Carrington Academy

Chapter 19

Hey guys!

Sorry I didn't upload yesterday! I was quite busy, with CNY and everything. On Wednesday I might not be able to upload, but i'll try!

Julia :)

~*~

 Chapter 19

The cool afternoon air was among our presence. Kris had her hair braided and as she spread butter on her bread. The boys had gone to get wood. Nikki was just sitting down on a log, enjoying our desperate conversation.

  “How do you block them from your mind?” I had asked Kris before I took the first bite of my mouth-watering sandwich. “Jake told me you knew how.”

  “Oh yes,” Kris and Nikki laughed heartily.

  “It really isn’t nice when someone is always poking into your personal thoughts, right?” Nikki said, smiling.

  “It’s really simply actually,” Kris said, closing the butter container and putting it away.

  “Yeah,” Nikki shrugged.

  “You simply think of two thoughts at the same time.” Kris said, coming to sit opposite of me. “Like for example, just think of a song while thinking of what you’re thinking.”

  “So you just have to keep thinking of two things at a time? And one of them is a song?” I pressed. It seemed easy, now.

  “More or less,” Kris shrugged.

  “Try it later,” Nikki winked at me. I laughed.

When the boys came back, they were sweaty and exhausted. Apparently, they had gone since morning. The result was good though. They had collected a giant heap of wood. It would definitely last us for the remaining three more days.

Chase sat on one of the logs and exhaled loudly. The rest of the boys did the same and seemed to calm their ragged breathing. Then, Chase’s face lit up.

  “I am going to go for a swim. Who’s with me?” Chase said breathlessly. The rest murmured something that sounded like approval. They went to their tents to change. I didn’t budge.

When it got a little boring, I went to my tent. But just as I was about to enter, the entrance flipped open and revealed a startled Nikki who was wearing a big baggy shirt, covering what I assumed to be a bikini inside. Behind her was Kris, in a bikini paired with jean shorts.

  “Oh, you scared me,” I sighed loudly, putting a hand to my chest, where my heart was beating fast.

  “Sorry,” Nikki smiled, “We’re going to the swim with the guys, you coming?”

  “Nah,” I shrugged, “Don’t feel like it.”

  “Ok,” I moved aside and they came out, “See you.” Kris hollered.

Just before Chase exited his tent, I stopped him. I asked whether I could borrow his guitar and he happily allowed, just warning me not to scratch it.

When I thought the coast was clear, I sat on one of the logs and sound-checked the guitar. It was tuned. I smiled. Then, I strummed to the chords of my new favourite song.

I had planned on playing it instrumental, but I found myself singing along with it not long after.

I remember tears streaming down your face

When I said, I'll never let you go

When all those shadows almost killed your light

I remember you said, Don't leave me here alone

But all that's dead and gone and passed tonight

Just close your eyes

The sun is going down

You'll be alright

No one can hurt you now

Come morning light

You and I'll be safe and sound

I sang and sang. It felt nice to strum the guitar while singing. I strummed the last chord and smiled to myself goofily.

  “Your voice is beautiful,” Jake’s husky voice startled me. I quickly looked around to find him. He was sitting opposite me, a smile on his face. No, not a smirk, a smile; a real smile.

  “O-Oh, t-thanks,” I blushed and tugged a strand of hair behind my ear.

  “Why didn’t you go swim with the others?” He asked nicely.

  “Didn’t feel like it,” I answered honestly. I liked swimming, I just…I just wanted time alone I guess. “What about you?”

  “Same,” He answered simply and shrugged.

Then, I decided to head to my tent. I stood up and held the guitar in one hand. Suddenly, I tripped on a small rock and face planted the floor. I quickly scrambled to my feet. I didn’t even bother to dust the dirt off my clothes. It was first instinct for me to check the guitar for scratches.

I quickly sat on the edge of the log and placed the guitar on my lap, examining it carefully, and then flipping it to the other side. Jake looked at me confused.

  “You fall down and all you care about is the guitar?” He asked puzzled.

  “Well, yeah, Chase said not to scratch it,” I said, glancing at me for a mere second before looking back to the guitar.

  “Oh god,” He groaned and disappeared to his tent.

I was confused, at first. Then, when he came back, he was holding a first-aid kit in one hand. He came and sat down next to me, plucked the guitar gently out of my hands, settled it behind him and turned my body to face him. He then brushed the hair away from my right cheek and brushed it gently. It stung and I winced.

I didn’t even feel it scratch. I was so stupid. When he pulled back his hand, I saw some blood on it.

  “You don’t even know there’s a deep scratch on your cheek,” He said, searching for something in the first-aid kit.

  “Didn’t feel it,” I mumbled.

  “Stop me if it hurts,” He said softly.

He pulled out some cotton and dabbed it on my wound, I winced and he slowed down. Then, he applied some medicine on it and put a bandage on it. It burned a bit but otherwise it didn’t really hurt.

  “Thanks,” I said, “for taking care of me.”

  “Don’t mention it,” Jake said, smiling, “I just don’t want you to get hurt.”

I was touched by his words and blushed. Then, he turned to the direction of the waterfall, and sighed.

  “They’re coming,” Jake said, “You might want to explain your wound.” He winked and left.

~*~

I had changed into a tank-top and some shorts. I had steered clear of them, wanting to avoid their questions, only wanting answering them when we gathered. As I made my way to the circle, the heat from the campfire grew.

  “Whoa, Rose, what happened to you?” Alex asked concerned.

  “I face-planted the floor,” I shrugged and Jake sent me a knowing-look, “Jake helped me to clean the cut.”

  “Oh, are you okay?” Kris asked.

  “Yeah, I am pretty much fine.” I gave them a warm smile. That seemed to do the job.