A Guide on How to Love Jules Everett

Chapter Nine

The Unfortunate Partnerships

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NIGHT FELL FAST. In no time, the sun dipped below the horizon and disappeared from the eye's view. Twilight colored the skies a brilliant scarlet before darkening it into a deep purple. Heaven flicked white paint daintily over the dark canvas, placing stars all over the myriad of colors.

On this night, the entire cohort gathered at the edge of the forest, a place that was notorious with ghost stories both real and imaginary. Our campsite was somewhere in the forests of Riverside Creek with an ominous reputation. Be it ghosts, spirits, or unexpected deaths, the locals had spread tales of them all.

The school had arranged a group activity for us, the 'test of courage', they called it. The students would be paired in twos and sent into the dark forest one after another. They had to venture through the deepest parts, trek through the darkness and face their fears to get to each checkpoint. Each checkpoint had a teacher-in-charge stationed there to sign the card the students had to carry along with them. The activity was supposed to enhance the bond between students and forge strong friendships since the pairs were chosen via a lucky draw.

The way the lucky draw worked was that we would be paired with the other person that drew the same number as us. Two of each number can be found in the box and the odds of picking someone we knew beforehand was slim.

After all, when in high school, one would make more enemies than allies. That was the way our teenage society worked.

"Jules!" I called my best friend's name, running over to her immediately after she picked a number. Her hands were clutching a small white slip of paper very similar to my own. "What number did you draw?" I asked.

Slowly, she peeled open the folded slip of paper to reveal the number inside. "Twenty-six."

My heart immediately dropped. I had asked Harr beforehand for his number and his was the lucky number one, the first pair to head into the forest. The number I picked was smack in the middle of these two.

"What's with that face?" Jules asked, laughing as she smoothened out the creases of my frown. "What number did you get?"

"Thirteen," I replied with a pout. "What an unlucky number."

"Guess we're partners, then." From behind me, a deep voice mused with a hint of laughter.

I recognized the melodious voice before I had even seen the face, quickly glancing at Jules with a sigh before turning around to meet the speaker. When my assumption was confirmed, I couldn't help but curse a little in my heart.

Xavier held his own slip of paper up in my face for me to see, the jagged edges of the sloppily-torn paper a little too close to my face for comfort. I took a step back, pushing his hand away with a light slap.

"How unfortunate," I mumbled with a sour heart.

However, Xavier paid me no mind. His attention was fixated on Jules, staring right over my head at her. He gestured behind him casually, a bright smile accessorizing his face.

"Eugene's got twenty-six as well," he said. "They're already pairing up. You might want to head over soon."

"Got it." Jules nodded once before patting my shoulder. She gave an encouraging smile, one that didn't quite reach her eyes for some reason. "Chin up. I'll see you after this."

With that said, she jogged over to where Eugene was. I didn't have a face to the name in my mind so I leaned out, peering past Xavier's tall figure. When Jules stopped in front of a familiar face, my eyes opened a couple of sizes wider at the coincidence of it all. Eugene was apparently the same guy that had confessed to Jules right before Xavier did, the poor boy that got rejected nearly immediately.