Book 1 Chapter 28


    Saweetie/Diamanté Harper as Alena x


    *+*+.)


    ?(******


    Alena‘s POV.


    ‘Well, you look stupid, I snort and try to hide myugh as Aria steps out of the house. She is wearing a


    ‘Are you going on some expedition I don‘t know about?‘ | ask and cover my mouth with my hand, at


    tempting to mask my amusement. Aria lifts her chin and walks past me, over to her huge bag which is


    sat on thewn.


    “Excuse me for being prepared, tell me what protection your tiny shorts will provide should it rain?‘ Aria


    retorts, cing her hands on her hips and raising an eyebrow. I nce down at my small shorts and


    shrug.


    Whilst Aria locks up her house, I check I have everything andce up my trainers. As I look up, I notice


    Aria‘s neighbor, Mrs. Allen, watching me with confusion from her frontwn. I straighten up ande


    over to see her.


    ‘Morning, we‘re off on a camping trip,‘ I greet her, gesturing towards the woods. Hopefully now she’ll


    get why we‘re all carrying big backpacks. She looks at the dense trees standing proudly behind both


    her and Aria‘s houses and turns back to me with a frown on her aged, wrinkled face.


    ‘You be careful girls, there are wolves in the woods, she warns me, her shaking hand grips my own


    tightly and I open my mouth to ask her about it.


    ‘Alena, you ready?‘ Aria calls out and I nce over my shoulder at her.


    ‘Be safe,’ Mrs. Allen warns and I only manage to nod and mumble a thank you. I walk back over to her


    and swing my heavy backpack onto my shoulders.


    ‘What did she say? Aria asks me as we leave the safety of her back garden and enter the forest.


    ‘She wanted to warn us about wolves being in the forest, I tell her, ncing over my shoulder to see


    Mrs. Allen shaking her head at us in the distance.


    ‘Ignore her, she‘s nuts, Ariaughs and I nod in agreement, but I watch Aria carefully, she nces


    around anxiously, and I wonder if she‘s scared of wolves. I look around as well, whilst we push through


    the foliage and bracken, seeing if I catch a glimpse of anything sinister.


    ‘Perhaps we should sing to keep up the pace?‘ Aria suggests and I smile at the idea. Only a few mo


    mentster, the once quiet forest filled only with sounds of bird song, is now echoing with the beautifully


    harmonizing voices of myself and Aria.


    This belongs ? N?velDra/ma.Org.


    There is no clear path, making me think that this wood is not inhabited and rarely visited. Aria says she


    doesn‘t know who owns it, and as there is no perimeter fence or signs then it must be open to the


    public. It was Aria‘s idea for this camping trip, she and Seb have just moved into this quaint, old house


    on the out skirts of the town near Myra‘s.


    We push our way through all the shrubbery, I regret wearing shorts as the branches snag and scratch


    at my legs. It is surprisingly tiring marching through the forest, fighting against branches and dodging


    rough terrain.


    I‘m not sure why I thought this would be a fun thing to do, Aria contemtes out loud as she swats


    bugs around her head. I smirk and look back down at my feet, eyeing roots suspiciously in case they


    try


    and trip me up.


    ‘Come on, you know you‘re having fun,‘ I tease, and she huffs in response.


    We sing a little more as we enter further and deeper into the forest. I be slightly rmed that we


    could struggle to get back out seeing as there are no paths or maps, but Aria assures me that she gets


    sig nal out here and she can use thepass and map apps on her phone to guide us home


    tomorrow.


    ‘This was a good idea Aria, I‘m d you suggested it, I say as we walk next to each other.


    ‘Thanks, but let‘s see if you still think that tonight, she nudges me, and I consider it for a moment. Per


    haps I won‘t be enjoying this so muchter on, when it gets dark and cold, and I have to put a tent‘ up.


    We chat about everything that is going on in our lives as we delve further into the forest, Myra has re


    cently be official with Jayce, and since then they‘ve been spending all of their time together.


    We have been walking.for a few hours now, this wood is never–ending. I chug my water and wipe the


    thinyer of moisture off my forehead, I‘ve had to tie my thick hair up because it was sticking to my


    m my skin. The sun beats down on us and I realize we‘re probably going to have awkward tan lines


    from our backpack tomorrow.


    “How much further?‘ I whine and Aria rolls her eyes at me.


    ‘I don‘t know, we don‘t even know where we‘re going, we‘re just looking for a good spot to camp, she


    replies, but as she is speaking, the trees start to thin out and arge, dark bluekees into view.


    ‘Thank God!‘ I call out and run over to the edge of theke, throwing my backpack on the floor. I kick off


    my trainers, pull off my socks and wade up to my knees in the water,


    ‘Oh my god it‘s so cold, I love it,‘ I groan and run my hands through the still water. It‘s beautiful but


    freezing. Thank God we‘re not skinny dipping, our nips would drop off. I step further in until I‘m up to


    my thighs and I feel instantly refreshed. Aria wades around me, through the water.


    ‘This is so nice, shements as she leans down and scoops handfuls of water and pours them over


    her arms.


    We stay in the water a while, the sun is still shining down on us, making the stillke look like a giant


    sheet of ss. Aria decides to see whether she can skip rocks on the surface of theke, I watch


    amusedly for a bit and then step out of the water. I sit down on the smooth, hard pebbles and close my


    eyes, basking in the warm rays of sunlight drying me out.


    I peek my eyes open as I hear a squeale from Aria, she wobbles and almost falls back into the wa


    ter.