Cupcake & I

46

pov : aira

People talked to me like they knew me for years. It was new to me. Having no friends in my childhood, it was hard to have so many people be friendly with me all of a sudden. Some of them praised me, some of them found me an inspiration, some of them genuinely wanted to be friends with me. They were genuine. I spoke to Rosetta today and she was more than amused with my progress. She said that she heard about the show last night and was secretly proud of me. She was a good acquaintance — more like a friend now.

I can say that I have talked to half of the camp right now. Well, except Fleur and Vanessa, whom I realised was also in the camp later on in the day. Vanessa had crossed my path and I expected her to give me some snarky comment but none came my way which left me confused. What happened all of a sudden? It's a good thing but still, it has been bothering me to be honest. Why can't I be just happy about it like normal people would? Be optimistic, my little pessimistic soul.

It's a wonder how a little confidence, a little hope and a little love can do a lot to a person. It makes everything much easier. It makes life much easier. Hope for a better life, kept me going in my dark days back at home — Should I even call it that? Confidence to face your demons. And, love to know that you will never be alone.

I haven't seen Oliver for the whole day even though we are in the same group — Panthera. Uncle West mentioned the progress in a small gathering during the afternoon. He said that Panthera was the leading group. He also said that there is a surprise waiting for us tomorrow.

Darkness had fallen all over the forest and the sound of crickets echoed around the trees. A small breeze flew, tingling my skin. I looked down to see goosebumps rise on my arms and thighs. Yes, you heard that right. My thighs are bare. I smiled as I traced the new tattoo going down from my hip to my thigh. A dark red rose — beautiful but deadly. Every rose has its thorn. My new friend, Archie Hunter drew a beautiful dark rose along the scar using the scar as the stalk of the plant. The other small scars and bruises were covered by rose petals.

No, I am not hiding them behind my tattoos. I'm showing that those who fear the thorns cannot pick the roses. I felt reborn today. I felt new and that I have finally moved on from my past. Because of that, I took the effort to put on makeup today and look good. My face was glowing and I felt like my heart was glowing too. Samantha was ecstatic about my new tattoo that she got one of too. A small feather tattoo on her wrist. When I asked her the meaning, she had given me a sad smile before saying that she was fragile as a feather too. It baffled me how a strong person like her could be fragile. But, thinking of the times when she cried over Ashton made me realise that she was a fragile person inside. Deep inside.

I wonder what Oliver would say when he sees my tattoo.

Today, we had done an activity — like a treasure hunt. It was super fun and exciting. Samantha tripped herself on a log and got her leg scratched. She was whining about it the entire time that even Tessa, the redhead who was always silent had to ask her to shut up. Samantha's expression was priceless. Our group won though. I didn't expect our group to win because we had been slacking most of the way, forgetting that we were still in the game half of the time. We were just enjoying too much of nature and ourselves that when we saw the next clue lying right in front of us, we had almost walked past it. It was pretty fun and tiring. My legs ached from all the walking and jogging.

"Do you swallow or spit?" Orlando, the Daughter of Michael Coventry, a famous actor asked.

The water I was drinking from the bottle flew out of my mouth and landed in front of the small fire I and the other girls had set up. Currently, we were sitting in a circle, playing truth or dare. At least ten girls were sitting around and it was Samantha's turn to answer the question now.