-"Come on lads! Live the adventure! We're just getting started!"—Mr. Cole called far up ahead on the trail, as he walked with a boosting energy nobody else from the entire group seemed to experiment—"Sawyer, you're supposed to be a Phys. Ed teacher! What's gotten you so far back? Come and be an example for the class!"
Mr. Hartman, who unlike the science teacher was last in the line, was barely keeping up at all. He kept puffing and huffing and his tongue stuck out from exhaustion and dehydration, which was weird because he kept drinking from a metal flask he carried along with him (Everybody knew it wasn't water, except for Caspar who was too naïve to see otherwise).
-"You... damn... fitness... monster..."—cried Mr. Hartman in his slow, unsteady pace—"I... will... cut... you... scalp... for... this...!"
-"That's the spirit Sawyer!"—cheered Mr. Cole, unfazed by his colleague's bad attitude—"Come on blokes! Be attentive for the green-chested Sparrow! That's our big prize for the day! Take a good picture!"
It was Saturday around nine in the morning, or something of the sort. Connor wasn't very sure, because he had left his phone charging back at the lodge and his silver wristwatch wasn't really working properly, but like usual he had forgotten to get it checked. Since he never took it off, it was very seldom when he asked for it to be taken to a technician. Usually, he'd clean and polish it himself, but he knew rat about watches' interiors.
When Mr. Cole said he wanted the experience to be as vivid as possible, he wasn't kidding, not for a bit. At six in the morning everyone was awoken by a radio blasting off-full volume to AC/DC's Highway to Hell. Very fitting for a public high school. For breakfast, everyone was given a tiny orange juice box and a choice between a peanut butter and jelly sandwich or a bowl of oatmeal (Lilly had hers without milk, because she was trying to go vegan) and then a banana for "dessert". They weren't allowed to use the showers early in the morning, firstly because there was no hot water and secondly because according to Mr. Cole, they would sweat their bums off with the hike, which made it pointless to shower beforehand. And around seven am sharp, they were already walking uphill in the forest track that went far deep into the park. It was supposed to be shaped like a circle of sorts, so after the walk was done, they would be back at camp right away in time for lunch.
Everyone was wearing jeans and hiking boots, carrying little weight on backpacks meant to be filled only with water bottles and a change of clothes just in case. There were of course the few exceptions, like a couple of girls who for some reason only God can fathom were hiking in fancy shoes, or guys who thought that wearing shorts would be cool regardless of the mosquitoes plaguing the entire park. All in all it was fun to watch.
Caspar turned out to be really fit, and he was biting Mr. Cole's shoes during the entire thing. Nothing seemed to be able to hold him down, and his good mood was to feel envious for. It was hard to picture him as a morning person, but looks are deceiving. Joe, on the other hand, was much more similar to Mr. Hartman. But, since he didn't want to walk alone and Caspar was the easiest to cling on to, he tried to keep up, albeit the sudden exhaustion spams that went here and there. Alexa and Lilly walked together. They hadn't spoken much since they left their tent, besides stuff like 'pass me the water' and 'here you go'. However, it didn't seem like they had a fight of any sorts. They were being extremely polite around each other, but not at all unfriendly. Instead they seemed sort of tense and, let's face it, sleep deprived. Alexa's sunglasses made her look hungover, and Lilly's drooling mouth wasn't doing much for her either.
Connor had always had good stamina for hikes and jogging, so this wasn't really much of a challenge to him. He managed to keep a steady pace, not too far back from Mr. Cole, but still isolated enough so that he and Troye could talk without being bothered.
YOU ARE READING
Algid (#TronnorAU)
Random"Let me tell you the story, about what happens when a heart as cold as ice meets one made of gold." What happens to the things that nobody can remember? Are they forgotten? Did they mean anything at all? Did they even exist at some point? All his li...
