Guardian Angelwolf {In Editing}

Waterfall Battle

Chapter Four

Waterfall Battle

"Wow." I breathed.

"This place is amazing ..." I gushed to Matt. As we stepped into the clearing I gazed up in astonishment. We had stepped into a glorious clearing, with a massive crystal-clear waterfall flowing over head. The place emanated beauty, radiance. A soft mist settled over a sparkling lake in the centre of the clearing. Dark-green moss and forest colors danced on the surface, reflecting the greenery all-around. The grass was deep and moist beneath our feet and rose in small hillsides. I held my breath, relishing the cool air that was suddenly blowing in the wind.

"I think I've just died and gone to heaven." Matt joked, pulling out his phone to take a picture. I envied him then, wishing I had brought my phone.

The campers gasped in awe, and came to settle close to the waterfall. As expected, everyone was pulling out their phones taking pictures. I smiled, catching Emily-rose's glance. The waterfall was truly a spectacular sight to see. I started to feel a bit overwhelmed by it all.

Raphael whistled sharply, causing everyone to shift their attention. I really hoped he wouldn't meet my gaze, after what happened this morning.

"Hey, guys! Welcome to Deregu falls!" he called, and everyone cheered. A light bulb seemed to go off in my head, at 'Deregu Falls' that was a famous waterfall, wasn't it? Raphael's eyes shone brightly, as he stood with one knee perched on a rock, a few other counselors milling around him.

"Congratulations campers, you get to enjoy lunch at this beautiful place, but first we are going to practice a little exercise. I'm assuming all you California natives can swim right?" he joked, and mostly everyone laughed and nodded their heads, yes. Of course we could swim, California was known for its beaches, right? I wasn't like, on the swim team or anything but I could hold my weight in water.

"That's great! Because, I know how much you guys are dying to get into that lake, after that hike." He joked, and everyone laughed completely drawn in by his charm. To be honest, he was right. The lake did look appealing, and I was feeling pretty hot and sweaty; but the lake was also gloriously huge, and I wasn't sure how deep.

"We're going to have lunch on the other side. Okay? I want you guys to listen up. We're going to be swimming in pairs, with four counselors going across first, followed by the campers and then the other counselors. All right; go get changed!" he said, and we shifted apart, some girls only to eager to get into their bathing suits, and obviously some guys were only too eager to ogle them.

I sighed, looking for a tree to change behind. Angela and her friends were only too comfortable changing out in the open. Matt tapped me on the shoulder, letting me know he was going to change and would be right back.

"Wuss!" I called teasingly, but he simply stuck his tongue out at me. I shook my head at his childish antics, spotting Emily-Rose behind an average looking tree, with shady branches.

"Hey!" I greeted her warmly, dropping my bag to the ground with a thud. She smiled at me, almost half-way through.

"Wanna be partners?" she asked, and I nodded my head yes. That was when I realized, my...tattoo would be out in the open. I hadn't actually thought about that before. Still, I'd have to hide it somehow. I pulled my hair from its pony-tail, knowing it would be much more difficult to swim. I didn't have a choice though, I thought, slipping into a one-piece; it was striped pink and white. Emily-Rose changed into swimming shorts and a lighter t-shirt.

Emerging from our place behind the tree, I thought I'd feel a bit self-conscious but I didn't. A lot of the other girls were wearing bikinis that were a lot more revealing than what I was wearing. We followed the group, as they settled just on the bank of the lake, whispering among them. The rushing water roared more loudly from here; I was scared to glance downwards. I didn't want to know how many feet lay below.