STRANDED (THE WILDS KIRIN O'CONNOR)

DAY 15. KILLING THE JAG & PROMISES FULFILLED

Raf, Josh, and I were at the bunker clearing stuff out. I was at the bottom passing the boxes to Raf who then passed them to Josh who placed them on the ground. We had been working for awhile I was sweating.

I threw my hair up in a ponytail to help cool me off, "Wanna head up take a break?" Raf asked "I would love a break." Raf and I climbed up the rungs of the latter and sat down on the forest floor.

Josh whistles as he finds three metal bars and starts to flip one of them in between the other two. "How cool is that? I learned this at circus camp when I was a kid." I smiled as I watch Josh have fun. "Maybe try and stay on task?" Raf reprimands Josh.

"Hey we're taking a break, let the kid have his fun." I back Josh up. Josh puts the bars down and sits next to me, "It's crazy that we don't know each other better. Like, why aren't you in the Latinx club? I'm not of the decent, but they let me sit in to learn." Josh looks to Raf as he speaks.

"By the way, which do you prefer? Hispanic, Latino?" "Mexican is fine." Raf answers Josh's question. "You're saying that I can say it? You're, like, giving me a pass right now?" Josh looks to Raf in astonishment. I giggle as I look at Raf "Mexican isn't a slur, Josh." Raf eases.

"I know, right? Like, I always tell my family not to wear sombreros on Cinco de Mayo. They don't get how their appropriation white-washes the spirit of anti-colonial resistance." Josh agrees Raf nods his head seemingly impressed "Really learned a lot in that club there."

"I have." Josh nods "And that is why I only celebrate Día de los Muertos, good ol' Mexican Halloween." I face palm and shake my head "It's not "Mexican Halloween"" I quote the words "It's the day of the dead."

Raf looks at me a smiles "Exactly." "Whoa, how did you know that?" Josh asks "Muertos means dead in Spanish. Day of the dead." Josh looks from me to Raf who nods "She is right, who knew Emma James was a secret intellectual."

"There's a lot of things you don't know about e Garcia."

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Eventually we get the bunker cleared out and have boxes upon boxes laid across the forest floor, Josh moves to go do something but knocks a box over spilling its contents out. "What do you think he'd rate it?" Josh asks looking from me to Raf.

Raf and I look to one another confused before Raf answers Josh "Oh, uh. 7." I stand up "Well I'm heading back to the beach since we got the stuff out of the bunker." Josh nods and looks to Raf as I stand up Raf looks behind his shoulder to look at me.

He gives me a look as if asking me to stay but I shake my head and mouth a sorry before turning around and heading back to camp.

When I got back to camp everyone was already there Seth was the first to spot me "Emma! Just in time." "Where's Raf and Josh?" Bo asks as he looks behind me "The bunker, Josh started talking about spillz and I did my part so I found my chance of escape." Everyone nodded understanding.

"Bunkers cleared though, so whenever y'all are good we can head out." "Y'all?" Ivan asks looking grossed out. I rolled my eyes playfully, each of us grabbed a fear spears and headed off to the bunker.

Once we got there Raf and Josh had gotten rid of the boxes that were there when I left them, we had decided to section the spears in groups of fours and tie them together with ripped up fabric and then gently ease them into the bunker.

"Two more here." Seth pointed from above as Scotty and I moved and placed some spears where Seth had pointed, Scotty and I were nominated to go into the bunker and place the spears as we were the smallest members.