Clyde POV
Me and Penelope trekked through the forest for what felt like hours. So far, the most interesting thing I'd seen was a four-leaf clover. Penelope, on the other hand, was reeling in the bounty. She'd found all sorts of cool things like a chunk of phosphorous and a bald eagle feather. "Clyde, come here! You won't believe what I just found!" she called out. I ran over to her and found her standing next to the stream.
"What is it?" I asked. When I took a closer look at it, what I saw was astonishing. Penelope was holding a genuine arrowhead. "Holy cow! Is this for real?"
"It sure looks real to me. This area might've been some sort of ancient Native American hunting ground."
"That's amazing."
"Let's keep looking. Maybe we can find some more." As she walked away, I started thinking about how smart Penelope was. She knew a lot about history and science and stuff. Though I'm pretty sure her favorite subject was zoology. She could talk for hours listing off facts about animals. I first learned that back in fifth grade when we had to take care of an egg baby together for class. I loved seeing her face light up whenever she found something she thought was interesting. I never really thought about it before, but Penelope was a really special girl.
All of a sudden, Penelope tripped over a rock. Out of instinct, I reached out and caught her before she could fall and hurt herself. What happened next was like something out of one of those romantic comedies. We locked eyes and both of our faces turned red. We just stood there, not moving and not saying a word for a good six seconds. Finally, Penelope let go of me and stood on her own.
"Uh, t-thanks for c-catching me Clyde. Guess I should watch where I'm going," she said, giving an awkward chuckle.
"Don't mention it."
Alright, whatever vibe was just going on there, I had to shake it off. I had a date with Haiku coming up any minute and I didn't wanna be distracted thinking about another girl in the middle of it. Speaking of which, I looked at my watch and saw that it was ten minutes to one. "Hey Penelope? I hate to do this, but I kinda promised Haiku that I'd meet her for lunch really soon, so I should probably head back. Not that this hasn't been super fun. It's just-"
"I know. It's okay, Clyde. Don't worry about it. You can go."
"Are you sure? I don't wanna leave you here all alone."
"It's fine. Go on."
"Well, okay then. See you later, Penelope."
"See you later, Clyde."
And then I was gone. I think, subconsciously, I was looking for an excuse to get away after that awkwardness.
After my lunch with Haiku, I wandered back to the boys' cabin where Lincoln was hanging out alone and reading a new comic. I was so frustrated that I couldn't even be bothered to sit down properly on my bed, so instead I just let myself plop down face first.
"Clyde? What's wrong?" Lincoln asked.
"Lincoln, you're the biggest ladies' man I know," I said. "Can you help me with something?"
"Well, I wouldn't exactly call myself a ladies man, but I'll do my best. What do you need?"
"So I asked Haiku out on a date earlier and she said yes, but then Penelope invited me to join her on a scavenger hunt and now I think I'm starting to have a thing for her, but I also really like Haiku and I just can't decide which girl I like more and I don't wanna hurt either of their feelings or…"
"Clyde! Breathe!" I started breathing into my paper bag and that helped me calm down. "Now look. I think the best thing you can do in this situation is listen to your heart. Whichever girl you choose, I'm sure the other will understand."
"You really think so?"
"Trust me, Clyde. You'd be amazed at how understanding someone can be if they really care about you."
"Okay. Thanks Lincoln."
"Anytime, pal."
Lincoln was right. I needed to listen to my heart on this one. Though I still wasn't sure exactly what my heart was telling me. On one hand, Penelope was spunky, sweet, caring, smart and very passionate. She and I seemed like we'd be a perfect fit for each other. But on the other hand, Haiku was creative, soulful, kinda creepy, but in a very intriguing way, like a black cat on Halloween night. A relationship with her would certainly never be boring. Both girls were also very attractive in their own ways. Choosing just one of them was no easy task. Right now, my heart was telling me that this decision was gonna take some soul searching, so I decided to take a walk down by the lake because that's what people always do in the movies when they need to think about stuff. Maybe if I just stood out there long enough, the answer would just come to me.