Part Four
"Remind me again why we're going to this?" Connie asked through gritted teeth a few nights later. She had been coaxed from her empty room where she was revising for her Spanish class by her friends from suite 304, who had thrust a flimsy, plastic flowered lei in her hands and suggested she dress accordingly. Next to her, Julie wore loud wave-print board shorts that she swore weren't once a boys' bathing suit and tank top, while Lee had gone so far as to don a plastic coconut bra over a tank top and shorts.
"Because I promised Jared we'd go," Parker said, adjusting her multiple layers of leis and sliding her sunglasses into her hair.
"Yeah, YOU promised," Connie said, sighing. She gestured to her own tank top and shorts. "Do I really have to wear this?"
"Yep!" Parker said. "There's a prize for best costume!"
"The one night that everyone else in my room's gone…" Connie muttered.
"Yeah, been meaning to ask, where's Mara?" Julie asked, throwing open the door to the stairwell. "Haven't seen her since dinner last night."
"She had a lacrosse thing in Vermont this weekend," Connie said. Each team at Moloney was given a budget that they could use doing team bonding activities ranging from retreats to tournaments to dinners to amusements. "And Georgiana went off with some of her friends and Daniella… I dunno where she went."
"Fine by me," Parker scowled. Daniella was a subject that
"Betcha I'll win this costume prize," Lee crowed, shimmying around the corridor as they thundered down the stairs. "No one else will have gotten a coconut bra, betcha anything!"
When they arrived in the lounge, however, it was plain to see that Lee was wrong. Among many coconut-bra wearing girls (and a couple of boys), there were students dressed in obnoxiously loud Hawaiian print shirts, lots of grass skirts, and even a boy and girl dressed as a banana and a pineapple.
"You came!" Jared yelled over the music, dancing his way over to them and handing them all smoothies. "Whaddya think?"
Parker looked around at the mayhem surrounding them. She could see Neil, the RA from the West Side second floor, among a network of speakers and a laptop, while a couple of boys that she recognized from the other side of the West Side third floor hovered around the refreshment table. Emily Pak was teaching a group to hula along to she music, and a bunch more were playing Twister and other board games at tables and the floor over next to the food table.
"Looks pretty sweet," she replied, grinning up at him. "Wanna play Twister?"
Jared ran a hand through his hair and looked over at the game. It was plain to see that the people who were playing weren't going to be for much longer. The girl in charge of spinning was doubled over from laughing and the four on the mat were holding on with every shred of willpower they had.
"Sure, let's make a line." He turned to Julie, Lee, and Connie. "You ladies care to join us?"
Connie and Lee agreed immediately; Julie took a bit more convincing. "C'mon, Julieeee," Parker pleaded, tugging on her arm. "You can be the spinner if you want, you don't even have to be on the mat!"
Julie considered this. "All right…" She pulled out her iPhone. "But I get to post whatever pictures I want!"
"Done," Jared said, shaking her hand. "Let's roll!"
"Go! Go! Go!" Goldberg yelled over Dean Portman's shoulder. "Get him!"
Friday night, and the majority of the male Ducks were crowded into Charlie, Adam, Guy, and Goldberg's room at Brady Dormitory, fixated on the television screen as their Mario Kart characters raced around the track.
"Hahaha, sorry Portman!" Charlie crowed, leaning with his on-screen counterpart to the left. "Fulton, where the fuck are you?"
"Language!" Adam said irritably from the privacy of his desk. While he could have been attempting German homework, Adam had given up conjugation and was trying to concentrate on reading for his English Composition course. He was just waiting for the moment that one of the guys discovered that he had to read Shakespeare. Not that his reputation was at stake, but he didn't need to provide them with more to make fun of him for.
"Sorry mom," Fulton threw over his shoulder. "Are we disturbing your beauty sleep?"
"No," Adam said wearily. "But it's almost quiet hours. We don't want a repeat of last Friday, do we?"
A chorus of groans rose up amongst the players and spectators. The previous Friday they'd gathered, one of the passing public safety officers had knocked with the suspicion of a party going on. He hadn't seemed too convinced that they hadn't been drinking, and it was an experience that Adam had no intentions of repeating.
