The Forest

Sarah's house

I unlocked the door. My parents are on vacation in Hawaii for the rest of the summer so I have the house to myself till they come back. I'm glad they're not here to see me like this. The 6 of us--Ashley, Ryan, Holly, Larry, Cameron and I--sat in my living room, speechless. I finally broke the silence. "Do you want anything to drink?" I offered everyone. Ryan spoke up. "You should take a shower. I'll boil water for tea." "Okay." I reluctantly agreed. I stayed in the shower long after I was clean. The steam felt like the most relaxing thing ever. I heard the whistle on the kettle so I got out. I got dressed and went into the living room. Ryan came out of the kitchen with my grandmother's tea set. It was six teacups, a teapot, a container for sugar and a milk container. "Thank you so much Ryan." I said. The transition from a steamy shower to a cold living room made me shiver. I took a sip of tea. It was orange pekoe. My favorite. It makes me feel like all my problems go away when I drink it. "So while you were in the shower we talked about planning a getaway with all our friends. I was thinking we should go camping." Said Ryan. "Great idea. I'll get my notebook so we can write down our ideas. I got my schoolbag from my room and brought it to my living room. I went to pull out my notebook. I knitted the cover and embroidered "Sarah's Notebook" on it. When I pulled out the notebook, another paper fell out. Folded into fourths was the drawing of me in a creepy forest, now on the floor. I had completely forgotten about it until now. I didn't want anyone to see it because I don't really know what it is or who it's from. It was too late. Ryan picked it up, unfolded it and examined it. "What is this?" He asked. He showed it to everyone else. "I don't know. I found it in my locker yesterday and I got really creeped out." I said. "Wait. There's a street sign in the background." He showed it to me and everyone else. Cameron spoke."If this is a real place, then we should go camping there!" Everyone raved about the idea causing a huge commotion. I didn't want to. The picture scared me so much and I couldn't imagine going there.

I wasn't paying attention to what they were saying. I could only hear the thoughts in my brain saying how safe and calm I felt. I couldn't stop thinking about everything. It's like my mind is on overdrive. All these random questions came up. I ignored them and took a sip of tea. Problems gone.

I started to listen to them again. "So Sarah what of you think?" Asked Holly. "Of what?" I replied. "Camping in the woods! We've been talking about it for like 30 minutes!" She said with a frustrated tone in her voice. "Sorry I was thinking of other things." I confessed. "Whatever let's move on we wanted to know what you think about camping in the forest for a week?" Asked Larry. "Wait is it the one in the picture?" I asked. "Ya." Answered Holly. "I don't feel safe going there." I protested. "She's right guys, we don't know anything about the forest and I think it's better if we go camping in Websters campground." Larry suggested. "Come on guys it's not gonna be bad! We can do it." Said Cameron. Cameron is a troublemaker, like Ron but he actually has common sense and he has feelings. "Ya it's not gonna be bad, what's the worst that could happen?" Ashley said. "A giant bear could come out and eat us." Larry said. "Come on be real." Cameron said. "Fine lets do it." I said. Everyone smiled and cheered. "You're actually gonna do it?" Asked Larry. I nodded. I don't want to be the one to always say we shouldn't do it! I want to be adventurous!

The doorbell rang. I opened the door. It was Ron. "Hey fruity." He said. "Haha so funny." I said sarcastically. "Hey at least this time your hair isn't red!" Said Ron. Larry walked to the door and stood next to me. "Do you have a brain or do you just choose to be an idiot!" Larry said rudely. "Hey I came here to say I was sorry... That you guys are all jealous." Said Ron. "Jealous! If anything you're jealous that I'm smarter then you!" I said. He rolled his eyes. "Guys calm down." Said Ashley. We cleared the doorway and sat down in my living room.

