King of the Class

Based on Lord of the Flies by William Golding

Chapter One

The girl with the thick brown hair moved through the thicket at a slow pace. She watched her feet carefully, minding the knots of fallen branches that lay skewed across the forest floor. Her stance was strange, leaned forward in a defeated way unlike her usual perfect posture. When she had finally found her way around a mess of overgrown trees and crushed limbs it had given way to another maze. With a great sigh she leaned against one of the trees and closed her eyes. Her clothes clung to her and dripped with warm seawater down onto the soft earth. The droplet would lie formed on the dirt before vanishing either beneath the ground or back into the air that was heavy with humidity.

A crashing noise from the beside her drew her attention back to where she was. The sound of heavy breathing grew nearer and she turned her body to face the noise. A boy appeared, hazel eyes brightening when he saw her.

"Sharon! I've been looking for someone. I thought...well, I thought I was the only one." His face fell, but passed before his emotion became recognizable.

"Here I am," Sharon said, shrugging her shoulders and offering him a small smile. "Have you seen my friends?" Her face contorted into one of grief but didn't pass as the boy's expression had.

"You mean Lexy and Sydney? No," the boy looked behind him as if he expected them to appear. When they didn't he turned back to Sharon. He studied her a moment, making her squirm under his gaze. "Why are you wet?"

"When the plane crashed...the water...I...swam," Sharon didn't look at him. She turned and disappeared behind a screen of leaves. The crash of undergrowth behind her didn't draw her attention. The boy's breathing could once again be heard directly beside her.

"Ry, why are you following me?" Sharon looked annoyed.

"Don't you think we should stay together and find the others? Where are you going anyways?" Ry returned her annoyed look, running his hands through his short black hair.

"I don't know." His point obviously haven been proved, the girl turned her head to look at him. When he didn't move, she spoke up again. "Aren't you going to lead?"

Ry shrugged his broad shoulders and picked his way through the forest. The light that came through the trees in shafts brightened and he quickened his pace when he saw the open area. Sharon struggled behind him, ripping away from a tree that had snagged her jacket. Fabric remained on the tree limb when she had finally tugged free.

Sharon burst out of the trees and stood still. A sandy beach gave way to an endless rolling ocean. Seagulls cried out and dove into the water, returning with bright silvery fish. The beach ran along as far as she could see to the right and to the left. The emptiness of it caused her to shiver. Despite the crashing waves and the continuous chirp of birds, no happy shouts of children building sand castles together reached her ears nor the stern voice of their parents warning them to not wade too far into the ocean. Ry stood a few paces in front of her, equally still. The wind blew hot air into their shocked faces and returned them to reality.

"Where are we?" Sharon whispered slowly to no one in particular.The ocean faded into blurry shades of blue as tears stung her eyes.

Ry suddenly came back to life and turned back to Sharon. He watched her silent tears but didn't know what to do. Instead he replied quietly, "I don't know." Sharon moved away from him, hiding her tears, and walked along the beach. Her black dress shoes gathered sand and caused her to trip. Frustrated, she leaned forward and ripped them off her feet, abandoning them on the shore. The sand was hot, but she ignored the burning sensation that oozed into her nerves.