Falling For Him ✔️

Chapter VII. NEVER HAVE I EVER

Axel was currently trudging through the forest, mosquitos and nats flying everywhere, as he listened to Mike Michaels drone on and on about the importance of service and teamwork.

Axel thought service was important too, but he also thought that trudging through a forest from nine in the morning to four in the afternoon with one snack break was a little much for the first day.

Beside him, Benji trekked wordlessly as the two trailed at the back, picking up trash that had been carelessly left on the path, sweat dripping down their faces. The air was hot; the forest's humidity was almost unbearable.

Luckily for him, Will had been paired in another group, though unluckily, Axel was stuck with the rest of the brainless basketball players, who had done nothing to help pick up any trash and were goofing off in front of them, Mike Michaels on the left side of Benji.

Today, his shirt had another positive message on it that seemed to glare at Axel. In big, bold letters, it read: Smile, I promise it won't hurt.

Axel squeezed his eyes shut, clenching his hand that wasn't holding a large trash bag into a fist.

"Axel, you agree, don't you?" Mike questioned, using his stick that picked up trash to drop an empty cheeto bag into Axel's trashbag with a smile.

Axel's fake smile threatened to drop. "Yeah, of course."

"That's great. Many younglings like you aren't too aware of that issue running rampant in the world today." He wiped the sweat dripping from his forehead with the back of his hand. "Kindness is key boys."

Benji glanced at Axel, before saying, "Right. Of course."

Time seemed to pass incredibly slow, as if time itself wanted Axel and Benji to suffer for as long as possible. Eventually, the group of athletes made it back to the cabin, had dumped their collected trashbags into the dumpster, and were now headed towards the pavillion, where the other group sat, split up at different tables.

The wooden pavilion stood tall, at a whopping ten feet, its wooden ceiling offering a welcomed shade from the blistering sun. Conversations filled the air, the sound of loud laughs the most audible over the mindless chatter held between the boys.

Axel and Benji made a beeline towards Jack and Nathan, who sat in the corner of the pavilion alone, playing a game of cards. As they neared, the two baseball players looked up at them with weary smiles.

"God, today sucked ass," Jack complained, throwing a bag of fruit snacks at the two of them, then waving his own mushed fruit snack into the air. "And this?" He was glaring at it. "This is the reward we get? A deformed fruit snack."

"Don't be rude to it, Jack," Axel said. "It can hear you."

"Shut up," he muttered, stuffing it into his mouth as Axel and Benji slid onto the oak bench.

They spoke for awhile, Axel mostly listening to Jack and Nathan's story of how they had been forced to dig holes for a slide that the company wanted to place near the pond.

"It's basically child labor," he exclaimed, throwing his hands into the air with a wide gesture. "And the basketball idiots didn't do shit."

"Will and Danny did," Nathan pointed out.

"Oh, wow. Two of them out of the ten helped out. That's absolutely amazing, Nathan. Life altering. Astounding." Jack's tone was laced in sarcasm. "Who would've thought."

Before Nathan could respond, Mike Michaels was shouting into a megaphone. "Attention! Attention!"

Surprisingly, the loud chatter stopped almost immediately as the jolly old man continued to speak.