There was once again an awkward silence. Larry and Ron were having a staring match."really guys!" Hollered Ryan. Ryan hated Ron but he liked Larry. Larry has a lot in common with Ryan. "What?" Asked Ron. "The staring match, it's immature." Said Ryan. "Let's just tell Ron about the thing." Said Larry. "What thing?" Asked Ron. "We're going camping." Said Ashley. Ashley and Ron are really close, they could almost pass as a couple. We all know that Ron likes her even Ashley knows but she doesn't want to be his girl. It's kind of cute actually. I still remember how we all became friends. Larry and I were best friends since kindergarden, since then we've been best friends and we always will be. Larry had a crush on Holly in grade three, Holly was very popular. She was best friends with Ashley- oh ya did I forget to mention Cameron is Ashley's cousin. So basically Holly was having a birthday party and she invited the six of us. We had a great time. That was the day we became friends. After her party we hung out everyday at recess and came to each other's houses on the weekends.

Oh no I zoned out like I did last time! Whatever I'll pretend I know what they're talking about. "Ya doesn't the girl look like Sarah?" Asked Cameron. "Ya." Said Ron. "Hey maybe it's her fun twin who's way cooler than her!" Said Ron. "Can you stop always picking on me." I said. "I was just kidding around you know I don't mean babe." He said. "Also stop calling girls babe. It's not attractive it's weird." I said. He calls all girls babe and he's been doing it since we started middle school. He smiled and nodded as if he was proud of himself. "So are you coming camping with us this weekend?" I asked. "Ya." He answered. He can be a jerk sometimes but he's a good friend. "Awesome." Said Ashley. Ron isn't always like this. He's just doing it to impress Cameron. He likes to make Cameron smile but today it wasn't working. Holly told me that Cameron's getting sick of Ron's rudeness towards me. Ron and I normally get along but today he's being rude to me.

"So everyone has to meet at Sarah's house tomorrow for camping, pack enough stuff for a week." Said Holly. "Alright." Said Ron. "Well I gotta go my mom wants me home by 10:00pm and it's 9:40." Said Ryan. "Ya it's getting late I'm gonna go home too." Said Ashley. "Well since Ashley's leaving so am I." Said Ron. "Ok see ya guys." I said. "See ya." Said Ryan. "Bye." Said Ron.

They all left and now it was just me,Larry,Holly and Cameron. "Why's Ron being mean to you Sarah?" Asked Cameron. "I dont know, he likes picking on me I guess. It doesn't bother me cause I know he does it to be funny." I said. "Ya but after what happened today you deserve an apology." Said Cameron. "Ya he's right." Said Larry. "Guys really I'm not mad at him." I said. "Just leave her alone, she doesn't want him to say sorry." Holly joined the conversation. "Thanks." I said. "I just got a text from my mom. She said I need to come home now cause she's leaving for a work trip tomorrow morning and she wants to spend time with me." Said Holly. "Ok well it was nice seeing you. Bye." I said. "Bye." Said Cameron. "See ya soon." Said Larry. "Bye." Said Holly. She walked out my door and left the house.

"So when're you guys gonna leave?" I asked. "I've got nothing planned tonight." Said Larry. "Me neither." Said Cameron. "So I'll go get some horror movies." I said. "I'll microwave the popcorn." Said Larry. "I'll get the coke." Said Cameron. I brought up 4 movies from my basement where we stored movies and books. The ring, dark skies, paranormal activity and the conjuring. My favourite is the conjuring.

We sat down on my couch with the popcorn and coke. The first movie we watched was the conjuring. We watched movies till 3:00 am. Then Cameron and Larry left. I brushed my teeth and went to bed.

I usually never have trouble sleeping but for some reason tonight was impossible. My mind was on overdrive again. I decided the only cure was my favourite tea orange pekoe. I went to make some. While I waited for the water to boil I listened to my favourite song ; hello goodbye by the Beatles. When my tea was ready I watched tv while I drank it until I was tired enough. I went back to my bedroom and fell asleep.