Mystery of Love

19

The past few days leading up to the camping trip had been nothing besides busyness. Theo had to get all the items that were not readily available at home. As such, he failed to text Kaleb on a regular basis like he usually did. However, Kaleb was never the first to text him either. It had always been Theo who engaged a conversation with him online.

As the bus was nearing the campsite, he contemplated for a brief moment before deciding not to text him. He didn't want the situation where they had to surrender their phones before the conversation was completed.

Kaleb was assigned to a different campsite, much farther away from Theo's. Unlike Finn, he believed Kaleb was physically capable of looking after himself.

As they alighted from the bus, Theo noted that the campsite appeared fresh and new. They were segmented into the various camping groups and introduced to the students from other schools as well as the instructors.

Instructor Tracy was assigned to be in charge of his group's daily activities. They were first made to surrender their mobile devices and subsequently briefed on the plans for the next few days. 

The instructor then made them sign on a book that already had numerous pages of signatures imprinted on it. She went on to explain the commitment she expected from the campers to give in their best effort. 

𝘍𝘢𝘪𝘳 𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩. Theo thought to himself. Everyone in the group went forward to sign as they didn't want to cast themself as the black sheep. 

The audio system was rigged. Its speakers blasted an awful tune with a pathetic attempt at an introductory music to welcome the fellow campers. The campsite had clean restrooms and shower areas as opposed to the rumours he heard. 

"Hi. What's your name? We're from the same school but I never seen you before." Theo decided to be the first to strike the conversation.

The girl who wore the same school attire as himself replied: "I'm June. And you are?"

"I'm Theo."

The group was then brought to a secluded spot near the end of the campsite. The place sent chills down his spine. There were no other groups around.

According to Tracy, it was the ideal spot closest to the shed. As he looked over to his left, he noticed an old, brown shed that stretched across a long distance. 

"I'll like to go home now." Anna pleaded in a joking manner - standing close to Theo the whole time.

She was relatively shy and always guarded herself against strangers. However, she was also the one who had the most to say about the rest.

"The first day is barely over." Theo sighed.

Tracy brought the group into the shed and explained that their stay at the current campsite was temporary, as they had to pack their bags and trek to the next campsite the following day.

Everyone maintained a poker face and made no objections, though it was obvious only a handful felt truly excited about it.

Some items that were taken out from the shed included hiking sticks, hiking bags, whistles and pots for cooking.

Food ration supplies were then distributed evenly among themselves. Theo squeezed the packet and made a silent remark about how fluid the food was.

As they were shoving all the equipment and food supplies into the hiking bags, Theo caught June sneaking a handphone into her bag. She wasn't oblivious to his stare. 

"Yea I brought two phones, I gave Tracy my old phone which is spoiled. You won't snitch on me right?" June began saying. 

"Of course I won't." Theo replied. 

"You're from band? I think I've seen you before. I'm from dance and the practice room is only next to yours." She continued. 

"Oh."

"So you know Kaleb? His also in band." 

"Yea I know him. Why?" Theo was taken aback by the sudden topic she brought up.

"He looks so cutee...Like how does one still have their baby face at his age." 

In that moment, his mind went blank and he didn't know what to say. It developed in him a stronger sense of longing for Kaleb. Perhaps it made him realize that many were after his good looks and he needed to fight harder to make Kaleb stay infatuated with him. 

"Yea he is...cute..." He agreed awkwardly.

Moreover, the thought of being Kaleb's love interest thrilled him, as he could've easily gone on with many others.

Throughout the remainder of the camping trip, Theo was the listening ear when Anna or June had the most random things to say about school. They needed to distract themselves from the boredom of trekking over long distances.

Fast forward to the final day, Tracy sat the group down near patches of rocks facing the sea.

They watched as the sun slowly lowered itself, marking the end of a long day. It was rare to see such a full view without the obstruction of tall buildings and light pollution.

It was a pleasant sight, though staring in that manner for too long may cause one to start questioning the meaning of life and spiral into nothingness.

Some were having their own conversations while others sat quietly, admiring the magnificent view and letting their thoughts flow.

Theo was one of those who preferred silence. He hummed along to the tune of Wish You Were Gay by Billie Eilish that played in his head, a result of such a sweet yet melancholic scenery.

He thought the trip had instilled in him the value of independence and made him realize that he could  survive on his own.