The sun beats down on my neck as I stand outside, deep in thought while everyone else quietly chatters. I'm not thrilled about an early morning team challenge. Especially considering how today started.
Last night, I fell asleep on an uncomfortable ninety-degree angle with my head half off the mattress. This resulted in a twisting pain in the side of my neck that makes it difficult to move it from side to side.
I also found another note.
By this point, I'm not apprehensive about them; I know whoever leaves them must attend this camp. But what's cryptic about this note is the new nature of the message.
Guess the little slut found another man. - X
When I found it this morning, I tore it apart and threw it in the waste basket. Who the fuck does this person think she is calling me a slut?
Or moreover, how is my personal life any of her business?
My eyes flit to the girls around me. There's Martina next to me, busy making a paper airplane out of a paper that flew off Cheryl's clipboard, to sail at Adriana and her friends.
It's impossible X is her.
I look over at Cynthia who has been warming up with jumping jacks for the past ten minutes and staring me down as if we're about to duel.
She is sketchy, but then again, she looks like a product of overly competitive parents with way too high standards.
And then I glance at Natalie standing next to her, admiring her nails in the sunlight.
She's more suspicious. On the first day, she was excited to hang out with me and then she randomly moved out of our dorm to join Cynthia.
And lastly there's Adriana, standing by a tree and swatting a nonexistent fly around her face.
Thinking about the notes and the possible writer are not worth riling myself up. I need the mental capacity to win the impending team challenge.
"Alright, all you half-asleep young ladies!" Cheryl calls, clapping her hands together. "Today's challenge will surely wake you up. Walk ahead and you will see an obstacle course. Only in this obstacle course, you can and might get a little messy."
Please don't let it be mud. Please don't let it be mud. Please don't let itâ
"That's right, I'm talking about mud," she says, a bright smile appearing on her face. The buzz of the girls' chatter is replaced by silence.
"Mud?" Adriana reiterates, her lips parting in disgust. "We're not boys. That's revolting."
"She's gonna be the first one down," Martina whispers to me, her hand covering half of her mouth. I stifle a giggle as I look at the obstacle course nervously.
Cheryl looks at Adriana and gives her a curt nod before turning her attention to the rest of us. "The first portion of this obstacle course involves a basic sprint down a narrow path. This will lead you up a small rock-climbing wall, through a section of tires, a jump between two blocks over muddy ground, and lastly, a balance beam over a mass of mud. One slip will land you in a very dirty mess, so if you don't want to risk it, be very careful. The girls who don't fall into the mud will receive bonus points!"
"Wait, so it's actually possible we won't fall?" I ask anxiously.
"Of course," she replies. "Now you will go in rounds of five, as since there are five divisions of this obstacle course. Joanna, Cynthia, Willow, Adriana, and Whitney, you're up first!"
My eyes widen, and I stare at Martina who smugly smiles back, placing a hand on her chin. I grunt and walk away, heading towards the other girls gathered at the start of the obstacle course. We stand in front of our own lanes and wait for Cheryl's cue.
"Alright in three, two, oneâ"
Before she can shout go, Cynthia races ahead of us, her straight black hair whipping against her back. We break into a run too, slightly perplexed by her uncalled-for head start. Fortunately, a burst of energy helps me breeze through the first part in seconds, a simple sprint down a dirt path. But the first real obstacle looms ahead: the rock-climbing wall.
I take a breath and grab onto one of the blocks, pulling myself up. The wall isn't necessarily high; the problem is it's double-sided so I'd have to turn myself in the air and climb down the other way with mud around me. I glance to my left and see Cynthia has already made it to the other side, one of the benefits of a tiny frame.
I finally make it to the other side after a little struggle and jump off instead of climbing down. I run ahead, racing through tires, like theones football players use during practice drills. I almost get caught on the second to last one but swiftly hop out of it.
My heart skips a beat. The next section is a mud pit with slippery blocks for stepping stones. I can't just plummet into this brown goop and ruin my for-once-perfect hair.
And what if Axel walks by and sees me like thisâ
Okay now is the time to shut up, Whitney.
I let out a deep breath, squat down slightly and leap forward, my feet landing successfully on the first block. I stand there in shock, until I have to keep moving or else, I'll fall behind.
"And Cynthia has finished!" I hear Cheryl call in the background, and I frown, hurrying to reach the balance beam. It's narrower than I expected; my foot hesitates before lowering onto the metal. I try not to look down at the mud below me and keep my eyes focused on the end of the course. I'm getting closer, drawing nearer to the finish. I hear a shriek.
My head whips to the right, and I see Willow has fallen off the beam, only one leg wrapped over it and the rest of her body sinking into the thick mud.
"I-IâI can't get up!" she cries. No one has turned an ear to her. Not even her so called "friend" Adriana.
I want to finish this course and not come in last, but my heart aches for Willow as her bright blonde hair becomes tainted with the sticky brown substance. Try as she might, she is stuck.
"It's okay, I'll help," I say, closing my eyes for a moment and then hopping down, the mud reaching my mid calves. I trudge over and grab her hand, pulling her up and helping get her leg untangled from the relentless metal beam.
"Th-thank you," she stutters as she finally stands up, almost every part of her covered in mud. It then dawns upon me my favorite pair of sneakers are coated in the thick substance.
I'm not shedding a tear or anything right now.
"You're welcome." I reach my hand up to move a chunk of hair that has fallen from my ponytail, but it's tangled with mud and my face is now a mess.
As we walk out together, one relieved blonde and one perturbed brunette, both covered in a brown mess, the other girls giggle and grin. I bite the inside of my lip sheepishly. They're not the only ones who saw that. Axel did too.
Just my luck.
***
"Why did you help her?"
It's late in the evening and the sun floats lower, turning the sky into a swirling canvas of pink and light blue with a hint of lilac. I have always loved sunsets more than sunrises, because they are the beauty in something that should be sorrowful. Another day of your life is coming to an end, but the sky lights up with beautiful colors to make it an enchanting event.
And there is nowhere that captivates the beauty of a sunset better than the beach.
"Why do you want to know?" I respond, glancing up at Axel who is sitting across from me on the cool sand, his hazel eyes focusing on mine. We are supposed to be working out, but instead he held the session off to ask a question I don't see why I need to answer.
"Because," he replies, tilting his head back and letting out a breath. "I've gotten to know you over these past few weeks. You're so competitive; you want to win and you'll always work for it. Why did you sacrifice your ego to help her?"
"Why shouldn't I help someone when they're in need?" I respond, a light breeze blowing my clean hair out of my face. I might have taken the longest shower of my life earlier today. "No one else was going to help her."
"I know you have a problem with that girl."
"And how would you know that?" I respond, my hand absentmindedly scooping up and dropping sand.
"I see a lot more than you think. You cringe every time you're put together, whenever she walks one way you move the other, and even today you were hesitant to help her."
"Are you stalking me?" I ask, moving back.
"I'm just doing my job," he answers. "Now answer the question."
"I wanted to stand up for myself by doing something nice for her," I answer exasperatedly. "We have so many issues between us, and I don't think me being hostile will really solve them anymore."
"What exactly happened between you two?"
My head perks up from staring at the sand. "I wouldn't know where to start. And isn't that a bit hypocritical of you, considering you don't seem to like pouring your heart out either?"
He's silent now, his hand placed awkwardly against the nape of his neck. Instead of continuing with this conversation, he respects my wishes, standing up and extending a hand. "How about we get this session done before dark?"