The Sleeping Arrangement

Chapter 8

Two days before setting off to Sunnybrook, I'd been standing in my bedroom packing my suitcase, debating whether I should bring my good shoes or an old pair. My good shoes were leather ankle boots and I wore them everywhere. My old shoes were a pair of red Converse that had patterns scribbled all over the front in black biro. They had holes in the soles and the laces were frayed, but they were comfortable to wear. For this reason (and because my leather ankle boots cost way too much to get damaged on a school trip) Mum made me take the Converse. I'd also opted to take one of my favourite jumpers with me, simply to impress Thomas. It was red, so at least it matched my shoes.

However, that afternoon I quickly realised colour co-ordinating your outfits didn't matter so much when you were about to embark upon Sunnybrook's toughest obstacle course with a boy who apparently had no fear of mud or dirt of any sort. I also learnt that it wasn't the greatest idea to wear canvas shoes with holes in the soles, especially not when they were the only pair of shoes you'd bought with you to last the entire trip.

Put it this way: we got dirty and wet.

We woke up bright and early (actually, scrap that—there was nothing bright about the situation, for the simple fact that it was early and we'd had hardly any sleep after everything that had happened with Ben and Hayley during the night) to meet the rest of the group downstairs in the dining hall. Hayley handed out little bags that contained our orienteering equipment during breakfast, and when everyone had eaten she took us outside to where the fields were and set us off on our first activity: map-reading skills. It was the most boring task ever. We all had to walk around in our pairs, finding different areas on the map and noting down the colour of the little wooden sign waiting for us in each spot. Thomas and I spent the majority of the time talking and avoiding all contact with Lizzie and Ben. We found five colours altogether, and didn't win the prize.

When it was all over, we headed back to the main building to collect lunch, and it was then that Hayley ordered us to change into our 'scruffy clothes'. Knowing that I was going to be paired with Thomas again, I decided against doing so (besides, my other jumper was all dirty from being worn over the past two days and I really didn't want him to be able to smell me before he saw me...ick). I chose to wear my red jumper instead, with jeans and my Converse with holey soles. I scraped my hair back into a ponytail and met the others down by the entrance to the youth centre.

"Okay, everybody," Hayley shouted out to the group, "it's just begun to rain so I'm warning you now, you're going to get muddy out there. But I don't want any complaints. Think about it—you could be stuck in a classroom back at school right now, having to sit through a boring Maths lesson, or something." Sure. Because that would have been so much worse... I raised my eyebrows at Thomas and he laughed beside me.

It took us about ten minutes to walk to the obstacle course. It was nestled by woodland, and I stepped in about five deep puddles on the way, so by the time we arrived my feet were already soaked through. The rain was coming down hard, and it fell through the leaves of the trees in big splotches, wetting my clothes and causing my hair to hang in clumps around my head. I wasn't too interested in how I looked, though—I was far too busy enjoying the fact Lizzie was struggling to keep up the Miss Perfect act. Her mascara had run beneath her eyes and her blonde hair stuck to her head in the most unattractive way, so that her eyes seemed to bulge out of her face and her body looked out of proportion. I noticed how Thomas didn't take a second glance at her.

That said, I didn't notice Thomas taking a second glance at anybody today. Other than speaking to me, he seemed uninterested in socialising with anyone else. Not that I minded; I liked having his attention. I'd also been finding it so much easier to hold a conversation with him after the past few days, which just made the whole situation much better.