Forgive Me

Chapter Seven

"What is going on here," exclaimed Jorrie as she examined the "directions" set out on the lab table. "These aren't directions!"

Wordlessly, she angled the paper so Green could read it. He shuffled in slightly closer, much to the horror of Jorrie. VH boys, seemingly as a rule, never smelled horrible. Many were born out of wealthy families, as they went to a private school, and hygiene is key for many rich individuals. Still, Jorrie was startled by Green's breathtakingly beautiful, fresh scent.

She jerked back, bumping sharply into his shoulder.

"Sorry." he mumbled, taking a large step away.

They stood in awkward silence for a bit until Mrs. Thorn breezed towards them.

"Ms Death? Mr... Death?" she paused for a moment.

"Jorrie," she exclaimed. "I didn't know you had a brother!"

"Oh... ummm..." Jorrie was speechless. Didn't Mrs. Thorn recall how Jorrie had no family left? She was all alone. On second thought, though, perhaps not. Maybe Green was a distant relation.

"Oh yeah," Jorrie attempted a friendly grin. "We're actually third... cousins."

"Lovely, but make sure you're getting to work. You only have about half an hour left."

"Uh yeah," Jorrie stammered. "But I thought this was some kind of performance task. All that's on this paper is questions!"

"Exactly," laughed Thorn. "I didn't want to ruin the surprise of the survival trip for students who haven't had Weaponry yet. You have a different task as both of you have already had that class today."

She strode away, leaving Jorrie and Green to their work.

Suddenly, Jorrie realized that Green hadn't spoken a word to the teacher during the entire encounter. It was if he hadn't been there at all. He was just so confusing! One minute he was there talking his head off to her, and the next he was fading away into the background.

"Alrighty," Green squinted at the paper, a little farther away this time. " So this is really just a set of questions."

"Fire away." she grinned as his mouth tilted up into a smile.

"Question one," he read aloud dramatically. "You are faced with a five-hundred pound glung bear, and are armed with a yu hook, sarane knife, and a net. Which weapon do you use? Explain."

"Did you add that?" Jorrie teased.

"What? The explain part?" He laughed. "Possibly."

"Oh I love glung bears," she sighed. "Do I really have to kill it?"

"Faced with death," he pretended to mull it over. "I'm thinking... yes!"

"Seriously," she moaned. "They're the perfect mix between a fierce polar bear and a tiny black bear."

Honestly, she would prefer not to use any of the weapons against it. The yu hook was a dreadful, deadly weapon used to pull in the enemy while injuring it severely. And the sarane knife, though it felt so good to throw with its perfect balance, would hurt the poor creature ever so much.

"Jorrie," he sobered for a moment. "Do you seriously not want to kill the threatening bear about to slice you to pieces?"

She smiled lightly, ignoring his question.

"I'd use the yu hook; pull it in slow enough so it... dies."

"Spot on." he joked, causing her to chuckle.

The period went on in this way, and Jorrie realized to her surprise that she was enjoying herself. Green was just so likeable with his easy laugh and patient mood.