Indian Ocean Island

Making exchanges

Suddenly, everyone woke up and noticed something Fiona was doing.

"Looks like she wants us to split up?" Erika guessed.

"Exactly, looks like she wants to share the beach."

Max laughed as he commented, "Of course she would, she's probably scared of you Alex, especially since you're a pervert." Max laughed while holding his stomach.

A curious Alex, his eyes focused on Fiona, wanted to know the truth. "Is it really Fiona? What did Max say?"

Fiona, who then looked up after she had finished drawing the border, stood in the middle of the line. Staring at everyone who was there. "I wanted to make a boundary line where we could rest. I'm doing this for the comfort of all of you."

"I guessed it, that woman was going to divide the place," Salsa said.

"Yes, apart from that, it's best for men and women to be separated when resting. It will be very comfortable. And the campfire will remain in the middle of the barrier. How about that, do you agree?" Fiona looked around.

Alex felt bad. She couldn't believe that her carelessness had caused such a rift between her friends. Why did Alex always do stupid things that made Fiona misunderstand him and think he was a pervert?

Alex tapped himself on the forehead.

"Fiona's idea is great, I agree. Wouldn't it be awkward if we slept together? I'm afraid something unexpected could happen." Erika spoke up and searched for another defense. After all, there were only five of them on this island; two men and three women. Nothing could stand in the way of others.

"Exactly, I'm afraid of perverted men!" Salsa said.

And everyone nodded in agreement, including Alex, albeit guiltily.

Alex's stomach knotted, he felt hungry and walked to the beach with a limp. Erika, who noticed him, asked him.

"Hey, pervert, you look pathetic walking like that. Where are you going? Huh...

Alex answered casually. "To look for food in the sea, of course, I'm going to look for worms to bait myself with, I'm hungry."

Erika wrinkled her forehead upwards. "Worms? Is he going fishing? What's he going to do, he doesn't have a hook?" Erika wondered.

But she didn't care, she started looking for twigs for the campfire, because that was all she could do with Salsa. Meanwhile, Fiona made a place for her to rest once the boundary line was in place.

As night fell, Alex arranged some of the fish that had been prepared for the grilling process. Max suddenly approached Alex, crouched down and helped him grill the fish.

"Hi, buddy!"

"Looks like you got a lot of fish today. Could you teach me how to get all these fish?" There were several fish ready to be grilled. Seeing that made Alex whet his appetite in the midst of his hunger.

Alex turned to Max, speaking calmly. "Really? It's very easy, my friend. You just need to find some worms in the muddy part of the sand. After that, you can make a pool of water that has been mixed with crushed worms. At high tide the fish will smell the worms and get trapped in the puddle we've set up."

"Wow, you're so amazing Alex! I can't even catch a single fish, besides being able to make fire. You're good at finding fish. I'll do what you say buddy." Max was happy to hear that.

However, Fiona suddenly felt thirsty. She wanted a big coconut. It just so happened that Fiona had finished her coconut ration earlier today.

"Alex, can I have your coconut? I've used up my coconut today, but I'm still thirsty. How about we exchange?" Fiona said while stroking her throat.

"Swap? What do you mean?" Max gave Fiona a sharp look.

However, Fiona was calm as she tried to explain. "Someone might get a lot of food while others are starving and thirsty. Maybe by dividing the tasks, the other work will be light and everyone will be able to eat. So let us swap so that everything is fair?"

"Alright, but I have one request for you later." Alex said with a lopsided smile.

"Request? Yeah, well, whatever it is." Fiona agreed and dismissed it as trivial.

However, Fiona's proposal this time made the others gather and discuss. Not only that, everyone seemed enthusiastic because this exchange was quite interesting.

"What do you mean by holding this exchange?" Erika started speaking, and the others seemed to be enthusiastically listening.

"Well, as you know, if you divide the tasks, someone will look for dry branches, pick up coconuts and look for food in the sea. And everyone has to feel the same way.

"What if someone can't do the task well?" Salsa asked. Salsa Kliper is a journalist. She was known to be very meticulous, yet calm. Her ability to analyze and figure things out is unquestioned. She was the best journalist last year.

"In that case, you can ask to be taught. That's not an excuse, is it?" Fiona smiled slightly.

"I agree, Miss CEO, your suggestion is very good." Max raised his thumb and gave her a thumbs up.

Max always seemed to watch Fiona's movements, he could understand what her problem was. Because he thought that Fiona was a rare figure who seemed to be very influential compared to her other female friends.

However, Fiona had a pretty good defense, she did not hesitate to slap or kick someone if she felt harassed and cornered.

"All right, I agree." Alex let out a long sigh. He nodded his agreement. With his previous experience, Alex didn't really need an exchange, he could do anything. Even if he was alone on this island, Alex would be able to survive until the rescue team arrived.

And finally, everyone agreed. They seemed excited about the proposed exchange. For Erika, it would be a great help, since she could only pick up dry twigs.

"Alright, if everyone agrees, then the work of dividing the tasks will be done starting tomorrow. Salsa and Erika will look for dry branches and big leaves, Max will get coconuts, Alex will look for food in the sea and I will look for fruits in the forest," Fiona said. Fiona said.

But at that moment, Alex raised his index finger as if to reject her and asked, "Hey, are you going into the forest alone? Aren't you afraid something might happen?"

Fiona was strangely silent, realizing that she was right to be afraid. She hadn't imagined the dangers of going into the forest alone.

What if there were wild animals and other scary things? Wouldn't it be very dangerous?

Fiona then nodded, "Then who will accompany me to the forest?" Fiona looked at Max and Alex, who both raised their index fingers.

"Really? Will you two accompany me to the forest? What about the task of finding food in the sea?" Fiona wondered.

Alex and Max looked at each other, they wanted to accompany Fiona, but they also had to complete the task.

"Take it easy, I'll finish my task quickly Fiona, I'm reliable!" Alex suggested.

"Are you sure you want to go to the forest with Alex? Isn't he a pervert?"

"Pervert? No Fiona, it's all a misunderstanding, you know that. If none of this is true," Alex tried to defend himself. What Max was accusing him of was baseless. He realized that he often did stupid things that were unintentional.

"You had better choose me! I can protect you well," Max offered.

At that moment, Fiona was silent for a moment, thinking aloud. Who should she choose to accompany her into the forest? Alex or Max?" Fiona was confused.