For several minutes, I'd stared out the window, tapping through my playlist with earbuds in. The music trickled into my heart, briefly acting as ice water in the inferno of anxiety. Classmates chatted and napped around me.

Sonia, however, had different ideas. She pulled the wires from my ears abruptly, an innocent smile on her face when I turned to her.

"Why did you do that?! It was just getting to the good part!" I hissed, to which she scanned my phone screen.

"You're listening to Little Mix? They're all good parts," Sonia insisted, and my anger melted away.

I chuckled, then said, "Well alright, what's on your mind that you're so desperately needing me to distract you from it?"

She blinked at me, and her customary fierce smile fell. It was then that I noticed the way her hands were shaking, "I'm getting nervous..."

The forest outside the bus became denser around us as we went deeper in. Sonia warily eyed the trees, looking like a caged animal being brought closer and closer to a pit of fire.

Unconsciously, I held her hands. Looking into her eyes, I could see her fear...her dread.

"I'm here for you, Sonia. Want to maybe listen to some songs with me?" I offered, and she nodded.

As we plugged in our separate earbuds, she drew closer to me. I could feel her cheek against mine, noticed her merry smile and her subtle dance movements. Happily, I swayed with her.

Suddenly, the first song ended. After a few seconds of silence, a slow, romantic song began to play. We shifted and our eyes met, and I was unsure of whether or not I was supposed to change it. Sonia smiled at me, capturing the likeness of every all-encompassing siren and mesmerizing femme fatale I'd ever known, and I froze in my seat.

Then the bus jerked forward, halting. I was entranced by the way Sonia's voluminous hair bounced through the motions, and I chuckled when I noticed her arm outstretched in front of me, which she instinctively ejected to shield me.

We pulled out our earbuds and looked around.

"Children," a chaperone addressed us at the front of the bus, "Bus A gets out before us, and Bus C will get out after us. Sit tight and keep it down for a few more minutes."

With the promise of more valuable moments to spare, Sonia looked at me intensely.

"Marnie, we're about to step out and see a traumatic place for the first time since my brother was killed. And I need to know something before we face this because I can't have any baggage after," she said, and I sat stiffly, angled towards her.

"What is it?"

"...back at the laser tag arena, almost a year ago. I kissed you. We made out. Did that mean anything to you, Mar? Anything at all?"

The events flashed through my mind again, a haunting kaleidoscope of memories. I recalled how her hands roamed my body insistently, the neon lights cascading around us, how sore my lips were in the aftermath. How she'd cornered me like prey in the moments before. How there was nothing but her on my mind as it transpired.

Then later in the day, how I lied to her. How I told her it was a mistake. How I saw the tears prick her eyes before she ran off. How the guilt settled into my gut, making a home for itself that would last for several months. Until now.

"It did mean something to me, Sonia. I don't know if you can ever forgive me for lying, or how I hurt you..."

For half a second she was stunned. Then, swiftly, a smug grin settled onto her face.

"I knew it."

•

Hand in hand, Sonia and I gradually stepped off the bus. I let myself look up, and her grip tightened as she did as well.

Pain the likes of which I'd never known tightened like a vice in my chest. The tears were pouring before I even acknowledged them. Around us, the chaperones and students alike seemed unsure of whether or not to approach us.

Sonia and I shared a glance, and in an instant her arms were around me. I succumbed to her embrace, and we both sniffled. I could swear she began to rock me.

"Guys..." Holden approached us looking downcast, Cornelia and Persephone in tow.

Persephone watched as they joined our embrace. It seemed like the fact that she couldn't relate in order to help and understand us was tearing her apart.

"Everyone!" Principal Schaefer called out after stepping off of Bus C, "Collect your belongings from under the buses and make your way to your chaperones. They're each standing on the grounds you'll be setting up. Later today we'll do our first activities, but for now get settled in. Make it snappy!"

The students dispersed, and through the crowd, I caught a girl staring at us - she was Safa, Sonia's old friend, who also used to be Kyle's crush. She scanned us intently, then moved along.

I thought nothing of it.

•

"Damn it!"

Our group's chaperone and history teacher Ms. Madsen cussed under her breath as a single beam of the tent snapped and collapsed yet again. She ruffled her straightened black hair, mocha skin glistening with sweat. From our separate sides of the area, we chuckled. She rolled her eyes at us, smirking.

"Don't you children have any home training? No one's helping the pregnant woman!" Ms. Madsen sighed exaggeratedly, and Sonia begrudgingly came to her aid.

