The Thrill of the Chaos

Confessions

Mary:

After the meeting, and my odd encounter with Jack, I find my way back to a small shaded area near the jungle. I see Sage, and sit down next to her.

"Hey," I say, "Thank you."

"For...?" She asks, looking at me.

"Did you forget the assembly? You defended me and nominated me for chief. That was really cool, I really appreciate that." I remind her.

"Oh! Of course, it was no issue. I can tell you have strong beliefs, you definitely stand on them and defend those beliefs, too." She replies.

"How'd you know?" We both laugh, and realign our eyes to the tree tops.

"We should explore the island," I suggest, "We can find shelter supplies, we can find fruit, we could maybe even find our bags if we look hard enough."

"Yes, please! I had some really good chips in my bag, I was so excited to eat them." Sage pouts, I laugh. She and I sit up, and take off. We examine every inch of the forest. We find fruit, lots of it. Rich fruit, that had yellow skin and hints of pink at the top. Nothing you'd ever find at a store in America. We also find strong trees and branches to use to build shelter. Still no signs of our bags, but we can definitely keep looking later. Sage and I decide that we will come back to gather shelter supplies once we alert the others about this area.

"We should probably head back, I'm kind of hungry." Sage decides. I nod and we grab 14 pieces of fruit. We use our shirts to hold each fruit, and we waddle back.

"This island isn't half bad," Sage declares and looks around.

"I agree! I think we got lucky. Out of all islands, we got this one." I add, and she nods. We see some boys huddled around a signal fire. We decide to drop our fruit on the ground in front of a huge rock, just until everyone can get some. We see 4 boys get up, leaving just Jack and Ralph.

Jack...Jack! I've gotta hint this to Sage.

"Sage?" I ask, and she looks over to me.

"What's up?" She replies, looking curiously.

"What are your opinions on that Jack dude?" I ask her, and she goes a little red.

"Well...I think he's really cut- cool!" She says, I laugh.

"Cool, yeah." I mock.

"He is cool!" She says, and huffs a little. We decide to walk and sit with Ralph and Jack. As we approach, I overhear Jack say something.

"So that Mary girl?" Jack asks Ralph, not noticing I was right behind them.

"What about her?" He responds.

"Opinions? Thoughts?" Jack continues, "I definitely see the way you look at her."

"Is it that obvious?" Ralph questions. I go red, as Sage approaches behind me. I shush her immediately. We stand, listening.

"Ralph, it's not even been a day!" Jack laughs, "You already like her?!"

"I never said I like her!" My smile dims a little, a part of me was hoping he was going to say that he did. "I just think she's really smart, and innovative, and nice...and funny...and pretty..." Ralph looks back up at Jack.

"Yeah, you like her." Jack states.

"Well when you put it that way, maybe I do? But I highly doubt she feels anything for me. I was staring at her and she asked me if there was something on her shirt. She didn't like it, Jack. So she doesn't need to know about this conversation." Ralph continues.

"But she heard you-" Sage announces impulsively. All eyes turn to her.

"Sage!" I snap.

"Oops...sorry." Sage says, unapologetically.

"I-uh..." Ralph looks down immediately. My eyes direct to Jack, and he gives me a loud thumbs up. I give him a confusing glare. I look back down at Ralph.

"Ralph...?" I say. He remains silent. "Ralph?" I repeat. I signal for Sage and Jack to leave, and they do. The pass out fruit to the littluns.

"I'm sorry..." he says, looking back at me.

"Why are you sorry?" I ask.

"Mary, I like you. It's been a day and I like you. You heard what I said. I think you're beautiful. I think you're funny, and so smart. Your kindness is beyond words, as is your beauty. I really admire you, and I really like you. I understand if you feel rushed, or feel kind of surprised. I didn't mean for you to find out like this, or find out at all, for that matter..." Ralph goes on, "I don't wanna make you feel bad or uncomfortable." I don't know what I'm feeling. I feel excited, fulfilled, loved. But a part of me is scared, nervous, overwhelmed.

"Ralph," I look him in the eyes and my hand navigates to his. "I like you too. I was overwhelmed with joy when I heard how you felt about me. It's been a day, I know. But the laws of attraction say nothing about a time-span, do they?" He grips my hand.

"Are we gonna...do this?" He asks me. I nod.

"Let's keep it on the down-low, though." I suggest, "It makes it more exciting." He pulls me in and kisses my cheek softly, and embraces me in a warm hug.

"Maybe poetry isn't so bad now." Ralph smiles.