"Calm down, Mother Duck," Portman said breezily. "It's all good." He exchanged a knowing grin with Fulton and Russ.
"What's that look for?" Adam asked suddenly. He sprang up from his chair. "Guys. What are you planning?"
"We're not planning anything," Russ said sweetly.
Adam folded his arms across his chest. "I know better than that, Russ. Something's up."
"Adam, Adam," Averman piped up, holding a bag of Cheetos. "Cheesy processed goodness?" When he didn't, he deposited the bag in Kenny's lap. The Asian boy let out a yelp of protest, then shrugged and helped himself to some Cheetos.
The blond boy threw his hands up in disgust and returned to his desk. "If you get into some kind of trouble, don't blame me and don't call me to help you out."
"Whatever you say, Cake-eater." Fulton and Portman high-fived each other.
A while later, Guy surrendered his Wii remote to Kenny. "Gotta go, guys. Connie wants to meet up at the snack bar." Ignoring the loud catcalls from the Bash Brothers, he gathered his sweatshirt and slipped out with, "Don't do anything I wouldn't do!"
"I can't believe you pushed me!" Lee howled with laughter as she made her way towards the snack bar with Parker, Julie, Connie, and Jared. She glared accusingly at Jared. "You were just upset because I was winning!"
"You caught me," Jared winked at Parker as he held the door open for them. The dining hall, Hamm Café, had a portion open for all hours of the night for late-night snacking purposes. The Red Dish was a popular place for people to grab milkshakes or pints of Ben & Jerry's.
"Oooh, look, there's Guy!" Connie made her way through a crowd of students milling around towards the booths, where her boyfriend Guy was waiting.
"Hey guys," Guy said easily, scooting over so Connie could sit next to him. "Wow, I didn't realize there were so many of you."
"We can pull up some chairs," Jared offered, scooting a couple chairs from a nearby table over. He slid one towards Lee and took one for himself. Julie and Parker took the other half of the booth.
"How's your night been going?" Connie asked Guy. Between being in Parker, Lee, and Julie's room with Mara and being with Guy, Connie had managed to spend as little time as possible around Daniella and Georgiana.
"Played Mario Kart with the guys," he shrugged. "Portman, Russ, and Fulton have some harebrained plan to prank Banksie at some point."
Julie groaned. "Not again!"
Lee raised her eyebrows. "What'd Banks do?"
Jared held up a large hand. "Wait, are you talking about Adam Banks? Blond kid, kinda preppy, hockey nut?"
Guy nodded. "Know him?"
Jared laughed. "No way! Man, his older brother Jeffrey is my sister Jenna's fiancé! He's a decent kid." He glanced at Lee. "Hey, wanna go get a milkshake?"
Lee grinned. "Do I ever!" They wandered off.
"Aww," Connie cooed, snuggling into Guy's shoulder. "Wouldn't it be cute if they got together?" She glanced at her RA and friend, trying to figure out what kind of milkshake to get.
Julie nodded. "Yeah. But…" She turned to Parker. "I could've sworn he had a thing for you?"
Parker shrugged. "He's like my older brother. He's cool, but I dunno if I'd date him."
"Good thing, too, Harris," a smooth voice came from behind them. Parker whirled around. "Seeing's how he's famous among the upperclassmen for his own personal brand of welcome for the freshmen," a tall boy with dark, expertly styled hair sneered.
"What do you know about him?" Julie glared at him.
"He was my roommate freshman year, sweetcheeks," the boy said airily. "Let's just say I wrote the book on being sexiled. Not that I didn't get him back, of course. Slept with his best friend. Taught that little bitch a lesson."
"You're exaggerating," Connie snapped. "Jared's a nice guy!"
"Uh-uh-uh, girlie. You may want to tell your friend to watch it… or at least use a condom." He shuddered as he adjusted the collar on his pink polo shirt. "She doesn't look like she could handle the host of diseases he's got."
