When we stopped to set up camp I could hear population about two miles away. This was the closest we had been to people in a long time. We are here because we have to buy Bree's birthday present. It still scares me, being this close. Bryce said we wouldn't be here long, that we were here to get the present then go. After we set up camp we went around doing what we normally do, except for the fact I had to tell Taylor about Hunter.
I woke up the next morning to sunlight seeping thru my eye lids. I opened my eyes and sat up. Then I realized I had fallen asleep on a blanket outside our tent when I had played dolls with Bree. It was dawn and I was the only one up because it was five o'clock. I got up and went back inside the tent. I tried to go to sleep, however I lay there awake until I heard Carter outside. When I got out of the tent Carter looked at me with a piece of bread in his mouth.
In two hours everyone was up except Bree and Taylor who had probably stayed up pretty late. The group of three, consisting of Hunter, Rose and Nicole, were getting ready to go get Bree's present. Rose and Nicole were excited to get to go shopping. I gave Nicole thirty dollars to buy a box of cookies and a kiddie sleeping bag. Soon they started to leave to get the gift. Before they left Bryce kissed Nicole on the cheek and Hunter did the same to me. The place where he kissed me felt hot. It was a strange feeling for me. After they left us Brittany walked up to me and whispered in my ear, "Today is yet." I looked at her confused, she always talked in riddles. Then I remembered the day she had said he wasn't my boyfriend 'yet'. He is now so I guess she was right: today is yet, but I can't believe tomorrow is the 16th of August. Tomorrow is Bree's birthday. When Bree woke up Taylor and I were already outside. Hunter, Carter, Rose, Taylor and I had drawn pictures and made cards for her. I wrapped my blanket around her brand new sleeping bag like it was wrapping paper. Her new sleeping bad was only a foot bigger than her and had hearts on it. Then I laid the cards around the box of chocolate chip cookies. It was a very inviting sight with smiling faces all around. "I wish it were my birthday," Hunter said. "When is it?" I asked. "In three weeks." "Really?" I asked rather surprised. "Yep, I'll be fourteen!" he said excited. Fourteen seemed a lot older than thirteen even though it was only a year older. "Wow," I said as Bree came out of the tent with Taylor behind her. Taylor had been the one to get Bree. "Happy birthday!" we all yelled as surprised Bree turned around and hugged Taylor. After she hugged Taylor she ran over and hugged me. "Ready to open presents?" Hunter asked. "You mean present," I laughed. "Yeah!" Bree jumped with excitement. Taylor was looking at me and Hunter sitting next to each other. I could tell she didn't approve of the relationship. I hope that doesn't corrupt Taylor and I's relationship. Even still I could tell me and her were slowly growing apart. I would have to fix that, and I knew how, it would have to wait, though. Bree sat in front of the wrapped up sleeping bag. Everyone was telling her to guess what was inside. All she did was sit there and shrug her shoulders shyly; she hated being the center of attention. "Only one way to find out, open it!" Taylor said squeezing Bree's side to make her laugh. Then she motioned for her to do so. Then Bree removed the blanket to reveal the sleeping bag. "Thank you!" she said after looking at it awhile. She sat on my lap and she looked at the cards and pictures we had drawn. Then we all had cookies. It was fantastic!
The whole day was play. We all sat around in a circle playing charades. I was sitting next to Hunter and Nicole; Taylor sat next to Carter and Bree who was sitting next to Hunter. The boys were cracking ridiculous jokes and we snacked the whole time. It was very enjoyable and Bree was having a good time, which was the important part.
At seven thirty Bree wanted to go to bed so Taylor and I helped her get ready and tucked her in. "Night six-year-old," I said kissing her forehead. "Night." Taylor and I climbed out of the tent to find only Hunter, Carter and Bryce sitting outside. I sat by Hunter and Taylor sat down next to me. I put my head on Hunters shoulder and yawned. Before I knew it I had fallen asleep to the sound of the conversation.
I woke up to Hunter gently shaking me. I looked at my watch; it was one o'clock in the morning. "Night," he said kissing my head and getting up to go to his tent. I got up to go to my tent too. Taylor was still awake so that meant she had gone to bed only recently.
At eleven a.m. I woke up alone in the tent. I went outside and grabbed some food. "We are going to move camp," Bryce said. After lunch we started walking diagonally away from population; we walked until one in the morning and Bree didn't complain at all! We didn't set up our tents so we slept on the ground.
