Wicked Games (Student/teacher)

Chapter 5

The wheels screeched as the bus struggled up the hill. Hayden and Emily chose a seat near the back. They listened to music on Emily's iPod while sharing the earphones. They were on their way to a camp sight for their camping trip. The third year's did it every year. A certain number of staff accompanied the students. It was a way of bonding with their peers and educators while learning survival skills. It went on for three days. Emily and Hayden would share a tent with Jessica and Melissa, while Alex, Sam and Duncan shared one with Jake. The bus came to a stop after it pulled into the camp sight. Two other buses followed suit. Everyone rushed out to get their bags. Pillows were being thrown from one person to another until it reached the owner. Hayden kept hers on the trip. She spotted her big, blue bag being piled beside the rest on the ground. Her purple toiletry bag soon followed. She made her way to collect them and helped Emily locate hers. Soil clung to the bottom of Emily's neon pink bag. Her blonde curls hung just above her shoulders and swung to and fro as she walked over to Sam and Duncan. Hayden followed. "There you guys are!" Melissa and Jessica called as they approached the group. Jake and Alex, followed by Cassy joined their friends who sat on the green bench beside one of the buses. All around, bags were being tossed to people as others sat at benches or mingled in small groups. A whistle was blown and, in response, everyone lined up in their groups of four. The strict-looking man who had blown the whistle instructed them to set up their tents in the areas they were given. The girls were on the opposite side of the boys. The staff, however, would spend their nights in the dormitories beside the bathrooms. A building containing a small hall and kitchen was near the boys side. Everyone broke up and got to work on setting up their tents. Jessica proved to be pretty handy when it came to assembling a tent while Hayden kept to herself, knowing she would either fall and break something or attempt to help and end up disassembling the tent by mistake. She rubbed her boot into the soil, drawing a disfigured butterfly. "We need the blankets," came Melissa's voice. "I can get them," Hayden perked before grabbing the bundle of dull-coloured blankets. The tent was quite large and could easily accommodate four people. The girls were pleased with their hard work and, in satisfaction, joined the boys at their tent which was still in the process of being set up.

"I'm just going to the bathroom," Hayden whispered to Emily before making her way to the small building. A few of her peers, followed by staff, passed her by. She rinsed her hands of the soil and tied her hair into a high, messy bun. The bathroom was dimly lit and contained five stalls and six showers that had rather transparent curtains. She took one last look in the mirror before leaving. She heard a noise behind her and turned her head in the direction of the noise which seemed to have originated from behind the building. Suddenly, her body collided with a hard chest, the impact made her bounce back and turn her head so that she could see Reed standing in front of her. His hair had lengthened. Dark eyes stared down at her. "Careful," he said before walking off in the direction she just came. She watched him walk as she bit her lip. She shook her head. "Get a hold of yourself, Hayden," she told herself before heading over to her friends.

"You okay?" Alex asked, noticing Hayden had something on her mind. "Yeah," she reassured him, "need help with anything?" He shook his head, "Nope, we're basically done here. Let's go for a walk." The two walked off, following the gravel road near the hall. "I can't wait for the rock climbing," Alex said. "Rock climbing?" Hayden repeated nervously. "Yes. You scared?" He asked teasingly. "No!" She replied, covering her shaky voice with irritation. Alex knew she was just putting on a brave face, Hayden was terrified of heights. That and confined spaces. Reed walked past with a crate containing ingredients in his hands. Alex stopped him, "Mr. Donovan! I hear you're our chef for the week." Hayden forced herself to meet his eyes which were already on her. He looked to Alex, "That's right, so if you keep me up at night, I'll put laxatives in your soup." The two laughed before Alex continued walking, tugging Hayden's sleeve for her to follow. Reed didn't seem very fond of Alex, but Hayden could just be jumping to conclusions.

Everyone gathered in the hall for dinner. The first group of people to help with the kitchen staff was Hayden's group. A few very attractive girls and surfer dudes surrounded Hayden as they got their instructions from Mr. Donovan. Hayden felt very insecure around all the girls. She knew she had a nice figure, but these girls got attention from everyone who passed them by. Even Mr. Donovan seemed to enjoy their company while he ignored Hayden. One of the girls had to wear a hairnet, but wore her hair loose which hung out of it. Hayden didn't see the point of even wearing the thing if she wasn't going to at least tie her hair up. Hayden made a mental note to herself to stay away from the spaghetti which the girl was serving. Mr. Donovan came out with a box of small bottles of milkshakes piled and placed them on the floor. He called Hayden over. "Give each person one as they get their meal," he instructed, "They can choose between the two flavours." Hayden glanced at the pink and brown bottles, "Can I put one aside for myself?" He nodded, "Sure. Make sure the rest of your group gets as well." He disappeared into the kitchen. Hayden tore open the plastic and pulled out a strawberry flavoured milkshake and placed it on the ground beside her bag. She adjusted her black tights before unpacking the rest, the other girls could get their own later. People started flowing through the line, taking all the chocolate milkshakes and leaving the strawberry. Alex, Duncan, Sam and Emily stood in front of the table Hayden was at. "Hey guys, chocolate or strawberry?" She asked them. "Chocolate," Duncan said, eyeing the box. "Take strawberry, it's good," Hayden pleaded. "I want chocolate," Duncan argued. "Yeah," came Sam's voice. Hayden reluctantly handed the boys their choice of flavour. "I'll take a strawberry," Emily said smiling. Hayden returned the friendly smile and gratefully handed her a strawberry milkshake. They walked back to their table, leaving Hayden to serve the growing line of people.

Hayden bent down to pick up another box and as she grabbed it, she felt someone spank her rear end. Shocked, she quickly stood up and looked around to see Reed grinning as he walked over to the pale blonde beside her. He made his way back to the kitchen and as he passed Hayden, she stopped him and asked, "What should I do once the chocolate runs out?" He looked down to see only several brown coloured bottles left. "They will have to take the strawberry." She nodded and proceeded with her chore.

"Guys, dish up for yourselves," Reed told the group. Hayden grabbed a plate and put a handful of chips and a burger on it. She picked up her bag and her hidden milkshake and made her way to sit beside Emily. "Can I tell you what happened?" she whispered to Emily. Emily turned to face her and whispered, "What?" Hayden quickly opened her milkshake. "Mr. Donovan slapped my ass," she said. Emily's eyes grew, "What? Are you serious? That's so wrong! He better stay away from you or I'll do something." Hayden immediately regretted telling her friend and turned to face her meal. "Relax, I'm sure it was nothing." Emily continued to freak out so Hayden blocked her out.

Everyone made their way to the showers. Hayden decided to shower in the morning rather. After everyone had cleaned up, they headed to the hall with their mugs to get some hot chocolate. Hayden was near the front of the line and could see Reed standing by the machine pouring hot chocolate for everyone to ensure that they all got equal amounts. Hayden stood by him and handed him her cup. "You look tired," he said with a smirk. "I'm exhausted," she replied and took the cup. He gave her a promiscuous look as she followed Emily to the tent.

The girls snuggled their blankets as the temperature dropped. Hayden couldn't feel her feet, but exhaustion took over, and so, she soon fell asleep.