Marigold

Chapter Seven

"Hey, what took you so long?"

Maddie, Emma, and Nicole were waiting by the gutter we were supposed to clean but Emma was the only one with a bright face.
I wanted to ask her what made her so happy but I just guessed she found a way to get our work done without actually doing anything.
I didn't need to ask her anyway since the first thing she said was "someone decided to help us with the gutter."
I looked around and noticed Ariana sitting on a tire nearby.
"Ok team, three of us would get started, Nicole, you question Ari..."
"No" Nicole snapped shifting Emma's gaze to me and it went on for a while before I finally said "fine,"
To be honest, though she was the nicest person I've met so far, I didn't feel like having a chat with her for some reason, it's almost like something inside her died and she wants me to be sympathetic about it even though I don't know what it is.
But I went up to her anyway,
"Hello," I greeted her trying to be enthusiastic
"Hi" she greeted back with a heart-killing tone.
I was planning on shutting up for like five minutes and maybe tell her bye and run away while juggling thoughts about a recent movie in my head,
"Lola? We're friends right?" She asked
"Odd question, but yeah you're I trust you" I answered her with no idea where the conversation was going,

"I knew those people from the forest... The ones that chased us last night" she began again,
"Wait, what!?" I asked in surprise, I had so many questions to ask but I kept shut not to ruin everything again.
"They were the only friends I ever had, we told ourselves stories, helped each other out, did camp activities together did, we everything together. Things were going steady till I found a note one of them dropped and it reaveled that they were in a messed up, blood-sucking cult that was based in this camp, and I was their next victim. The things I saw on that note made me wonder if they cared about me even a little, I still can't believe it."
Her words made my eyes watery, I even felt bad for snooping on her business.
But if there was one thing off about her story its how similar it is to Nicole's
"Hey don't overthink it..."
"Why" she was in tears already "The people I loved..."
"They're gone, okay? they're probably never coming back too" I cawed, almost yelling and giving off the impression I'm talking about dead people.
"LOLA, gutter, NOW!" Emma yelled from afar, I had to go.
"We'll talk later okay, just hug the ones you have now and forget the then..." I told her as a last resort so I had no idea what I was saying,
"LOLA" Emma yelled even louder,
"I'm coming okay?" I yelled back.

I skipped to the position of the rest of the group and I found a familiar face waiting for me causing me to try and skip out of the scene while I'm at it but it was too late,
"Dork, you're going the wrong way"
Nicole teased,
I was already there anyway.
I stopped and sighed before asking what the guy was doing there
"Oh, Lola, this is Sean, Sean, that's Lola" Maddie answered,
"He's Mrs Tola's son" Emma followed,
"I also live in the US but it's no big deal" Sean finished.
What is happening?
"Meh, I've met better" Nicole shrugged.
I wasn't in a good state, and it'll be a matter of seconds before they figure out I'm quivering.
"Why??" I slowly muttered,
"Oh don't worry, he just offered us a hand" Emma answered me making me wish I had never gone to that fort in the first place.
I could smell disaster not too far from there but I didn't want to rip the mood apart so I just nodded my head and smiled then walked away.

The gutter was long, narrow, and deep such in a way that if you get in by mistake, chances are you might just forget about living in the outside world, but hopefully, no one has that kind of plan on their minds.
It had all sorts of disgusting rubbish in its possession and its black stained cement coverings weren't making it much of eye candy, I couldn't even look at it. It ended its journey at the waterside down the hill along with the thought of me ever going for a swim in there. Cleaning it still didn't feel like a big deal,
Last summer was freakishly boring and Mom suggested I take a day job so I could be a little productive on my own and to my dismay, the only option I had was babysitting a few kids. Things were going well till I found the house in a complete mess after the first day, furniture ripped apart, spilt garbage on the corridors, dirt everywhere, and lots of misfiring in the bathroom even though the potty was right there!
Yes, I've dealt with worse...

Everyone else had started cleaning
With their specific technique but all I had to do was use a rake and pull the trash out into a bag without getting stained, for me that was the fastest way.
"Hey girls, this is fun right?" Emma called out while picking an empty soda can
"Maybe, but it'll still take a long time judging by the length of the ditch we're cleaning" Maddie answered.
Emma looked toward the waterside
"Yeah, fun times" she sighed prompting Sean to ask
"Why is she so enthusiastic again? This is supposed to be soul-crushing"
We all knew the answer but I personally didn't want to say anything but Emma smiled and said
"Because..."
"Trouble is better with friends" the three of us roommates including me, answered with a dead tone.
It's either she pushed a button on us or none of us wanted to hear Emma say those words again.
I was wondering why I completed her sentence when Emma called out to me
"Lola, what did Ariana tell you anyway?"
"Oh Ems', she told her that story, the one with the friends" Nicole spurted out
"Huh? How come you two know about it?" I fired
"Well Maddie knows the story too," said Emma trying to reassure me that my roommates are straight-up gossips
"Maddie?" I said in surprise but she just stared at the sky like she was looking for something.
"Come on, it's not like you weren't snooping around yourself" Emma defended
"Nicole told me she was the victim," I said while pointing at the brown skin emo.
"Yeah, what are you guys talking about?" asked Sean
"Something way out of your concern, you know you're very rude for a guy
..."
Nicole answered with downcast brows but Emma cuts her of tells Sean it's personal junk.

"You guys? We would never finish the gutter at this point we are going to miss the fire again" said Maddie
"She's right" I accepted
"To be continued then" yelled Emma
"No, not really." said Nicole.
So we continued cleaning in silence, I ended up right next to Sean somehow and hoped he wouldn't say anything before I disappear from his sight forever but i had my hopes too high,
My eyes shifted to him and I noticed he was staring at me.
"I remember you now, your the one who knocked me down a few days ago, you're an easy one to miss," he said silently
"Well I'm not trying to be remembered by the likes of you, am I?" I shot back
"You know I forgave you for what you did"
"Oh, you did? Well it didn't seem that way when you tried to grow a garden in my mouth"
"Well, why wouldn't you forgive me?"
"Maybe it's because you never said sorry"
"Okay, I'm sorry"
"Huh? What's that phrase again  Forgive and forget? Oh right"
"What?"
"Look, Steve..."
"Sean"
"Whatever, you seem like a nice guy but with a horrible first impression so can you just not talk to me all together? That'll be way easier for..."
"Now where's the fun in that?"
"It's one sided"
"No, it's not"
"Why am I still talking to you"
I carried my bag and walked away
"Hey, I'll be waiting for you" he said and gave a cringe worthy wink afterwards
"Stop saying that okay?" I said while still facing him.
When I turned around, I saw that we had already reached the water.
"Whoa there, you almost went for a swim" yelled Sean, I just scoffed at the guy and went over to the group.

The playground was clean, all the rides and contents looked brand new and the sunset by the horizon gave the environment a natural orange coloured filter, it was beautiful.
"So, should we head back to camp," I asked as I  approached my friends
"Naw, Jake is still crashing on the bench" Ariana answered
"Watch this" Emma said while picking up a small rock and with closing one eye, she threw it at the lazy counsellor causing him to jump up in shock.
He didn't see the stone or us laughing at him from afar so he didn't suspect anything, lucky us.