I'm Not That Girl

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Nineteen

       “Ahhhhhh!” The shrill sound of Kara’s unmistakable shriek met my ears.

       “What?” I yawned.

       “There’s an… ant!” she cried.

       “You have got to be kidding me. We’re in the middle of Africa, around all this incredible nature, and you’re complaining about an ant? One ant? Have you seen how many other bugs there are here?” That’s right, I said it, we were in Africa.

       As much as I may have hated my school sometimes, the community service work they did was incredible. And it wasn’t really even community service- it was more like global service. We were here, in Africa, to go travel around a few of the countries, and help out the local tribes, and villages or something. It was really an amazing opportunity. The fact that we got to go to Africa, and help poverty-stricken people was truly incredible.

       Now, to be honest, I had no idea where the heck in Africa we were. I knew I was being ignorant, but geography wasn’t really my thing, and all I knew was that we were in the middle of Africa. Currently, we were on a bus, going to a village to help build huts or something. How cool was that? Well, I thought it was. All the girls were freaking out, and wouldn’t shut up. Even the teachers were pissed about being here.

       “It’s so gross, though!” she protested.

       “No, it isn’t!” I retorted, rolling my eyes slightly.

       “Ben, tell Elle it is!”

       “I’m sorry, baby, but right now, Elle’s right; it’s not a big deal. Besides, if it comes near you, I’ll protect you,” he said.

       “Nick, tell Kara it isn’t,” I commanded.

       “But it is,” Nick said stubbornly.

       “You two are so freaking ridiculous!” I shook my head in pure amazement.

       “But that’s what you love about us!” Nick smirked.

       “And who said I love you guys?” I asked. I had been thinking a lot about Nick lately. I didn’t know what I felt towards him; all I knew was that I liked him… a lot.

       “Well, Elle, let’s be real here, how can you not love us?” Kara said confidently, dropping the attitude almost instantly. “Ah! It’s coming closer! Kill it!” as if on cue, Ben went over to her in aid, hugged her tight, and then stomped on the puny insect.

       “Murderer!” I accused.

       “He stepped on an ant. Chill,” John said, who had been sitting next to and talking to Cameron the entire ride. Last night, when we arrived here, I introduced them, hoping that their personalities would somehow mesh together. Sure enough, I was right. They were now talking to each other as if they had known each other forever.

       “You chill! She’s just joking,” Nick defended, putting his hand on my shoulder.

       “Stop,” I said as Nick groaned.

       After what felt like days (It was only, like, four hours), we finally reached the village. You could pretty much see the entire thing from the bus. A pang of sadness hit me, knowing how fortunate I really was. I didn’t live in a one-room hut, in the middle of the heat, in Africa; I lived in America, attended an expensive private school, and had more than I needed. It put everything in perspective for me; to see how lucky I truly was.