Broken Arrows

04 | a rocky past

"You want society to accept you, but you can't even accept yourself."

—X-Men: First Class (2011)

☁☁☁☁

All of the teenagers did the fair share in helping the boys unload their luggage. Hunter hardly said anything more than a small grunt the entire time, and Elliot was especially fidgety, but the girls pushed on, pretending nothing was wrong. By the time they finished, she was more than exhausted. She'd taken a seat on the couch to catch a breath, and ended up taking another small nap. Erin had shaken her awake yet again, and now, she was forced to grab a hoodie from her duffle as she was shoved out the door.

"Where are we going?" she grumbled, pulling her hoodie over her head. The collar nearly got caught around her neck, but one final tug allowed her to fit herself the whole way through. "I was taking a perfectly deserved nap."

Hunter grunted beside her. He refused to look anywhere but the ground, though she had a feeling he agreed with her.

"We're exploring," Erin said matter-of-factly. "Don't you think we should figure out where everything is now instead of waiting?"

"I would've liked at least an hour of rest." Elliot emerged from the house, still rubbing at his eyes with closed fists.

She scoffed. "What a bunch of whiners. Come on."

Both boys seemed adamant to stay right where they were, and it took a small shove from Sachi to get them moving. They started down the driveway first, shuffling along the dirt road and kicking up clouds of dust. Elliot started kicking a small pebble, and it became a game between him and Hunter to be the one to kick it first. They turned onto the road and started off at a slightly quicker pace.

Erin prattled on in front of them, no doubt speaking aimlessly of the weather and trees and the worn mailbox their neighbors owned—anything to keep them from entering into an awkward silence. A few of their neighbors were hanging out on their front lawns, and Sachi gave them waves as they moved past, not wanting to appear rude despite the withdrawn people beside her.

The trip gave her a chance to take in the beauty of the forest longer. There were times she stopped without realizing it to stare at a tree or a chipmunk scurrying past. Those times, Elliot waited for her to realize she'd paused and catch up with the rest of them.

The walk was refreshing, though they hadn't yet found any noticeable landmarks. It only became tough when a hill loomed above them. She hadn't noticed the slope in their trail, and it was only apparent to her once the road grew steeper. Hunter actually let out a groan at the sight, and he started moving backwards, as if he were ready to make a run for it.

Erin noticed their reluctance, and she barked at them to hurry up. They obeyed quickly, each of them aware of the consequences of putting her in a bad mood, and neither wanted to be on the receiving end of her glare. While the trek up was exhausting, the store that greeted them made it sort of worth it.

The sign hanging above the shop was painted a bright yellow, a color that normally would've made her hesitate, but worked with this particular store. Hannah's Ice Cream and Ices, it read, and the words made her skip a step.

Sachi rushed ahead of Erin and the others, ignoring the agony in her legs from her walk, and pushed through the entrance door. The bell above her head rang with her entry, and the first thing she noticed was the blue and white tiles adorning the floor. Her gaze shifted to the boards above the register where endless flavors of ice cream and Italian ices were listed. The glass cases were filled with various cartons of ice cream in varying flavors, many that she'd never seen before. She nearly started drooling at the sight.