Teenage Castaways

Chapter Ten || Pierre

We first noticed we weren't as alone as we thought when Adeline returned from a deep hunt. She had informed us that there was a small camp of sorts on the other side of the island, east of our campsite. But there were no people to be found. Just two makeshift lean-tos and a fireless fire pit.

When Adeline went back, she inspected the homes and found a small inflatable raft and some luggage inside. Adeline pocketed a pack of peanuts she found and brought it to Emma.

"I hunted some nuts for you," Adeline chuckled, tossing the packet to Emma. Sleeping, Emma wouldn't see them until later at night.

I haven't talked with Emma in a while. She'd been good at keeping the fire alive though, so I hadn't needed to bother her anyhow.

Adeline went back to see if anyone was at the campsite. Fawn was going with her. For me, that day was a self-care day.

I went through the luggage looking for my list of items. Scissors, to trim my hair. Soap to wash. Shampoo. Maybe conditioner. Matches to make future fires easier. Sunglasses to wear over my glasses. Maybe a pillow? Fawn had already given me fresh new clothes.

I had cleared the list with everyone and promised to return everything that I only had to use once, like the scissors, soap, shampoo...

Walking to the storage hut, excitement filled me. I walked inside and squatted down to wipe the top of a suitcase. Smiling, I took the first case and looked through it.

In the first one, I found some shampoo, conditioner, a first aid kit, sunglasses, and a book that looked interesting. There were more things, but they didn't pique my interest.

I closed up the suitcase and made sure to leave the first aid kit on top. No one really needed it at the moment, but it could come in handy later.

Lifting out the next suitcase from the pile, I searched.

When I finally went through them all, I had found many items. Everything on my list and more. But I left the items that I hadn't informed the others I'd be taking behind and went back to my house.

I left the sunglasses and matches beside my bed, which was now a sleeping mat and bag overtop a mound of dirt I piled up for elevation. I flung the little pillow onto my bed. Taking the rest of the items, plus the clothes Fawn gave me, I exited and went for the river.

I started cutting my hair back to the shoulder length it was before.

When I finally finished and satisfied, I slipped out of my old salty clothes and slipped into the stream. Using the shampoo and conditioner, I cleaned out my hair and watched as the bubbles floated back down the stream. Soap was next. Layers of dirt and salt washed away.

Stepping out of the stream, I used the towel Fawn gave me with my clothes to dry off before slipping into the new clothes. Smiling, I reminded myself to thank Fawn for being so thoughtful.

Back at camp, I hung up the towel on the clothesline along with my old clothes. The items I used to wash also went back to the storage hut.

"Pierre!" Adeline's voice broke the peaceful silence I had been spending the day in. I turned around to find Fawn and her walking up the east path to camp. "There are people there! Two boys. We're having dinner there." The two stopped when they got to the fire. "Nice clothes," Adeline complimented.

"Thanks," I smiled. I couldn't believe there were more people on the island. "So... will we need to bring anything to the dinner?"

"No, they said they'll take care of it," Adeline said. "They're really chatty. One more than the other."

Fawn chuckled in agreement.

I nodded. "Should we wake Emma?"

A moment of awkward silence passed between the three of us.

"Should we?" Adeline shifted the weight from both her feet.

"I don't want to leave her out," I said. "But..."

Fawn let out a breath.

"Why don't we see what she wants to do?" I suggested.

"Sure." Adeline nodded and we started toward Emma's house. We slipped inside and Fawn gently woke her.

"What?" she asked, voice groggy.

"There are boys on the island. Two survivors of the plane crash," Adeline said. "They invited us for dinner, wanna come?"

"Really? Yeah!" Emma immediately perked up at the invitation and I was suddenly glad I came to invite her.

"We'll wake you up again when it's time to leave," I said.

"Great!" Emma smiled.

I nodded and we left Emma to fall asleep again. Adeline and Fawn started walking down the north trail when I remembered what I wanted to say to Fawn.

"Oh, and Fawn?" I called.

"Yes?" she asked politely, turning around.

"Thanks for the clothes and the towel. It was nice to use."

"Oh, of course. Don't mention it." Fawn smiled before turning around and continuing down the trail with Adeline.

People who said disasters bring people close were right. It was horrible, sinking and being lost at sea. But the aftermath brought me so close to this group of people.

I had never felt so close to people before.

Not that the bar was high.

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I thought we had been badly sunburnt. But when I saw the crew of five, I knew with all my mind that I had never truly been burnt.

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"Wake up, Emma," I said, extending my hands to shake her from sleep. "It's time to go. I guess it's your breakfast time."

"Breakfast..." Emma murmured and rolled to her side.

"C'mon," Adeline said from the doorway. "We can't wait forever..."

"Coming." Emma crawled out of bed and smoothed out a bit of her hair. "Let's go. I'm ready."

We exited the house and began down the trail. Adeline, who had gone to the eastern part of the island several times, led the way.

Smoke wisped from the fire in the center of the camp. The smell of roasted pig and rabbit filled my nostrils and caused my mouth to water. Clothes hung from a nearby tree. Ocean water lapped on the shore of the island where a boy with curly brown hair filled a metal pot. The other boy, blond, appeared out of one of the lean-tos.

"Mateo," the blond said. "They're here."

The boy by the shore stood up. His smiling face greeted us. "Hey! Welcome to our camp-thing. Thanks for joining us for dinner."

"Of course," I nodded. There were really people on the island!

"So you all live in the southern part of the island, huh? How long have you guys been stayin' there?" the blond asked, going to sit beside the fire.

We joined him and circled around the fire, sitting on the soft sand. "Yeah. South of the center," Adeline said. "We've been there for a while, I guess." No one had really kept track of time.

"Cool!" Mateo nodded, placing the bucket of water on top of the fire. He placed a lid on top of the metal bucket and let it simmer. "So, do tell me ye's names."

"I'm Adeline."

"Ay, we know you," Mateo nodded.

"You've been stalking us..." the blond snorted.

Adeline shrugged, not denying it.

"I'm Pierre," I said.

"Emma."

"I'm Fawn."

The blond nodded, scanning us with judgmental eyes. "Elijah," he said. "Nice to meet you, girls."