Chapter 19
Gloria rubbed her eyes as she crawled out of her tent. Aquila was sitting a ways off, a scowl on her face and looking as if she hadn't slept.
"What's up, Aquila? Did I snore?" Gloria asked as she shoved her feet into her shoes and walked over to the bin full of granola bars.
"Hardly," Aquila rolled her eyes and stood, walking towards the river.
Arhun and Maria weren't meeting each other's eyes and sat with very clear boundaries between them. Even though they were right next to each other, they didn't bump each other, didn't look at each other, and hardly spoke. They were acting like they were made of cardboard.
"You guys are acting weird..." Gloria observed, grabbing a bowl of granola.
Arhun looked guilty and didn't meet her eyes. "Why would you say that? We're acting normally as we normally do. Nothing strange," he said acutely.
Gloria squinted and was about to slide in across from them when Alex grabbed her elbow, steering her away. "We should have a talk. About a few birdies," he said, looking over his shoulder towards the other two. They both blushed and looked away from each other.
Gloria regarded him skeptically. "If you say so..." she said, taking her granola and following him. "Are you going to tell me why those three are acting so strange?"
"Are you going to tell me you didn't wake up to any sounds last night?" Alex asked.
"Sounds?" Gloria asked. "No? What, did a fox pull a squirrel into the middle of camp and start eating it and I slept through it or something? What did I miss?"
Alex took a breath and rubbed his face. Gloria could hear the sound of stubble on his face as he did so, and he looked a bit uncomfortable about the subject.
"Wait, I didn't see anyone else this morning. Is Ashton ok? Miranda and Timothy? They weren't eaten, were they?-"
"Maria and Arhun had sex last night." Alex said bluntly, "That's what we all woke up to. Poor kids don't know how to be quiet."
Gloria paled. "No shit," she whispered under her breath. "That's... unexpected. Poor Aquila..."
"Apparently it started with a harmless brag about videogames and then quickly spiraled into whatever they've got going on. Aquila and I are the only ones who woke up to the sound, and Aquila smacked Arhun..."
"Good for her," Gloria murmured. "To be led on like that and to believe that there was a future when there wasn't one, it's heartbreaking..."
"Yeah, well," Alex said. The two of the sat there, away from the campsite, just letting the silence sit. Gloria would have to comfort Aquila. Arhun should have resolved things with her before moving on with Maria. And so quickly...
"Well, we can only hope they're happy, Arhun and Maria. If it was worth the pain to Aquila, we can only hope that it was better than what was growing between the two of them. I hope they can still be friends," Gloria fumbled, trying to find the bright side.
"I don't know how that could ever happen, but that would be a nice thought," Alex said. "And hey, I win the bet,"
"He could still leave her," she said. "Realize he had it better with Aquila than Maria."
"I don't know, Aquila doesn't seem that kinky. Or exciting," Alex squished up his face and made a mock quizzical look.
Gloria gaped, her eyes growing wide, a blush rising on her face. "I'm not going to talk to you about how sexually active our housemates would be!" she exclaimed. "... But if we had to compare, Aquila could probably source some good herbs,"
~*~
Ashton approached Aquila. She was standing in front of the chilly lake, looking out over the water. Her face was in a scowl and her hands were in fists at her sides.
"This is always dramatic in movies, but it just feels rather pointless right now. Staring at water and a nice view doesn't fix anything," she looked over at Ashton. "You were supposed to be Arhun coming to tell me he's made a terrible mistake and that he was sorry," she sighed.
Aquila breathed and sniffed while she wiped at a rogue tear. "You seem so sure,"
"That's because I am. I may not have known you for very long, but I've known the both of you for the same amount of time and you are not suited for each other. As friends, yes, but as equals- one of you outshines the other and it's not hard to see who that is."
Aquila gave a small smile. "Thank you," she said. "I guess I knew somewhere that we weren't going to work out. It wasn't sparking. We made great friends but we didn't reach for more than that. He wants that spark with Maria, and maybe she'll scare a spine into him."
"That would be a sight to see," Ashton chuckled. "Gloria's teacher is going to come by later today, why don't you try and learn from her and focus on yourself for a while? I hear she's a very skilled spellcaster."
"You're full of wisdom, thankyou," Aquila said and she kissed his cheek as she passed him, heading back to camp.
^ Can we help you, lady?
^Forget your mouth, I'll kiss your nose! I was trying to get the kiss cheek option to come out, but it refused to show up, even after I had them kiss. Bummer.
Comments
Post a Comment