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Day Two, Part One

On a typical day, seven o'clock would have been an ungodly hour for Maya to be awake. But on this particular morning, the eighteen-year-old stepped out into the light of dawn with a bright effervescent smile. In spite of the anxiety that wracked her mind last night, Maya was determined to gain some sense of clarity from this trip. And so with her art materials in tow, she decided to spend the morning exploring another trail.

She was tempted to invite Josh to go with her but ultimately decided against it. She would see him this afternoon anyway. Maya listened to the sound of the ground crunching beneath her boots as she hiked up a steep incline. Her mind wandered to the letter she had read last night from NYU and she sighed.

A part of her believed that the contents of that letter would help make her decision easier. Instead it had the complete opposite effect. Her future plans seemed more unclear than ever. The morning seemed to pass in the blink of an eye. It was just past eleven when Maya got back to the lodge.

Her phone sounded just before she stepped inside. It was a text from Riley.

Riley: Seriously Maya, where are you?! I can't take the suspense! Thunder needs her Lightening!

Maya frowned as she struggled to come up with a response.

Maya: You just gotta trust me on this one, Riles. I know I have a lot of explaining to do when I get back.

Josh was coming down the stairs just as Maya walked into the main lobby.

"Hey," he greeted with a small wave. "I was just looking for you. Have you been out all morning?"

"Yeah, I just needed to clear my head," said Maya as she took a swig of water from her water bottle. "Are you on your way to grab lunch?"

"You mean breakfast?" said Josh sarcastically.

The two of them walked together to the dining hall, where they were met with the mouthwatering aroma of the lunch hour specials: spaghetti and meatballs, vegetable soup, and blueberry pie. Josh's friends had already occupied a table in one corner of the room. Maya and Josh joined them after grabbing their plates from the food bar. Everyone was buzzing with excitement about the rafting trip this afternoon. Maya on the other hand just sat and quietly observed the others. She was trying to ignore the interactions between Josh and Tori, who were sitting right across from her.

Though she tried to resist it, she couldn't help but feel pangs of jealously each time Tori laughed at one of Josh's jokes or lightly touched his arm. At one point, Maya started to reconsider joining them for their afternoon outing; but she quickly pushed the thought out of her mind. The last thing she wanted was for Josh to question her maturity.

The plan for the afternoon was straightforward. The group would ride a shuttle over to the rafting station where they would be given an orientation. They would then ride the raft downstream to a second rafting station where another shuttle would be waiting to take them back to the lodge.

During the shuttle ride over, Maya had been gazing out at the blur of trees in the window when she suddenly sensed a movement beside her.

"You've been unusually quiet this morning, ferret," he teased, sliding into the empty seat. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah," Maya replied, jolted by their close proximity. "Just thinking."

"You seem to be doing a lot of that lately," he observed.

"Well there's a lot to think about."

A certain look passed between them in that moment. Josh couldn't seem to pull his gaze away from Maya's captivating blue eyes, and a part of him felt compelled to hold her hand. It surprised him how much she had grown up in the last three years. Seeing her at social gatherings always felt like a refreshing new start; a chance to get to know another one of her undiscovered layers.

"Hey Josh," said Maya, breaking the silence between them. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure. What is it?"

She wrung her hands nervously in her lap as she mustered up the courage to speak.

"This is probably really stupid of me to ask but do you still–"

"Hey guys, it looks like we're here," interrupted Derek, popping up from the seat behind them.

The view in the window opened up to a glittering blue lake while the shuttle came to a gradual stop. Just past the tree line was a wooden building with a large sign that read 'River Rafting'; brightly colored rafts were lined up nearby. Groups of people were scattered throughout the vicinity, some gearing up to go into the water and others taking pictures of the scenery. While everyone on the bus was gathering their belongings and getting ready to leave, Josh turned his attention back to Maya.

"Sorry Maya. What were you saying?"

Whatever courage she had gathered quickly vanished. Deep down she knew that this was neither the time nor place to open up to Josh.

And so Maya just shook her head and smiled, saying, "Nevermind. It can wait."

A burly man named Mitch greeted the group at the entrance of the building. Mitch led them through a lengthy orientation, which covered a review of the equipment, basic rafting procedures, and safety information. Once everyone had signed the waiver, they worked on putting on their life vests.

Maya was pulling her shoulder-length hair into a ponytail when she spotted Josh and Tori out of the corner of her eye.

"Hey Josh, could you help me with this?" asked Tori, pointing to the adjustable straps on her life vest.

"Yeah sure," Josh replied as he stepped up behind her.

He tugged and fidgeted with the straps to tighten the vest. All the while, Tori was laughing and saying something to him that Maya couldn't quite discern. Nevertheless she could feel her blood boil as she turned away from the infuriating scene. Afterwards when they got into the raft, Maya purposefully took the seat in the very back. She wanted to be as far away from Josh and Tori as possible. Josh however was quick to notice Maya's disgruntled expression.

