Star Darlings; the Other 12

The Heart of the Forest

"Come on guys," Phil said, leading the 21 groups of sleep-deprived teenagers along the dock. The HMS Stardust had docked at the Nebula Metropolis. It was a small town, but it is a center of trade. People flocked the docks, all looking for customers and merchants. Captains stood in front of their ships, hoping to get someone who wanted to ship products or is loading goods.

"Why do you always wake so early?" Clover asked, yawning. "It's barely 8."

"It's a habit I guess," Phil said.

"So people describe you as the morning person of the whole group?" Clover asked.

"Yeah, you can say that," Phil said. "It's complicated. I had insomnia once during Wee Constellation School. I had to listen to some tips the doctors told me to, like have a proper sleep schedule and whatnot."

"That's gotta suck," Clover said.

A star bus waiting for them at the other end of town, where they'd be on for the next few hours until they reached the Nebulian National Park. One of the oldest forests on Starland, it has been declared a Heritage Ground by the Officials. Its massive red dwarf woods, the tallest trees ever found, cover the skies around for miles and miles. In the heart of the forest, it lives Iapetus, the tallest tree measuring over a 1 kilometre tall and over 50 m in diameter, it is the biggest tree alive. They were going to camp in the heart of the forest for 2 days, an honour to say the least. Very few people were allowed to go into the heart of the forest, for the officials were afraid too much foot traffic would cause the trees to die. Some did before the area was called a Heritage ground, from littering, roots being snapped, and some trees were cut down for their popular and beautiful wood. (I just wrote a paragraph about a park and trees. What am I doing with my life?)

"There's the bus guys!" Nicholas called from the back of the group. "You can sleep there!"

At the sound of the word: "sleep", the others immediately perked up. They ran to the bus, getting in their seats before falling asleep in 10 seconds. Everyone except Phil and Nicholas. Nicholas because he's Nicholas and Phil because he's a morning person.

The bumpy road made it rather difficult to sleep, but the SD managed. There were others on the bus, from the usual tourists and guides to a dark-haired 15-year-old in a hoodie and jeans. (Wait...)

Phil stared out the window for hours, looking at the changing forests. First, it was overflowing, then it changed to century-old sky oak. Finally, the red dwarf woods. They grew taller than most buildings and took almost 2 people to surround the tree. The trees got older and older as they went.

The others started to stir, mainly because the road got bumpier and bumpier as they stopped being paved roads and instead of dirt. Like real dirt. The ground wasn't even level properly. Small ditches, little gatherings of dirt on the ground, make everything a nightmare for everyone on board.

"Is there a toilet on this bus?" Cassie asked meekly. The 15-year-old pointed to the back, where a sign read: washroom. "Thanks."

She ran to the back, where she threw up a good portion of her breakfast. All her breakfast.

"This place's WiFi signal is awful," Gemma muttered, trying to log in to Instagram. "I guess I'll have to upload these pictures when we reach a place with WiFi."

"Ugh," Cassie said, stepping out of the washroom. "This bus ride is the worst I've never had in years."

"I've had worse," Astra muttered. "On a bus filled to the brim with sweaty people and going through a forest that surprisingly had worse roads than this."

"Pathetic," Scarlet muttered, although she was getting nauseous.

After what seemed like HOURS of bad roads and about ten people going to the washroom (not counting the other tourists), they finally reached the centre of the forest, where they will stay for the next 2 days in the woods.

"Come on guys." Nicholas led the way, through the dense trees of the forest and to the visitor's centre, where they'd be spending another 2 hours (This is gonna be fun.)

They checked in at the visitor center, a dome-shaped building that was nearly hidden by the trees, where they were offered tents, camping gear, and food for the next few days. They'll be camping near a cabin in the woods, which has stoves, a fridge, a bed and first aid kit in case of emergencies, and an SOS signal. They won't be staying in there, though. They'll be camping nearby, but they can use the stove and the fridge.

"Where do we put our suitcases?" Sage asked. "We can't exactly carry all these around, can we?"

"No, you store it in the lockers that came with your ticket." the supervisor said from the counter. "We'll keep them safe. Just remember to remove any things you need; you wouldn't be able to retrieve them until the 2-day ticket is over."

"Thanks," Libby said.

"Hello." The dark-hair 15-year-old said, approaching the check-in.

"Oh, Mr. Davis!" The supervisor smiled. "We're glad you made it; we heard the HMS Stardust was hit by a storm!"

"Yeah. No one got hurt." He said. "Can I still go in or is the Heart of the Forest full now?"

"No, there's just 1 space left out of the 25." The supervisor said. "The others are over there; it's best if you camp with them. The Heart isn't exactly the safest place."

"Thanks for the tip." he tossed a 50 dollar bill to the supervisor. "Here's a tip for you." the supervisor smiled, showing his thanks.

The man walked towards the lockers, where he stored his suitcase. Nicholas walked to him.

"Colin Davis?" he said incredulously. "Of all the names in the world you choose that?"

"Ha. It's not like they know my first name. The name I have to go by is Mason. I hate it, but they don't want my name out in the world, so I have to go with it."

"So you're gonna be on this trip."

"I can't miss out on this."

"Come guys," Nicholas called. "We gotta go!"

"Alright," Ganymede called back.

"We'll see you on the bus," Colin said. "Come on, Nicholas."

The 2 walked off while the others are still struggling with what they'll bring.

Soon, they decided what they'll take, and headed to the bus. Nicholas and Colin were already there, lining up for the others.

"Come on," Nicholas said. "We don't have all day."

They all boarded the bus, ready for the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.