EVERGREEN, elijah hewson

pancakes for dinner

CHAPTER FOUR
"pancakes for dinner"

EDEN WAS COMPLETELY AND UTTERLY BAFFLED.

She'd showered, gone to the toilet and was making a beeline to her tent when she was stopped in her tracks. There were two children blowing bubbles through a neon orange plastic device. She could see herself in one of them. An image of herself reflecting midair. Blues and purples mixed through her face. She hadn't seen bubbles in years. There was a music store in her town with a bubble machine just outside, trying to beckon people to enter. She'd always marvel at the strange soapy spheres.

Everything felt calm, too perfect. She was beginning to find peace amongst the other campers. She'd learned to enjoy walking barefoot in the grass. Blisters didn't help. But, she continued walking, feeling a little bit lighter. She wished she could've felt this way for the whole day. Like a bubble.

Just as she sighed into the warm breeze of air, she heard strums of a guitar in the distance. Then hands clapping along. Her steps began to speed up until she was almost running towards the sound. It was coming from her group. The two dark blue tents had been put up, facing eachother. The other four were gathered around the stove, cooking what seemed to be pancakes. They were all smiling at each other. They were wrapped up in some world of their own.

Eden tried to stop herself from running back to the toilet when she heard the lyrics of a familiar song being played. The strums of each chord were gentle, cautious. The others watched with intrigue and Eden sat down with her arms crossed. Belle grinned at her, acknowledging her arrival and whispered, "You look a lot better."

Eden scoffed at her choice of words, pressing her crossed arms a little closer to her stomach. She was hungry. Very. "Thanks."

Elijah was singing 'Beautiful Day' by U2. A strange selection seeing as his Dad was literally Bono. Eden realised after he sang through the first lines. His voice was rough over the gentle chords. There was an undeniable passion crossing his features. He sang each word with such a power. It felt like they were sitting beside a volcano on the verge of eruption. Some children from the other tents had jumped out of curiosity. They were blowing their bubbles and dancing around to the music.

He watched Eden as he sang. Every now and then he'd flash her a smile especially when she was looking away from him. He knew how much this was irritating her. She remembered the shirt he'd met her in. The U2 one. He had asked her what her favourite song was by U2. Now, he was singing it.

"Told yer he'd be good." Belle squeezed Eden's side with a smirk.

"He's alright."

Elijah seemed to notice the comment because he started singing louder. Robert sent a video of Elijah singing to a groupchat with the caption: 'Lads, I'd come later if I were you. He's surely going to perform a whole concert. Run while you still can.' He must've been texting Josh and Ryan. Josh replied instantly: 'Thanks for the warning.' Ryan said: 'Damn it, I'm here. Why didn't you tell me before?'

In the distance, a figure was appearing by the gate. He seemed to be questioning whether to push open the wooden contraption or to turn around and get the hell out of there. He made up his mind after a few beats and ran down the grassy slope to meet everyone else. As he came into the light Eden could see that he was wearing pyjamas. Pink heart shaped sunglasses rested upon his nose. If Eden had been with any other group, he'd have looked out of place but with The Anarchists, he blended right in.