Caring for Dakota Knox

2

Dakota Knox 

I must now admit that I was quite scared to even step outside into that rural waste and find my old classmates staring back at me. I was wondering whether they would still show me respect or not. If they weren't afraid of me anymore, if they ever saw me cry, that would have been the end of me. I took a hot shower after leaving my stuff in the tiny room. I cried until there were no tears left. The water was scalding and I rubbed myself as hard as I could, so maybe I even could wash myself away. I dressed afterwards, and even thought it was blinding hot out there, I put on a baggy black sweatshirt and a pair of dark jeans, so I could hid all the dirtiness of my own self. Not knowing if it was even enough, what would happen after all that, I went out.

After she laid her eyes on me everything went darker. The rest of them flashed smiles to one another, but she only had eyes for me, not a smile, not a sound. Only the heavy, insistent and curious look she always held towards me, and that I had managed to curse and reject every single time, until that day. I looked away, took a step aside, and stared at the blue sky and twisted trees around me, their rusted leaves and the wires that connected the cabin's roofs. After a second, a few people here and there started to recognize my face, murmuring, trying to intimidate me. I glared back at them, angrily, earning back their respect, their fear. All I really wanted to do was to run and lock myself inside my tiny new room.

Finally, Mr. Moodstan arrived with another man, that he presented as Mr. Carter, the cook. There was also a couple of my old school teachers, but the only one that felt like someone I truly knew was Ms. Freya Woodland. She used to live across my street and always spoke kind words about me to my mom and dad. She was the only one I ever felt that trusted me, even when mistaken. Mr. Moodstan went quickly through the rules, and established the breakfast, lunch and dinner times beforehand, so anyone had any special requests about it. The rest of the teachers gave each future student and ID card that they were obligated to carry around, that had their names and their prospected career on them, so the study sessions were less crowded. Later, I was given a dull card that had my last name misspelled (Dakota Fox instead of Knox) and the occupation: helper. And I wasn't even good at that, even in the middle of nowhere.

When everyone started going to their rooms, I looked back behind me, wondering where she was. After scanning the amount of people that were still visible, I looked over the lake area. She started talking to another girl, shyly, who seemed to be giving her some kind of instructions. She smiled brightly, as she was desperate to start a job that she had been confide to. I continued walking in a straight line, easy enough to catch my breath while getting back to the cabin. I should be safe, I told myself. 

Tatum Hayes

That first day, I was not welcomed by air conditioning. Instead, I was directly hit by the sun and a distinct smell of wet woods and sweet water. The humid air embraced my body as the rest of the students complained as soon as they started to look around, about the complex's structure, about "losing" summer time to career matters, about not bringing enough snacks to that two-week "nerd retreat". Half of the people in the group were there only because their parents wanted them to, the other half, the one that included me, were there to start making their ways into real, adult life, once and for all. My plus relied, of course, on the fact that Mrs. Moodstan knew that I was an avid swimmer, aspiring surfer and wanted to get a job as an ocean lifeguard, soon. As she was very kind to me, she offered me not only a spot in the program, but also a part-time job as a lake lifeguard. Her daughter, Stella, wasn't the nicest person in the world, but she found in me an ally since the first day of freshman year. I did whatever she wanted to, I shopped the clothes she wanted me to. I had been her shadow for the entire high school period, and so I had no choice but to also remain as her cabin roommate. 

As soon as we reached the gathering area, Mr. Moodstan started to impart the guidelines to our educational experience. Boys and girls, two feet apart. No swimwear outside water. No parties, no cabin bunking. No life, but our books and our "classmates". I did not look up to anyone, I watched directly into the crew for a moment, enough to see her, a little far behind. God damn, she was here too. I finally found the way to get her attention, her hazel eyes freezing at my sudden stare. Why was she here? And the other ones saw her too. They started giving their opinion about their own safety, some of then wanted to go back home. "She tried to kill someone" one of the girls said. I had no idea why, but her eyes on me felt good. 

Soon after, I was given an ID that seemed also like one of those keys to enter expensive hotel rooms. My name was on it, Tatum Bali Hayes. Before applying, they made me also choose a career, it didn't have to be definitive, but close. Architect I wrote. I wasn't sure, but at the time it hadn't gave me any doubts either. A girl called my name, she had auburn hair and a quiet smile. Ainsley, her name. She was also one of the lifeguards, a freshman in college, and she instructed me about the daily stuff that I had to take care of. Little did I know that she would become one of my dearest, true friends. 

I had finally found my cabin number after looking around for a couple of minutes, a little afraid of getting lost. I quickly opened the door, inserting the key and pulling it out but didn't work. Suddenly, it opened from the inside. I will never forget the look in her eyes.

"Can I help you?" I heard Dakota's  deep voice calling from the other side of the door frame.

I ignored her, but only because I didn't know what to say, or do. The girl scared the shit out of me, but also melted my heart in every possible way. My eyes widened to myself.

"Hello?" She called again, after a couple of seconds. I ignored it, again.

She raised her hand and I froze, but then she only used her fingers to tap on the door and got closer, stopping a couple of centimetres in front of me. 

"You are...?" She asked, but I couldn't look into her eyes "Are you looking for something?"

"Tatum" I muttered, and held the piece of paper with my cabin written down in front of her as if my life depended on it. 

"Here" she replied, and turned the paper around. It wasn't a 9, it was a 6. I finally exhaled and looked up, just as I saw her arm coming towards me and I stepped back, dropping the paper to the ground. My anxiety went directly to the stars as I heard the cracking sound of her knees as she went down to the floor, only to pick the paper up from the woody deck. Why the hell is she nice to me?

"I know your name, by the way" She stated, but before she could say anything else, I ran away.