Day Four

Chapter 4

Pemma

As I creep into the immaculate dorm with only the ominous sight of dusk to guide me, I dump all my clothes on the floor and crash into the bed nearest to me. The pillow smells of posh aftershave...and strawberry laces? As the comforting scent lulls me to sleep, I have just enough time to check who the bed belongs to as I look in the passport beside me.

Glenn smells like strawberry laces, apparently.

Glenn

I just can't help myself to miss this opportunity. I want to know as much about Pemma as possible, not in the creepy way, but more in the way of fascination. I silently open the door to my dorm, and judging by the light creeping through the heavy curtains it's almost dawn. I glimpse around the dimly lit room for my enigma girl, to find she's sleeping in my bed- purely by accident, I assume. I daren't get any closer but I try to memorise every bit of her- the soft curve of her shoulders, the tiny flyaway hairs that seem to glow in the dim light like a halo, the shallow rise and fall of her small body. I can't imagine what she'd do if she knew I was here, but I imagine it would involve some kind of extreme violence. She's like a porcelain doll with a weapons arsenal at her disposal- a living oxymoron.

Our first activity was mountain hiking, of course. After a short introduction to hiking and how we must not, at all costs, wander off the beaten path, we were allowed to travel in our partners and explore the wilds around us. The sharp scents of the pine mingled with damp earth really freshens the air around us, and whenever I look at Pemma, everything looks a little brighter too, even though she herself is a walking cloud of negativity.

We talk in absolute silence- I can tell she doesn't want to talk, but as I get more and more exhausted, as we push ourselves further and further up the mountainous hillside, I finally snap.

"Why are you so damn angry all the time?"

"I'm not angry. I just don't like people like you." Her voice remains passive.

"People like me? I try to be kind to you and all you do is throw it back in my face." I stop walking as I suddenly turn angry myself.

"Boys, you're all the same. You're driven by lust and food, that's it. You're all so selfish, you don't ever care about others' feelings. You never do anything...kind. Girls too, all they want to do is make my life worse."

This takes me aback. Pemma had just opened up to me, as my enigma unfolded itself. Maybe this girl isn't as superficial and harsh as I had previously thought.

"I offered my umbrella to you, and I volunteered to be your partner for this when nobody else would, I helped you carry your things to my room. Was that not kind?"

She looks physically shocked as I said this, as though a wave of realisation had hit her. As white as a sheet, she turned to me with wide eyes.

"...I know, I've just been trying to ignore it. After my father left us, and the way the boys act at school, I thought you were all the same. I think that because it's easier, it's easier to forget that there are people out there as complex as yourself."

During the heated argument we had obviously gravitated towards each other, now our shoulders are pressed against one another, forcefully. I could just turn my head and my face would be inches from hers- but right now my teenage impulses are not the dominant ones here. I'm severely annoyed with her, but also starting to become more sympathetic as she invites me to empathise with her.

This girl was still opening up to me, and I felt like I could really have a friend- one that wasn't fake, that wasn't simply satisfied with material objects and small talk, and it was only when I heard distant howls from the woods and the crunch of pine needles underfoot did I realised that there were animals in these woods, and we were off the beaten track.