Do You Really Have To Go?

Fourteen

{Star's POV}

It was morning now. Everyone was spaced out today. I guess the  conversation last night got everyone on edge. The guards were planted at both ends of the cave. Dad was in the middle of the floor. Pony head was on a ledge in the cave. Ferguson and Alfonzo were against a wall. I was in an indention I found in the cave. Marco was right around the corner. I could touch his foot. He was actually stepping on my hand. He had his knees propped up and his forehead rested on top. I was sprawled put on my stomach with my knees against the wall, my arm trapped. I didn't exactly want to make him up, but I didn't want to lose feeling in my hand. 'But he's adorable when he's asleep,' I pondered, 'No, Star, you gotta wake him up. Your hands in danger. You need that to survive the plains of something.' Fine. My mind wins. I poked his ankle with my finger. Surprisingly, he woke up. It was just one eye, but it was enough. I brought my hand up to his mouth so he couldn't talk and wake up the others or get the attention if the now awake guards. He got the hint. I pointed down to my trapped hand. He nodded and lifted his foot slightly, not adjusting his position. I pulled away my hand. "Sorry," he mouthed. "It's okay," I mouthed back. I crossed my arms and lay my head in between as Marco twisted and twirled the ends if my hair together. We stayed like that until someone woke up that wasn't the guards. It was Ferguson, actually. The one person out of three we were still managing to keep the 'secret' from. I actually was about to go back to sleep. Marco, on the other hand, was gonna stay up. He continued messing with my hair, just not as much now. Ferguson noticed Marco and waved, apparently having the same idea as me and staying quiet even though it seems like 8:30 am. He sat down next to him. "What are you doing?" he whispered. "I dunno," Marco said. He was braiding my hair now. Ferguson was fascinated. "How are you doing that?!" he pondered. "What? You never learned how to braid?" Marco chuckled. He shook his head. "Right. You grew up in a house of mainly boys. I've lived with only a girl for the past six years. You'll learn eventually."
"Is Star awake to?"
"She was before you got up."
"Is she awake now?" I sat up. "Yeah," I said. "What else can you do with hair?" Ferguson asked. Marco twirled his finger in a circle, motioning need to turn around. I did. He undid the bottom part of my hair and started a French Braid. Ferguson watched fascinated. "Marco, you're a magician in disguise," he said. "No, actually I'm not." He was almost done with the braid now. "Star, do you happen to have a hair tie on you?" I have him my wrist covered in black scrunchies. "Girls have everything when it comes to hair, don't they?" he said as he pulled one off and tied off the braid. "Just about, yeah." The two laughed, but I don't get how it's funny. "We gotta get moving. Let's go wake up the others," I said, placing the braid over my shoulder. We all stood up and woke them up. Everyone sat around a fire in the middle of the cave in silence. "I think we can make it to our next stop by tonight if we leave now," I noted. Dad nodded, grabbing his spear. "What is the next stop, exactly?" I asked. "Well, we have to choose a path; either the swamp of fears or the jungle of the unknown. Grab your stuff, were leaving now." It seemed awfully early, but we all agreed, grabbing our stuff and setting out on our voyage.