"Spreading rumors about me again, Erik?" Jared's voice came from behind him. Erik turned and waved cheekily.
"Awww, lovemuffin, did you miss me?" The boy called Erik asked breathlessly as Jared and Lee slid into their chairs.
"Like a bad case of the sniffles," Jared muttered. "I thought you had better things to do."
"And better people," Erik laughed. "Sweetie, I'm just letting your little friends know what to look out for. Sometimes the Big Bad Wolf hides in sheep's clothing!" His eyes sparkled knowingly. "Ta-ta!" He flounced out the door.
"What a douche," Jared muttered moodily, stirring his chocolate milkshake. He looked up, and saw the silent group around him. "Whatever he told you… whatever he said-"
"-Is bullshit," Parker finished. Connie and Guy studied her closely. "We believe you." And even if she wasn't a hundred percent sure, Lee's grateful smile was worth it.
"Hey! Hey! Wake up! C'mon!"
Parker's eyes fluttered open, and she squinted at her watch. What's Lee doing up at 8:30 on a Saturday? she thought. She rolled over, and peeked through the wooden rail of her bed.
"Wake up!" Lee said cheerfully. "Want to come hiking with me and Jared and Julie and Adam? We're going to get breakfast and then we're going to go climb a mountain!"
"It's eight-thirty in the morning," Parker informed her as she slid down to the floor. She tugged her t-shirt, a souvenir from a Rhode Island kids' baseball tournament, down. "Any other day you'd be asleep."
"I know, I know!" Lee crowed gaily, bustling around and packing a backpack with Band-Aids, a water bottle, socks, and a bathing suit and towel. "Jared and I talked until really early this morning, and he asked if we wanted to go hiking with him today! Since Julie woke up when I came in-"
"-Yeah, at three-thirty in the morning," Julie grumbled. She was already dressed in a gray long-sleeve shirt, blue shorts, black leggings, and sneakers. She was zipping up her own backpack, tugging on a red pullover fleece. "I had to pee. If it had been my choice, I'd have been asleep."
"How'd Adam get roped into it?" Parker asked, pulling on a pair of black shorts and a blue long-sleeve shirt.
"You're gunna want to layer more than that," Lee advised her. "Jared said it can get cold at the top of the mountain we're hiking."
Parker nodded sleepily and yanked her shorts off, pulling her UnderArmor from softball on. "So. Adam?"
"Yeah, he and I were comparing answers for our German homework-" Julie started.
"-Only you would pick a language that sounds ridiculous when you speak it," Lee interrupted. She held up her iPod. "Yes or no?"
"Wouldn't hurt," Julie answered, glaring at her. "Anyway, Adam and I were comparing answers for our homework and he asked if it was cool if he hung out with us today." She smiled. "I think living with Conway is starting to get to him."
"Uh huh," Lee said, looking at Julie in awe. "I always wondered how he managed it. Thought maybe the kid must be a saint."
"It's Banks, not the second coming of Jesus," Julie said, chuckling. "He loses his cool, just like the rest of us."
"Uh huh," Parker said, zipping her black softball NorthFace. "Ready to hike!" She swung her backpack onto her shoulder.
"Breakfast first," Julie said, ushering her and Lee towards the door.
Bacon. Parker had no idea why fried pig behind that oozed grease was so delicious, and why she was so willing to put it in her mouth in the first place. Oh well. She picked up the remaining piece on her plate.
Eyeing her, Julie snorted. "You know you can't marry it, right?"
Parker opened her eyes, unaware that she'd closed them. "Shut up."
"Hey, is that any way to speak to your roommate? Do I need to get a roommate conflict resolution form?" Jared slid a plate piled with pancakes and bacon onto the table. "Good morning ladies."
The dining hall was almost deserted, which Parker assumed was a typical thing for most Saturday mornings. She knew that the church crowd explained Sundays, but the woman at the scan-in desk had nearly choked on her coffee when she saw their group meander in of their own accord. It was probably the best time to show up to breakfast- everything was hot, there was no waiting for coffee, and nothing had run out. And the bacon was hot. That was the most important part.
