The Island

Act Your Age

Lizzie's POV

I padded into the thick brush, heading to the same place that I had been for almost two weeks. I knew what I was doing was bad, but I couldn't help myself. The air was thick and humid, and I giggled at the thought of poor Piggy trying to breathe in the round state he is. I remembered his asthma and hoped that he didn't have an attack.

"So you're back again? I thought Jack would have found out where you've been going by now." Ralph's voice echoed behind me.

"I sneak out while nobodies looking, then tell him I was swimming or something when I get back." I replied, turning around to look at the shaggy haired boy. His hair had grown quite a bit longer than what it was when we first landed at the island.

"Smart. But you do know one day Jack will follow you here." He countered.

"Yeah, well he can't control me. I know he thinks he can, but in all honesty he can't." I shrugged. "Anyway, what was it that you wanted to show me?" I asked. He nodded and grabbed my hand, pulling me in the direction of his camp. My mind whirled with thoughts, mostly about Simon. What would he think when he saw me there? I hadn't talked to him in weeks, not since the whole Roger incident. And Piggy- what would he think? Ralph said he'd grown to despise Jack's group, which means he could do so much as tell me to leave.

We made it to his camp and neither Simon nor Piggy were anywhere to be seen. I sighed in relief and peered over at Ralph, then back to the camp. It was a lot different then what it was before, that was for sure. The storm knocked over a bunch of trees; my hut and many others were destroyed. There were large palm leaves resting against a fallen tree, and I guessed that was there shelter. It looked messy, unlike what it was when we first got to the island. So much had changed since we got there, and it saddened me.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Ralph asked, turning towards me and grabbing my small hands in his large ones.

"Oh, nothing. Just thinking about when we first got here. So much has changed." I sighed. "I wish it would just go back to when we first got here." I looked down at our feet.

"Don't be sad, pretty miss. I wish it would go back too, but some things have changed for the best." He soothed. I sighed lightly and looked up at him. He shot me a reassuring smile and pulled me towards the shoreline. The cold water tickled my feet as we walked toward what looked like a large sand castle. "Simon, Piggy and I built this for you. They weren't planning on showing it to you, but I thought you may want to see it." He smiled and gestured towards the sand castle. It wasn't perfect, as three young boys made it, but it was perfect to me. It was decorated with pretty shells and jungle flowers.

"It's beautiful," I smiled. "I love it!" I pulled him into a tight hug, and he didn't hesitate to pull me closer.

"So," He began, sounding unsure of what he was about to say. "how's things in Jack's camp?" He asked, scratching the back of his neck and looking down.

"Pretty nice actually. Roger and I have gotten closer, and he's actually really cool. He helps me make flower crowns and stuff. Jack doesn't really like that I hang out with him because he thinks that I'm going to fall in love with him or something, but I'm definitely not into him like that. I've decided that I should start acting my age instead of acting like I'm much older. I'm sick and tired of having to choose between guys. I don't like all the romance that's happened." I began, sitting down on the soft sand and digging my toes into it. "I know I can't exactly run from my past, there's nowhere to go. But I'd like to at least try to have a new start. I'll forget about all this romance and trouble that I've caused and focus on the fun. I don't think I've even thought of all the things I can do without worrying about if an adult is going to find out." I looked up at him. He looked deep in thought. He sat down and sighed, digging a hole in the sand.