Chapter 20
The next day during class, the teacher announced that they were going on a two week camping trip. Chip got really excited quickly. "Can you imagine? Being in the wilderness for two weeks?" exclaimed Chip with pure excitement. Maddie laughed. "It sounds pretty cool," admitted Xander. Vida shrugged her shoulders and then nodded. "I guess it sounds okay. The only think I'm worried about is who's going to protect Briarwood while we're gone," said Vida. Maddie nodded in agreement. "Do you think Udonna will let us go?" she asked Nick.
Nick looked uneasy. "I don't know, but I'm sure she will," he said. Maddie sat down next to Nick and Vida gave them a teasing stare. Nick looked confused, but Maddie glared at her sister. Xander and Chip thankfully didn't notice. Maddie sighed and then looked down.
Later that day, Xander explained the camping trip to Udonna. "Do you think Briarwood could do without us for two weeks?" asked Maddie. "No, but you can go, for I have some old friends who will do the job for you when you are gone," said Udonna. Chip smiled and said, "Yes! We get to go!" Udonna laughed, but then said, "Still be careful rangers, for the darkness will still follow you, so be sure to take your morphers," she said.
Maddie and Vida began packing that night, for they left the next day. Their parents had said it was okay and all was going well. "This is going to be so much fun," said Maddie excitedly. "Come on, Maddie. Now you sound like Chip," said Vida. They both laughed.
They arrived at the bus at school the next day. Xander, Chip and Nick were there. Xander had packed a lot of things. "Wow, Xander. Are you trying to move into the woods or something?" asked Vida, looking at all of the stuff he had packed. "I didn't pack a lot," Xander said. Maddie raised an eyebrow and she and Nick exchanged a glance. She giggled and walked over to Nick. The others left to go and talk to the driver and Maddie saw something hanging out of Nick's pack. "What's this?" she asked, picking it up. It was a small red baby blanket.
"No, wait!" he protested, but Maddie had already gotten it. "Aw, it's a baby blanket. You saved it since you were a baby?" she asked. "That's cute," she said, smiling and giggling. He blushed. She just smiled at the blanket and then handed it back to him. "It's the only thing I have from my birth parents," he said. Her smile disappeared. "Oh, you're adopted. I didn't know…" she trailed off. "No, it's okay. I mean, my adopted parents are great. I turned out fine. It's just…well, I keep it because… well, actually, I don't know why I keep it," he said. She bit her lip. "I'm sorry," she said. He shook his head. "It's alright," he said. He put it back in his pack and they walked over to the bus.
Neither of them spoke for a long time. "So, I heard we'll be riding horses there," he said. "Yeah, I'm really excited about that. You're not afraid, are you?" she asked teasingly. He shook his head. "No. I'm actually looking forward to it," he said. They boarded the bus. Maddie looked for a seat with her sister, but she had already found a seat with Chip and Xander was sitting with some girl. Everyone was sitting with someone. Vida gave her sister a look and Maddie realized she had to sit with Nick. She could tell he felt awkward too. They took their seats and she tensed when their shoulders touched. But after a while, she relaxed. "So…" she said. For a while, they didn't speak.
They sat on the bus for six hours. They had been on the road for two hours only. Maddie felt sleepy and she couldn't help it when she fell asleep and rested her head on Nick's shoulder.
Nick looked down at a sleeping Maddie. She slept for an hour and a half and then she blinked her eyes open slowly. She murmured something that Nick didn't catch. She lifted her head and rubbed her eyes. "How long was I asleep for?" she asked. "An hour and a half," he said. "You okay?" he asked. She smiled and nodded. "Sorry for leaning on your shoulder," she murmured shyly. He smiled and nodded. "It's okay," he said.
Maddie took out her notebook and began drawing the forest. "Wow, you're really good," he said, looking at what she was drawing. She smiled and the said "Thanks." They finally arrived at the campsite and they piled off the bus. "Finally we're here," Maddie said. Nick nodded. "It felt more like twelve hours than six," he admitted. Maddie nodded in agreement. They began walking to the campsite. It was a long walk. "When are we going to get there?" moaned Vida. Maddie felt tired after an hour of walking up a hill. They were all panting with exhaustion. Maddie stumbled and fell back, but someone caught her. It was Nick. "You okay?" he asked with concern. Her cheeks flushed red. "Yeah," she said and regained her balance.