According to Jared, the mountain they were set to hike was a short drive from campus- maybe an hour at the most. The hike was a fairly easy one, and many of the geology classes had hiked it in order to gather specimens for observation and analysis.
Because the terrain was so varied and the top half required climbers to navigate around and over boulders, it was aptly named Giant's Playground. At the very top, there was a small lake that had nestled into the façade of the mountains around it.
"I'm so glad I packed my bathing suit," Lee said excitedly, downing her orange juice. "How are we getting there?"
"Buela," Jared answered proudly, dangling his keys. Parker noticed that he had a 'save the pandas' keychain, something she found absolutely adorable. "It's a '97 Dodge Caravan. It'll fit everyone, no sweat."
"Well, it's 9:15 now," Julie said, checking her watch. "If it takes an hour to get there, then we'll be hiking around 10:15 or so. How long to the top?"
"It's about two hours. Wanna sweet-talk the scan-in lady and see if we can sneak out some food for a mini-picnic?" Jared flashed a grin.
"When's Adam getting here?" Lee asked, standing up with her plate. The rest followed suit, and followed her to the dish window. "I can go make peanut butter sandwiches and snag some apples if you wanna see if you can get some granola?"
Adam appeared then at the scan-in desk, a yawning Kenny in tow. Both were dressed in shorts, sneakers, and fleece pullovers, and carrying backpacks.
"Hey, sorry I'm late," Adam said hurriedly. "Is it okay if Ken comes with us? He was sitting on my futon when I woke up this morning."
Kenny shot him a dirty look. "Dude, I already told you, I think Russ and Dom were hooking up when I went back to my room last night!"
Lee, Parker, and Julie exchanged sly grins. "Russ and Dom?" They chorused.
"How do you know?"
"What did you hear?"
"No WONDER she didn't come back last night!"
"I wondered where she was!"
"Are you sure she was there?" Parker pressed dubiously. "I don't think she's the kind of girl to just… you know…"
"I mean, I wasn't there like in there there, but it sounded like her voice," Kenny said, flushing.
"Ugh," Adam said, frowning at his teammate. "You were listening? That's so creepy!"
Kenny pushed him good-naturedly. "Not like that… Banks, don't be a douche." He looked over at Parker. Giving her his rendition of puppy-dog eyes, he pouted and asked, "You believe me, don't you?"
Parker held her hands up in defense. "I'm saying nothing." She dug around in her fleece pocket for her phone, a beat-up red LG Shine. "I am, however, going to send Dom a text." She grinned. "See if she won't fess up on her own."
She quickly typed a text out that said, Hey roomie, where'd you end up last night? Hope you had a good time! ;) and hit Send.
"I hope she texts you back," Lee said. She looked up at Jared. "You were sweet-talking?"
"I was," Jared said. He turned and made his way over to the desk. The little older woman who usually sat behind it every morning put down her newspaper as he spoke to her, and soon he had her laughing and waving her hands around as she told him a story.
Adam and Kenny took the opportunity to scarf some breakfast while the girls made peanut butter sandwiches. Julie put a stack of apples in her backpack, and Lee had managed to obtain some plastic baggies from one of the other little older ladies who worked in the kitchen. Soon several bags of granola joined the apples.
When everything was all packed and Adam and Kenny were finished, they headed for Jared.
"Well you all have fun and be careful, you hear?" the scan-in woman, whose nametag read 'Eloise' said. Her blue eyes twinkled from behind thick frames. "S'posed to be a storm later, don't want you getting caught in it."
"We'll be careful," Lee said, grinning at her friends. "We promise!"
The sun was shining on their path as they made their way up the mountain, Jared leading the way with a walking stick he'd picked up at the bottom. Here and there Julie would point out different kinds of birds. This led to a lot of good-natured ribbing from the rest of the group.
"So… many… boulders," Lee fake wheezed. Her eyes were dancing. "Banksie, make the giant stop for an apple!" She flopped onto a boulder and slid her pack from her shoulders.
