Solar Flare (bxb)

Chapter Six

-Rowan's POV-

I'm awoken by a knock at the door.

"Come in," I say as I yawn. I hadn't realized I had dozed off, but great orgasms certainly come at a price.

Josiah pushes open the door, but freezes in place as soon as the door opens. His eyes widen as he studies me, his lips parted in shock.

"You okay?" I ask, sitting up. "Is it dinnertime?"

He nods mutely. "Have you seen Luis?"

I shake my head. "What's wrong?"

He starts to say something, then stops himself and looks at me. After another moment of internal war, he speaks. "Don't take this the wrong way, Rowan, but you need to go take a shower."

With that, he leaves. The door closes behind him.

I check my watch. It's a waterproof rubber-coated thing I only use for camping. I have twenty minutes before dinner starts. Still yawning, I decide that my multitude of strenuous physical activity today probably has left me in need of a shower. I make a mental note to thank Josiah for his honesty as I dig my towel and shampoo out of my duffel bag.

No one else is in the men's showers right now, and I enjoy the privacy. I wash myself clean of the sweat and sin of the day, trying not to yawn, and dress in clean clothes.

Dinner is barbequed chicken and baked beans served in an eating area beside the cabins. The chicken looks dry and is drenched in barbeque sauce and I've never been a fan of baked beans, but I'm so hungry I have to exercise a lot of self-control to avoid wolfing it down before I find a spare picnic table.

I decide to sit next to my mom. I have friends who share my interests in swimming and activism, but I'm not in the mood for their company. Not here.

"How was your day?" she asks as we dig in.

"Exhausting," I answer. "Good job on the compass activity. It was brilliant."

"Cheat proof?" she asks through a mouthful of beans.

I nod. "Oh, except..." I swallow my mouthful of chicken. "Josiah figured out that it was a five-pointed star and was about to do the math on how to navigate it as a pentagon to save us time."

She snorts. "I'm not going to try to out-think that. If someone can do that math accurately, they deserve the advantage."

I laugh at this.

"How's Luis?" she asks.

I shrug. "He's fine. He got a bit weird earlier about... oh, I found this dog in the woods..."

I tell her about the strange, friendly dog and its weird behavior. She seems as perplexed as I am.

"And he didn't want to follow you back into camp?" she asks. I nod. "Weird. I'll tell the chaperones to keep an eye out."

Dinner ends and those who are interested are divided into teams for a game of capture-the-flag. They give us sets of red and blue mesh jerseys. My blue jersey is a bit tight, but at least it isn't falling apart like some of the rest of them. The firepit is the boundary line and the flags are, yes, rolls of duct tape. My adrenalin starts going when the whistle is blown. I serve as the team medic, using my speed to rush into the enemy team's boundary and unfreeze my blue teammates who were caught trespassing. I'm far faster than the other team's perimeter guards, but one of their offensive members quickly realizes that I'm becoming a pain in her team's ass. Hannah Barker, one of Luis's friends. She makes it her personal mission to mirror my every move from the other side of the line. She's tiny but fast, and effectively prevents me from saving anyone for a few minutes.