At ten-thirty we all got up. I had a few leaves in my hair and was pulling them out when we started walking. Three hours later we came to an odd building. "It looks like an abandoned barn," Brittany said. She was right, it was an abandoned barn. One of the doors was almost off its hinges and the paint was almost completely worn off. Bryce motioned for us to follow him in. "Leave the bags," he said. We walked in and spider webs were everywhere. Inside were eight pens and an old staircase up to a loft where a small shed was. "I've got an idea," Bryce said standing on an old bucket that was about to break so we could all see him. "This may sound crazy," he paused a moment, "but I think this should be our home. There is a town about five miles of here. Nicole and I could get jobs and earn enough money to survive the snowy winter-" he stopped when her saw our confused looks. "What?" he asked. "Well for one, it is a very risky plan," Hunter said. "Yes, and jobs?" Hunter's older sister asked. "Yes, jobs. They have no idea who I am; I do not have any records. We need a last name though, any suggestions?" "What about Evans?" I asked saying the last name of a girl at the orphanage who had gotten adopted. "Perfect, anyone who wishes to secede from this group do it now, anyone who is staying now has the last name Evans," he said then went around to everyone asking their name. Everyone ended with Evans. "Great, welcome home everyone!" he said sarcastically as the bucket broke and he fell to the floor. Everyone laughed at him until their stomachs hurt. "Tomorrow Nicole and I will go look for a job," he said getting off the floor. Nicole nodded at him. Then we went outside to get our bags. When we came back in the barn we sat around talking about our plans.
I woke at nine, the same time as Taylor and a few others. Bryce and Nicole were up and getting ready to go job hunting. Around eleven Bryce told Carter he was in charge. "Try to get this place as cleaned up as possible before we get back." "Yes, sir!" Bryce glared at Carter which made Carter laugh. Then Carter walked away. Soon they left to go find jobs. When everyone was up and had breakfast we started cleaning. Taylor and I went up to the old shed. Inside it was a pitchfork, shovel, hoe and 6 buckets. Everything was rusted, but we decided to make the best of them. Taylor took the shovel and went to go shovel out all the rotten dirt and hay. She had done that a lot at the orphanage and was good at it. I took the pitchfork and used it to get spider webs off the ceiling. The two boys went into a pen and started kicking down the wooden wall in between them. Hunter came up to me and asked me for money so he could go buy a hammer and nails. I gave him fifteen dollars out of the thirty-three left. Then he and Rose left to go find a store.
When Rose and Hunter returned we had gotten rid of all the cobwebs we could reach and Taylor and I were taking turns shoveling out the patches of spoiled dirt and filling in pot holes. The barn was starting to look very nice. Rose handed me $2.57 while Hunter took the hammer and nails to Carter. None of us had any idea what they were doing and every time someone asked them they replied with, "It's a surprise!"
By the time Nicole and Bryce got back Carter and Hunter were finished with their project, but was waiting for Nicole and Bryce to get back. "We've got a surprise for everyone!" they said when Bryce walked thru the broken door. They led us to the pens they had been working in. in the middle of the 'room' was their project, a table made from the wood that had been between the two pens. "Cool!" most of us said when we saw it. Then we sat around the table to eat dinner sense it was five p.m. "I'm impressed by all the work you guys did. This place looks amazing. Where did you get the hammer and nails though?" Bryce asked. "We bought 'em Rose and hunter said in unison. "How did job searching go?" I asked "We each have two job interviews tomorrow," Bryce replied happily. "Yay" I said.
After dinner we went to bed early; it was only eight. We all slept in the loft again. We're going to figure out sleeping arrangements tomorrow.
In the morning Hunter came over to me when I woke up. "Do you wanna go set up some snares with me?" "Sure," I said before running down the stairs and grabbing a raw pack of ramen noodles for breakfast. We walked into the trees with some rope Hunter had with him. Then he showed me how to set them. After he tested the three he put up we went to the barn. Bryce and Nicole had left for interviews and everyone was disguising sleeping arrangements. "Maybe we could make two pens into a living room like the boys did with the kitchen. Then we could use the last four pens for rooms and sleep in the groups we did for sleeping in tents," I interrupted by thinking out loud. "Okay, all in favor raise their hand." All raised our hands. "Cool, how about the four in the back for sleeping and the one across from the kitchen is the living room….?" We all nodded in agreement. "Carter, I think sense Jace left and Taylor, Reagan and Bree all share a tent they should get the big tent," Brittany said. "True, okay you girls can have the big tent," he agreed. Then Brittany yelled, "Perfect we almost have a home!"