Pretty Follies

I felt my body sinking into the curves of my bed, the familiar scent of my room and coffee danced around my head. The aroma of the room only added to the warmth of the morning sun rays shining through the window, which I knew my dog was lazing in below my feet.

I shifted on the snug mattress, taking in a deep breath of much missed familiarity. But then something unexpected hit my face: a brush of wind.

And then I realized that the plush cushion against my back was actually a rock jabbing into me. The cozy blanket snuggling around my body was in fact mosquitoes basking in the sweltering heat. And instead of fresh brew, it was fresh sweat.

Stiffly and very slowly, I sat up, putting my hands behind me to support my body. I was still in the same place, the same dirty ground beneath me, the same towering trees above me. I was really starting to hate it.

Looking to my right, I saw Lorraine still sleeping, just how I had left her. I wasn’t sure exactly how long Lorraine and I had been sleeping, but it must have been quite awhile; the sun was almost in the center of the sky and beating down on us. I stretched my limbs gingerly; it felt good to get a good night sleep, well, a full night sleep, actually, just sleep.

However it wasn’t a good feeling to wake up with a growling stomach, knowing someone wasn’t downstairs cooking pancakes and bacon for you, or not having a bathtub two doors away to soak in.

The memory of actually living in a house and having friends and simply being a part of civilization was very blurry concept in my mind. Are our families worried about us? Have they come across the abandoned car? Have they gone out looking for us? Are they walking around the forest like we are? Did they go back home? Have the police been called?

Beside me, Lorraine’s arms stirred and her face started to move, meaning she was regaining consciousness. I’m sure she was worried too. Especially from last night. Lorraine, the strong, cold-hearted, walking stone, Stalin in woman form, broke down. To see that, it was more surprising and almost a little devastating than being stuck in this forest.

I actually felt a little bad. She actually did have a line to cross, a final straw and well, a heart. She did have feelings and through all of that, she was still able to show she was a bigger person, metaphorically of course, and be decent to me. Letting me comfort her as she cried proved she was actually mature enough to look past my face and how it annoyed her.

And I look like the ass. The one who was a bitch the entire car ride, not caring enough when we first entered the forest, testing Lorraine’s patience, making her fall and hurt her ankle, and finally making her cry. Honestly, what were we doing? We are lost in this forest and our main focus was to continue to shove blame on the other, fuck with each other’s emotions and act like children.

I think the reason I was so blown by Lorraine’s actions was because she actually did take the first step towards acting her age towards me, something I had yet to do. Goddamn this forest. Goddamn that ledge. Goddamn her ankle. Goddamn her. Goddamn me.

Lorraine stirred again and her eyes fluttered a couple times but she still wasn’t awake enough to keep them open. I traced her body down to her ankle. Her purple converse did a good job at covering the swelling but poking through the hem of her socks, I could see the nasty yellow, green and blue blotches of her skin. Compared to her other ankle, her left one was almost three times the size.

How would the rest of the day go? I’d have to carry her; the pain was probably getting worse. Lorraine wouldn’t say it, because she hated sounding whiney, but it was just my logic that without medical attention it would start to become shoddier.

I was exhausted. My body was weak. It was tough to simply lift my arm, I had no idea how I’d help her. If I was nourished and hadn’t been stranded here for almost two days, I would be able the carry Lorraine on my back like she was just another T-Shirt I was wearing, but that wasn’t the case. I would have to take it minute by minute, hour by hour or actually, day by day.

That was a scary thought. We might still be here in three days. We don’t know how long it will be. And I could only pray that we wouldn’t run into any problems.

“Well good morning, pig face.”

Of course. How could I think that things between Lorraine and me would maybe, possibly have made a little improvement. It was kind of like you don’t realize you like something until it was gone. Now that Lorraine and I were a little more civil, I realized that I appreciated the found niceness that I never even imagined we could both give off.

“Bad morning to you too, Laney.”

Lorraine struggled to sit up and once she did, she put her hands back to support herself just like I was doing.

Turning her head, she glared at me and spat, “It’s Lorraine.”

I watched as she ran her fingers through her grimy hair. “Why do you care so much?” Lorraine squinted her eyes at me, confused and annoyed. “It’s just a name,” I clarified.

“It’s not my name.”

I started to stand up. “Yes. It is.”

“No. Alex, you’re the only one who calls me that. It’s annoying.”

“Yeah…consider it, a nickname,” I joked meanly and I brushed off the dirt and pebbles from my limbs.

“You do it out of spite.”

“Only because you consistently abrade me and adduce me to do it.”

“Nothing I do exonerates it.”

I threw my hands up, “Everything you do does!” I started to pace the ground around her and she struggled to stand up, failing on each attempt.

“Everything you do does!”

“Can we just keep going so we can get out of this fucking Satan whole?”

“Fine,” she grumbled, clearly not wanting to continue to argue. She tried again to get up but finally gave up and held out her hands stubbornly, not wanting to ask for my help but evidently having to.

Grudgingly, I grabbed her boney fingers and pulled her up, helping her keep her balance once she was up as she hopped around on one leg and trying to keep weight off of her hurt ankle. Once she was steady, I took her arm and wrapped it around my waist and I wrapped mine around hers, ready to get a move on.

I started walking in a random direction, and Lorraine hesitated.

“You know, me dragging you might get a little old after a while.”

She made a face before talking, “Isn’t that the direction we came from?”

“I don’t know. And I don’t think it really matters. We’re lost as fuck anyways.”

“Well where should we go?” she asked. “Can’t you think of any information? Anything your parents said?”

I paused as I thought back to packing for the trip. I thought back to when we were planning for everything. On the phone, my parents just told me about the surrounds. Nothing about how there was a human-eating jungle. My mind was blank. There was nothing. I looked at Lorraine but all she had was an empty mind and empty expression.

I could see the annoyance growing on her face. Not with me necessarily, I’m sure that was a factor, but just with the situation. The more I thought, the more I came up short and soon there really wasn’t anything left to think about in my brain.

I started to move forward but suddenly froze.

“What? What?” Lorraine asked anxiously. “Do you remember something?”

My dad. The fire. The bonfire the first night. We were talking. My dad was telling Hank about a river? A lake? A stream?

“What is it Alex?”

A stream that was north. A while walk from our camp. Who knows how far out we were now. But at least it was north, according to our fathers.

“T-There’s a stream,” I said, a little unsure. “There’s a stream.”

“Where?” she asked excitedly. “Where is it?”

“All I know is it’s north.”

“Well that’s enough information!” she smiled.

I looked up at the sun and judging by its position, I turned my body in the Northern direction.

“Well, this is it,” I said pointing in the right direction. With the new information, a little hope rose in my chest. I could tell Lorraine was excited too; her eyes weren’t as heavy as before. A little glimmer of optimism sparkled in our brown eyes as I bent down to let Lorraine climb on my back and together, we trudged in the direction of salvation.