They walked through the forest, stepping through the tall bright green grass. Flowers of every color and shape speckled the grass as they breathed in the sunlight that shone through the leaves of the tall oak and pine trees. "It's beautiful," Maddie gasped, stopping to admire the nature. Vida came up to her. "I saw you fall into Nick's arms," she whispered. Maddie rolled her eyes. "Just let it be, Vida. It didn't mean anything," said Maddie in an irritated tone. Vida shrugged her shoulders. "Okay, fine," muttered Vida. "But come on, Maddie. It's obvious he likes you," said Vida with a smile.
Vida's smile suddenly disappeared. "Or not," she whispered, beckoning towards where Nick was and a cute girl with long golden brown hair and pale blue eyes. Maddie winced. Vida looked at her sister with concern. "Maddie I'm sorry," murmured Vida. Maddie shook her head and pushed past her sister. "Just stay out of it, V" she muttered and kept on walking. She saw the girl flirting with Nick. She recognized who it was. It was Jessica! Her friend! She walked up to Nick and Jessica. "Hey Jessica," she said in a friendly tone. "Oh, hey Maddie. I was just talking to Nick," she explained shyly, as if she had suspected Maddie would be mad at her for talking to him. Maddie just forced a smile.
"Oh, cool. Um… I'm going to… go over and…" she trailed off as she saw Jessica and Nick begin a conversation. "Yeah, sure, bye Maddie," said Jessica before Maddie could even finish her sentence. Maddie sighed and then walked ahead of the two. She greeted Xander with a teasing smile when she saw him dragging his entire luggage up the hill tiredly. He was covered in sweat and was panting. Vida and Chip were walking behind him, laughing about something. She just walked alone.
After ten more minuets, they arrived at the campsite. It was a large, beautiful clearing with grass and beautiful flowers. The sky was growing dark to the point where it was turning pink, yellow and purple. The sun was setting. They put up the tents quickly and made a big fire. Everything was ready and organized. "Time to eat!" called one of the three teachers that had come on the trip.
Everyone got a dish, but Maddie just sat apart from everyone else and tossed her food around her plate like she usually did when she wasn't hungry. Jessica came and sat down next to her. "Hey, Madison! I just wanted to talk to you about something," said Jessica. "Okay, spill," said Maddie with a smile. "I'm going to ask Nick out," said Jessica. "I've been spending some time with him on the way up here, and even before the trip, I've been watching him kind of. And I think he likes me back," said Jessica. "I just wanted to let you know first, since you guys have become friends," said Jessica. Maddie froze and felt her heart drop. She didn't let it show, though. "Um, yeah, I'm fine with it. Totally," she said. "Great! Thanks, Maddie!" said Jessica and then she stood and pranced over to Nick who was sitting alone by his tent.
Maddie watched them for a while and she saw them laughing and talking. Jessica took Nick's hand and then said something. Nick froze for a second and then caught Maddie's eye. She quickly looked away, but kept her gaze on them. He then said something and Jessica smiled and kissed him on the lips. It was brief, but long enough for Maddie to see that Nick had kissed her back.
She didn't feel angry, but she did feel sad and disappointed. Maddie stood and took her dish to the dish pile and then walked over to Vida, who looked at her sister with sadness. "Maddie, I saw what happened with Nick and Jessica. You must feel really awful," she said. "I'm… disappointed, but Jessica's my friend, and so is Nick. If they like each other, why stand in their way?" she murmured. Vida hugged her sister and Maddie hugged her back. "Thanks for being there for me, Vida," whispered Maddie. "No problem, Maddie," said Vida. They walked to their tent, and Maddie pulled out a book and walked down to the creek. She began reading silently… the sound of gentle rushing water echoing in the air.