The Golden Party | Aidan Gallagher

05. felt like a decade

– felt like a decade – 

Fire is supposed to come. When the wooden branches don't warm up, Aidan's the one who's fuming. With eyebrows drawn together, he gestures for Euphoria to bring some more of the moss we collected throughout this evening.

      It's now late, dark and cold. Our moods have fallen. Not even William speaks anymore. The backpack doesn't contain any extra clothes, since we were supposed to be back before night fell and the moon rose. My fingers feel like they're about to fall off. My throat is the driest it's ever been, because the only drinks we had with us was a bottle of coke for each teammate. It's all chugged down already.

      Although Aidan's built a whole architectural machine to start a fire to keep us warm for the long night ahead of us, no glowing ember appears. Eventually, he ruins the failed machine by kicking it into several pieces, and it still doesn't light up.

      Mary pouts as she watches Aidan's hands go through his locks out of pure frustration. "It looked nice," she tries kindly.

      "It looked better than it worked," he seethes, angry with himself.

      "Look, we're not in a movie," Euphoria speaks. She's leaning against a trunk, her body too tired to continue our task. "You're no magician. We'll just have to find something else to make sure we don't freeze to death tonight."

      There's only one solution. We all know it, though not single one of us says it out loud, hoping there is another.

      "Cowards," William eventually murmurs. He allows his body to collapse in the long grass. His legs stretch out before him, and his arms nestle underneath his head and neck, forming a sort of pillow. From on the ground, he smiles at the rest of us. He's waiting.

      Euphoria's the first one to furiously shake her head. "If we do have to sleep together, I'm going to lay with the girls."

      "Oh, come on," Will wines instantly. He kicks the air in protest.

      Euphoria goes to sit in the grass. The corners of her lips curl up as she stretches out her arm to Mary. The two nestle themselves between the limitless amount of trees. I almost feel rude to intrude when I go to lay next to them. My legs remind me of the coldness ruling my limbs at the moment, and I don't feel sorry no more.

      Much to Aidan's chagrin, he places himself into the dry grass, William sending a playful wink his way. I'm not surprised when Aidan rolls his eyes. Then, turns so his back's facing Will.

      The darkness of the night swirls around me, like a blanket. Out of reaction, I shift my body one or maybe two centimetres toward the girls'. Their limbs are comfortably curled around each other, providing the warmth they both need to get through the long night ahead of us.

      I don't. My thin layer of clothes doesn't give me enough. I feel my skin prickling at the thought of the insects everywhere around me, both in the air and on the ground. The thought dawns on me that this shouldn't even be happening. We should be either feasting with our teams or sleeping, all fatigued from the task.

      I find myself unable to do both now. There's no feasting on anything. My stomach rambles, though it does so quietly. The screeching of the insects flying somewhere above our heads mutes the sound. My eyes refuse to fall closed, too. Thoughts are striking me one by one. Thoughts. Worries. Possibilities. There's no one to say what tomorrow's going to bring.

      My eyes flicker from star to star, from one cloud to another. I'm at my fifth cloud when soft snores catch my attention. They're coming from Mary and Euphoria. I turn my head slightly, look at the sight of the two. They're from different schools. Yet, they're in each other's' embrace, their breathing as calm like they're laying with someone they want to spend the rest of their lives with.