I stretched my arms after I got off the bus.

“Alright everyone, now start moving your feet.” Steph directed us towards a clear path going into the forest. “We will follow the trail and stick to it and to each other.”

"Yes, got it.” Came the enthusiastic answer from Mason. This guy’s energy is skyrocketing, or maybe he has ADHD; no, I think it’s both. But that contradicts the Chris. He does not exactly have low energy. He gives more of clam vibes. Being around him is enough for me to feel chill. But then there are times I feel like my body sizzles every time I take hold of his hand. Grandpa and mom were surprised when I asked him to come over to our home because I had never brought any friends from college at our home, so they could not help but be curious. After meeting him, they began teasing me that I might have taken liking him in, and they are right about that. But I want to know more about him but be close to him at the same time. More importantly, I don’t know what he thinks of me.

Now Clara’s whispered words are living rent-free in my mind. ‘Don’t worry, Mason won’t steal him away from you.’

We began heading towards the path Steph had instructed. This place felt clear and fresh. The tress towered over us, and the more we headed inside its core, the more the tress heightened. Crackling of leaves against our shoes became louder until Mason decided to overthrow it.

“Look over there! That’s a bird nest, and there are chicks in it.” He pointed towards one of the trees.

Clara asked, “How did you manage to see so- Wait, you got binoculars?”

"Yes, found them in my attic.” Mason said.

Chris said, “Be careful though; don’t multitask on searching birds while walking.”

"Yes, watch your step, everyone.” Steph warned us before looking at the front.

“Where are we heading exactly?” I asked our one and only camping expert.

“To one of the camping sites my uncle told me about.” Steph said.

“How far is it?” Clara asked.

“Tired already?” Mason teased her.

“No, just wanted to know.” Clara said while giving a glare to Mason.

I looked behind me; Chris was trailing behind us. He has been so quiet that one would mistake him for being absent from here. I motioned for him to come near me while extending my hands towards him. He caught up to me and took hold of my hand. His hands were cold; well, they always were, but that oddly made me feel warm.

“No bears so far, isn’t that great?” I asked him.

“Yes. That’s a relief.” He said. He looked towards the front and said, “Is the campsite where we are headed near the Halcyon Lake?”

Steph snapped her fingers, "Yes, it is.” 

Mason interjected, “Yet we can’t swim; that’s a bummer.” Clara patted his back, telling him it was for their safety.

Step sighed and then glanced at her map. “I know it is, but rules are rules. This trip wouldn’t even have happened in the first place if my uncle would not have given assurance to my parents.”

Chris avoided stepping on the outgrown roots dissecting the trail. He asked, “But if that lake is not safe, why are we even camping near it?”

“For sight-seeing.” Clara said. "Also, there is a lookout tower somewhere near that area, so the tower guy can easily lookout for us.”

“Or we could rush to them in case we need help with something, but hopefully we won’t.” Step said.

“We won’t need that given that we got Steph the Explorer with us.” Mason poked her bag with a stick.

Steph snatched the stick from Mason’s hand and said, "Hey, don’t call me that. Plus, in case a wild animal shows up, I can’t do much.”

“One minute you gave us hope we won’t need help next; we don’t know whether we will be safe or not.” I told them.

Chris said, “I am sure everything will be fine as long as we stick together and follow the trail.”

We walked further, a board stating the direction of a certain hill. Steph directed us to follow a different trail; we followed her like chicks following their mama duck. “Yeah, but it’s a forest, so we should be careful about what could happen at any moment.

Mason tilted his head to one side and asked Steph, “You sound like those people from the survival TV shows. Ever cared to join one, Dora?”

Clara chuckled, “Dora, where is your map?” She looked around Steph. The light skinned girl gave our guide a light bump on the shoulder and asked, “Where…?”

Mason said, “Could it be in your bag, Dora?”

“Both of you shut up, or else I will leave you two in the care of the forest." Steph said.

“Steph, Have you been in this forest before too?” I asked her.

“Yes, indeed, I had been here before with my uncle and parents before.” She replied; while ignoring the pleadings of her girlfriend and brown-haired boy to not leave them behind.

Chris raised his eyebrow and said, “When? Does your family do that camping more often?”

Step said, “We camped in the forest once before my college started. My parents have a forest camp back at my native home place. They held lots of camps for schools and during summer for middle and high school students.”

Mason perked up, “Oh, me and Chris have been on that side as students. It was fun.”

Steph rolled her eyes. “And headache for my parents when students like you come up.”

"No, we were not, and Chris was the best student any forest camper would have asked for.” Mason said while pointed towards Chris with pride.

I turned towards the boy whose hand I was still holding, “Yeah, that sounds convincing.”

Chris turned his head towards the ground. "Mason, stop joking around.”

Steph said, “Alright guys, we are going up the hill. So be prepared to face the exhaustion later on.”

Clara groaned and said, “Carry me if I get tired, okay, dear?”

Steph grinned and told her, “I would love to, but I am no superwoman.”

I smirked and said, "Plus, we don’t want our guide to get hurt. It could be dangerous for both of you.”

Chris added, “Actually for all of us, as none of us know how to navigate through the forest.”

~~

We slowly made our way up the hill. It sounded difficult at first, but we got the hang of it. The hill’s slope was steeper just long. Though there was certain unevenness on the trail. Walking on the hill was certainly pulsating my heart, and the forest itself was having its own pulsing heart as branches rustled every time the forest took large breaths.

We took a short break between to not put too much pressure on our body. Steph tied up Clara’s hair into a bun. Mason and Chris observed around. Sometimes Mason took pictures with his camera of the moss growing off of the rocks and birds resting on trees. Chris pointed towards a mushroom growing off a fallen tree’s trunk. It had a unique design and color to it. Mason took its picture.

“The mushroom looks like it came right out of a fantasy world.” I told them.

Mason said, “Can we-”

But Clara interrupted him, “If you are thinking of eating it, then stop. I bet it will give you some trouble later.”

"Oh, come on!” he whined.

Chris pointed towards some orchids growing in some bushes, and he decided to focus on those instead of arguing with Clara over a mushroom.

“It’s refreshing in here.” Chris told me it came more as a whisper, maybe because he was still catching his breath from the walking.

I nodded in agreement. “It was not a bad idea to come here.”

He hummed in response and offered me his bottle but retraced away. "Oh, sorry, I already sipped it though.”

I took hold of his bottle, his fingers still holding over his bottle. “It’s fine with me.” I brushed my fingers against his. “Chris, you don’t need to apologize. We talked about this before too.”

“I am so-” I put my hand over his mouth. “Shh... relax,” I told him. I lightly brushed away his black auburn hair covering one of the blue-greyish eyes. He stood there dazed, as silent as the trees surrounding us. The chirping of birds, sounds like our friends talking to each other from some distance.

Wait, that’s invasion of his space. I should have not done that. I moved my hand away from his forehead.