Mathematicians and Scientists (Saanvi×Ben)

Chapter 14: A New Arrival

Saanvi

I wake up to Ben singing softly to the radio around 7. I pretend to be asleep for a few more minutes. I know he'll stop singing if he sees me awake, and it's kinda cute. His singing isn't even half bad.

I give up on the pretending when I notice we've turned onto a dirt road. Ben notices and starts talking.

"Good Morning! "

"Mmm. Good Morning." I say through a stretch.  I'm still super tired, and I can't imagine how tired he is. "Where are we?"

"Well, we made it to the building in Cal's picture about a half an hour ago. We're assuming the cabin is in these woods somewhere."

"Yeah. That makes sense."

We keep going until Ben's phone rings.

"It's Olive." He says. I bet she's worried. 

"Hello?" Ben says.

He puts it on speaker.

"Dad? Are you guys okay?"

"Yeah. Cal had a calling and went somewhere in the woods. We're trying to find the cabin."

"Cal left me a note "I left". Let me send you a picture."

"Okay, thanks Ollie. Don't worry.  We'll find him."

"Alright.  Love you. Bye."

Then she hangs up.

"Here, can you look at Cal's note?"

"Yeah. Of course. "

I look, but it literally just says 'I left'. There's not much more that can be drawn from the two words.

"There's nothing here. " I tell him. He nods.

I can see in his eyes that he's still worried,  but he's trying to put on a brave face.

We drive down the dirt road for about 20 more minutes until we come to a fork.

"Which way do you think?" He asks.

I look down both paths. If we go the wrong way, we'll have gone hours in the wrong direction before we realize it. Time is of the essence so that won't work.

"I...I don't know. " I reply.

He's deep un thought for about a minute then suddenly says, " Let me see what Olive sent."

He looks at it for a moment. 

"This doesn't say I left. It's a drawing of the trail telling us to take a left. "

"How'd you know?" I ask.

"I don't know. " He replies. 

I can't say I'm surprised Cal left us that. He left it where he knew only we would find it. There's something different about him. He knows more when it comes to callings.

We drive another mile, and I notice how tired Ben is.

"Do you want me to drive for a bit?"

"No. I've got it. Thanks, but we have to be close by now. You can talk or tell me a story...just something to keep me awake and pass the time."

"Okay. Like what?"

"Tell me something I don't know about you. "

I think for a minute...I could be super basic and tell him that flying to Jamaica was the first time I ever flew. I could tell him that I have no social life, but I'm guessing he's caught on to that. Then I think of something that's perfect.