PANIC ROOM • KENJI KON

XXXVII. Overthinking It

Chapter Thirty Seven:  Overthinking It

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Things never really turned around after their failed kayak attempt to escape the island. Two weeks had passed, and the morale was even lower than usual. Sammy all out refused to step foot near a kayak again, and Yaz spent the better half of the last fourteen days by the noirette's side, making sure she was all right. Ben was seemingly fine and back to prancing around the jungle with Bumpy. Brooklynn was still spooked from their encounter with the cool water, and had taken to staying in her bunk for most days, curled in her blanket and only accepting food from Kenji and Eva. There was no surprise with Darius, who continued to encourage the campers to the best of his abilities, claiming they just needed to try again, try harder, try better. Kenji spent a lot of the last two weeks nurturing to Brooklynn, and trying to crack jokes with Eva. His mission seemed to be to make her laugh, because when she finally did, he pumped his fist in the air and cheered.

Eva had to admit, seeing Kenji so upbeat, so intent on getting a smile, did in fact make her smile. She thought it was cute, in his own, Kenji sort of way. It almost made her forget everything they had been through— just by seeing that smile on his face.

But then Eva would wake up abruptly from a nap and her mind would be turned to old Rutherford happenings, or she would pass Kenji walking in the other direction— a small bump of the shoulder, and suddenly all she could think about was Kenji triumphantly asking her for an apology, and Eva's little heart would break into more pieces.

Eva dealt with an overwhelming guilt, not sure how to proceed. She really did want to be friends with Kenji, but with every sour reaction she created, she knew that was never possible. They would never get back to what they were, and that was completely Eva's fault.

Eva laid in her bunk with her eyes closed to combat the bright sunlight. One good laugh with Kenji wasn't enough. Eva was still the problem, whether she liked it or not (she definitely didn't).

She had her comforter pulled up around her, despite the sticky warm temperatures of Isla Nublar. To all the other campers, she appeared asleep, but she was well awake, listening to Sammy and Yasmina argue about the best episode of season one of Esther Stone, listen to Kenji grumble as he kept knocking over his house of cards (she peaked to see what he was doing), and listening to Brooklynn very loudly eat a can of pineapples beneath her.

She was just beginning to actually fall asleep, curled up in the warmth of the island, when her name was whispered into the wind. Eva kept her eyes shut. Maybe whoever it was, they'd go away. And they seemed to, as Eva slipped further into a distant memory in an attempt to fall asleep.

"Eva."

Eva grumbled, turning onto her right so she faced away from the deck.

The person groaned. "Eva, get up. Time for a camp meeting."

Eva groaned louder. "Five more minutes?"

She did not want to get out of the comfort of her bed to talk about something as bleak and depressing as escaping the island. Yeah, she did not have high hopes after the failed kayak attempt.

"We're not starting without you. You really want to make everyone else wait, too?" Eva finally recognized the voice as Darius's. Go figure.

"Fine," she finally grumbled, though she made no effort to get out of bed.