into the wilderness - h.s.

two

The stranger, who now had a name, clasped his hands in front of him as he continued to speak.

"I am very excited to be taking a new group of people up to Yosemite for three weeks." He paused to push his hair out of his eyes again. "Before we get there, I would like to make you aware of a few things."

He continued to talk about safety measures and a few procedures we would be learning once we got there, but I tuned him out. Even though his British accent was smooth and raspy and beautiful to listen to, I focused on what was passing outside of the bus. The trees flew by in blurs of green and brown as I tried to focus of the soft hum of the engine.

A loud exclamation from the British man brought me back into reality. "And now, I would like to get to know everybody. I have a list of people right here. When I call your name, please identify yourself and tell us something interesting." He recited his pre-rehearsed speech with perfect clarity. He read the first name on the paper. "Bruce Appleton?"

The fit man with the blonde hair grunted a little and raised his hand.

"Can you tell us something about yourself?" The tour director asked, as if he were speaking to a group of second graders in music class.

"Uh, I lift weights," the man named Bruce said, with absolutely no emotion.

"Interesting," the tour director acted interested, but I could tell he was not. He pushed a hand through his hair for a third time. The bus bounced along as he continued to call more names.

"Tristan Jackson?"

"Oh, oh, that's me, honey," he was practically bouncing in his seat. "Let's see, something interesting about me. Hmmmm. Well, I'm gay." He said, with so much blunt force, I could practically see it hit the tour director. He flinched slightly, but his facial expression stayed emotionless.

"Okay, then, moving on," the tour director awkwardly cleared his throat. "Harper Kline?"

I raised my eyes to meet his. "That's me."

"Something interesting?"

"Uhm," I couldn't think of anything. Instead I just said the first thing that popped into my head. "Jungle Lady wouldn't let me bring my Chanel perfume on this trip."

The tour director started laughing. He laughed so hard that he had to put his hand back to the driver's seat to steady himself as he clutched his sides. Everyone's laughter filled the bus, as I sank down farther into my seat, thoroughly embarrassed.

"Okay, okay," the tour director said as he tried to catch his breath. "Next person. Jacob O'Brien?"

I cleared my throat. Everyone looked at me again. "He - he wasn't able to make it."

"Alight then," the tour director made a mark on his paper, and then looked back up to his passengers. "I guess I will introduce myself. My name is Harry Styles, but you already know that. Something interesting about me is," he paused with a thoughtful look on his face. He looked at Tristan and said, "I like girls."

It was my turn to laugh. Harry looked at me with an amused smile on his face. I immediately stopped laughing when Tristan shot me a funny glare. I smiled sympathetically, and returned to staring out the window.

.

The clear mountain air smelled of smoke and trees. I reached into my backpack and pulled out my zip-up. I knew my t-shirt would not be enough to keep me warm in the thin, cold air. Many of us were struggling with breathing, but Harry seemed very accustomed to it.

Once the bus had dropped us all off and our things, it turned, and headed back down the mountain, as I could literally feel my escape leaving. I looked to the sky, and spun in a slow circle. It felt like I could reach out and touch it, like it was the canvas of a tent covering us all. And I did. I reached for the sky, even though I knew that I would never even come close to touching it.

I was starting to become excited for this journey. This time, I would be the one coming home to tell Jacob all about my adventure. I wouldn't have to sit patiently and listen to another boring explanation of everything that he had seen. I would tell my own story.

Even though I said I wasn't going to, I reached for my phone. Slowly, I walked to the edge of the mountain, where the view was the clearest, and I could see the farthest. I had to take a snapshot, just to prove to Jacob, and myself, that I had been here; that I had climbed a mountain. Well, mostly.

I could feel the other members of the group come closer and circle around me. Some had their mouths open in pure awe of the untouched beauty in front of them. Others, like me, took the opportunity to take a magnificent snapshot, to freeze this moment in time and remember it from now until forever.

I was called back to reality when Harry clapped his hands. "Alright, lads, lets circle up!"

We slowly moved away from the edge, toward an adventure that many of us were excited to take. Harry had pulled out a map of the area. The map had markings drawn in Sharpie, as if signaling a trail.

"For the first leg of the journey, we are trying to get to our overnight camp, which is the next ridge over." He pointed to the spot on the map, and then in the direction that we would start walking. "Over the course of the next twenty one days, we will cover about ninety-five miles."

An unsure murmur went through the group, as the mention of the many miles ahead made some nervous.

"I will start out as the leader, and each day I will pick a new person to be the leader that will take us in the right direction. We are a team here, people." And with that he turned, adjusted his black skinny jeans, and started walking. I picked my backpack up off the ground in an attempt to keep up with his long legs. Tristan groaned, earning him a punch in the arm from Layla.

.

We had been walking for several hours now. In those hours I had learned three things: Tristan absolutely loves pink, Layla needs a gold medal for putting up with his complaining, and Harry was about ready to push Bruce off the nearest cliff.

The first five miles had been fine. We took in the beautiful scenery, got to know each other a little better, and listened to Tristan talk. During mile two, he would not keep his mouth closed about his large pink stuffed teddy bear that he had at his house. The lady that I had seen reading the sports magazine was not particularly fond of that idea. She was keeping her distance from the large gay man.

During mile three, I learned that her name was Alisha and she had three kids at home. She was a single mom, and was trying to prove a point to her eldest son: that she could do this. She wanted to prove to her kids that she was strong, and that she would always be there to take care of them. It touched my heart and I took an instant liking to the lady I knew I could talk to when I needed motherly advice.

When we stopped for lunch, Bruce and his girlfriend went missing for at least twenty minutes, delaying our departure. As we sat there - in awkward silence - waiting for them to finish, I watched Harry. Often times, he would reach up with his ringed fingers and push his long curls out of his face. He would play with his lip while looking into the distance, thinking. As it started getting later, and the sick lovebirds still weren't back, I watched as his soft features transform into a scowl.

When the couple finally returned, their hair was messy and some leaves were stuck to the backs of their clothes. Harry cleared his throat and stood.

"Lesson number one," he looked directly at Bruce, irritation flashing in his green eyes. "Never keep the group waiting by disappearing to have sex. We're in the woods, for Christ's sake."

The girlfriend's face was the color of a maraschino cherry, as she tried to hide it in Bruce's massive chest. He put an arm around her and lifted a finger at Harry with a "hey, fûck off man" attitude. Harry just rolled his eyes and picked up his backpack.

"Hey, I wasn't the one to 'fûck off' with my girlfriend in the middle of the forest," Harry said with a smirk.

"Oooooooo," I heard Tristan whisper next to me. "Burn."

"Damn," Layla whispered on my other side.

When Bruce wasn't looking, Harry looked over at us with an amused smile and a thumbs up. He tossed his backpack over his shoulder and pulled the map out of the pocket of his tight jeans, and resumed the role of 'wilderness leader.'

"We're almost to our overnight camp. This way."

lje