3. Chapter 3

Chapter three

M s McElderoy found them for lunch almost exactly on the hour. Haven and her friends were some of the last in the group headed for the main cabin where lunch would be held. Looking around, Haven found that all of her classmates were smiling, laughing and enjoying themselves. Haven wondered if her classmates felt like she did, unusually easy going and happy.

Lunch was spread out on a table to the side of the main cabin. There were large logs placed in rows just beyond the table for the students to sit. There were salads, sandwiches and chips placed on one end of a table and bottled water at the other end. Haven set a sandwich and some chips on a plate, grabbed a bottle of water and followed Chelsea and Sydney to where they were sitting. The logs weren't exactly comfortable but they beat sitting on the ground where dirt would stain her pants and ants would likely find her plate.

"Attention students," One of the owners called from a small slightly raised platform in front of the collection of logs. From where Haven was sitting, she couldn't see through the groups of her classmates milling about to tell which owner had spoken.

The students hustled to sit and gave the two owners their attention. Now that everyone was silent and sitting she could tell that it was Rodney who had spoken.

"This afternoon we will be giving all of you a guided tour of the facility and grounds in preparation for tomorrow's hike. You will have the next hour to eat and then about fifteen minutes to prepare and meet back in front of the main house before the tour. Is this understood?"

Most of the students nodded in response.

The following hour was fun, Haven, Sydney and Chelsea ate lunch and talked with the students sitting on the logs behind them. Chelsea talked about how hard it had been to get into the college she was going to and Haven had to agree, for her getting into college had been no easy feat. Completing high school hadn't been exactly easy either for that matter. But somehow she had managed both. Haven would soon be graduating and continuing onto college in the fall.

Now all she had left to do was to pick, would she go to Duke university or North Carolina state? Both seemed like smart choices but neither felt right. Luckily, she still had until the end of the semester to decide.

Haven was pulled from her thoughts by Tom, a guy in the group they had been talking to ,

"What about you Haven, do you like to hike?"

Haven nodded. She enjoyed pretty much anything that had to do with the outdoors. Her favorite teacher, Mrs McKenna, a sophomore English teacher, had held a lot of her classes outside. In truth, she was incredibly excited to go hiking tomorrow. Most of the kids who went on this trip had to be or else they would have stayed home like the rest of her friends did. Haven didn't understand why the school had stopped doing the senior trip at the amusement park when many more students were likely to enjoy being there. She hadn't cared enough to ask but the question still played in her mind as everyone spoke around her.

It wasn't long before conversation with the other students drifted off.

"I guess we should go ‘prepare'" Chelsea commented with air quotes around the word prepare.

"I don't know exactly what I'm supposed to be preparing for but we don't want to be late to the main house, that one owner seems kind of strict about that sort of thing," Sydney replied.

"Well then we better get going" Haven remarked as she stood, brushing her hands off on her jeans and throwing away her plate.

The walk to their cabin was quick. Once they reached the cabin and entered, Haven went over to the small dresser beside her bed and pulled her long red hair into a high ponytail. Sydney plopped down onto her bed.

"So that Tom guy was kinda cute" She commented to no one in particular.

Haven and Chelsea shared a quick glance.

"Yeah I guess he was a little cute, why? Are you thinking of getting into some trouble this weekend?" Chelsea asked with a snicker.

"Hmm maybe" Sydney made a show of contemplating, "It's been a while and I could use some fun" She joked.

Both Chelsea and Haven laughed. If Haven was being honest it hadn't really been all that long since she'd had any fun of that sort. Her friend James had thrown a late Christmas party, aka his parents were out of town and he wanted an excuse to drink and have fun. Haven ended up having a little fun with her ex-girlfriend Amanda. She probably shouldn't have, Haven had known that when she did it, but at the time she had had a few too many Tequila shots and about as much impulse control as a puppy left alone in the house too long. That was a little over two months ago, so not all that long in the grand scheme of things.

"What about that one newer guy, what's his name?" Sydney paused.

"Roman." Haven answered for her.

"Oh yes, him!" Sydney exclaimed.

"Well I hate to break it to you Syd but he's gay" Chelsea spoke.

