Left Behind – Episode 2

Left Behind – Episode 2
 
© Happy William
 
#Creole_High
 
Harriet’s POV
 
.
 
There he stood, my handsome and adorable boyfriend whom I can’t love less.
 
Luke Herman.
 
Tall, muscular, blond, and pinked lipped.
 
He was standing in the midst of some other guys, and…. wait a second, was that his hand across Lillian Damien’s wa-ist?
 
Lillian Damien was the most popular girl after me. She was also rich, smart and beautiful. But in every thing, she was second best because I was popular without stressing or making a fool out of myself.
 
But what was Luke doing with her?
 
I frowned and took determined steps towards their gathering.
 
“Hey Luke,” I said in a voice that I forced to make sweet.
 
As soon as he heard my voice, his hand slipped from Lillian and went to his head. There was a guilty look on his face, and a proud one on Lillian’s. The others looked amused.
 
“Hi baby. I thought you weren’t coming,” he said and leaned in to k-ss my l-ips,but I turned away, and it landed awkwardly on my cheek. It’s not that I don’t want him to k-ss me, in fact, I have never been k-ssed by him or by anyone before. And I’m still a V-rgin at eighteen. Luke doesn’t know.
 
I k-ssed his cheeks too.
 
“Well I’ve decided not to miss it,” I said with a smile. He didn’t smile, he pulled me away from the sniggers and giggles.
 
“Harriet I still don’t understand why you won’t let me k-ss you. It’s getting embarrassing,” he began.
 
I sighed. “Luke a relationsh¡p isn’t based on those things.”
 
“It is. Showing affection, that’s what they call it.”
 
I placed my hand on his cheek and rubbed it softly with my thumb. “Luke, I love you. OK? That’s all that matters,” I assured him with a smile.
 
He nodded. “Me too, baby.”
 
Then we heard a horn blaring, and a whistle blew with the announcement over the speakers that all final year students should board the bus.
 
Luke took my hand in his, squeezed it, and led me to the bus.
 
I’d completely forgotten about him holding Lillian rom-ntically.
 
Soon we boarded and began to move.
 
I sat with Kathy.
 
___
 
Kathy came over and snatched me away from Luke, who waved and walked back to the guys.
 
“Hey, saved the seat by the window for you,” she said and interlocked her hands with mine.
 
“Even if you didn’t, I’d still have gotten it,” I said with an air of pride.
 
“Yeah,” she replied lowly.
 
Names were called to take note of the number of students going. Soon we boarded the bus and began to move.
 
I was leaning to and looking at the window, admiring the view as we swished by. It looked as if the trees and electric poles and buildings were running away at great speed.
 
Duh…we were moving at great speed.
 
I inhaled deeply.
 
.
 
I haven’t told you guys about my self, but you will find out more about me as the story unfolds because I myself don’t understand my personality.
 
.
 
This camp is the worse thing my parents could have asked me to do. I mean dirt…mud….s
 
and…eww!!!
 
“Harry, what are you looking at?” Kathy asked from beside me.
 
“Nothing,” I said. Sometimes I feel like I’m not treating Kathy right, like a friend. The relationsh¡p between us was more like maid and mistress. But she didn’t want to be treated like my friend. Her actions shows it.
 
I turned to glance at her. She was smiling as she scrolled through her phone. Maybe I’ll change that during camp. Maybe I’ll even give into Luke and let him k-ss me. Maybe this camp’ll change me, make me focus on who I really am. I know I’m something more than a rich, pampered girl.
 
I took out my earphones and my MP3 and began to listen to “I Believe by DJ Khalid ft Demi Lovato”.
 
Soon, with the wind blowing on my face and my hair, I fell asleep. The journey took longer than I thought it would. I wonder where we were going.
 
Arrgh…I knew I shouldn’t have stayed awake all night reading Nora Roberts Montana Sky.
 
But the book was so superb. Filled with rom-nce……
 
.
 
Kathy tapped me hours later, and I checked if I had drooled saliva on my mouth.
 
 
” We’ve reached,” she said.
 
___
 
.
 
#Camp_Site_Amazon
 
Harriet’s POV
 
.
 
This definitely wasn’t what I’d expected. I was thinking of a hotel, a beach or something! Not some green fields!
 
I walked angrily to Mrs Jackson, who was org-nizing students as they began offloading baggage and stuff. There were other teachers like Mr Matthew, and Miss Tina, but Mrs Jackson was my main concern here.
 
“Yo, ma’am!” I called angrily and stood in front of her with my hands on my h¡ps.
 
She lowered her glasses (whoa…what’s the need of the glasses if she takes it off to see me clearly
 
) and looked around, as if searching for the person addressing her.
 
“Are you talking to me, Miss Anderson?” she asked confusingly.
 
“Of course I am. What, aren’t you Mrs Jackson anymore?”
 
“Listen here—-”
 
“I’m talking, so you listen. How dare you bring us to th–this disgusting, goddamned place in camp’s name, huh?” I questioned. I was really angry. Was this what I left my comfy home for?
 
She adjusted her glasses and frowned at me. “Harriet Anderson, I won’t tolerate that arrogant and disrespectful attitude of yours, you hear? If you don’t like the venue, you might as well go home,” she scolded. “If you’re a spoilt girl with no value for nature, then don’t bother me. This venue was chosen because of all the—”
 
“Et.et.et,” I interrupted rudely.
 
Wait…. I said that I’ll try to change my attitude during this camp session. I sighed.
 
