Water and Ghosts

Chapter 7

A week passes, and then a month. 

School is familiar to me, and Nigel and I have a schedule for homework. Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays are at his house, and Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays are my house.We tackle everything we need to every night, and get ahead every Saturday. We have dinner at whichever house we do our homework at, and we eat out together on Sundays. 

He’s easily my best friend. 

And Glenden… he ignores me every day, and I do the same to him. We talked formally as we tried to figure out the Food Plate project, and once we finally got that to work we moved on. We both work alone now.

I admit, I miss talking to him. He’s cold and distant on purpose, which makes it hurt more and makes my curiosity absolutely explode. I don’t know what I did to warrant it, and that is what I feel I need to know.

It might help me unravel who he is.

But I have ignored it— for the past month. Because he hasn’t talked to me, and I’m not going to be the one to talk to him. No way, no how.

And now I’m supposed to go on a camping trip without Nigel but with Glenden.

Grandma Colette found out that I was going on the trip about a week and a half after I turned in the permission slip. Instead of being furious with me, she smiled. Sadly, but she still smiled.

“Ara would have done the same thing,” she said quietly. She told me to be sure to take the Shielding Sugar, and didn’t say another word about it other than making sure I’m packed.

And, the trip being tomorrow, I am. I’ve got everything that was on the list… plus stuff for my own agenda.

The Magic Compass for one. Hiking boots and a jacket, for when I ditch everyone in the middle of the night and go look for the Cactone Flower.

I lie awake for a long time, just staring at the ceiling. I’m ready to start my revenge against Cyra.

Twenty minutes later, I’m gone. Lost in unconsciousness.

I wake up at the same time I do for practice. I put pants and a shirt, with a hoodie over it, on. I tie my shoes and put up my hair, putting all of my last minute stuff in my bag. Taking a deep breath, I grab my backpack, the gym bag that I’m taking, and the lunch box filled with food from the kitchen counter. Next to it is a note.

Aqua,

Have fun on your trip! I don’t understand why you’re so excited, but I’m glad you are. Learn something new, yeah? Be safe, and I’ll see you when you get home. I’m expecting lots of stories ;)

Yours,

Nigel

I smile and fold the note carefully. I stick it in the lunch box, and then, with one final glance around, I whisper goodbye and leave through the back door.

I make the trek through the grass alone, unlike most mornings. The sun has yet to rise, and I squint in the darkness to try and see better. As I get closer to the school, I can see our teacher, Ms. Flores, surrounded by a bunch of kids from my class and her other classes, all in a line to get on one of the two busses. I make my way over and step into my place at the end.

I take a single step at a time, moving at a pretty fast pace for a line. Ms Flores checks off everyone who is here, making sure that they have everything they need. Finally, I am the first in line.

“Aqua Evans,” Ms. Flores says absentmindedly as she checks off my name. “Do you have everything—”

“Yes, ma’am,” I say, cutting her off. She glances up at me and smiles, holding her arm out to gesture for me to get on the bus.

“All aboard.”

“Thank you,” I say to her, and then I climb onto the bus. 

Because she had the first people that got on go to the back, I sit in the second seat to the front. The next person that gets on will sit with me, sadly. I put my gym bag and lunch box on the floor at my feet, and my backpack in my lap. I rest my book on top of my backpack, and turn on the mini flashlight I brought.

I feel someone sit down next to me, and I glance over to see who it is.

I recognize him immediately, but continue to ignore him. Tense, I keep reading.

“Wow,” he says softly. “No ‘good morning’, huh?”

I snap my head to look at him. “We’ve barely talked in a month. You expect that to change now?”

He shrugs. “We are going to be out in the middle of nowhere for a couple of days.”

“And how is that any different from being at school for a couple of days?” I counter.

Glenden opens his mouth to respond, but closes it a moment later. He just shakes his head.

I nod, rolling my eyes and turning back to my book.

“I offended you by not speaking to you, didn’t I?” He asks, whispering so that no one else hears. I keep my eyes on my book, but I’m not reading.

I don’t say anything, and that says enough.

“I’m sorry, Aqua,” Glenden says, and he does sound sincere. “Things are just… complicated right now.”

I look over at him, meeting his green eyes in the dark. “I’m assuming you won’t tell me what, exactly, is complicated?”

He smiles. “Sorry?”

I try to not smile, I really do, but it doesn’t exactly work.

“Anyway,” Glenden says, leaning his head against the back of the seat, “Ms. Flores says we’re using the buddy system. What do you say, partner?”

I pretend to think about it. “Well, I don’t know anyone else here… I guess it’s time for me to make new friends.”