"Are you okay back there, Maya?" he called out. "We can trade seats if you want."

"Nope," she tersely replied, avoiding his gaze. "I'm good here."

Josh was taken aback by her curt response. Though most of his friends didn't seem to notice the abrupt change in Maya's attitude, Josh knew something had undoubtedly upset her. Tempted as he was to get to the bottom of things, he knew that resolving the matter would have to wait. Mitch had taken his place at the back of the raft and began directing the group to depart from the shore.

The exhilarating trip down the river was just what Maya needed to get her mind off of Josh. For the entire forty-five minute ride downstream, she was solely focused on maneuvering the raft through the fast-moving rapids. By the time they reached the second station at the end of the river, Maya's initial anger had abated though not entirely.

The shuttle at the second station was scheduled to leave for the lodge in half an hour. In the meantime, Kurt, Alice, and Tori had walked off to take pictures while Derek chatted with Mitch. Josh decided this was probably the best time to talk to Maya. He looked around and finally spotted her skipping stones by the riverside.

She stood by the shoreline and in one swift motion hurled a stone towards the water. It skipped across the surface a few times before completely disappearing into the river. She then gazed out at the gleaming surface, listening to the calming sound of rushing water. Just then she heard footsteps approaching from behind and Josh soon appeared beside her.

"So can I ask you something?" he asked as he adjusted the beanie on his head.

"Shoot," Maya replied without taking her eyes off the water.

"Aren't you missing school by being on this trip?"

"We're on spring break right now."

Josh chuckled lightly. "You know, most people go to the beach to get some sun on their spring break. Not go on some soul-searching journey on a secluded mountain."

She turned to Josh and shrugged nonchalantly. "Well I'm not like most people."

"No," he agreed with a knowing smile. "No, you're not."

They stood side-by-side in contemplative silence for a few moments. All the while, jolts of electricity coursed through her veins whenever Josh's arm brushed against her shoulder. Maya could hardly contain the emotions that began to clutter her mind.

"So are you going to tell me why you decided to come up here in the first place?"

"Actually I'd rather talk about something else," she replied as she dusted her hands on her jeans.

"Like what?"

"Us."

"Us?" he asked incredulously as if caught off guard.

"I just have to know, Josh." Maya's frustration was reaching its boiling point as the words seemed to just fly out of her mouth. "Are you still playing the long game with me? 'Cause I didn't realize that there were other players involved."

Josh faltered and studied her precariously, wondering what was behind her sudden outburst. He hated to make assumptions but what came to his mind seemed to be the only possible explanation.

"Is this about Tori?"

Maya crossed her arms over her chest and grudgingly turned away from him.

"I told you, Tori and I are just friends," Josh contended, trying to keep his voice even.

"Not from where I'm standing," Maya snapped back as she sent him an icy glare.

Josh's jaw tightened and he blinked at her, unsure of how to respond. He heard the sound of his friends chatting and laughing, but they felt like a world away.

"Look, I'm not going to lie to you, Maya," he said at last. "Yes, I've gone out on dates with other girls. But you've been on dates with guys too."

"So what?" Maya jumped in; her nose flared in anger and lines creased her forehead. "Going out with other girls is your twisted way of getting back at me?"

"No, that's not what I'm saying." The frustration in his voice was as clear as day. "But I thought that was our deal. Remember? You live your life, I live mine? And if someday this happened then…"

Josh gestured between them and let his voice trail off. Maya swallowed hard. The undeniable truth bared its teeth at them like a vicious dog. She had in fact gone out on dates with several guys from school. Most of those dates however never turned into anything serious, and her longest relationship lasted a mere three months.

"C'mon Maya," Josh said as he heaved a heavy sigh. "I thought you were more mature than this."

She could see by the flash of remorse in his eyes that he had immediately realized this mistake. Still, that didn't seem to lessen the blow of his tactless words. Maya's heart plummeted to the put of her stomach. Her rage immediately dissipated; it was replaced instead by a cloud of dejection that seemed to darken her expression.

"Of course," she said sardonically. "How could I possibly be mature about this when I'm three years younger than you, right?"

"Look, I didn't mean it like that," assured Josh, his voice filled with regret.

"That's exactly what you meant," she angrily spat out.

He took a step towards her but Maya backed away like a hurt puppy.

Josh was at a loss for words as their eyes locked in gripping intensity. After what seemed like an eternity, Maya let out a defeated sigh and turned to leave.

"Maya–"

Maya pulled away just as Josh reached out to stop her.

"Just leave me alone," she said, shaking her head.

He didn't follow her when she walked away in the direction of the shuttle. Maya fought back tears as she climbed onboard the bus and slumped into her seat, desperately wishing for this day to end. The long game, she decided, was a joke. Maybe this is the sign I've been looking for, she sadly speculated as her thoughts turned to the letter she received from NYU.

Josh did a big no-no. Stay tuned for the next chapter! Please review!