Complicated People, Complicated Love

Thanksgiving

Maya

      Tomorrow's thanksgiving and none of my friends have an idea of what to do. It doesn't really matter to me, my mom and I have always just gone over to Riley's and eaten with her family. This year though, my mom and Topanga are going to a spa and Mr. Matthews had the brilliant idea to assign the class a giant essay that he now has to grade.

       I'm with Lucas in my room, I'm drawing a giraffe at my desk and he's reading some kind of nerdy book on my bed. "What about camping!" I jump at the sudden sound in my silent room.

      "What?" I ask turning towards Lucas. He's put his book down, is sitting up and has a giant smile on his face.

      "Camping! For thanksgiving!"

      "Um. Why?" He gets up, still with the huge smile.

       "It'll be so much fun! Please, have you ever even been camping?" I think about it, no, and I don't really want to. He looks so excited though. I sigh.

      "Fine," I smile at his smile. He pulls me to my feet and puts both hands to my face, drawing me in for a short kiss.
     
                                . . .

    We finally arrive in the forest at 4 In the afternoon, it's not even a campsite. Riley, Farkle and Zay also came with us.

      "Can I crash in either one of these tents with you guys 'cause insects really love to nibble on my sweet chocolate skin so I would prefer to be inside something," Zay asks us.

       "Not it!" Lucas and I yell at the same time.

        "Dang it!" Riley exclaims.

       "I love you guys too," Zay says with a smile and throws his sleeping bag into Riley and Farkle's tent.

        "Why didn't you bring your own tent?" Farkle complains.

       "My family put raw bacon in the laundry machine and-"

        "Never mind! I don't want to know," Farkle says walking away sulking. Lucas put up both tents in less than ten minutes.

      I open the car trunk to get some soda from the cooler, but the cooler is the only thing I see. Not the three bags of fruit and pumpkin pie and mashed potatoes. I open the cooler and it's filled with twenty waters. Only waters.

      "Um, I'm pretty sure we packed all the food didn't we?" The four of them come and look.

       "I took the food out," Lucas says. We stare at him, astonished. "We're gonna get our food the way the real pilgrims got it!. Hunting!" No one says anything, just stares at him.

       "I spent two hours making that pie!" Riley exclaims.

      "Well, now you can gather fresh pumpkins, or whatever kind of food grows out here," Farkle comforts her as she looks at him, annoyed as hell.

      "Yeah, Lucas this is crazier than a lobster eating a cow," Zay complains.

     "Lucas," I pull him to the side by his arm. "What are you doing?"

       "What do you mean? Come on this will be fun!" I sigh. This seems like the farthest thing from fun honestly, but he's my boyfriend and I need to show him that I support him.

       I turn to the others and clap my hands to get their attention. "Okay guys, let's give this a try, it's not like we want to drive all the way back home. For all we know it could be fun," they groan but don't argue.

      "I'll take that as a yes!" Lucas says happily. "Okay, girls you gather, and us men will hunt!" Yeah yeah whatever crazy dude.

                                 . . .

       Riley and I drove to the nearest store about twenty miles down the road and get some fruit that looked like we could have actually found it in the woods.

      We tried to gather from the woods, we really did, but there was nothing. There was poison oak, but no nuts or fruit at all.

      "You think they'll notice?" Riley asks as we drop some apples in the dirt to make them look more natural.