The Forest Between Us

“Hi guys, my name is Josh, and I’m your camp guide and counselor for Group 1.

Let's get started! Your teacher has scheduled you guys to learn about bird calls in the

forest.” he says. He’s a tall, slender teenage boy wearing a Camping is Awesome

t-shirt with “counselor” printed on the back. We start hiking deep into the forest,

where the trees are so tall you can’t even see the top. The trees peer over us and sway

with the wind. Glimpses of kinds of squirrels, rabbits, and birds everywhere make the

forest beautiful.

“Do you guys hear that?” Josh says. We can barely hear him over the chattering

of my classmates. “It’s the mating call of a woodpecker.” A faint high-pitched shrill

fades in the distance. Everyone quiets down, fascinated. A lower-pitched whistling

noise comes next. “And that, kids, is the call of a raven.” We all know that Zachary, an

incredibly loud kid made that sound, but it seems like Josh didn’t catch it. Everyone

bursts into laughter.

“Dude, that was so funny.” a boy elbows Zachary. Ugh! He’s so annoying. Josh’s

face turns beet red from the embarrassment. Parker, Zachary’s friend, whispered, “Bro,

how did he not catch that? I bet he’s just some high schooler with a 2.0 GPA doing

community service or something, there’s no way a professional’s this terrible.” I feel

bad for Josh, especially with everyone laughing and snickering at him. His face flushes

red immediately. We continue with the trail, listening to the bird calls, and filling out

our bird-watching checklist. After a while, we’re greeted by the other camp

counselors.

“I think we’re ready for lunch now,” Josh says. Looking at my watch, it’s already

2:27 p.m. “We have grilled cheese and salad today, with water and granola bars,” he

says. We all run up to the plastic white tables set up like a buffet. Once I got my lunch,

I walked up to Emily and sat down, eager to dig in. We sat on the sticky tree sap

benches but decided to stay. Our legs are sore and tense from the walk.

“Em, can you open my bag for me? I need my water bottle.” I ask. “Sure, no

problem,” she says. I can sense a moment of hesitation after the bag’s opened. “Um,

Sophie, it’s not in here,” she says cautiously. I fumble as I take off my backpack. “My

water bottle’s supposed to be in here.” I panic. “Like, as in, the water bottle I need for

the whole week.” I searched my whole bag in case I put it somewhere else, but no

luck. I must’ve left it at the trailhead. I told Emily to tell Josh that I was going to run

back and grab my bottle and some plastic water bottles for refills, but I doubt she

heard me. 15 minutes after sprinting, I finally reached the trailhead. I let out a sigh of

relief as I grabbed my dusty blue bottle in the dirt and some extra plastic water bottles

to store for later.

I turn around to reveal two split paths. I frown, trying to recall which side I came

from. Was it left...? Or was it right... Frustrated, I just choose the left side and keep

walking through the woods. The gritty pebbles crunch softly under my feet. It’s eerily

silent as the sky’s slowly covered with a blanket of dark clouds. My heart’s beating fast,

panicking more and more with each step I take. It’s pitch black now. As I keep going, I

lose track of where to go. Where is everyone?

“Josh? Hello? Can anyone hear me?”I yell out. Great, I’m alone. I keep walking

and walking until I can find signs of kids or noise. A faint rustling noise of crunching

leaves on the ground is behind me. Could it be a person to save me? They move

forward faster and faster until I can see their shadow on the ground. I look.

It’s Hazel.

Forget I said anything about needing help. My ex-best friend will do no help

but kill us both. Once she sees me, she puts on her usual poker face. “Oh. It’s you,”

she says stiffly, slowly taking a step back, ready to leave. I debate on whether to ask

for her help before it’s too late. It’s dark already; I have to ask her for help. I can’t take

myself to it, but I have to do this so I can get out alive. I sprint as fast as my legs can

carry.

“Wait!” I stumble. “Can you help me get back to my cabin? I, uh, got lost while

I tried to look for my water bottle. We don’t have to talk, j-just... I need to find my way

back.” She’s quiet. A moment passes by, and then another, and then I realize she

won't agree. She hasn’t forgiven me yet, and I don’t expect her to. But can’t she just

bend our agreement to not talk this one time? I sigh. Hazel scoffs.

