SHATTERED DREAMS

Chapter 3: The Guy

Prinz's POV

With all the chatter and noise going on around the bus, I managed to doze off for a few minutes. Even with the bus stopping and people pouring out, I didn't wake up. I'm curious to know how long I was gone.

A gentle shake on the shoulder jolted me awake. Thank goodness it was soft because if more pressure had been applied, fear would have scared whoever was waking me up. I'm susceptible and jittery. Because of my father, I always try to keep my guard up. I never know when he'll strike, so I've become hypervigilant.

I turned around to see who had woken me up. There stood an Filipino guy, probably around the same age as me.

"Sorry to wake you... It is just, well, the teachers already assigned cabin keys to all of the students. Yours is the only one left." He said, pointing to the exit of the bus. "We all assumed that maybe you didn't come on the trip. I just came to get my bag and, well... I saw you sleeping here." He continued before grabbing his bag.

"T-Thanks for telling me... I didn't really plan on falling asleep," I said shyly, rubbing my eyes.

"I'll fill you in on the briefing attendance that the teachers gave everyone earlier," he said, nudging his head to the door with a faint half-smile. In silence, I followed him out of the bus. When I stepped outside, the atmosphere smacked me in the face. The sky was a deep blue, becoming lighter as the sunset. I must have been knocked out for a while if the sun was already setting.

"What time is it?" I hiss, rubbing my eyes again.

"Around four-forty." He answered after studying his watch for a moment. It's good that I got some sleep in, though. It's challenging to fall asleep, knowing someone in your home has it out for you. That being is my father.

He took me over to a stump near a bunch of trees lined up near the ocean. There were several things littered about, making it look like a camp. I heard the voices of cheerful students coming from many directions. They've already gotten settled into their cabins.

"All right, this is your key," he said, pointing to a single key in a box on the stump. "It has your cabin number, but if you're lost, it should be right in that direction," he said, pointing to my west. "We're going on a tour of the town tomorrow, and Teach said we get extra credit if we come," he says with a grin. I couldn't help but let it get on my face. The sun hit my eye when I looked at him, causing me to squint slightly. "The next day, we'll go hiking in the nearby mountains and forest; I'm all about that extra cred, man," he said with a slight chuckle. I'm not here for extra credit, I don't care about my grades, and I know I won't be able to attend college anyway due to a lack of support. I came here to get away from home for a while. The tours, on the other hand, could be entertaining. "The teachers have a schedule near the main building, so if you need help, go there. I'm sure you can tell, but the school can be scatterbrained sometimes, so if something doesn't make sense, come to me. My cabin number is four," he says, pointing in the direction.

"That would explain why I could fake my father's signature without them questioning it," I mumble, mentally rolling my eyes.

"Wait, what?" He asked, needing clarification.

"N-nothing," I reply quickly, shooting my eyes in the opposite direction of him.

"Anyway, I'm off." He said, grabbing his backpack and heading east. "Oh, one more thing, dinner is at six-thirty, near the center of the park." He says, spinning my way with a raised a finger. He turned back and continued walking.

"T-Thanks for the help!" I forcefully squeeze out, raising my voice. He turned halfway and gave me a little smile before disappearing behind a cabin.

I sat in my spot, thinking a little before lifting my stuff and carrying it toward my cabin. The line of trees casting beautiful shadows over the park was like something from a movie or painting. The ocean air only added to the already pleasing atmosphere.

While heading off to my cabin, I looked around and saw many of the students enjoying themselves. I was shocked they weren't all on their phones. As the guy said earlier, the school was scatterbrained and forgot to ban cell phones. I brought mine in case I needed it for anything. I won't receive or give any calls, though, cause my contact list is empty.

After a couple minutes of walking finally reached cabin twenty. When I took to the stairs heard footsteps across the deck. Spotted the source of the noise. It was a guy heading for the door.

"E-excuse me, is this cabin twenty?" I ask just to be sure. I didn't want to walk into the wrong cabin and make a total fool of myself. He turned around, and OH CRAP, it was one of the attractive guys mentioned earlier. I suddenly got nervous in his presence. I felt like nothing in comparison to him, which intimidated me greatly. What would I do if we were sharing a cabin?

"Yeaaaah... what can I help you with?" He asked, looking pretty confused. His look made me a little nervous, so I started playing with the strap of my backpack.

"Well, my uhm... my key says this is where I-I'm supposed to be staying?" I clumsily pull it out of my pocket, almost dropping it. Held it up to him while trying to cover my embarrassment.

"Oh, you're the kid that didn't show earlier, huh?" He sighed. "I guess I won't have a whole cabin to myself after all." Wait, did he just say we're sharing a cabin? Together?

"I uh... sorry." I quietly apologized, lowering my head. I didn't want to burden anyone while on this trip, but I was already causing problems.

"It's cool. You seem like an okay dude, at least." He gave me a half smile before heading through the door. I could swear I felt my heart skip a beat. After recovering for a little moment struggled to carry my bag up the steps. I filled it with snacks and books in case they didn't give us any here. I finally worked up the steps and through the door with the little pantry stuffed inside my bag. Upon entering the house spotted the kitchen to my left, and a little down the hall off to the right was a merged bedroom and living room, and a bathroom to the left. There's a door at the end of the hall, which I assume leads to the backyard.

I went to the bedroom and saw the guy sitting on the bed. He glanced at me for a second before returning to whatever he was doing. I dropped the heavy bag on a bed placed on the opposite side of the room from the guy's. Sat on the bed with my legs crossed and pulled out a book from my bag. Planned on reading for the rest of the day.

It felt very unusual having a stranger in the same bedroom as me. I peeked at him a few times before opening my book. I heard him ruffling through some of his things before abruptly stopping. He turned my way and started speaking, almost startling me.

"Name's Rhey. Yours?" He asked before going back to rummaging through his stuff.

"I-I'm Prinz. Prinz ." I answer, surprised he cared enough to ask.

He let out a breathy laugh before speaking again. "Sounds pretty dorky." I gave him a little smile knowing it was a joke, before returning to my book. It seemed like he found what he was looking for because all the noise stopped. A moment later, he turned my way again.

"I want to set some rules since we'll be living together for a week in this cabin." I bring my eyes to him once more and give him a slight nod, even though I am worried about what he might propose. "Tell me in advance when inviting friends over, and please, no parties." He spoke softly but sternly.

"It's okay, I-I don't have friends anyway," I replied as blandly as possible, but a little sadness escaped with my words. I look back at my book, and the room is again washed with silence.

After a minute, Rhey spoke again. "You have any rules you wanna lay down?" He asked, playing with his hand and looking ever at me. I felt very nervous having his attention on me, but at the same time felt content being in his presence.

"Y-yeah. My only rule is that you do not restrain yourself from the cause of me; you can do whatever you want. Though would ask for peace and quiet every once in a while." I responded, then gave him a shy half-smile. He smiled back, only his was much brighter.

"I'll be out back." He announced. It looked like he was holding his phone and a pair of earbuds, so I assumed he would listen to music. I gave him another half-smile before going back to my book. Heard his footsteps slowly growing quieter until he reached the back door. When he left, the cabin was peaceful, with no other sound than the pages of my book.