Into The Wild

T W O

When I manage to open an eye, I notice my body feeling so hot and wet. I kick off the bed sheets and turn to the side, hair brushing against my cheek. But I still feel very hot. I force my eyes fully open only to see that the ceiling is way too close to my face.

Then I start to wonder if the ceiling has toppled down. Was there an earthquake as I was sleeping? I'm never able to wake up from loud thunderstorms that people snap about since I'm what people call, a deep sleeper. Very deep.

I look down from the top bunk, only to see no one. Not even Aria. I climb down the wooden ladder and pull open my suitcase, taking out my toothbrush and a pair of clothes to change into. Rubbing my eyes, I walk into the bathroom, mumbling about Aria leaving me to fend for myself. We were supposed to do everything together, not leave the other and go to God-knows-where.

As soon as I step out of the bathroom, I stare at the time on my phone. 8:20 a.m.

Then, when I look back at my notifications, I see that Luke sent a message.

From 7:30 to 8:30 a.m. please report to the cafeteria to have breakfast.

I almost drop my toothbrush to the ground in surprise. And quickly pick it up, washing it up and then placing it back inside my suitcase before stepping out into the warm sunlight.

"What the hell is wrong with your hair?" a voice asks as soon as I step forward into the grass. I blink once, twice.

Madison, the neat freak, walks up to me and raises her perfectly-shaped eyebrows, looking disgusted at the mess of my hair- my wig. I stare at her in confusion while cautiously touching my wig, which was obviously sticking out in every direction. It's literally half-way falling off of my head, so I quickly adjust it and give her a small smile.

"Why are you wearing a wig?" she suddenly asks. My heart beats abnormally as I look around, unsure if I should act dumb or just tell her the truth.

But before I can say anything, I notice Aria running towards me from behind Madison. She quickly grabs my hand, pulling me back inside the cabin. "Hey, wait!" I shout, trying to wriggle out of her grip but she just pulls even harder.

"You looked like you needed some sleep, so I left and brought you back some breakfast!" Aria exclaims, clearly proud of herself. She leans into my ear and whispers, "Actually, I snuck it inside my bag for you since we're not allowed to have any food in the cabins."

I smile gently, still thinking back to Madison who already figured out I was wearing a wig. How easy is it for people to tell? If it's that easy, should I still keep it on?

I grab the small bag from Aria's hand and we both climb up to my bunk. I take out a small juice box and a box that has a waffle and a packet of syrup, which I spread on the waffle, careful not to touch it with my hands. I take a bite, immediately realizing it's stale but it's still food and food shouldn't go to waste.

Remembering Mom's wisdom.

"Aria? Madison figured out that I wore a wig. What should I do?" I ask as I continue to eat.

"Tell her the truth," she says, moving a strand of the fake hair away from my face, slipping it behind my ear. "If you don't want to, I'll tell her for you. Don't worry about it."

I nod thankfully. After eating, I walk back into the bathroom to take a shower. When I step out, Aria steps in for her shower. I carefully brush my fake hair and settle it onto my head neatly. After Aria is done showering, we go to the main site of the camp to grab our schedules.

We see Amber Cohen, another one of the counselors, standing behind a table full of T-shirts and bags for the campers. Aria and I walk up to the table and grab a T-shirt and a bag for ourselves. Everyone around us is already changing into the shirt and all I can see is a surge of green shirts. We give each other a shrug and slip it on over our attire, along with the bag on our backs.