Adam shook his head. "Hey Jared," he called up to the front. "Wanna take five?"
Julie picked a rock to sit on and started doling out apples. Parker took hers and bit into it happily, sitting down next to Kenny. He nudged her playfully as he took a swig from his Nalgene bottle.
"How much further to the top?" she asked around a mouthful of apple.
"Not far," Jared said, wiping his mouth on his sleeve. He pointed up the trail. "See these boulders? It means we're almost there. Maybe… fifteen, twenty minutes or so?"
Julie nodded. "Sweet." She turned to Lee, who was about to throw her apple core into the woods. "Don't!" she said sharply.
Lee turned to her, wide-eyed. "What? It's bio-degradable."
"The squirrels will choke on the core," Julie explained. She pulled out an empty plastic bag. "Put them in here, we'll toss them when we get back." She handed the bag to Jared, who'd finished his apple.
Twenty or so minutes later, after a near-miss on a boulder that resulted in Adam catching Lee, they reached the top. As promised, it was beautiful, with a clear lake that rippled when the wind blew across the water.
Julie immediately took out her camera, and ordered the group to pose for a picture. They took a normal one, and then because Parker began a sneezing jag, Adam suggested doing a funny one. Lee and Jared crossed their eyes and did bunny ears, while Kenny puffed his cheeks like a monkey and Adam stuck out his tongue.
"Well," Lee declared, putting her hands on her hips and looking out across the water to a small island in the center of the lake, "We're not getting any younger." She dug her swimsuit out of her backpack, and proceeded to wrap her towel around her.
Julie and Parker watched in awe as the runner managed to change into her swimsuit without so much as flashing a knee or batting an eye.
"How the fuck did you do that?" Parker asked incredulously as her roommate pranced around in a blue striped bikini.
"Practice," Lee answered, running over to the water's edge. "My family has a house in the Hamptons, and with all my cousins around I learned to do it and do it quickly."
"That's what she said!" Julie snickered. Lee kicked water at her. "I'm going to go change behind this really big boulder."
"I'm after you!" Parker called. She turned to the boys. "You should be able to pull off Lee's towel trick just fine, so I get the rock."
Shrugging, Jared suited up with no problem. After shuffling a bit, Adam and Kenny followed, stripping off their t-shirts and tossing them to the side to mingle with Jared's.
"Ow, ow!" Julie whistled, coming back from behind the boulder dressed in a red one-piece. "Working out in the off-season, Banks?"
Adam blushed. His chest was nicely chiseled, the result of a lot of free time during the summer in between pick-up hockey with the Ducks and his summer job interning with his father's law firm. A smattering of blond hair led from his bellybutton into the waistband of his shorts and Julie had to admit, he looked damned fine.
Kenny and Jared weren't difficult to look at either. Jared had the tall, goofy thing working for him, and his biceps were deliciously in shape, while Kenny had the traces of a six-pack and a slim build.
After Parker returned in a gray racerback tankini, she and Julie went down to the shore. Lee had held off swimming until everyone was ready, but as soon as they started down, she waded in, swearing like a sailor with each step.
"It's not that bad!" Parker shot at her roommate, wading in easily and dunking under. She turned to the boys, water dripping into her eyes. "Coming in or waiting for a gold invitation?"
Grinning, Jared and Kenny made a dash for the water, shoving each other out of the way. Adam let them have at it, and instead started climbing the rocks around the shore, searching for a high point.
"Dude, what are you doing?" Jared called up to him as he tread water.
Adam shook his head and continued climbing. When he reached the point he wanted, he glanced down at the RA. "Check and see how deep it is there, will you?"
Jared immediately dunked under. A few moments later, he resurfaced. "It's pretty deep here," he reported back. "What're you going to do?"
"No big rocks?" Adam pressed, swinging his legs over the ledge.
"Not that I can see," Jared replied.
Nodding more to himself than anything, Adam stood up and dove gracefully into the water. When he surfaced, he shook his hair back out of his eyes and grinned. "Not bad," he said. "Race you to the island!" He took off with a powerful crawl stroke that would've made Dominique's coach proud.