He looks offended and hurt. I cover my mouth  and bury my face in my backpack, trying not to draw attention to my laugh. When I’m no longer in danger of embarrassing myself, I turn and say, “I’m kidding, Glenden. Of course we can be buddies.”

He glares at me and punches my shoulder, lightly sure, but still.

This time I don’t smother the laugh in time. Ms. Flores boards the bus, giving me a smile before she addresses everyone.

“Alright, guys, we’re going to head out in just two minutes. Everyone needs to stay seated through the duration of the drive. It will only be three hours, and then we will set up camp.” The kids on the bus clap, and Ms. Flores sits down in the seat right behind the driver.

The doors close, and the engine starts up loudly. With a lurch, we are set in motion.

“So what are we going to do for the next three hours?” Glenden muses.

I hold up my book in answer. Glenden smirks and, digging through his backpack, pulls out a notebook. He waves it at me.

“What’s that?” I ask.

“Nothing.” He watches me carefully.

Automatically, my jaw clenches. I turn away, annoyed because I know he’s doing this on purpose. But now that he’s not telling me, I’m dying to know what the notebook contains.

“You have to be the most curious person I have ever met,” Glenden mutters, handing the notebook over. I smile widely, elated that I get to read it. I open the notebook to a random page.

Bucket list for camping trip:

See the stars clearly— add astronomy lessons

Find fireflies— for class

Find a meadow— learn about the different flowers and plants/ healing properties and potential potions

Find a precious gem

Find a way to not hike, if we are forced to go

Enjoy the freedom

I look over at Glenden, my eyes wide. “You’re afraid of heights.” Not a question.

He shudders, swallowing hard. “Yeah. Not a fan.”

I smile, and Glenden accuses me of mocking. However, I’m really thinking that if my buddy for the trip is afraid of heights, then it might be easier than I thought to slip away.

We arrive at a bare stretch of land exactly three hours later. After disembarking and making sure we have all of our stuff, the buses drive away. They’ll come back to pick us up in three days.

I’m free. And in danger.

First up on the agenda is setting up tents. Grandma Colette lent me one of hers, so I spent the next forty five minutes setting it up. It’s large enough for one person and all of my junk, which means I’ll be spending the bulk of my time outside of the tent.

Glenden sets up his tent right next to mine, often asking if I need help in an amused tone. He set his stent up in the blink of an eye, much to my frustration. But I set up a tent, for the first time ever, all by myself; and I’m proud. Especially since I managed to sprinkle to Shielding Salt on it in secret.

Ms. Flores informs us, officially, that we are to use the buddy system. As long as we keep our buddy with us at all times, we are free to roam wherever we like. We just need to be back at camp by dinner time, and we have to ask permission to leave after dinner and s’mores. 

Glenden sidles up to me, holding a large book in hand, once Ms. Flores dismisses us. “What do you say we look for that meadow?”

“I’m down,” I reply. “Which direction, to go though?”

“Left,” Glenden says confidently, and he starts walking away. I skip to catch up with him.

We walk away from the Merstip Mountains, towards the town Helio City. As we walk, Glenden and I talk about our classes and the homework we’ve been assigned. It’s a different side of him I haven’t seen— right in the middle of those I have.

I gasp when I see the flowers looming up, smiling as we get closer and closer to the meadow. There all all kinds of colors— red and blue and yellow and pink and white and purple, and lots of green. The sun is up and shining on all of the beauties. The mountains rise in the background, but in front of us is all land, with a town to the right. The grass is a vibrant green, and all of the flowers sway in the wind in unison, mesmerizing me. Even though it’s November, they are still growing strong.

“Violets, roses, tulips, dahlias, daffodils, lilies, hydrangeas, foxgloves, hollyhocks,” I say, listing them off as I recognize them. My mother loved flowers, and I studied them all the time. You never know when you might need one.

Glenden looks over at me, impressed.

“Someone made this,” I say, meeting his gaze. “There’s no way this many different types of flowers all grew in the same place by accident. This isn’t a meadow; it’s a flower garden,” I finish, captivated.

“First of all, I’m just going to call it a meadow.” I laugh at that. “Do you recognize all of them?” he asks, gesturing around us. I shrug in response. I don’t know.

I very well might.

“Teach me about flowers then, princess,” Glenden says, his smile growing. He holds up the book. “I should add “fill my plant book” to my bucket list.”

I laugh and reach out, taking the book from his hands. My fingers brush his, and he glances up at me. I ignore it and open the book flipping through it.

“I think I have all the information you need,” I say.