Like I said, I was going to start losing motivation. Here's my little installment anyway.
Ralph woke up the next morning with his face plastered to the rocky surface of the mountain. He had a horrible headache, a kink in his neck, and a sore back. Ralph didn't think he could have been more uncomfortable. He looked around, and saw Jenny, curled up and in a similarly awkward contortion. He stood up, felt like he was going to fall, and sat back down again. The fire was barely burning. He threw on another log and blew gently at the embers.
As Ralph sat in front of the flames, he tried to think back to what had happened that night. Just as memories started to flutter in and out of his mind, he saw from the corner of his eyes Jenny turn over and rub her face. She sat up, and looked at him questioningly.
"You're still up here?" She said, picking her hands through her ratty hair. "Yeah," Ralph said, wondering why she would even ask that. Of course he'd still be up here. "Why?" Ralph asked. Jenny shrugged. "You never know. So did you enjoy yourself last night?" As she said that, a slow smile crept across her face. Even with this effort, however, Jenny looked sick. Before the island, she had been gaunt, but now she didn't look good at all. She was thinner, and had dark circles under her eyes from the night before.
"Well, I think so. I'm still trying to remember. I've never, you know, done anything like that." Ralph said. "Like what?" Jenny asked casually. "Well, like anything. My parents keep a close eye on me, and, um, I usually don't talk to girls that much at all, with me at military school and such."
Jenny laughed, hers eyes a little more wide and interested. "So, understandably, I can see that you've never had a drink or smoked, but you've never had a smooch or anything?" she said, with a tantalizing tone. Ralph became a little embarrassed. He Didn't like being put on the spot by his short comings. "Uh, well aside from my neighbor in pre-school, no."
Jenny smiled wider. "Well, then I'm glad to of have the honor. Be seriously, that's a pretty badass way to get your first kiss. I wish mine was that cool, but instead it was just me behind the hardware store with some dude I hardly knew." As much as Jenny tried to be casual about her story, Ralph couldn't help but notice bits of sadness. It triggered a recollection of what she had said last night, about her never knowing love.
"Well," Ralph said, "I just wish I could remember better. But what you said last night, about never feeling love or whatever, is that true?" Ralph was nervous for the response. He could feel a twinge of discomfort in Jenny's usually armored aura. She paused, then sighed.
"Well Ralph, I'm afraid. So" Jenny looked for something more to say. "I guess… I guess I just find it impossible to get along with regular people in regular situations. I don't know though…" She didn't look at Ralph, and at that moment, Ralph could tell that Jenny was a lot more than she let on. He could feel something shift. There were no smiles and no wise comments.
"Hey, Jenny, you seriously don't look okay." Ralph said, concerned. And it was true. Aside from her sickly appearance, he could see her eyes start to harden with misery. She looked at him. "No, I suppose I'm not okay. But what difference does it make?" Jenny kept a steady gaze on Ralph as he replied.
"Well Jenny, I don't really know how to put this, but, well honestly you kind of look like shit. I can tell that you feel like shit, too, and it's kind of making me feel bad." With that, Jenny smiled a little bit. "Ralph, don't worry about me. I've been a lonely psycho for a long time now. I'm used to it, and I plan on continuing being a lonely psycho until I find something better to do with myself. In the mean time, you can continue being Mr. Sensible Ralph."
Ralph wanted to say more, to try to talk her out of this pit of self-loathing, but he found himself powerless against the dark forces of her ego. So he gave up. Jenny lifted her leather jacket, and searched through pockets.
"Well, we really must have had fun. Most of my cigarettes are gone. I suppose I would have ran out sooner or later." she snapped the pocket shut again, and sighed. "So," She said, "Who's on fire watch in the mornings again?" Ralph was taken back to reality by the question. "Uh, I think it's those twins' turn." He said. Jenny nodded. "What time do you think it is?" She asked. The only way Ralph could even begin to guess the time was to look at the sun. "Well, by the looks of it, I assume it is early to mid morning. That means we better go back down soon." Ralph stood up, and once both he and Jenny reclaimed their full height, they just looked around for a moment.
Jenny meet Ralph's eyes. Jenny walked closer to Ralph. She felt her pulse quicken a little as she put her hand on his shoulder. Ralph looked at her hand as if a bird had just perched itself there, but he enjoyed her hand being in direct contact with him. Jenny took a moment to continue.
"Hey man, I'm sorry for anything I might have done. You know, pressuring you and making you uncomfortable and stuff. Also, I was just being moody, so don't really take what I said 100% seriously. But I thought you might want one more thing to remember." She pulled Ralph towards her and kissed him in full. It took a moment for Ralph to process what was going on, but when he did, he reflected her motions, bathing in bliss.
When they finally separated from each other, Jenny looked a little better. The deadly look she carried with her all morning had been replaced with her usual spark. "I hoped that would give you a better impression." She looked at him one more time, and took off down the mountain without further word.
Once Jenny had found her way back into shady fortress of palms and vines, she secured herself by sitting against a rock and a carpet of grass. She couldn't believe herself. She was not happy at all on how things turned out. She didn't like the exposed feeling she had after having confessed herself to Ralph. She did not like being vulnerable, especially. She chided herself over and over again. She didn't mind making out with him, though. She knew that would come eventually, for some reason. As she lost herself in her constricting self-pity, she did not notice someone else making their way quietly through the foliage.
Simon saw Jenny first, poised against the rock, and had to do a double take. He'd never seen anyone in this part of the forest. He silently came up next to her, and she looked up, startled.
"Whoa, how long have you been here?" She said with an incredulous look. "Not long." Simon said. He went on. "I never see anyone in this area, and, well, I figured it would only be right to say 'hi'. What are you doing out here, by yourself?"
"Oh, well I just got back from fire watch with, uh, with Ralph and I just wanted to have some time to myself for a little bit, you know?" Simon nodded, understanding exactly what she was talking about.
Jenny looked at Simon. He was perfectly placid. It was amazing, actually. Jenny spoke. "You wanna hang out for a little while, Simon, and be quite together?" Simon smiled at the offer, and sat down next to her. They sat together, not saying a single thing. Yet without uttering a syllable, they said more than what any word could offer.
Ralph stumbled onto the beach. Sunlight tore at his eyes and made his head pound even more. He found the others, scattered about aimlessly. He made his way down the beach, ending up at the platform. There he met Piggy, who was just standing in the shade.
"Some walk you went on, huh?" He said with a snide smirk. Ralph blushed. He didn't say anything. Piggy giggled, and paced his way towards the bathing pool. Ralph collapsed down on a log in the shade.
After a few moments, Jack emerged from behind him. Ralph automatically assumed he was coming back from hunting. He looked up and locked eyes with Jack. Jack did not say anything, only raising his eyebrow with a questioning look. Ralph sensed more in his look, though. He sensed an edginess, and a dry, unquenchable desire for something Ralph could not pin a name to.