"The kid's nuts!" Jared muttered, but he followed suit anyway, his height making up for lost feet.
"Whaddya say, ladies?" Parker said, eyeing the island. "Not that far off."
"What am I, chopped liver?" Kenny said indignantly.
"Ooops, sorry Kenny!" She clapped a hand over her mouth and giggled.
Kenny nodded and rolled his eyes sarcastically. "I see how it is, Harris. So much history between us and I don't even register on your radar."
Julie laughed. "She's always hanging out with you, Ken," she said, floating around on her back.
"I'd say it's the opposite," Lee chirped, grinning mischievously.
"Okay, okay, enough," Parker said, splashing the runner. "Shouldn't you be catching up to lover-boy out there?" Squinting, they could see that Adam and Jared had nearly reached the island.
"Eh," Lee said, waving a hand. "Let the men do the competitive stuff, let the ladies lounge around."
"Hey! Still here!" Kenny whined. "Still a guy!"
"Last time you checked," Julie grinned.
Kenny stood up. "Do I need to pull my pants down and prove it?" he asked irritably, grasping the waistband of his shorts.
"No, I'm good, I believe you!" Parker shrieked, swimming towards him. She put a hand on his shoulder and looked up at him with wide, innocent eyes. "I promise, I believe you."
"Okay," Kenny said moodily, sinking back down into the water. He looked at Parker and flashed a smile. "If you say so."
"It makes you wonder, doesn't it, Cat Lady?" Lee said conversationally, kicking about on her back.
"It does," Julie agreed, exchanging a knowing smirk.
"What?" Parker and Kenny said slowly, looking at each other and then at the others.
"If Kenny just really wants to take his pants off around Parker," Lee crowed happily, enjoying the scarlet flush that immediately sprang to Parker's face.
"If you have something we'd all enjoy, Ken, by all means, share with the class," Julie said slyly. She took mental note of the nervous glances in Parker's direction and the scowl on Kenny's face- a sure sign that she'd hit a nerve. This would be good information for Charlie, who always liked to know details like this.
"Look!" Kenny pointed to the island across the lake in an attempt to take the attention off himself. "Jared beat Banks!"
"No," Julie breathed, whirling around. Sure enough, Jared was doing a victory dance on the beach as Adam continued swimming. She turned back to Kenny. "He hates losing."
And it wasn't that he hated losing, but Adam Banks was incredibly competitive- that was the real reason he and Charlie were best friends, after all. They had a competitive edge that drove them in whatever it was that they put their minds to. For Charlie, it was more or less an ego thing, where a win built up his ego. For Adam, on the other hand, it was a measurement of personal worth. If he lost, it meant that he had failed himself. He didn't like doing that.
By the time they got dried off they were hungry again. Ever-prepared Julie produced the pile of sandwiches they'd made that morning in the dining hall, and they sun-dried as they ate. After finishing his sandwich and making sure the wrapper was back in the bag, Jared stretched out on his towel, folding his arms behind his head and sighing contentedly.
Lee quickly followed suit, taking the opportunity to use his exposed stomach as a pillow. He absentmindedly stroked her long brown hair as they dozed.
Beside them, Adam let out a sigh that sounded more like a groan. Lee cracked an eye open. "You okay?"
Writhing around and fussing with his towel, he pulled out a rock the size of a quarter. "Rock."
Parker giggled, and spread her towel out next to him. "The Princess and the Pea, everyone," she said, shooting Adam a grin. When he scowled, she ruffled his hair playfully. "Sorry Blondie."
Lee settled back down next to Jared and said, "Shut up, you two. Take a siesta."
When Kenny opened his eyes again, it was because something had dropped on his face. Muttering what he was going to do if a bird had pooped on him, he sat up and rubbed his cheek. Thankfully devoid of bird feces, he looked up.
Rain clouds.
And, by the looks of the rocks around them, it had already started.
"Uh, guys?"
Parker shifted on her towel, and the position she was in made it look like she and Adam were spooning. "What's up, Kenny?" Behind her, Adam groaned, and looked over her shoulder at the Asian boy.
