Summer Hatin'

Slugs & Cockroaches

Jade's POV:

There's a secluded area by the lake that I've discovered. One that isn't visited by the campers often. It'd be deemed 'boring' in a world of fun. Quiet and uneventful. Within this mystic garden, there's a very specific cut-off point that separates the perfect, neat upbringing from the wild, messy thorns that no one dares to go near. Two extremes, each enhanced by the other's proximity.

Sitting cross-legged on the imaginary border, I let out a breath I didn't realize I'd been holding. The familiar sinking feeling in my chest returns. Like I'm plummeting from the tip of the highest building, falling deeper and deeper into the depths of the vast ocean. Drowning. Desperate for air. Desperate for some sense of relief. Desperate for peace. Yet never desperate enough to fight.

It's a conflicting feeling. Being completely alone in your thoughts. On the one hand, it's your only chance of total security. No one listening in, no expectations, no ammunition. But it can also be a daunting abyss. An opportunity for your inner demons. Waiting. Eager to push you into said abyss.

Plunging deeper and deeper.

Until you land right into a much worse reality.

She was right. Painfully so. I knew what I was walking into when I started going out with Beck yet I went with it regardless of how it would inevitably wound up. I'm not even mad anymore. Well, I was for the first few hours, refusing to look at her, refusing to hear any of her lame attempts of apologizing.

Luckily, thanks to the experienced horse-riding instructor, there wasn't a great need for us to interact anyway. I know, I know. It's setting a bad example for the campers who are definitely not clueless when it comes to our very obvious feud. What can I say, we're simply not the best role models.

My eyes snap open when I hear a gentle hustling of footsteps behind me. Shy Brat. What's she doing out here?

She mirrors my surprise, clearly not expecting anyone to be out here either. Her eyes are wide like a deer caught in headlights.

"I'm sorry," she says.

"No, it's okay," I shake my head, forcing a smile onto my lips. It's hard. I'm tired, frustrated, angry even. So having to plaster all that with fake happiness for the sake of the brat isn't something that's on the top of my list right now. "I was just about to go. Unless you need some company?"

Please say no. Please say no. Please-

She shakes her head, looking down at her feet. I frown at her inability to meet my eyes for more than a second. Vega's onto something with this one. She's a little too shy.

I awkwardly nod, debating if I should say something else but decide against it and instead leave without another word.

The permanent scowl on my face is very hard to remove once I'm walking back inside, even when Sarah calls me over. Luckily, she's too busy with her monstrous binder to notice. Sweet Jesus, how is she still standing?

She tells me there's going to be changes to the itinerary this week, asking me to inform Tori as well. I nod, waiting a second to see if there's anything else before excusing myself to my room.

I sigh, stomping down the corridor and knocking on the door. Vega has an annoying habit of locking the door from the inside now. Something about me barging in the other day while she was in the bathroom. I would complain about it, yet again, but I've neither the energy nor the patience to do so.

There's no answer from the other end so I knock again, much more aggressively this time without the slightest care for the other people on our floor.

For someone who never locks her front door, the girl certainly has picked up on the habit too well now.