I might as well start with Mrs Jackson.
 
“Ma’am I’m sorry about that, I lost it.”
 
Her mouth hung open.
 
I continued, “I was just being selfish.”
 
She still stood still, as she stared at me in surprise. Well, I myself couldn’t believe that I had just apologized either.
 
Finally, she stuttered, “Err..y-yes, it’s okay. You can go and unpack now.”
 
The bewildered look was still on her face.
 
I smiled and turned around.
 
“Harriet?” she called from behind me.
 
“Yes?” I replied, turning back.
 
She gave me a smile that made her look much younger and prettier.
 
“Be good. It suits you.”
 
I nodded.
 
___
 
.
 
I smiled at Kathy as we set up our tent that evening after unpacking. She returned the smile.
 
“You know, I didn’t think you could set up a tent,” she began as she hit the tent pin with a small mallet.
 
I rolled my eyes and tied the rope into a knot. “I’m sure all of you think I’m some spoilt brat, right?”
 
“Goodness, no, Harry. You’re a good person,” Kathy quickly put in.
 
I nodded. “Kathy, don’t you think that this friendsh¡p of ours is not right?” she gave me a blank look. I continued, “Well were supposed to be doing things together, and stuff like that. But instead, I’m like bossing you around. I feel bad. I want us to be real friends.”
 
She hung her head.
 
“Harry I don’t deserve friendsh¡p from you, I’m a terrible person.”
 
I giggled. “What does that mean?”
 
“I….I….I did something bad and…”
 
I cut her off with a hug which took her by surprise. She hesitantly hugged me back.
 
“Kathy you’re my friend. Nothing can change that.”
 
.
 
Kathy swallowed. I hope so, she thought to herself.
 
.
 
Later that night we sat around a campfire after dinner. Miss Tina, our science teacher, was telling us about the kinds of plants common to the native Amazonian soil.
 
“In fact, each day or week, one could see different species of plants and strange insects around. They are really strange mind you, that most scientists don’t even know what they’re made of. Legend has it that they are from….” she darted her eyes around as her voice lowered to a whisper, “The Other Side.”
 
The students oohs and awed, and Jean Norman scre-med.
 
I rolled my eyes. Jean was slim and small with wide eyes. She was always easily scared, and it annoyed the hell out of us.
 
“Tell us, Miss Tina. Tell us about the legend,” Jack suggested, and had his support in the form of choruses of ‘yeses’ all over.
 
“Don’t go listening to her. What relationsh¡p does science and myth have?” Mr Matthew asked jokingly.
 
Well, it was a dry joke because nobody listened to him. All eyes were on Miss Tina as she began her tale.
 
Except mine.
 
Among the students who had shadows dancing on their features, I didn’t see Luke.
 
Come to think of it, I hadn’t seen him since we arrived. I wondered where he was. Why didn’t he look for me?
 
My thought was interrupted by another loud scre-m from Jean.
 
“Ugh!”
 
“Quit it, Jean!”
 
“If you can’t stand the story, then beat it!” Jack yelled. I laughed in,side me. Jack has a huge crush on Jean, but she doesn’t know. And he’s angry that he could crush on someone so kiddish. I mean, Jack was one of Luke’s friends, so his taste was supposed to be as sophisticated as ours.
 
“I’m sorry, it’s…. it’s just that I…”
 
She trailed off in a shaky voice. Jack gro-ned. “Just get lost!” he said to her.
 
Jean began to whimper, that emotional girl, and soon she ran from the gathering.
 
“You shouldn’t have done that, Jack,” Miss Tina cautioned. Jack masked the guilty look with a casual shrugg.
 
“She’ll come around. Please continue with the story.”
 
“And the gods grew Jealous of the way the Amazonians were thriving. So they cursed them with a plague. Each god of each creatures, the goddess of beauty and the fairies, the god of wisdom and the elves, the god of the hunts and the centaurs…. so many. Till date no one in the outside world knows about those plagues, but since then Amazon disappeared. It seems they were wiped off the face of the earth….”
 
Nice story, I thought. But where was Luke. I think I’ll go look for him at the tent area.
 
“Kathy I’m going to look for Luke. Haven’t seen him since.”
 
She shook her head quickly. “I don’t think that’s a good idea…Harry!” she called as I walked hurriedly away from her. She’ll have to run to catch up.
 
Bad idea to search for my boyfriend? Oh pulleessee.
 
I bumped into Fred, a friend of Luke. “Yo, Fred. You know where Luke’s tent is?” I asked.
 
“Sureeee…but I wouldn’t go there if I were you. Seriously Harriet, why hold on to that guy, when you can have me for instance?”
 
I rolled my eyes at this. “Fred, I’m perfectly happy with my boyfriend, thank you. Now…the tent….?”
 
He chuckled and directed me. “Don’t say I didn’t warn ya,” he called out.
 
What IS going on with everyone and Luke? Was there something I don’t know about? Wait…..Lillia
 
n too was absent at the camp fire. Could it be that they….come on Harriet, don’t think like that!
 
As I approached the tent, I heard, what seemed to be mo-ns and giggles, and breathless mumblings and whispers.
 
Oh no……I walked closer to the tent. The light in,side was enough to make me see silhouettes. Of coupling.
 
No no no.
 
I had to be sure.
 
I lifted the tent flap just a little bit.
 
I swear I’d have fainted on the s₱0t when I saw Luke thr-sting heavily into Lillian, both of them unclad on the floor, with smiles on their faces.
 
To be continued
 
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