Hare Moon

Don't Leave the Trail

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"Got everything?" Sunny bounces in front of me.

"I hope so." Oh God, I hope so. I'd packed and repacked and then checked my bag a million times today. Even now I'm fretting over the stupid things I didn't bring. A can opener! You need a can opener to go camping, right? Who thought this was a good idea? Survival club-- fine. But a survival weekend, out there with the poison plants and wild animals..?

"Dinnae fash!" Sunny shakes my shoulders, making me wobble. "You are what us McKendrick's call a wort of worry." 

This boy...who gave him sweets? I can still see the dye around his mouth.

Mr Desmond, the club leader, shouts over the students gathered in front of the school, "Okay everyone, we're setting off now. Gather in your year groups and follow your group leader. You need to work together to find the camp." 

Sunny stays with Kareem and the other T3s, I head over to Erin and Clarice. Clarice jumps up on a cooler, whistling for our attention. He waves a compass in the air and chucks it into the throng. There must have been twenty people in our group, all lunging for the compass.

"You bit me," a girl cries.

"You ran into my teeth," another states calmly and holds the compass high, pushing away the bitten girl jumping for it.

"Good catch--" Clarice says and the girl practically swoons, "--you're the new direction specialist. Of course I know exactly which way North is, so your job is kind of pointless."

This guy... 

Besides the fact that he's being a dick, I can't say I'm comfortable following him aimlessly through the wilderness if he's not going to take this seriously. Anything could happen. Who knows if we'll ever reach camp or end up starving far from civilisation. Is it too late to slip into a different group? I check out my other options.

Sunny is also chucking things into the crowd like his brother, but he's throwing sweets. He's dancing in front of his group who look like they're having a blast, grabbing at the treats. 

Mr Desmond walks up to them and facepalms. "Samson, I thought I was clear, no getting hyped up on sweets! Empty your pockets." 

Okay, maybe Sunny isn't the most reliable leader.

On the other side Milton towers in front of his group, eyeing a map and giving calm, clear instructions to his smaller, far more focused and mature group. Dammit. I wish I was over there.

I turn back around to find Erin smirking at me, the rest of our group already walking away.

"Done staring? Or do you need a moment?"

I hurry after the others. "I wasn't staring at him."

"I didn't say anything about a him, but now that you bring it up..."

"I was just thinking it would be nice to have someone competent leading us."

"Clarice is competent! He'd make a great leader if he was just given the chance." Erin sounds a little too defensive so I shut the hell up.

"How long have you known them?" I ask after a minute of walking in silence.

"The Macs? Forever. Our fathers are practically brothers. I spent more of my childhood with the boys than at my own house."

The way she says the boys is adorable. I grin, imagining a wee freckled girl chasing around a miniature Sunny and Clarice. I can't picture Milton but being the killjoy that he is I figure he probably sat on his own doing complicated math problems or punching blades of grass.