I was quite fond of Ms. Madsen as a teacher's pet, but she was never one to tolerate troublemakers. It was as if she could sniff Sonia's personality traits out, and I could tell they would tend to clash.

Looking across the campsite, I locked eyes with Holden. He fumbled with the materials helplessly, hands shaking. Principal Schaefer noticed and attempted to console him. Meanwhile, Cornelia sat on a log nearby, turning her nose up at the surroundings.

"To work, Pembrooke," Ms. Madsen teased me, and I resumed my hammering of the nails into the ground.

Soon, free time was allotted to everyone, and as the chaperones discussed the plans for the day and our classmates chatted carelessly, Cornelia, Holden, Sonia, Persephone, and I all tucked ourselves into a secluded corner, ready to plan.

"So...any ideas?" I asked, and Persephone began to speak, her eyes flitting across the scenery.

"It's been way too long for any evidence to still be floating around, but the camp office building is bound to have some documents about what happened, right?" she said, and we all considered that, nodding.

Holden picked a stick up and began drawing locations in the dirt.

"Let's map this out," he said, "Cornelia and I live here, towards the east. And the camp offices are all the way down here, which is west. Usually, they're deserted, save for some snoozing security guy, right? Someone should cause a distraction to draw them out while the others go inside and try to find the file cabinets."

"Dude," Sonia rolled her eyes, "We could've literally wrote this down in our notebooks..."

Cornelia chuckled, and once again, Persephone piped up, "But wait, how are we going to get to the office building? There's chaperones everywhere and there's scheduled events."

"As much as Sherlock here is unwelcome, she's got a point," Sonia agreed, "We'll have to go at night, when the chaperones are asleep."

"Fat chance. Ms. Madsen sleeps like a kitten. Last year she was napping in her classroom and called out to me while I was snooping in the assignment bin across the room," Holden said, and I nodded.

"I do not want to get on her bad side if we're gonna be here for three days. We'll have to pretend we're looking for the restrooms if we're caught. Also...what exactly are we even looking for?"

"Evidence that the police did a half ass job. Pictures. Obstruction of justice stuff. Answers!" Sonia responded, and we all glanced at each other.

"...go team?" Holden offered his hand.

After several silent moments, Persephone and I added ours, chuckling.

"Go team!" we cheered, and Cornelia scoffed as Sonia rolled her eyes.

We noticed classmates farther away eyeing us, whispering. I wondered if they thought we were all back together again...and it comforted me.

As I scanned our group, I saw the same warmth reflected in their eyes. Then, we dispersed.

"Later, losers. Can't be seen with y'all for too long," Sonia smiled sweetly, then sashayed her hips as she walked away.

Holden threw up a peace sign, making for the group of chaperones to assist them in their organizing efforts. Cornelia followed Sonia, leaving Persephone and I alone.

She raised an eyebrow at me, "Up for an adventure, Marnie?"

*

Persephone aimlessly wandered through the wilderness, leaving a trail of pebbles behind us. We happened upon a small pond eventually, and she beamed.

"Perfect!" she exclaimed, then began to unzip her dress.

"Woah!" I shielded my eyes, "You're going into that water? What if there's, like, a brain cell eating amoeba species in there?"

She laughed, "What brain cells do I have left after that math test? And anyhow, I won't go in with my dress on, but I'm keeping my under clothes. Come on, Marnie, join me!"

I lowered my hands, taking in Persephone's appearance as briefly as I could. I noticed the stretch marks and cellulite on her thighs, the way her belly slightly jiggled with each movement.

"How can you be so confident?" I asked quietly, and as she lowered into the water, she shrugged.

"Why wouldn't I be? And I just know my worth, I guess. I'm not here to look pretty, even though I am. I'm here to accomplish greatness. Besides, my doctor says I'm perfectly healthy. It's not like I don't have off days with self esteem, though..." she trailed off, "Get in, the water's nice!"

Smiling, I hurriedly stripped to my under clothes as well, then waded in gradually. With a devilish grin, Persephone pulled me in all at once, and I shivered at the cold water.

"This is freezing!" I whined, and she barely acknowledged me through her fit of giggles. When she finally quieted, I spoke again, "Seph, if your doctor says you're healthy, why didn't you use that as ammunition when Cornelia and Sonia were lecturing you?"

"Simple," she plucked a marigold flower from a bush at the edge of the pond and began picking off the petals one by one, "One, they're not entitled to my medical info. Two, I stopped feeling like I owed the world an explanation a long time ago. Plus, I honestly see those personal attacks as a projection of their own insecurities."

