The Survival Experiment
Desert Delirium
Little by little, we shuffled closer to a possible piece of paradise in the middle of a barren wasteland. Jada was right; we were all seeing the same thing and it wasn't a mirage.
"I miss my ipod," Finn stated, breaking the fifteen-minute silence.
"I miss my phone," Tiffany responded.
Finn's brother Wade added, "I miss my camera."
"I think I'm going to pretend that I still have it," Finn declared. He held his hands over his ears and began singing Bohemian Rhapsody in a very comical falsetto.
Laughing, Tiffany made a phone with her hand and starting conversing on it with an imaginary friend. "Hello? Oh, hi, Kate! Yeah, I'm great; I'm getting a lovely suntan!" She faked an irritating laugh.
Wade made a box with his fingers and clicked the top, using his voice to add an obnoxious sound effect. He took imaginary pictures of the sky, the earth, and his brother, who was still dancing to his own tune.
We were all starting to get just a little delirious.
Loudly, Finn sang, "Scaramouche! Scaramouche! Will you do the fandango?"
"What was that?" Tiffany asked 'Kate.' "Elvis Presley and Smokey the Bear are boxing in your living room? Shut up, no way! Who's winning?"
Wade came to stand in front of me, and I smiled for him as he took a photo. He looked at me as if I were on the screen of his camera and said, "This one's a keeper."
My mint green eyes stayed locked with Wade's sky blue ones through the box made by his fingers, and my surroundings began to slowly fade out of my regard.
"It's a fuckin' swamp!" Giorgie yelled, breaking my trance. Everyone returned their attention to the oasis we had been chasing only to find that Giorgie was absolutely right. In a matter of seconds, beautiful palm trees had morphed into eerie willows with hanging vines, and crystal clear water had evolved into green-brown muck.
"At least it's cool and damp," Jada shrugged. "We'll rest for the night, and then in the morning, we'll set off for the finish line."
"Right," Ramona began. "Except that, after your wild goose chase for an imaginary oasis, we no longer know where the finish line is!"
"Yeah, whatever, smartass," Jada spat, continuing on toward the swamp.
"We're hardly a few yards away," I reasoned with Ramona. "Why stop now?"
"At least we'll just be lost instead of hot and lost," Wade added.
"True," she sighed, and we all shuffled along behind Jada in a disorderly cluster, to finish the journey she had started us on.
"I miss my ipod," Finn stated, breaking the fifteen-minute silence.
"I miss my phone," Tiffany responded.
Finn's brother Wade added, "I miss my camera."
"I think I'm going to pretend that I still have it," Finn declared. He held his hands over his ears and began singing Bohemian Rhapsody in a very comical falsetto.
Laughing, Tiffany made a phone with her hand and starting conversing on it with an imaginary friend. "Hello? Oh, hi, Kate! Yeah, I'm great; I'm getting a lovely suntan!" She faked an irritating laugh.
Wade made a box with his fingers and clicked the top, using his voice to add an obnoxious sound effect. He took imaginary pictures of the sky, the earth, and his brother, who was still dancing to his own tune.
We were all starting to get just a little delirious.
Loudly, Finn sang, "Scaramouche! Scaramouche! Will you do the fandango?"
"What was that?" Tiffany asked 'Kate.' "Elvis Presley and Smokey the Bear are boxing in your living room? Shut up, no way! Who's winning?"
Wade came to stand in front of me, and I smiled for him as he took a photo. He looked at me as if I were on the screen of his camera and said, "This one's a keeper."
My mint green eyes stayed locked with Wade's sky blue ones through the box made by his fingers, and my surroundings began to slowly fade out of my regard.
"It's a fuckin' swamp!" Giorgie yelled, breaking my trance. Everyone returned their attention to the oasis we had been chasing only to find that Giorgie was absolutely right. In a matter of seconds, beautiful palm trees had morphed into eerie willows with hanging vines, and crystal clear water had evolved into green-brown muck.
"At least it's cool and damp," Jada shrugged. "We'll rest for the night, and then in the morning, we'll set off for the finish line."
"Right," Ramona began. "Except that, after your wild goose chase for an imaginary oasis, we no longer know where the finish line is!"
"Yeah, whatever, smartass," Jada spat, continuing on toward the swamp.
"We're hardly a few yards away," I reasoned with Ramona. "Why stop now?"
"At least we'll just be lost instead of hot and lost," Wade added.
"True," she sighed, and we all shuffled along behind Jada in a disorderly cluster, to finish the journey she had started us on.