Is This Smart? (Under editing and revising)

Chapter 11

When Jennifer comes through the door with the pizzas, I'm still drying my hair out with a towel and she bumps into me with the side of the pizza boxes.

"Oops! Sorry, Chelsea!" She exclaims.

"Hey, what took you so long?" I say, without thinking.

Then, she immediately apologizes again, "Sorry, Chelsea! I was just talking to Jordan, then the elevator decided to take me to the wrong floor."

She crosses the room to the table under the window which curtain has been pulled open, letting in the sunlight from the bright blue Ontario sky. She places the boxes down on top of it while Ann pops off the bed and asks curiously, "Ooh... What did he get?"

With the lift of the lid, Jennifer, replies smoothly, "I don't know. But, he said it was the best pizza in town."

I drop my wet towel to the floor and cross to the desk. Somewhat shyly, I ask, "Is that all he said?"

Jennifer looks into my eyes and says slowly, "Yeah, but he also said he missed you since I went to grab the pizza instead of you. He seemed quite disappointed, actually."

I blush, yet again, look down, and for some reason, I start to play with my necklace. "I'm so glad Jordan found it after--" I think, before my thoughts are cut off by a question from Jennifer, "Did Jordan get that for you?"

I smile and answer, "Yeah, he did. Today, actually. He gave it to me before we went on the boat ride."

At the mention of the lake and boat ride, I can feel my face go pale, even though it was slightly pale to begin with. I'm still feeling very sore, upset, and very shaken up, but I try to hide it and just enjoy the rest of the vacation. But, I can't. The white paleness of my normally bright pink cheeks gives it away. Jennifer slides her arm over my slightly shaking shoulders and gives me a squeeze.

"Well, it looks lovely on you. So, enjoy some of this goodness that Jordan has bought us all." She calmly instructs, while handing me a couple of cheese pizza slices. Gratefully, I take the pizza, flop down on the bed and begin eating the thick-crusted, gooey pizza. I surprise everyone, when I ask, "Do you know what would taste so good with this?"

"What?" She says looking up.

A smile spreads across my face. Ann, knowing exactly what I'm thinking, smiles back, "Pop?"

"Yes! Let's go get some from the vending machine!" I squeal. We always have pop whenever we eat pizza,

Ann agrees, "That's a good idea!"

We both bounce off the beds and dig around for some change in our bags. Eventually, we both have enough, I grab Ann's hand and pull her through the door. When the thick door clicks closed, I turn to Ann and ask her, as I limp down the hall, "Hey, thanks. I really needed to ask you something."

"Yeah? What's up, Chelsea?" Ann says slowly and curiously.

"Well, I don't know, just, just curious, I guess. What did you guys find on that trail? I mean, do I want to know? Why did Jenn look so scared?" I ask hesitantly.

Then, she just comes out with it and admits, "Well, we found a cabin. It looked like the other one, with no windows and all. But, don't worry, Chelsea. Everything is going to be fine."

For some reason, I am not very surprised at all. But, what I am surprised about, is that fact that this news doesn't have a huge impact on me. I don't shake or stop breathing or go pale. I just give a huge sigh, "Wouldn't Jenn want you to keep this a secret from me? I mean, that's what I would do, I guess. So I don't panic or something?"

"Yeah, at first we were going to, but we told Maggie while you where in the shower. So, it's only fair for you to know too." She says with a smile.

By now, we are at the end of the hallway, where the vending machine is located. I run up to the machine and look at the variety of sodas. Ann counts out the change and announces, "We have enough for six. One for each of us. Plus two extras. One for me and one for you."

We eventually decide on two Pepsi's, a Sprite, a Fanta orange drink, a Mountain Dew, and a Dr. Pepper. We pull them out and carry them back down the hall in silence. Neither one of us talks. When we near the door to our room, shouts and sounds of an impact reach our ears. Nearly dropping my pop cans, I look over at Ann, and take off down the hall. When I open the door, I'm both relieved and surprised. Maggie and Jennifer are laughing and hitting each other with the thick, fluffy pillows.

Ever since the beginning of this trip, Maggie has avoided speaking to Jennifer, but now she is laughing like she used to; before she 'forced' her to come on this vacation. I drop the cans into the small refrigerator and shriek, "Pillow fight!"

For nearly an hour, Maggie, Jennifer and I smack each other with pillows while Ann just sits to the side drinking her Pepsi like a normal person. Usually, I am very skilled at the art of pillow fighting, but with our accident earlier and all, I'm not as athletic as normal. Before the end of our 'war', I get smacked in the face. Twice! I'm always the one to hit in my face, in everything I do. From pillow fight to volleyball games to dodgeball tournaments. Everything I do, I can't avoid getting hit in my face.

After everything calms down, I crawl under the comforters. My eyelids are extremely heavy that, I know, staying awake would be an incredible feat. Then, darkness takes over. I sleep soundly.

Well, until I'm woken by evil, torturous, piercing, bloodcurdling screams, that is.