Not much else was known about Roman, he joined the school about a month into senior year and no one had gotten particularly close to him except for one guy named Daniel. They had dated on and off and were occasionally caught making out under the football field bleachers. Roman had written an essay for his history class about strong black gay men throughout the last 500 years like civil rights activist Bayard Rustin and how he related to them. That was how they knew he was gay and not bi .

"I guess I'll just have to find some sad soul to befriend this weekend" Sydney sighed dramatically. She wiggled her eyebrows and sent the girls into a fit of laughter. Haven laughed so hard it made her stomach hurt.

"Alright let's get back to the main house." Chelsea stood from where she was sitting on the edge of her bed.

"Maybe you can scope out your prospects on the tour" Haven sarcastically suggested to Sydney as they headed out the door, sending the girls into another fit of laughter.

Luckily, Haven, Sydney and Chelsea were not the last to arrive in front of the main house. That honor fell to a small pack of boys. Mr Chaplin, the male teacher and chaperone, quickly counted heads and assured the two owners that everyone had arrived.

"Okay let's get started" The owner Mr Sharp spoke, clapping his hands together. The owners led the group of students from the main house to where they had had lunch.

"Now, you've already driven past here on your way in and had lunch in this area but I'm sure none of you noticed the entrance to one of our main trails" Mr Sharp pointed towards a section of forest just beyond the lunch area.

He was correct, Haven hadn't noticed the trailhead marked by a small tower of rocks on either side, she was pretty sure none of the other students had either. There was a well worn path that quickly disappeared out of view. If Haven had to guess, she'd say it went up the mountain, circled around the camp and came out somewhere behind the girls cabins.

"This is the path we will hike tomorrow. It will show us some amazing views on the side of the mountain and even a small waterfall," Mr Rodney said.

The waterfall would be pretty cool to see. From what Haven could tell, the camp was fairly deep in the mountains and seemed mostly untouched by outside forces. She absently wondered if she'd be able to see any semblance of a town from the lookout points.

The two men led the group back past the cabins, first the boys and then the girls. Next they showed the group a few more trail heads, a small garden and chicken pen, a volleyball court along with a few other outdoor games hidden behind the main house and finally back to the front of the main house. Once the group of students came to a stop, the owner Mr Sharp spoke,

"You all are free to do as you please until dinner which is in three hours where you all had lunch. No one will come get you, you are responsible for getting yourselves there. Until then, please don't wander down any of the trails or cause any general trouble"

Mr Sharp smiled tightly and walked away followed by Rodney. Five minutes later, the girls were back lounging in their cabin. Sydney, the only one with service, was on her phone and Chelsea was braiding Havens hair.

"You have really soft hair," Chelsea commented.

"Thanks" She responded.

Haven had always taken pride in her hair, it was exactly like her mothers. In fact, she got a lot of her features from her mother; her height, a few freckles, slightly brownish red hair, pale skin and very bright red lips. She often got asked what lipstick she used to which she always responded, "none."

Her father always told her, "Everything but the eyes, those you got from me. "

Havens bright emerald green eyes matched her fathers perfectly except for a few small specks of gold. She seemed to be the only one who noticed it. No one had ever commented on it, or maybe it was just that no one had ever cared enough to pay that close of attention.

Chelsea finished and tied off the braid. Going over to her own bed she asked,

"So what do you guys want to do for the remainder of the evening?"

Haven shrugged, Sydney did the same.

"Come on guys, there has to be something"

Chelsea didn't strike Haven as the type that ever sat still very long.

"We could go find Sydney a guy to mess around with" Chelsea said with a few suggestive looks between Sydney and the door.

"Yes but that would require me to get off of this bed, and I am very comfortable!" Sydney exclaimed. All three girls burst out laughing.

"Well then I guess you'll just have to miss dinner" Haven retorted.

"Oh no, food is definitely worth getting out of bed. Boys however…" Sydney trailed off, earning another round of laughs from the group.

"Oh, I almost forgot" Chelsea jumped up, grabbed her bag and pulled out a deck of Uno cards, "Ah ha!"

"Well I guess that could be fun" Sydney spoke, earning a wide smile from Chelsea.