Since Forever

Chapter 10

Zac's POV

After breakfast, we went down to the lake because we ate quickly. We didn't actually get a chance to use the boats though because the counsellors called everyone for games a little while after we got there. Now Alice and I are lying in the grass waiting for the others.

"Hey!" Alice shouts at someone who almost stepped on her. 

A foot lands right next to my stomach and I sit up. Zac is grinning at me. "Careful. I could have accidentally stepped on you."

I roll my eyes. Alice and I get up and stand with the others. Archie joins us a few minutes later. I saw him at the lake with Becky earlier and I can't help wondering if anything happened. I don't know why, but I don't like Becky. There's something off about her. 

Gabe cups his hands around his mouth and starts talking. "Hey, everyone! We're glad so many people decided to come today. I know a lot of you guys are in high school right now, but we were hoping maybe this would be nostalgic. Does everyone know how to play red rover all over?"

There are a couple of cheers and whoops, some of which come from Archie and Thomas, before Gabe continues.

"Great! Basically, you run across the space and try not to get tagged. If you get tagged, you have to stay where you are and try to tag other people. Only run if the statement applies to you." He grins and approaches us. "If I tap you on the shoulder, you're going to start off it. If you really don't want to, you can switch with a friend."

The people who are it gather in the middle of the field, one of which is Thomas. They talk briefly before deciding to take it in turns on who gets to speak. 

A girl with blonde hair similar to Alice's shouts, "Red rover all over if you have your hair down."

That means that most of the group is forced to run. I sprint along the edge of the allotted space. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Thomas going for Bailey. Bailey manages to hide behind the other people running. Thomas gives up, changing course, and tags Ethan instead. The people with their hair up run and don't get tagged. Stupid free pass.

It's Thomas's turn to call it. "Red rover all over"—He catches Bailey's eye and smiles evilly—"if your name starts with 'B'."

Bailey glares at him, but runs anyway. Despite Thomas's best efforts, Bailey gets away again. The other taggers focus on other people and Bailey avoids the previously-tagged stationary taggers. Thomas glares at Bailey and makes an 'I'm watching you' signal with his hand as the rest of us cross.

The next round, Fred gets caught, and Alice gets caught the round after that. She tags Finn and Zac but Archie and I are still in. The group is less than half its original size. 

Bailey gets a free pass and Thomas is so busy staring him down that Archie and I run right past him. I'm so busy looking out for Thomas that I don't see a stationary tagger right in front of me. I get tagged and am forced to stay where I am. Archie makes it across.

"Red rover all over if you're at summer camp," someone says cruelly. 

Bailey and Archie nod to each other in a we-had-a-good-run kind of way before they try to cross. Almost the entirety of the group is tagged and only a few people remain. Thomas is fuming because Bailey ran on the opposite side of the field to him and got tagged by someone else. 

By the next round, everyone has been tagged. Archie walks up to me. "Good game." We shake.

"Yeah. Nice running." If I didn't know better, I could have sworn Archie was blushing. He's probably just flushed from all the running.

"Oh...I uh...I do track," he explains, looking flustered.

Finn, Zac and Alice join us.

"You know, you didn't have to tag us," Zac argues.