Bitten by the In Crowd

Chapter 3:

James's use of the word "car" may have been a little misleading. When I walked out to the parking lot, Stella and Jenna --the one with the white hair-- were perched in the bed of a old blue pickup truck. As I approach them they don't see me coming, but I can hear them whispering in hushed voices. 

"I know we have to do what he says, but this is wrong." Stella sounds ancy and stressed out. 

"You have to trust his instincts. And they're telling him that it's her." Jenna says, trying to calm Stella down. 

But she only gets angrier. "It can't be! She's a-" She breaks off as Jenna nudges her and they turn to face me. 

"Are you coming home with us?" Jenna asks cheerfully. 

My palms start to sweat nervously. "James invited me. I hope it's okay with everyone."

Jenna plasters on an award-winning smile. "We'd love to have you!" Her enthusiasm is slowly crossing over into the scary range. She strikes me as a quiet person, but she's putting on a facade of energy for some reason. 

Were they talking about me? Is that what she's trying to cover up? Before I get a chance to dwell any further on it, I hear people coming up behind us. The rest of the group has arrived and they all start jumping up and into the bed of the truck. There are some blankets laid down across the bed which tells me they probably ride back there a lot. 

"You can come sit up front with me." Mira winks at me and hops into the driver's side of the cab. I climb up into the other side and put my book bag on the floor between my feet. I look around and notice that none of them have any books with them. I wouldn't think they were the type to blow off homework, but I guess I don't really know enough about them to make assumptions.

Mira turns the key and the truck roars to life. It must be pretty old with the way the engine rumbles as she pulls out of the parking lot and onto the open road. "So how was your first day?" Mira asks casually as she slides a pair of sunglasses over her emerald green eyes and tucks a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

"To be honest, kind of strange." I admit, looking out the window, studying the trees as we pass by them.

Mira smiles. "Yeah it can take some time to get used to a new place." She sympathizes kindly. I squint my eyes a little. I think she knows that's not what I meant, but I ignore it.

I look through the back window at all the other kids in truck bed and see that they're all laughing and throwing things at each other. I don't know how they can be so energetic all of the time. Don't they ever tire out?

"I get jealous sometimes." Mira blurts out when she sees me observing them. My eyes dart to her and she explains. "My boyfriend, Jason, graduated last year." She says quietly. "The others still get to spend all day with the ones they love."

"Is it the same with James?" I ask curiously, going out on a limb.

Mira finally glances at me, but only briefly. "No." She states. "James isn't.... seeing anyone. At least not right now." She sounds nervous and her cheeks are starting to fill with the heat of an anxious blush.

"Oh, okay." I let it go, sensing that she doesn't really want to talk about it.

We don't talk for the rest of the ride, but eventually Mira pulls into a dense forest. The truck bounces back and forth over the rough dirt road and I have no idea where we are going. I guess they live somewhere in the woods if they're near this so called waterfall. There's also probably a fifty-fifty chance I'm about to get murdered. Maybe they're all part of some nomadic farm cult that worships the tree gods. It would definitely explain why they all live together in the same house.