He pointed. "I hate to break it to you, but I think we're going to get a shower."
Jared sat up suddenly, jostling Lee. "What? Already?"
"What happened?" Lee said, rubbing her eyes. When she opened them, she grimaced. "Oh goody."
Jared quickly started picking up their makeshift camp, throwing his towel into his backpack. Searching for his Nalgene, he handed the other packs to their owners. "We've got to hike down before this gets worse," he said. He held out a hand to Lee and helped her up.
The hike down wasn't nearly as lighthearted as the hike up- only Lee seemed to be completely unfazed by the possibility of torrential downpour. She skipped down the trail, clambering over the boulders like a monkey. Ahead of her, Jared was walking quickly, all business.
Overhead, the clouds that had pestered them at the lake followed them like a stray puppy, and every few moments sprinkling could be heard in the trees. Parker crossed her fingers that it didn't actually downpour until they were near the bottom.
Once they got past the boulders and onto the hard-packed mud trail, Jared relaxed, throwing jokes back and forth. He teased Adam about beating him to the island, and Adam chuckled, challenging him to a rematch eventually.
"Careful now," Jared said, slithering around two trees as they navigated a short drop. "It's pretty muddy here, hold onto the trees."
One by one, Julie, Adam, Parker, and Kenny slid through carefully. Lee had stopped to tie her shoe, so she stepped up quickly, taking her around the trees faster than she'd anticipated. Her foot caught on the bud bank, and the hill crumbled. Down she fell, her hand sliding off the tree. She let out a stifled cry.
Jared was back to her in an instant. "What happened?"
"My ankle," she whimpered, tears springing to her eyes. "I heard it snap."
Jared tried not to look too panicked. Turning to the rest of the group, he looked at Julie. "You have a first-aid kit, right?"
Julie stared at him. "Uh, yeah," she said finally, unzipping her backpack. "Right here." She handed it to the basketball player.
He turned to Lee, who had tears running down her face. "Okay, let's see if we can get you up. Maybe you can put some pressure on it?" He helped her up, and Adam and Kenny quickly went around and lifted underneath her shoulders.
She stepped down and her ankle immediately buckled. She howled. "Fuck!" The boys helped her sit again.
"Let me see if I can get an ambulance on the way, at least," Parker said, digging for her cell phone. Finally locating it, she slid it open. "Damn it!"
"Dead?" Kenny said, handing his phone to her.
"No service. Who's your carrier?" She opened his phone. "Oh good, a bar." She turned away and dialed.
Jared took out an Ace bandage from Julie's first-aid kit, and picked up two sturdy-looking sticks. "These will help keep it in place," he said, wrapping slowly. "Kind of like a splint, you know?"
Lee nodded tearfully. Looking up at Adam, she asked quietly, "Are we going to be able to get down?"
Adam took her hand. "We'll make sure we get you to a hospital, don't worry," he said calmly. Julie had to hand it to him; he had a knack for being calm and levelheaded no matter what.
Jared finished wrapping Lee's ankle. "Will you let me try to carry you piggyback?"
Lee paused, then nodded. She wiped her face on her sleeve.
"Help me get her up," Jared said to Kenny and Adam. Together, they got her standing, and Jared leaned down. "Can you reach my shoulders?"
"I'm not as short as Parker," Lee said, managing a watery smile. She grabbed his shoulders. "Okay, hold on, I just need to-" Jared stood, and she slid sideways. "Hold on, hold on!" she shrieked. She swung her leg up. "Okay."
"So, I have good news and bad news," Parker said, handing the phone back to Kenny. She looked over at Jared and Lee. "I'm sorry, bud, but the lady on the phone said, quote, 'Unless you can get her down, we can't transport her' unquote." She looked at Jared, who was scowling. "They also said they weren't sure where we were, so if we didn't hear back from them within an hour, to just assume they weren't coming."
"That's ridiculous!" Jared said angrily. "They seriously said that?"
"No joke," Parker nodded. "So, the good news is, there might be an ambulance coming."
