Worth It

Chapter 6

A muffled giggle and a few clicks of a camera invaded Monica's ears, but she didn't care enough to turn around. The scene in front of her held her captive as if she herself were a photograph, stuck in a single moment. If Monica's eyes could take photos she would use that opportunity now, but she knew no picture could compare to seeing this with her own eyes.

A few weeks had passed since Monica and Samantha had stargazed together, and Autumn and Kelsey had invited Monica on another adventure with them. So far, this one was turning out to be almost as good as the first.

They had hiked all morning up the North Wood Rockies, the mini mountains that stood at the edge of town, a border between Warroad and the next town over.

Finally they had reached the top and Monica was captivated by the heavenly view. The whole town was stretched out before her, so far away and yet so close as if she could reach out a hand and touch the roof tops of the houses. The sky beckoned to Monica so bright, blue, and inviting. It made her wish she could fly. She watched the clouds float by so carefree. You would think that being so high up would make the clouds seem closer, but if anything they felt just as far out of reach.

"It's beautiful," Monica managed to croak out as she turned and smiled at her friends. Kelsey stood with her light brown hair sticking out of the back of her baseball cap, held in place by a ponytail. Her always present camera rested in her hand, although in a moment it would bepressed up against her face collecting memories of their adventure. Autumn lay on her stomach in the tall grass greatly in need of mowing, her long strawberry blonde hair tangled and covered in strands of grass. Monica envied her carefree attitude.

"Other than Willow Lake, this is one of the most peaceful places in town," smiled Autumn as Kelsey took a few pictures of whatever her eye was attracted to.

"I can't believe you are showing me all these beautiful private places," whispered Monica still in awe of the view.

"Monica,"smiled Kelsey shaking her head at her somewhat absurd comment."You're our friend. We want to share these places with you so you can understand why we love them so much."

Monica smiled at Kelsey and wanted to say something back, but Autumn interrupted the conversation. "Let's eat! I'm starving!"

"You're always starving," said Kelsey rolling her eyes in Autumns general direction.

"I'm not sure why you consider this a problem..." questioned Autumn as she opened her backpack and pulled out an apple.

Kelsey sighed, but gave up when Monica joined Autumn on the grass for their lunch. The three girls happily ate in silence enjoying the view and the cool breeze that swept over them. Soon it would be too cold for these outdoor adventures.

"What do you guys do in the winter when you can't have adventures outside?" asked Monica genuinely curious.

"We have indoor adventures! Although they aren't as much fun," pouted Autumn.

Once the girls finished eating, and had picked up their trash, they stood up. Kelsey opened her mouth, but before any words could escape a bush rustled nearby.

Autumn shrugged, "It was probably a squirrel." Her sentence had barely finished before a low growl sounded from the same bush.

"Squirrels don't growl," whimpered Kelsey as the three girls started backing up.

Another growl sounded from a bush behind them, and Monica let out a small gasp. From the direction of the first bush, a muffled laugh met the girl's ears.

"Squirrels also don't laugh," said Kelsey admitting a growl of her own. With fists bawled and anger etched into her face she marched toward the bush. "Kyle Coven, get out of the bush this instant," she screamed grabbing the arm of some unfortunate Asian boy who was definitely not Kyle.