Chaptire Douze: Trinket
(Warning: gender dysphoria)
Mackenzie was stuck between a rock and a hard place.
She craved for her bed, the sound of her skateboard scrapping pavement and the burning sensation of a Newport poisoning her lungs. Mackenzie missed bruising after baseball practice, her mom's shitty meals and her dad's tales about his chaotic flights. She wanted to go home, but back there they knew her as someone else. Out here, she was a stranger which meant that she didn't have to carry the weight of expectations or the pain of disappointment. She could be whatever she wanted to be, she could be Mackenzie.
Mom must be worried sick.
Without the blackbox, they can't find us. They probably gave up the search.
God, I would do unspeakable things for a Dr. Pepper right now.
What if they find out about Malcom?
It was that thought that finally stopped the blonde dead in her tracks and made her escort frown at her.
"Are you ok?" Laura Lee asked, watching as the girl wiped her face in aggravation.
The sound of her voice silenced the one in Mack's head and caused her to blink back into focus. She eventually bobbed her head, offering her a small smile as she adjusted the compass in her hand, "Yeah, sorry, I'm just getting a little tired."
"Mm, we should hurry then. The sun will set soon." She stated and then began to walk ahead of the shorter girl. Mackenzie sighed, looking behind them briefly before moving forward.
Earlier that day, Mack announced that she was going try and find a way to fix the radios on either their plane or the dead guy's own. Everyone knew that it was pointless, their panel was beyond fucked and the other one was collecting more dust mites than signals but no one bothered to argue against the idea. No one besides Taissa, of course, who called it a waste of time.
It's been a few weeks since the crash and Mack managed to develop a crush, gained an 'enemy' and made a friend or two.
Each day she found an excuse to make a pass to Van and each time, without fail, she would either smile or tell her to knock it off. Her face would also get redder than the times before, which gave Mackenzie some hope. Sure, it's juvenile to think about your love life when you should be worried about your life period, but Mack needed a little pick me up. So, she would poke Van with a cupid's arrow in one hand and would hold her middle finger up at Taissa with the other.
If only Mackenzie found satisfaction with being her love rival. But no, she truly meant it when she decided to peel back her layers, even if it meant poking a bear. When Taissa was in the right, Mackenzie wanted to be in the wrong. When she would call the shots and the blonde would question her credibility. And when Tai tried to denounce any sort of superstation, like the devil she is, Mack would encourage it. She even began to host nightly ghost stories in protest to Taissa claiming that they don't exist. She was a thorn in her side and honestly, Mackenzie was getting a kick out of it.
And when she wasn't busy being a Cassanova or tormenter, she was trying to be a good friend. She would accompany Vicktoriya on walks to help build her stamina and she would listen to Laura Lee's rambles, even if it meant hearing about God a thousand times. Mack would even wave off suspecting eyes on Lottie as she believed that she should 'feel the vibes of the forest' in peace. She only thought of the first two and even Van as friends, but before they left Lottie told her to be careful, so, they were getting somewhere with that.