I blinked at her, "That's a very detailed answer. What's the flower for?"

For a few moments, Seph stared silently at me, as if calculating something in her head. Then she drew closer, and I could see the water droplets cascading down her face. The sun's rays made her eyes seem like pools of honey. Subtle gusts of wind picked up strands of her fiery hair.

Was I staring?

She spoke, "She's checking me out...she's checking me out not! She's checking me out...she's checking me out not!" Pluck, pluck, pluck, pluck, "Would you look at that?"

Persephone plucked the last petal and said, "Looks like she's checking me out."

Blushing profusely, I lowered my eyes to the water, watching how it rippled between us. I chuckled softly, "Sorry!"

Persephone only smiled. Suddenly, she bounded forward with her lips puckered.

To my utter surprise, she proceeded to blow gently on my cheek.

"Stray eyelash," she explained with a soft, almost cooing voice.

She was so close to me that I could smell the rose water she sprayed in her hair and the mango body butter that kept her skin as soft and vibrant as it was. Lost in her eyes, I felt like I was flying.

Then she splashed me.

"We should head back to camp before someone notices we're gone," Persephone said, then climbed out of the water, pausing in the sun for a few moments.

Without even trying, she bore likeness to a Grecian goddess - it was literally in the name.

I hastily followed her, self conscious as I dried beside her. She peered over at me as she rung out the tips of her hair.

"You're beautiful, Mar. And that's not even the best thing about you. Don't ever forget that."

I couldn't help but smile and avert my eyes once again. On the ground, I saw a shimmering bracelet nestled deeply within the bush Persephone had plucked the flower from. Picking it up, I realized it was eerily familiar.

"This is Cornelia's! She was wearing this the night..." my voice wavered.

"You were all over here? You're handling these triggering surroundings incredibly well then, why didn't you mention?!"

"No, no, she stopped to check on the flowers as we were taking her home. She must've done that here, we weren't with her. Gosh, would she even want this back?"

Persephone narrowed her eyes, "Who stops to check on marigolds in the dark, alone?"

I hated to even acknowledge what she could've been insinuating. Instead, I turned towards the pebble trail.

"Let's get to camp, Seph."

*

Under the cloak of night time, my group of friends and I hurriedly navigated through the woods, our path illuminated by a pocket flashlight. Holden led us beside Sonia, and we tried to be careful so that the crunching of rocks and leaves under our feet was not too loud.

After what seemed like ages of trudging, we finally happened upon a dingy building. The sign a few yards away read "Plum Creek Campsite Offices".

"We made it!" Holden whisper-screamed, clicking the flashlight off, and Sonia covered his mouth, wildly gesturing for us to be quiet as she pointed at two shadows that spoke just out of view.

We all chanced it and drew closer, hidden, to hear who it was.

" -I'm telling you, the kids won't be any trouble! Think, Wildman. What teenagers would take it upon themselves to investigate a murder?"

A deep male voice replied, and his was eerie, like the low rumbling of boulders during an earthquake, "A death, Christine. A death."

Christine. That name was familiar, and so was her voice. It belonged to...

We looked at Cornelia, who mouthed, "That's Principal Schaefer!"

Tuning in again to try and decipher the other person's identity, we stood still.

"Right. Sorry. A death. And still, the children aren't so curious. From what I've seen, they accept it for what the police told them. And how could they coordinate any scheming when they've only just begun to tolerate each other again?" Schaefer insisted, to which the man huffed.

"Don't give me that, Christine. Why else would Sonia Moreno join your trip? Whose eyes do you have on them right this moment? For all you know, they could be rifling through our papers."

"Maybe Sonia is emotional support for the rest of them. And I know for a fact that they're sound asleep with the rest of the students."

The two began to drift farther away so that we all strained to hear them.

"Christine. Enough. You know as well as I do why we need to keep them from the truth. They're not ready for our world or its workings. They never will be. Frankly, this entire trip was a bad idea on your part. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were trying to bring them closer."

"Ridiculous! This is the cheapest field trip our school could afford. You flinging these assumptions around is insulting!"

"Then I'm sure you wouldn't mind standing guard all night with me."

"...I suppose not."

Principal Schaefer stepped inside the office building. We all held our breath as the mystery man briefly trudged closer and closer to our hiding spot.

Finally he spat at the ground, "Damn squirrels."

We watched him walk inside, turning to each other with equally horrified expressions.