2013 Watty Awards Finalist. Final rank: 3rd.
A drop of water hits a pool somewhere far ahead of me and the sound ricochets back. I slow my walk and run my fingers across the cool rock wall to prevent slipping in the moisture below my feet. The wall is damp and the oppressive darkness ahead gives no warmth. Coming here was a bad idea, a dare gone wrong, but Emily is now just ahead and she seems to have no intention of stopping.
A beam of light soars over my head and refracts off the cold black rock, catching me in the eye. I shield my face from the glare and look down. At my feet is slimy brown algae, making the descent even more treacherous than it already was. There in the algae, I see a single footprint killing probably decades of precious unhindered growth. That must be Emily's. I follow her destructive footsteps deeper into the earth as the light rays behind me swing around the cavern.
Speaking of behind me, that is the boys, Jasper, and Chase. Both are gorgeous in their own way and best friends, lucky for Emily and me since we've been stuck together literally since our mothers sat us together for baby photos. I guess I could say we're so close we have nude photos together.
Jasper has a dark tan, nearly black hair, and fairly large muscles, which is to be expected since he's one of the best guys on the varsity wrestling team and only a junior. I've seen him pick up Emily on multiple occasions, even once over his head with one hand, though it was only for a few seconds. His only flaw, in my opinion, is his dress attire. He always wears the same black tank tops-today being no exception.
Chase is significantly paler than Jasper with blond hair and blue eyes. If Jasper was Spartacus with the oiled chest and perfect tan, Chase was the glow-in-the-dark angel that came down from the heavens to take his soul to a better place. Where Jasper is big Chase is refined, he's also on the varsity wrestling team, however in a much lower weight class.
Today, Chase has his favorite shirt on, a loose fitting white one that nearly went to his knees with a grayscale city on it. In the foreground is a black haired woman with red fingernails and lips holding a hand-rolled joint between her lips. Above the woman's head are the arched words "Live Life".
Chase sometimes acts hard, but he has a big heart. He tries to give off this persona that he doesn't give a shit and all he does is smoke pot and chill with the 'in crowd', but even his hard ass can't hide the butterflies in his stomach or the hearts in his eyes when he's with me. I guess it's pretty obvious now he is my boyfriend. We've been together since freshman year.
Ironically, Jasper looks like a total badass but is 100% a goody tootsie. Hell, half his classes are AP and the other half are honors. He is Emily BFF. Jasper and Emily actually hooked up nearly a year after Chase and me-through me of course. I knew the moment I met Jasper I had to get him to go on a date with her, and oh boy did that work out.
Emily is a small blond girl that's been leading the way. Since we started this double-date-dare, she's been two steps ahead of the pack, leading us deeper and deeper into the unknown. Today she has a white tank and long blue jeans. At first, the boys had no intention of entering the small channel, but she wouldn't take no for an answer. She went in armed with a flashlight and I sure as hell wasn't going to let her go in alone. I guess the boys followed in the end not wanting to be showed up by a pair of girls.
We've been heading on a decline for the past ten or so minutes and the temperature has dropped a few degrees. This is a problem for me. I have a black blouse and white shorts, which is clearly a grave mistake. Outside it was so hot, but the further we descend into the cave the colder it gets. I flinch as my leg catches another pointy rock. That's the second problem, the passage sometimes gets narrow and I keep getting caught by the walls. Not my best wardrobe choice.