“Fine. You know what you did, but I just want to get back to the cabins.” I

didn’t expect that reaction, but at least she’s willing to help. She pulls out her flashlight

and a compass. We walk south for thirty minutes, but nothing’s there. We walk east,

but nothing either. The trees aren’t even the same kind I look over at Hazel. Her face is

calm, with no reaction from the rustling of leaves in bushes nearby or even a wolf

howling. By now, the sun has set ages ago and the bright round moon is high up in the

sky. We’re lost, hungry, and just miserable. I can tell she’s given up by the way she’s

slouching now, her flashlight flickering in the darkness. I look at my watch. It’s 5:47

already. It's dark and we can only rely on the shining source from her flashlight. I break

our no-talking pact.

“I really don’t think we’re going in the right direction, Hazel,” I say. She frowns.

“That’s impossible. I’m always right.” It's hard not to roll my eyes, but I can’t help it.

She’s just as obnoxious as she was before. I try to prove that we’re going farther and

farther away from our cabins. “Look, we went south and east which had nothing that

we saw this morning. And we’ve gone west for over-” I check my watch. “32 minutes

now, if my math is correct.” She snorts, “Since when were you good at math?”

Forever, actually. She isn’t even in the same math class as me. You can’t be talking, you

aren't even in Honors, I want to reply. But saying that will only add fuel to the fire.

“We’re going in the right direction,” she says firmly. “The North Star is over

there.” She points to the brightest star in the sky, above the Big Dipper. We’ve been

going north this whole time.” I pull out the compass in my pocket. It’s saying that

we’re facing west. Without warning, she snatches all the things in my pocket. “Hey!” I

protest. I didn’t give her permission to touch any of my things. “Stop yelling, you

dummy. You had a ring in there. That forced the needle in the wrong direction.” She

rolls her eyes at me. The needle indeed forces north. My face flushes red in the dark.

As if that wasn’t obnoxious enough, she has to start talking again. Smugly, she says,

“By the way, it was 38 minutes, not 32.” She grins, knowing that it makes me annoyed.

Ugh! We continue walking in silence the rest of the way, in her direction. As the time

goes by, it grows colder and colder. Teeth chattering, we keep on walking. The forest

is foggy, and it’s getting harder to see anything. Eyes squinting, I look up when she

taps my arm. It’s a cabin bathroom. My stomach jolts. She was right this whole time.

The cabins must be right nearby. I can’t bring myself to look at her. I must’ve looked so

dumb while trying to convince her to walk the other way. My other friend, Kaitlyn,

walks out of the bathroom.

“Hey,” she says. “Did you guys finish the scavenger hunt?” I’m so tired that I

barely take in her words. “S-scavenger hunt?” I ask, confused. “Yeah, y’know, the one

you did with Hazel?” She looks over at Hazel, now just as confused as I am. “Oh, yeah,

it was fine. I’m starving,” I say, my stomach rumbling on cue. “Should we go to the

dining hall?”

“Yeah, let’s go, I’m pretty hungry too, “ Kaitlyn replies. Dinner’s amazing, the

food and the dining hall warmed me up. We all tell ghost stories around the campfire

after dinner, but my brain keeps going elsewhere. I can’t believe Hazel was right about

the trail. And I was being so stubborn about going in the wrong direction. Honestly a

new low for me. I need to apologize. When I get back to my cabin and get ready for

the night, there’s a tap on our door. It’s Hazel.

“Can I talk to you?” she asks, her voice soft. My cabinmates look at me

suspiciously, but I nod anyway. She pulls me outside, handing me a letter. “This will be

quick, I promise.” I open the letter, written in the neatest handwriting I’ve ever seen.

Typical Hazel. I didn’t want to be the one who broke it, but I think I was wrong to shut

you out. And, I’m really sorry for what I said. Maybe...we start over?

“You didn’t need to write this,” I finally said, dumbfounded. “I didn’t... I didn’t

know what to do either. I never meant to hurt you.”

She looks away for a moment, then nods. “I know. But we’ve been stuck in this

weird place for too long. Maybe we could talk about it someday.” I stand there,

holding the letter, a weight lifted off my shoulders.

“I think I’d like that,” I smile. I lift my pinky finger. “Truce?” I ask.

“Truce,” she says, locking fingers.

The End