Destination Reached

JAKE

By the third zip line, Sophia opened her eyes. And on the last ropes course, I think I even saw a smile. The ropes course seemed to be better for her. My theory was that it was because those courses have parameters, decisions to make; it wasn't just a blind leap of faith. It was something she had control over. I sensed that she hated being out of control. Even the feeling of it. Like today, on that platform.

For a minute, I didn't know if she was actually going to do it. But she did. I still had tiny, half moon imprints on my forearms from her fingernails. I didn't mind. I had gotten to hold her. Really hold her. Like had my arms wrapped around her waist, hair pressed to my nose, skin to skin contact hold her. More than that. I got to help her. The look on her face after she faced her fear was all the reward I needed. Also, she smelled like roses and honeysuckle, and her eyes were so so so blue. Even bluer than the sky today, if that was possible, which was so clear it was dizzying. Sophia was dizzying.

"Jake." Speaking of. Sophia was busy with Maia, rinsing off their shoes and lower halves. It was a daily ritual. It had to be. I played football in rainstorms and I'd never gotten as muddy as I do now. She tilted her head at me, "Do you remember if I locked the door when I left?"

"Abby said it didn't matter," I replied with a shrug, immediately regretting the words when I saw Sophia scowl.

"Abby says lots things don't matter," she huffed, shutting off the hose with a tad more force than necessary. "Paying bills, washing dishes, stopping at red lights—"

I cut her off before she got too far into her rant, "I'm sure you locked it, Randall."

"When do I get to meet the mysterious Abby?" asked Maia, wringing out the hem of her t-shirt. Maia has basically been begging to meet Sophia's older sister since she found out about her on Monday. She couldn't believe she'd never met her before, seeing as it was a small island. In all fairness, Abby was pretty awesome. Not that I'd seen her all that much. It seemed like she was always ducking out of the house.

Sophia opened her mouth to respond, but before she could say anything we were greeted with the booming, and presently cheerful voice of our boss. Otis was balancing a precarious stack of black t-shirts, topped with a clipboard and a walkie talkie, which looked as though it was posed to fall at any second.

"Schedules and shirts before you leave," Otis was saying, voice muffled behind the fabric. The pile wobbled dangerously, and Kai and I were able to catch the top of it before it hit the ground. "Thanks team," blustered Otis, a little red in the face. Or maybe he was sunburned.

Maia pounced on the shirts immediately, rummaging through for her size, "Thank god they're a different color. Last year they were this hideous pukey green that totally clashed with—" Otis cleared his throat pointedly, raising an eyebrow at Maia. "Sorry," she said, biting back a smirk. "Schedules?"

"Ah— yes," Otis patted the many and large pockets of his cargo shorts, searching for what I assumed was the clipboard that had fallen off of the stack. Sometimes it felt like Otis was perpetually looking for something. Whether it be his sunglasses, bug spray, walkie talkie, or hat, more often than not they were usually attached to his belt. He was alright though, Otis. He was nice, and a good enough boss, although somewhat less organizationally inclined. Wordlessly, Kai handed him the clipboard. "There it is," he continued, "one for each of you."

"Wait," frowned Maia, pausing, "you aren't assigning us groups?" Her and Sophia had been crossing their fingers all week that they'd be together. Secretly, I'd been crossing my own that Sophia and I would be together. I liked Kai. But I liked Sophia more.

"Well, there's five of you this year," Otis explained. "You four, and Stacey."

At the sound of her name, the violently bleached blonde turned, heading over to join us where we stood. "What's up?" Stacey said, tossing her hair over her shoulder. She beamed at me, "Hi, Jake."