Somewhere in the Trees

one

Hours have passed since we started our trek into the woods. My legs are aching, I'm sweating, and if I have to listen to another minute of Zoe's detailed hookup stories, I'm going to go insane.

Our professor, Professor Kitt, leads the way, while the rest of the class trails behind him, dodging different branches and rocks on our dirt path. The notebook clutched in my hand has several pages of messy scribble documenting the different types of plants, trees and mushrooms we've identified during this "informative hike".

"What do you think?" Zoe asks me. Her voice is so loud it's embarrassing.

The class is spread out, there's only nine of us in total, but the way her voice is carrying through the peaceful forest, there's no doubt in my mind that everybody can hear her vulgar stories.

"Um," I keep my eyes on the rocks beneath my sneakers. "What'd you say again?"

"Of course you weren't listening," she huffs.

"I'm sorry, I'm kind of focused on not tripping right now," I say, meaning to remove the aggravation from my tone.

I'm terrified. We're miles into the woods. I know something's wrong, I can see it in Professor Kitt's demeanor. He's quieter than he was before, he's looking down at his map constantly, and he keeps rubbing the back of his neck. Nobody else seems to notice or care.

From what I can see of the sky through the treetops, gloomy clouds have rolled in, covering the cloudless blue we'd started the hike with. There's a breeze that feels a lot like an unforgiving rain is about to torment us and I didn't bring a raincoat. I can't stop imagining us starving to death in these woods, but I'm doing everything in my power not to show it. The last thing I need is for Zoe to see me overreacting as I usually do.

"I asked if you think I'm a slut," Zoe says, jolting me out of my mind. I look over at her, thinking she's joking, but her crystal blue eyes are wide and serious.

"Why would you be?"

"Because I'd bang Professor Kitt," she says shamelessly.

My face heats up. Our professor's only a few feet in front of us. "Maybe keep your voice down? He's gonna hear you."

"So? Who knows, he might even feel the same way," she shrugs.

"Gross," I say as I shake my head. "He's probably, like, fifty."

It's really not the wildest take Zoe's had. Professor Kitt's not a bad looking guy. He's tall, with salt-and-pepper hair and glasses perched on a long nose. He exudes intelligence, especially when he's passionately lecturing us about biology and plants and whatever else.

"I've done worse things in my life," she says.

"True."

There's a long bout of silence. Leaves crunch and twigs snap beneath our feet.

"Anyways, how's Liam doing?" Zoe asks.

I continue to keep my eyes on Professor Kitt, watching his every move, desperate to control my heart rate. "Good," I reply, distracted.

"We need to mix with his frat again soon," she says. "They're so much fun. We're supposed to party with Pi Kap tonight, so I'm probably gonna end up seeing Bradley. We'll see how that goes... You're coming, right?"

I don't respond, so she nudges me with her elbow.

"Right?" she asks again.

If we ever get out of these woods, I want to say. I can't show her how worried I am, she'd think I was nuts if she could hear the inside of my head right now. I take a few deep breaths to calm myself and nod. "Yeah, I should be."