized fish among us all and everyone immdiately dug in. I glanced at Gray from where I was sitting. He seemed to be enjoying the fish. Suddenly, his blue eyes darted up and met mine. My face flushed when he caught me staring at him. I looked down at my plate, pushing my food around. "What's wrong, Claire?" Kai asked behind a mouthful of food, "The fish not good?"
"No, no." I sat up straighter now and forced a smile, "I was just... thinking."
"About our rafting adventure?" Kai asked, a mischevious glint of light hinting off of his chocolate eyes.
"Yes," I nodded. In all truth, my mind was worrying about that. None of us knew what to expect from the waves. Had Ann really looked into how dangerous or safe the rapids were? She probably didn't, knowing Ann. I loved her, but sometimes her excitement got the best of her.
"Should be fun, huh?" Ann asked, perking up at this. I saw Gray roll his eyes, but Ann chose to ignore it, "We're gonna have a blast tomorrow!" A murmer went through the group, but I silently gulped. Water...
"We better get some shut eye," Kai suggested, "After we finish our dinner of course."
"You mean, no ghost stories?" Ann asked, with a pouting look, "I even brought some marshmallows to roast!"
"G-ghost stories?" Mary audibly gulped at this while Ann nodded energetically, "I don't think I could sleep listening to ghost stories."
"Well, then all the sissies who can't handle ghost stories can go to sleep!" Ann suggested, "And the rest of us will eat marshmallows and tell supernatural tales of the dead!" She popped some more fish into her mouth, chewing loudly.
It amazed me how good Ann was with words. The biggest surprise was that she was related to Gray. They were nearly opposite. Ann was extroverted, loud, and bold. Gray was introverted, quiet, and thoughtful. They both had a short fuse though. And big blue eyes and flaming red hair.
"I'll go to sleep after dinner," Cliff announced, earning himself a snicker from the guys, "Laugh all you want," Cliff said, eating more fish, "I think this poison ivy is making me sleepy, anyway..."
"Poison ivy doesn't make you sleepy, silly," Mary smiled lightly at him. He shyly smiled back. The moment was cute to me, but Ann's eye twitched. I could practically feel the heat radiating off of her.
"Well," Ann interuppted their little moment, "We're gonna start telling ghost stories. Are you two going to bed... in the gender-divided tents?" My brow furrowed when she said this. Mary nodded and stood, dusting her skirt off.
"Goodnight," Mary said to the group, "Don't scare yourself too much." And with that, Mary wandered off to the tent. Cliff just staggered off towards his tent. Ann switched to the other log beside Gray. We threw our plates around and Ann supplied us all with sticks and marshmallows.
"Alright!" Ann smiled devishly, "Who's ready to rock and tell?"
"That one sucked!" I laughed, popping a toasty mashmallow into my mouth. I looked over at Kai who was pretending to be hurt, "My dad told me that one when I was little!"
"Yeah," Ann agreed, "I mean, The Headless Horseman? Kai, that one is older than you!" Gray let out a low chuckle and munched away on the fluffy treat. "Well, all of these stories have sucked so far! Sooo, let's play truth or dare!"
Gray tipped his cap up to look at Ann, "Are you serious?" She nodded, "That game is for six year olds!"
"You just don't wanna lose!" Ann accused, pointing her stick at him. He quickly snagged her marshmallow off the end. "Hey!" She cried. Kai and I went into a rack of laughter while Ann pouted.
"Let's play!" Kai's eyes showed a mischevious glint, "Ann! You can go first since it was your genuis idea!"
"Thank you, Kai!" Ann's eyes lit up. She stuck a marshmallow on the end of her stick and eyed all of us. I replaced my marshmallow, my heart thudding. I was never good at truth or dare and Ann knew it, "Claire!" She called, making my heart wilt, "Truth or dare?"
My mind went racing. Seriously? I silently groaned. If I said truth, she would surely ask me about my love life. I couldn't say that infront of boys. Especially if one of them was my crush! And if I said dare, who knows what Ann would make me do. "Dare," I choked out, praying it had nothing to do with water.
"I dare you to go out into the woods and not turn back until you've made it to the next clearing," I gave her a confused look, "The next camping grounds over," She explained, "Don't worry. No one is camping there. It's not that far from here."
I set my stick down and turned to grab one of the lanterns we brought along, "Uh-uh-uh!" Ann wagged her finger at me from the fire, "Without lighting!" My heart was thudding now, my eyes wide. I stared at the dark woods before my. No lighting? Complete darkness?
"Ann, I think that's too dangerous," Gray said. She let out a guffaw and looked over at Gray.
"Fine! You're so concerned! You and Claire go together! No lighting!" I could just groan.
"Dude, you get to be alone with Claire," Kai whispered as Gray nonchalantly rounded to me. Ann was smiling, her arms crossed. My face was chock full of color as we began towards the woods. "Don't get eaten by wolves!" Kai called after us, scaring me more.