Jared turned his face so he could see Lee clutching at his neck out of the corner of his eye. "Okay, so, do you trust me to try and get you down the mountain? We've got maybe an hour's walk ahead of us."
"Mmhmm," Lee said, fidgeting. "As long as you don't drop me."
Russ stared at Dominique. She stared back. They simultaneously sipped their coffee. Next to them, Averman was shoveling his lunch like nothing was up. Charlie was too busy checking out the girls from the track team at the next table over to throw any crude comments their way. He winked at a particularly busty brunette, who smiled back.
It was finally Goldberg who broke the silence. Abandoning his BLT, he looked at the Californian. "Hey man," he said, swatting Russ. "What the hell's your problem?"
Dominique smirked at Russ. Russ finally tore his gaze away from hers and narrowed his eyes at the goalie. "It's none of your business, Goldberg!"
Goldberg nodded sarcastically. "Right, right." He resumed eating his sandwich, glaring at Russ.
"So," Dominique said conversationally, picking at her brownie. "What do I tell my nosybody roommates?"
"Tell who what?" Averman said, finally paying attention to the conversation. "What about?"
"Nothing, Averman," Russ replied, not taking his eyes off of Dominique. "What d'you wanna tell them?"
"They're going to find out eventually," Dominique sighed, chewing thoughtfully. Her brown eyes widened. "I didn't mean that like it's a bad thing!" She stopped. "You know they probably already know. Might as well make it public." She smiled.
"What?" Charlie asked, turning around. He'd lost interest when the track team left and the polo team replaced them. Granted, some of them were good looking, but there was something about horsey people. He shuddered. He smirked at Russ and Dominique. "You mean about you two doing the horizontal tango last night?"
Russ blanched.
"What do you know?" Dominique demanded.
Charlie grinned at her. He waved his phone at her. "Lee and Parker texted me. Apparently a certain member of the team went back to his room and did a Figure 8 when he heard what was going on inside."
Russ frowned. "Kenny. That rat bastard."
Dwayne threw his pencil down in dismay. He'd never get through this much ecology homework for Monday! He flipped back in his notebook and counted. 12 pages of notes for one chapter! He looked around the common room. At least it was cozy. There were tables for studying, a pool table, couches and a large television, where a group of girls were crowded around at the moment, watching America's Next Top Model. He was in the perfect spot to people watch and look out the window onto the green below.
Finally he stood up, digging around in his back pocket for his wallet. He walked over to the vending machine and studied his options. He selected E-4, and grinned when the machine spat out his drink.
"Gotta love me some root beer," he murmured happily. He twisted the cap off and took that delicious first sip. He stared at his books, and resolved to finish before dinnertime.
Parker was soaked. They'd been walking for at least an hour, very slowly so Jared had the best possible tread underneath him, and the heavens opened up. Next to her, Julie was shivering as she made her way down a particularly trying piece of trail.
Adam stopped and squinted through the rain at his friends. It was getting too slippery for him to navigate, let alone allow Jared to try with Lee on his back. Lee, to her credit, hadn't said much in the past hour about her foot hurting, but Adam could tell that it hurt. A lot. It had swollen at least twice the size, and Adam didn't have to be a doctor to tell that it was definitely broken.
"Guys, it's getting bad," Adam finally said. He looked around, and spotted a group of boulders. "We need to wait it out."
"Are you sure?" Jared asked, shifting Lee.
"Unless you wanna fall yourself, it would be safer to see if the storm passes," Adam said tightly. He pointed to the boulders. "We can hang out there, the bigger rock has a little nook that'll be dry."
Jared nodded, and they made their way towards the rocks. Julie spread her towel down on the ground, and Parker put hers over it. Jared eased Lee down, and the two girls made her as comfortable as possible. Lee looked up at them.
"This sucks."
A/N: Not going to lie, this exact same scenario happened this year to one of my friends at her school. Weird, huh? I promise, I'm hard at work on the chapters, and I even have some mapped out. How's that for having my ducks in a row?! Haha. Review! Over and out, Flyinghawk